Asbury Park Brewery

I don't think the owner sounds like an idiot, @GoGators. And, I didn't find what he said "garbage", @MicroBrewMaster.

This quote resonates after reading both articles:
"We're not trying to venture into the territory of very high alcohol content or very weird beers - we're making recipes that are premium, high quality, but also traditional and somewhat familiar to people."

Considering the abundance of breweries the long time beer guy/gal is going to remain true to their favorites (as evidenced by the words of a few in this thread) with a little flirt to new places. These are drinkers who have been seduced by the big adjunct flavor bombs ("very weird beers") or 72 variations of the same double IPA ("very high alcohol content"). This isn't his target demographic.

Making an explicit appeal to "regular" people who are aware the new beer culture exists but are reticent to indulge is smart. Outside this echo chamber of Beer Advocate, there's a large group of people who are open to drinking beers other then macros but also view the culture as snobbish, off-putting, and/or overrun with millenials looking to kill time on a Saturday afternoon.

There's a place in his city that opened eight months ago and has chased the latest fads in brewing in a direct appeal to the esoteric beer geniuses. He's seen the response. Can't fault him for starting with an alternative approach.

 

Well saying it in that most people who start a new business always say these things that they won't sell out and will hold true to what they want, fall through because at the end of the day you need to do what makes money so you can stay in business. So your customers and trends predict what you will make and or create. That's the nature of the world we live in, it's nice to think you will hold strong to your beliefs. So only time will tell

 

Maybe they should make an adjunct lager and age it on beachwood.

 

Yea after looking at their website I'm surprised they're not even offering an IPA atm

 

I will say Beach Haus has gotten progressively better.

 

Really, I've admittedly not given it many chances but went there for their Parade Day release which was supposed to be good. Parade Day itself was not only mediocre but the flight I had was all bad to awful. And it was like a sad congregation of old people with a 80 year old dude playing Irish music. Terrible experience and bad beer.

What is one beer of there's that you would suggest someone like me try that shows their progressive improvement?

 

Herb's Rye to me has gotten better over time. Last time i went they had a few test batch beers. The Radler's were sweet..the cranberry was the least over powering and i believe there was another test IPA which i didnt mind. i would still not buy a 6 pack or go out of my way here, but the patio is great and its never too crowded( for obvious reasons). I will also say that Anchor Tavern has some great food, and there is a new Tapas Restuarnt a few blocks away that is stellar as well

 

If they made a really good one- now that's a beer I'd go out of my way for! Talk about rare walez...

If I was opening a brewery, it'd be with the same exact philosophy as these guys. In the end, though, those ESBs, Schwartzbiers, Pale Ales and whatnot can and should be made to the highest level; that's where the rubber meets the road.

 

I wasn't knocking him for trying to appeal to "regular" people who he wants to draw into the beer culture and brewing traditional styles. I just think him throwing out derogatory terms like "esoteric beer geniuses" and referring to barleywines, DIPA's and sours as "very weird beers" makes him sound angry and stupid.

Do you think Dark City is being knocked because they are chasing the latest fads? Or are they being knocked because their beers aren't very good?

Either way, it's a great time in NJ to be opening a brewery. Business seems to be good everywhere even when the quality of the beer is not.

 

Regarding your question, it's intertwined. Fundamentally, if you chase in the beer business you lack originality and that will be found out in time. Specifically, if you make a poor product that will be found out immediately. From January, it seems flags have been raised on both counts.

That written, everyone has their own strategy whether it includes the esoteric or the sophomoric. Local competition decides the smarter of the two.

 

FWIW, today I decided to take a trip to two breweries that opened right near me pretty recently, i.e. Asbury Park and Jughandle. They had Lager, Ale, XPA and Stout on tap today. The only thing I liked was the stout--nice, dry, roasty, low ABV. Everything else was bad or totally forgettable. Jughandle had a wider selection (I think they had 8 or 10 taps going?) of which I got to try four: Berliner Weiße, Saison, Hefeweizen and Mosaic Pale Ale. All were decent to pretty good, very true to style. I'd like to return there to try some of the other offerings. I was disappointed with Asbury Park, but having read this thread and having an idea of the motivation behind the opening of the brewery, I guess it makes sense. The owner of the place was a bit condescending when describing the beers, telling us that their Lager was along the lines of "something that we all should be really familiar with", I guess assuming that we were all BMC-swilling drinkers. Well sorry to break it to you, buddy, but I know a good lager when I taste one, and yours is definitely not a good lager. I have no plans for returning.

 

@DLang713 thanks for the update. Was considering taking a trip there today but after reading your post I won't waste my time.

 

Just thought I should throw this in here as well. The flight at AP Brewery cost $10... Yes, $10! For four tastes! I could go to Carton and get small pours of Boat + 5 others for $5 (as I did today; Cosmonaut tasted like a nice ice cream treat coming off the beach today). What's up with that?

 

Cosmonaut is awesome

 

$10 is definitely high. I will also say I tried what I was told was a "pale ale" at Asbury Park Yacht Club, and it tasted like a poor imitation of Coors. Hoping it was the lager.

 

They probably should, indeed (though the beechwood step is totally unnecessary... the beer would clear just as well without it, if they really know what they're doing). If they do it with some skill, I'm guessing that they'd do very well with such products.
Besides which, there is no shame at all in using grain adjuncts (or for that matter, other adjuncts) in brewing, despite the hype to the contrary.

 

I was pretty shocked at the price as well. Wouldn't a new brewery want to keep flight costs down to encourage people to try more of their beer and get others to do the same? I didn't even see the price before I ordered and I was like wait, what?

Also the guy who I'm guessing was the owner seemed like kind of a dick. Someone walked in saying so and so business he goes to told him great things about the brewery and the guy who i assume is the owner was just looking at his phone scrolling through and barely acknowledging the guy and not saying anything back.

I do really like the space though. Cool spot to hang out, but I won't be going back anytime soon. We are so spoiled by Kane and Carton but they are both so damn good, and amazingly the cheapest of all the local options.

 

The owner was very attentive and nice when I went a few weeks ago. He went through his whole spiel about what he is trying to do (NO BIG BEERS! TRADITIONAL TRADITIONAL TRADITIONAL!) and what not but had a nice conversation and definitely did not do anything like that. Could have just been a long day, happens to the best of us!

 

Traditional is great if you do it well

That is a huge if.