This week, we spoke with one of our other distribution specialists at Cape Beverage, and one of the guys who makes sure that people throughout New Jersey can enjoy our beverages at your favorite bar, restaurant, or liquor store!

“BJ has become one of our go-to guys for North Jersey,” says Distribution Manager Rob Ritz. “He caught on to our computer system fast and is a real pro. He’s always in a good mood and brings good vibes to the team.  BJ asks every morning how you’re doing and I believe he really cares. He is one of those people that you can trust to complete any task given to him and won’t stop until it’s done.” 

When we met with BJ in Dennis Township, where he was born and raised, we quickly realized that this was definitely true. He has an easy-going, good-natured demeanor and is easy to talk to.

Meet Distribution Specialist BJ Carey!

BJ attended Middle Township High School.

“I don’t remember much anymore from what I was taught there,” he says. “I was kind of just there. I had a couple classes I really liked, though.” 

(Ed. note: Pretty relatable, especially for those of us who have been out of school for a while!)

There’s a couple people from high school that he still hangs out with, and some of his friends stayed in the area as well. 

After school, BJ tried out different retail jobs, from Dollar General to grocery stores, but he was eager to find something different. 

BJ found Cape Beverage through fellow Distribution Specialists Brandon Jones and Darius Clark, both of whom he met while growing up in the area. 

“It’s a really small town down here,” BJ says with a smile. 

“This has been my favorite job so far,” he says. “I feel like I actually matter compared to other places I’ve worked, and we’re all cool with each other.”

“We all get along really well on the team,” BJ says. “I already feel like I know them well. Charlie and I have a lot in common, too. I’m trying to convince him to go to that concert in PA.”

On Fridays, sometimes the team hangs out after work, and we met up with BJ on one of those evenings after his shift.

“The bi-weekly meetings help. Whenever we have a problem, they tell us to talk with each other before going to the higher ups,” he says.

BJ mentions that the daily routes are typically set up to be the most efficient for the least amount of mileage. Which can be really key when you’re delivering beer throughout the state!

“For the first two weeks, they had me ride with almost everyone to see how to do everything,” he says. “After that, I did it on my own.”

So far, the furthest he’s driven is a mile and a half from the bridge to New York.

On those long drives, he has a few different options to keep himself entertained while on the road. 

“I change it up between music and podcasts depending on my mood,” he says. “As far as music, I listen to Metallica, Primus, and things like that. I’m very open with my music, and I’m kind of more rock-oriented. I’ve been really into this band called Psychostick.”

As intense as the name sounds, BJ mentions that the band is along the lines of comedy metal.

“They don’t really have any serious songs but they’re really talented,” he says.

A quick search shows that some of Psychostick’s songs include “Uhhhnngg” and “SO. HEAVY.” which checks out for a band with a style known as humorcore!

“I’ve been to at least 100 concerts and only paid for like two pairs of tickets,” he says. “My friends are very upset with me.” 

“I won tickets on the radio for a show the day before,” he says. “38 Special. Back before I started listening to podcasts, I would just sit there and listen to the radio and win all kinds of stuff.”

“I went and saw Metallica in 2012 when they were playing in Atlantic City. I went to get food and heard Avenged Sevenfold start their set and I was like really? Why did I choose now to get food?” he says with a laugh.

“I’ve lost count of just how many concerts I’ve been to. I love concerts. The last one I went to before the pandemic hit was Korn and Breaking Benjamin. That was a really good show,” he says. 

The upcoming concert in October for Psychostick will be one of the first that he’ll be going to now that venues are opening back up.

Before the pandemic, BJ was looking forward to seeing Rammstein as well. “Hopefully they’ll reschedule those concert dates,” he says. “I fell in love with their new album; it’s incredible. It’s just a white album cover with a match on it.” 

BJ has only ever been to one concert by himself: Kid Rock. 

“That was fun,” he says. “Honestly I’m into that trash-rock kind of music. I like that it’s terrible.”

We lament together that Nickelback is usually relegated to this category as well, even though they’re not as terrible as many people make them out to be. 

“Lately I’ve had difficulties finding what I want to listen to,” he says. “I’ll just throw my phone on and hit shuffle and keep hitting next until something pops up that I want to listen to.” 

When he wants to switch it up from music, podcasts are his go-to. 

“I’ve been listening to a lot of comedy podcasts. Mostly story-telling stuff. There’s one called The Honeydew with Ryan Sickler. He’s really funny and just has people tell stories. Some of them are just ridiculous. He’s doing a side thing for Patreon where he has fans tell crazy stories, too. I kind of want to listen to those,” BJ says.

“I paid for a Patreon of another podcast called Dumb People Town. It’s two comedians, the Sklar brothers, who are twins, and their friend Dan. He reads the stories to them, and in the Patreon, they flip it around and the guy has no idea what’s happening. It’s actually kind of funny to hear his side,” he shares. 

We ask about the shirt BJ is wearing, featuring two stylized faces and the words The Tour of Mythicality on it.

It’s from comedic duo Rhett and Link, known for the daily internet show Good Mythical Morning, when they played the Circus Maximus Theater in Atlantic City a couple years ago. 

One of the things BJ and one of his older sisters have in common is this group. “She got me into them,” he says. 

Good Mythical Morning has all the hallmarks of your average morning show: eating things, exploring new products and trends, games with celebrity guests – just on the internet and readily available on YouTube! 

BJ admits that their style has changed a bit from when they first started out in 2012.  

He doesn’t just listen, though. BJ also has some experience playing music as well. 

“I have an electric guitar that I thought I was going to try to play, but I haven’t yet,” he says. “I learned more bass than I have guitar so far.”

“I learned four songs within a month on bass,” he shares. “‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ by the Ramones, an Alice In Chains song. I can play most of ‘Reptilia’ by The Strokes. Also ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ by The Proclaimers.”

We never thought about that last one as a bass guitar song!

“I didn’t either,” he says with a grin. “I have the game Rocksmith where you plug the instrument in, and that song was on there, so I had to try it.”

Speaking of video games, BJ is a huge gamer. 

“Mostly Xbox. I have a gaming PC that’s starting to show its age, so playing brand-new games are difficult on there,” he shares. “I play Call of Duty and whatever free shooter I can play at the moment.” 

“I play a lot of Warzone. That game is pushing my computer’s limit to its maximum. I think the way it’s designed it’s doing that to everyone,” he says. 

“I have a bunch that I want to play that I haven’t gotten around to yet, too,” he says. “Everyone keeps telling me to play Red Dead Redemption 2.” 

BJ admits that part of the reason Red Dead Redemption 2 is still on his list is because of the popularity of another Rockstar title: GTA V.

“Between 2013 and now, I have a little over 1,000 hours in GTA V online,” he says. “I’d hop on and see that they added a new island to explore, and I’m like, I’m in.” 

Sea of Thieves is another one he’s been into recently. “It’s fun to drop in sometimes,” he says.

He’s been playing the new Smash Bros. game since they released the second to last DLC character as well. “He is broken,” he says with a laugh. “He’s evil. It’s one of the guys from the Tekken franchise. He’s just complicated, and he has different combos. I’m not good at the game at all, but he’s so ridiculous that I can just watch my friends battle and then just hop in and win.” 

He’ll typically game with Brandon, as they have a similar work schedule. 

Much like Mikey’s choice of Wawa snacks, BJ has a drink of choice for the road as well. 

“I’m an energy drink fiend,” he says. “I like to mix it up, usually. I’ve been drinking Ghost energy lately. The flavors are really good, and they’re high in caffeine.”

If, like us, you’re on the hunt for a different type of energy drink, you can find these at GNC. Some of the flavors even collaborate with well-known candies, like Sour Patch and Warheads. 

“I saw them online and I was like, I want to try these, and found out that GNC sold them. Generally, I stop at Wawa and get whatever I can find,” he says. “When it comes to other brands, I’m more of a Rockstar guy.”

When he’s not working, BJ enjoys hanging out with friends and playing games. 

He recently got back into the Pokémon card game. “I used to go hard in that game. Overall it is easy to pick up and play, but they’re starting to make it more complicated now. There are special energies now that do specific things to Pokémon, or sideways cards you can play. That game can just be one-sided, and I kind of like that.”

Not to mention the game can be somewhat more playable compared to similar card games like Magic: The Gathering, where a particular set of cards someone plays with could prevent the other player from doing much of anything with their hand.

BJ also likes to try some of the different beverages that we distribute in his free time as well!

“I’ve been grabbing the new stuff as it comes in and I like all of it so far,” he says. 

“The Blueberry Lemon Crushin’ It is great…the flavors just go together perfectly,” he says. “I took a sip and was like, this is good. Then a minute later, I was like where did it go?” He laughs. “I don’t even remember picking it back up.” 

He’s not much of a seltzer person, but has been really enjoying the Cape May hard seltzers as well. 

BJ has even picked up some of the On the Way to Cape May series, including Root Beer Float and Boardwalk Lemonade.

“The hard root beer was really good,” he says. “I want to try the lemonade too, I have some in my fridge right now.”

The very first Cape May beer he ever tried was Devil’s Reach. “I was pregaming before I went to the bar,” he says.

Not too many people could pregame on Devil’s!

You might spot BJ out on his route delivering beer, or in the Tasting Room grabbing some of the latest exclusive releases. Make sure to say hi to him, and if you’re looking for some good concerts to go to in the area, BJ will likely have some great suggestions for you!