What Exit?

This is a great example of "sense of place" -- ways that people create or express identity with a place. Playing off a stale joke about New Jersey identity, brewer Gene Muller is developing distinct beers for many -- perhaps all -- of the exits on the New Jersey Turnpike (aka, my home away from home).

As mentioned in this Boston Globe article, some people see this as a way to promote drunk driving -- neither Muller nor I see it that way. Rather, it is a way to express pride of place. Next time I have a chance to have a meal near the turnpike, I'll be looking for a "perfect pairing" -- a beer that captures the essence of the location, to go perfectly with a meal there. The idea of choosing a local beverage to go with a local meal is something I first understood from the book What to Drink with What You Eat.