Readington Brewery & Hop Farm

Before leaving Frenchtown, we made a detour to the Readington Brewery & Hop Farm. The Readington Brewery and Hop Farm recently opened in the borough of Readington in Hunterdon County. The brewery specialises in producing a variety of handcrafted beers using ingredients grown on the farm, including hops, barley, and other locally sourced ingredients. It's rare to have a new brewery in Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, so we were excited. We looked at the tap list before making the trip but did not hope we would enjoy the ales. Our misgivings were confirmed.

The brewery has a spacious taproom with a relaxing atmosphere. The tap list included IPAs, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews. Some of their beers include "Old Highway," an American Pale Ale; "Sourland," a sour IPA; and "Farmers Tan," an American wheat beer. The brewery is committed to sustainability and uses environmentally friendly practices in its brewing and farming processes.

Readington Brewery and Hop Farm · 19 December 2021 · FujiFilm X-T3 · XF27mmF2.8

We tried several times from the tap list but found them average. But one beer stood out. We rated the Kombucha-inspired ale a paltry 0.1/5, the lowest rating I can give a beer on Untappd. Up until now, my lowest-rated beer was a Corona.

As for the food we bought in Frenchtown, I enjoyed my Bermuda seafood chowder and grilled cheese, but Bhanva disliked her hummus wrap.

36th Annual QuickChek Festival of Ballooning pre-festival Media Launch

Photos from the 36th Annual QuickChek Festival of Ballooning pre-festival Media Launch

I attended the QuickChek Festival of Ballooning pre-festival Media Launch event yesterday with a bunch of photographers from the Somerset County Meetup. I arrived around 6:30 AM but due to work commitments, I was only able to shoot for about 45 minutes. I have attended a few of these in the past. I was unprepared for this as my new camera has not yet arrived. I shot the event with a borrowed camera and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USM IS-LM lens. It was a bit too "zoomy" for this event but ... I made it work.

What sort of photographer shows up at a balloon festival with a 70-200mm lens?

Thirteen images stitched in Adobe Photoshop using the panorama feature.

Bhavna and I are planning a fall balloon adventure over the Letchworth State Park in upstate New York. We've never done this before, but the idea of being up in the air and being swept wherever the wind may take us, seems exciting.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 102mm | f/8.0 | ISO 160
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 70mm | f/8.0 | ISO 400
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 88mm | f/8.0 | ISO 160
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 135mm | f/2.8 | ISO 100
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm | f/8.0 | ISO 2000
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 70mm | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm | f/4.0 | ISO 200
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 70mm | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 70mm | f/8.0 | ISO 250
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 185mm | f/8.0 | ISO 320
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 70mm | f/8.0 | ISO 125
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 70mm | f/8.0 | ISO 100
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm | f/8.0 | ISO 125
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm | f/8.0 | ISO 200
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm | f/8.0 | ISO 125
Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 70mm | f/8.0 | ISO 100

32nd Annual QuickChek Festival of Ballooning pre-festival Media Launch

When Scott Wyden posted a Google invite event for a press event at the 32nd annual New Jersey Festival of Ballooning I said yes immediately.

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Although I had to be at my client's office at 8AM, I decided that I could arrive just before 6:30AM, snap some photos, and be back on the road by 7AM.

But as the date approached, I realized that attending would mean getting up at 5AM. This is 1 hour earlier than I normally get up.  It also meant I wouldn’t have any time to eat a proper breakfast or do my normal coffee ritual.  I almost backed out.  I am glad I did not.

I got some great photos.

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