Hudson County Gets a Brewer: New Jersey Beer Company Launches
By Melissa Surach • May 21st, 2010 • Category: Featured, Food, News
Put your pants on because the highly anticipated debut of New Jersey Beer Company is here — just in time to celebrate American Craft Beer Week, which runs until Sunday, May 23. The newest craft brewery in the state is right in our backyard in North Bergen, and it’s also the only brewery in Hudson County. Last week I took the 20-minute light rail ride to talk with founder Matt Steinberg and poke around the brewery.
“Put your pants on guys,” Steinberg called out as he opened the gate for me. “A lady’s coming in.”
I stepped into the 5,000 square foot warehouse and marveled at all the fermentation tanks. It was bigger than I thought it would be — I was half expecting a basement with a bucket. Steinberg introduced me to brewers Matt Bacco and Brendan O’Neil. To my disappointment, everyone was wearing pants.
They promptly gave me beer, the 1787 Abbey Single (the year New Jersey became a state), which was not quite finished. Steinberg assured me that it would be done by the launch date at Copper Mine Pub in North Arlington, four days away. Although unfinished, it still tasted good and the quality prevailed. It was a light lemony Belgian style with 4.8 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) — lighter bodied and highly drinkable. “A perfect session beer,” he explained. Also in the debut beer line, there’s the Hudson Pale Ale, a nice hoppy American Pale Ale with 5.6 percent ABV, and Garden State Stout, which is a very chocolately 6.6 percent ABV Chocolate Stout made with lots of real dark chocolate, a pinch of raisin and a nice balance of bitter hops.
The craft brewery is called New Jersey Beer Company because Steinberg wanted to keep it simple, and because he has New Jersey pride. I asked if he thought putting “New Jersey” on the bottle might be a deterrent for some people due to the Garden State’s stigma in certain social circles.
“Maybe the hipsters will drink it ironically,” he said.
Steinberg has waited a long year and a half to finally get the beer going, mostly because of bureaucratic procedures like permits and inspections by a number of agencies. He hired brewer Bacco, who went to beer school at the Siebel Institute of Technology, and O’Neil, who “learned by hanging around.” They all taste the beer every day to make sure it’s right, and Bacco tastes all the ingredients. “
“You should eat the grain — you should eat the yeast. Eat the yeast,” Bacco said. “It tastes fine.”
This month the beer will be available on draft at some New Jersey bars, including Jersey City’s Iron Monkey and North Arlington’s Copper Mine Pub. They hope to launch bottling and brewery tours by June. Six packs will run between $8.99 and $9.99, and are being distributed by Hunterdon. As for the future, Steinberg hopes to produce 1,000 barrels this year and twice as much next year. In addition to the three inaugural beers, he plans on adding seasonals and imperials starting in the fall.
“My favorite beer are stouts with 10 percent or more alcohol,” he said. “But I wanted to start with a line of beers that were accessible to most people, then add more complex styles later.” For marketing, the fledgling brewery is relying on beer bloggers, word of mouth, sponsoring events (charities especially) and possibly holding private parties.
But as soon as Hudson County gets word about free brewery tours and samples, they may be banging on the garage door when it opens to the public next month. Unfortunately, according to New Jersey law, the samples will be limited to four 4-oz tasters; but if you go on the tour, they’ll give you a discount on beer. You’ll be able to purchase two six packs or growlers along with merchandise like hats, shirts and pints — and it’s only five blocks from the North Bergen Light Rail Station. If you don’t want to wait a few weeks for the brewery to open to the public to taste our state’s newest beers, the Jersey City debut is this Friday, May 21 at the Iron Monkey from 6 pm to 3 am. Pints will be $3. Put your pants on guys, and support your local brewery during American Craft Beer Week.
For more on New Jersey Beer Company, check them out on the web.
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Melissa Surach is a writer and comedian who was born and raised in Jersey City. She is a Fiction MFA candidate at the New School and drinks way too much beer.
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