USA, NJ: Jughandle Brewing Company on pace for a May opening in Tinton Falls

Work has been underway since late 2015 at Jughandle Brewing Company, which will soon operate out of an approximately 3,200-square-foot former flower shop in the Tinton Falls Centre Plaza on Asbury Avenue, NJ.com reported on March 4.

The brewing equipment has been delivered, all that's left is to hook it up, make some finishing touches, get a permit and then start brewing.

The brewery is owned and operated by three friends – Pete Artherholt, Chris Hanigan and former Tinton Falls Mayor Michael Skudera – and is on pace to open by the spring.

"We're probably two or three weeks away from being finished with our build out, then we should be ready to get the inspection from the state and then we're ready to start brewing," Skudera said. "Right now we're on pace for a May opening, which would give us plenty of time to brew, to have a couple soft openings and to make any adjustments we need to make before we actually open the doors."

Jughandle Brewing will initially be able to produce up to 4,000 barrels – 31 gallons per barrel – of craft beer annually and will be open to the public for tours and tastings.

When the brewery officially opens, it will be open for tastings on Fridays and Saturdays and the schedule could expand from there. It is expected to initially offer about six different beers that costumers will be able to purchase in pints, growlers or kegs.

Those beers are expected to span from light to dark, but the exact lineup may never be set in stone.

"Part of what our brewery is about is experimentation. We are going to try new things and want to keep it as local as possible and involve the community in the beers that we make," Hanigan told NJ Advance Media in December. "I really hope people get excited to try new beers when they come here. Not just once, but all the time. I'm sure we'll find a staple at some point that's on tap all the time. But the excitement is about being able to keep coming back here and trying something new."

The brewing equipment was only delivered earlier this week, but Skudera said members of the public are already anxious to be able to start drinking from it.

"A lot of people keep telling us they're thirsty and that they're waiting for us to open. And we're eager to open too, but we don't want to rush the process," he said. "We're really almost there, but we want to make a good first impression. The first time customers taste a Jughandle beer; we want them to love it."

09 March, 2016