Jersey Shore Magazine

j e r s e y s h o r e • S p r i n g 2 0 1 7 81 site by the pint or flight. Packaged goods and growlers are also avail- able. Beach Haus Brewery does not offer a food menu, but guests are welcome to bring their own food to enjoy; there are a number of food merchants within walking distance. The brewery's party room is available for private events such as weddings, birthday parties, office parties, anniversaries, and other social get-togethers. One of the most popular features of Beach Haus Brewery is their "test department" batches. These are exclusively announced on their Facebook page and occur every other week or so. Merklin said, "Having an actual brewery allows us to launch new products continually, which is what the market demands. Folks can try something new, a potentially lifetime exclusive beer because we may never produce it again. The cus- tomers become our test bed, and we have immediate feedback whether they enjoyed it or not, what they like about it, and more." Customers play a pivotal role in whether or not a test batch becomes a new Beach Haus legendary brew in the making. Weather permitting, guests can sit outdoors on the tap room's deck to enjoy their pint and companions with the ocean in the distance. The first floor store offers a variety of merchandise for sale including hood- ies, hats, gift cards, and T-shirts, which is Beach Haus' biggest selling item, second only to glassware. Beach Haus Brewery supports Belmar and the surrounding commu- nities through volunteer work and donations to school, club, athletic, and organization fund raisers when they can. "I'm really proud that from day one we were involved with the MS Coast to Coast Bike Ride. When Sandy happened, we donated $1 from every case of beer to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund started by Mary Pat Christie. We depend on local support so we support local as much as we can," Merklin said. 2017 will be another monumental year for Beach Haus Brewery. "We are planning a big event to celebrate ten years over Memorial Day week- end, when we plan to have five or six new beers on tap," Merklin said. He hinted that there will be a major announcement coming sometime this spring with regards to expanding the Beach Haus footprint along the Eastern seaboard. Looking ahead to summer, Beach Haus Brewery will host special events with special beers over Fourth of July and will cele- brate Salt Water Day on the second Saturday in August, in addition to other seasonal festivities. Upon looking back at the last ten years, Merklin said that even though it's a tough industry and hard work, he wouldn't change a thing. "There's never a day I don't want to go into work, and I love everything about the industry." The hours and effort it takes to make Beach Haus successful are worth it when Merklin hears unso- licited praise of one of their brews. "I love going to a place where people don't know who I am, and I'm sit- ting there eating my meal and I hear people order a Beach Haus to try, and then they say great things. That Inside the fermentation tanks, yeast is added to the hopped wort, which converts sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide, transforming the wort into beer. After three weeks of fermentation, kegs and bottles are filled directly from the fermenter and are ready to be enjoyed by consumers. Guests can purchase beer that was produced on site by the pint or flight in the tap room. continued on page 82 Jill Ocone courtesy of Beach Haus Brewery

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