Demented Brewing Co. in Middlesex is the winner of our N.J.'s best craft brewery showdown.

The smallish brewery pulled off the tournament upset, beating out beer bluebloods Kane Brewing Co. in Ocean Township and Cape May Brewing Co. in Lower, plus fellow upstart Twin Elephant Brewing Co. in Chatham.

Call it a sudsy shocker, but I judged Demented the best, based on all the beers sampled during our two visits. Other breweries have bigger reps, but this wasn't about reputation or Untappd ratings; it was who delivered the best beer during our visits.

That being said, the other members of our Final Four were outstanding; I went back and forth on this choice for a while.

Beers turned to cheers inside the small, packed tasting room, as Demented patrons celebrated the announcement.

"I could kiss you right now - but I won't,'' said Steve Vogl, who said he had "run over'' to Demented when he saw the reveal video on our Facebook page. "You can't get a better variety of beer. It's an awesome pick.''

Demented owner Tom Zuber looked a bit shellshocked afterwards.

"I honestly thought you were going for Cape May (Brewing) or Kane,'' he said. "They're two of my favorites. And Twin Elephant is great. I'm floored by the fact we won.''

Demented's offerings span the spectrum - from cream and wheat ales to Belgian dark ales and Russian imperial stouts. The brewery's slogan is "insanely flavorful ales,'' and they certainly lived up to the name.

My favorites here included Beowulf porter, Sloth milk stout on nitro, and Lust chocolate stout. Double Dementia IPA and Astarte, a strawberry cream ale, were also noteworthy; the latter was a particular favorite of photographer Ed Murray, my designated driver during this journey.

Demented's bourbon barrel-aged Russian imperial stout Wrath may have been the single best beer of the 100 or so I sampled at the eight breweries in both rounds (for the record, I've visited 51 of the 84 craft breweries and brew pubs in New Jersey).

"To be honest, we couldn't have done this without the people in this room,'' said tasting room manager Liz Carrasquillo. "We started out not to be better than anyone but to better ourselves.''

Demented had its share of followers when we asked for nominations. This is from KimE:

Double Dementia, Samhain, Vulcan and Scarlet Night are just a few of the great beers they brew. The staff is incredibly friendly. Take a small tour and enjoy some of Jersey's best craft beer!

From RobHBedford:

Solid variety, excellent pilsener ($8 for a growler), nice tap room.

Demented owner Tom Zuber had a simple reason for opening a brewery: job burnout. A software engineer for 15 years, the home brewer decided to take the leap to full-scale brewery. He scouted locations for nine months before finding a vacant janitorial supplies business in Middlesex and opening Demented.

"It was the first place I saw that really looked like a brewery,'' Zuber explained.

The brewery's brick walls lend an old-world look, while the tasting room's walls are downright devilish; one-eyed monsters, winged beasts and a Jersey Devil or two scamper across a hellish, beer-laden landscape in artist Drake Barry's fantastical mural.

"We like to brew for the seasons,'' Zuber said. "There was a stout series - Seven Deadly Stouts - (over the winter). Wheats and cream ales in the spring, IPAs in the summer, an acorn squash abbey ale, sweet potato porter in the fall. . .



"Keep things fresh, keep things rotating,'' he added.

Demented's popular Gallows Hill IPA hits bars and restaurants next week, with cans available in June.

The brewery's production end includes two 10-barrel fermenters, three 30-barrel fermenters, one 15-barrel bright beer tank and one 30-barrel bright beer tank. The big news at Demented yesterday was the delivery of a new 30-barrel fermenter.

You can find Demented - on tap, in cans or bottles - in about 600 restaurants, bars and liquor stores around the state; Hunterdon Brewing Co. handles distribution.

Zuber has his eyes on a nearby building for an expanded tasting room; the present one is, shall we say, cozy. As at all N.J. craft breweries (as opposed to brew pubs), food is not served, but you're welcome to bring your own.

Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and Instagram.