The Readington Brewery Hops and Rods Car Show, July 19, 2025

The Readington Brewery and Hop Farm opened in 2019, and is located on Route 202 South in Readington Township, NJ. As the crow flies, it’s about a mile and a half from my house, and I’ve driven past it dozens of times, but until this past Saturday, I had never set foot on its property. They grow their own hops on their twenty-five-acre farm, and brew 100% of the beer they sell. One reason I’ve not stopped by is that they do not serve food. I was told that it is easier to obtain a liquor license in this area if you operate a brewery and not a restaurant. However, they do allow you to bring in your own food or use a service, such as Uber Eats, to have food delivered. There is picnic-table sitting available both inside and outside.

The occasion for my visit on Saturday, July 19, was an event called “Hops and Rods.” Originally scheduled for June, this was the rain date after bad weather forced a postponement. I registered online and the website informed me that they would collect my $10 entrance fee upon my arrival, further requesting that show cars arrive between 10:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. It took me five minutes to drive there, and I was the eleventh car to show up. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I said to myself, “this is not the crowd for me.” Every other car in the lot was either an American muscle car or a bona fide street rod. I parked my Alfa across from a 1967 Chevelle, and was greatly relieved to note that as cars continued to arrive, the vehicle types were more varied.

I grabbed my camera and walked among the cars and trucks, taking pictures, and began to chat with several of the owners. Everyone I met was very down-to-earth, and as I pointed to my Alfa, they expressed positive comments about it. One man was proud to show me his all-original 1976 Corvette with 23,000 miles. He had a binder with every piece of documentation going back to the original purchase order. He found the story about my all-original car equally delightful. A man with a highly customized four-door Lincoln Continental had a small crowd around his car as he explained many of the mods he built into it. (Turns out that he works in a body shop and performs all his own body and paint work.) Another gentlemen, obviously British as determined by his accent, brought two cars, a Jaguar XJS convertible and a 1977 MG Midget. He and I delighted in swapping stories about our present cars and “the ones that got away.”

The brewery website promised “food trucks,” but it wasn’t until about 12:30 when one (and only one) arrived. A line quickly formed, but the truck operator slid open the serving window glass to announce, “it will be twenty to thirty minutes before things are heated up so that I can serve food!” Oh well, back to my car to wait. I finally got a sandwich closer to 1:30.

While not every parking spot set aside for show cars was taken, there were a respectable number of vehicles. The public turned out in large numbers, though, and a live band played classic rock all afternoon. At 3 p.m., there was an awards ceremony, and a highly modified 1929 Ford Tudor took Best of Show. (It was unclear to me how that was determined, but I saw brewery employees walking around with clipboards.) The trophy, a monstrous thing, would not have fit in the Alfa, so I’m glad I didn’t win. At this point, with showers threatening, I made my way home.

A friend who was there told me that the Readington Brewery puts on other car shows during the year, including an all-import show. I’ll be checking their calendar and will make a point to try to get to that one.