E-Malt.com News article: USA, NJ: Hackensack Brewing Company set to open its doors next month

Hackensack's second brewery is set to open its doors next month, just feet away from the city's first, creating a "Brewer's Row" for North Jersey beer lovers, NorthJersey.com reported on January 22.

Hackensack Brewing Company, on Johnson Avenue, will have its grand opening Saturday, Feb. 2, said co-owner Mike Jones. The brewery will open at 2 p.m. and have eight beers on tap, including an Irish stout, a Belgian dubbel and the trendy New England-style IPA.

"I could have opened two or three weeks ago with two or three taps," Jones said. "But I wanted customers to have a large selection. I wanted a diversity of beers. I want there to be a beer for everyone."

For Jones, a Hackensack native and resident, the brewery's opening is a dream nearly four years in the making. His journey from beer lover to beer maker began when he brewed his first batch of beer in a closet in a high-rise apartment in Hackensack.

From there, Jones continued home-brewing and began racking up beer accolades, including medals for his Fairmount IPA, named for the Hackensack neighborhood, and a dark German lager, at the New Jersey State Fair in 2016. Jones' lager was awarded the gold medal in the dark European lager category.

Now, almost exactly a year after the city Planning Board approved his application, Jones will open the doors to what he described as a taproom with a "hyperlocal element." The 12-tap, 21-seat taproom attached to Jones' brew operation will be decorated with Hackensack memorabilia, he said.

The brewery will be right around the corner from The Alementary, the city's first brewery, which is on Voorhis Lane. Alementary co-owners Blake Crawford and Mike Roosevelt helped craft the ordinance that allowed for breweries within the city.

As for Hackensack Brewing Company's beers, the grand opening selection will cater to different palates and serve as tributes to the city's history. On tap will be Jones' Irish stout "Moment's Notice," named after a John Coltrane song recorded in 1957 at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack. Jones will also have Nu-Bajan Blonde, a blonde ale infused with madagascar vanilla. Bajan is another word for Barbadian and, until 1921, Hackensack was called New Barbadoes Township.

And for those curious as to Jones' medals, the award-winning Fairmount Ale will also be on tap for the grand opening, Jones said.

With some of his beers already being served at city bars and the taproom days away from opening, Jones is relieved to be able to see the hop-flavored fruits of his labor.

"It's crazy, man," Jones said. "You go through such a range of emotions, this roller coaster you go on, getting to the number-crunching and business plans. Now i go some place and I see people drinking my beer and enjoying my beer. It's what it was all about. It feels really good."

Public taproom hours will be 4:30 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Eventually, all 12 of the brewery's taps will be up and running, Jones said.



23 January, 2019