Belford is a section of Middletown Township in Monmouth County, located along the Sandy Hook Bay on the northern Jersey Shore. The area centers on Belford Harbor, one of the remaining working commercial fishing harbors in New Jersey, which gives it a practical, working-waterfront character distinct from the resort-oriented communities nearby. Belford sits roughly 30 miles from Manhattan and is positioned between the larger communities of Keansburg to the north and Highlands to the east.

The broader Middletown Township area encompasses a wide range of neighborhoods across northern Monmouth County, and craft beverage venues in this part of the county draw from the dense residential base of the township and surrounding towns. Visitors exploring the northern Monmouth County craft beverage corridor can use Belford and the Route 36 shoreline road as a geographic anchor when planning visits to taprooms and tasting rooms in Highlands, Atlantic Highlands, and Red Bank. The Sandy Hook Bay scenery and the proximity to Sandy Hook itself make the area a natural combination of outdoor recreation and craft beverage tourism.