USA, NJ: Tall Oaks Farm and Brewery gets Howell's Planning Board approval

The New Jersey craft beer scene is cropping up in Howell, the Asbury Park Press reported.

On Thursday, Dec. 16, Howell's Planning Board approved Tall Oaks Farm and Brewery, planned for 450 and 454 Colts Neck Road.

The operation will be a sibling business to Mike and Chelsey Ziolkowski's Bradley Brew Project in Bradley Beach, which opened in 2018.

It will be Howell's second craft brewery, following the opening of Seven Sons Brewing on Route 9 in May.

Set to be built on 5 acres of undeveloped land, Tall Oaks is hoping to open in the next 12 to 18 months, Chelsey Ziolkowski said.

The site will house a 3,000-square-foot brewery and a farm with a hop yard for use in the brewery's beer. Other items for use in the beer, including fruit, vegetables and edible flowers, will also be grown on-site.

Tall Oaks' site plan includes a pergola for outdoor seating, as well as an outdoor pavilion that could be used to host events.

The Ziolkowskis said their original plan was to open a farm brewery before pivoting to their downtown concept for Bradley Brew Project.

“(We) always knew we needed an expansion plan," Chelsey said. "When we were looking for warehouses to expand to, we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Why aren’t we doing this on a farm? Why don’t we bring back our original idea and create a production facility on a farm?’ ”

While Bradley Brew Project occupies 1,800 total square feet on Main Street, with 450 square feet dedicated to production, Tall Oaks will be a 3,000-square-foot spot with approximately 2,000 square feet dedicated to production, Mike said.

That expanded production space will not only help the couple's plans to grow their beers' distribution footprint, it will also give them room to stylistically branch out at Tall Oaks.

Don't worry, Bradley Brew Project and its popular products such as the Unicorn Girls Hazy India Pale Ale aren't going anywhere. But the Ziolkowskis' brewing horizons are expanding.

"Within Tall Oaks, we are planning on doing some, I like to say, funkier stuff," Chelsey said. That means more lagers, wood-brewed beers and other fresh endeavors.

"There will be a different experience with the beer with (us) using what we know, what we learned through Bradley Brew Project, and bringing that experience of brewing into the Tall Oaks farm,” she said.

21 December, 2021