"BREW-on-premise" is a terrible term for a great idea: a public microbrewery where friends can gather to brew and bottle their own beer.
BOPs, or "U-brews," first sprang up in the United States in 1993, and have multiplied ever since. Now New Jersey has its first one: The Brewer's Apprentice, located in a warehouse complex off South Street in Freehold.
Inside this 3,000-square-foot space you'll find immaculately clean brewing equipment and all the ingredients you'll need to brew any of the nearly 70 beers whose recipes are on file. You'll also find two tired, but determined women: co-owners Barbara Hamara and her daughter Jo-Ellen Bianchi, who had to blaze a trail through bureaucratic mine fields to get their venture off the ground, and are still a bit winded from the ordeal.
New Jersey's laws never anticipated anything quite like a BOP. When Bianchi first approached the state division of Alcoholic Beverage Control about her interest in opening one back in May 1995, she was told they weren't allowed. The ABC later amended its regulations, though, and Hamara, Bianchi and a second daughter, Penny vanDoorn, applied for a license. That was November 1995.
"I was told it would take two to three months to process," said Bianchi, of Wall Township. "Thirteen months later, on December fourth, we got the license."
Those 13 months were fraught with frustrations, as the family went through numerous background checks, three sets of blueprints and reams of paperwork. For much of that time, until last August, their rented space in Freehold sat empty and unrefurbished.
The ABC had had no prior experience with BOPs, so certain requirements were established as the application progressed. In the end what Hamara and her daughters thought was a straightforward business concept became quite complicated.
"It's tough," Bianchi said. "But it won't be as tough for the next guy as it was for us, that's for darned sure."
The ABC's difficulties with BOPs stem from the fact that state law restricts brewing to licensed breweries. Home-brewing is permissible, but technically only if you obtain a home- brewing license from the state. These licenses cost $10, and are are good for one year. They allow you to brew up to 200 gallons of malt alcoholic beverages a year. (Incidentally, none of the home brewers I knew have one of these licenses, or even knew they existed.)
The ABC's solution was to treat BOPs as warehouses where brewing supplies and beer are stored.
And what about the brewing? The ABC decided to view that as an extension of regular home brewing, or a kind of rental arrangement between a licensed home brewer and the BOP operator, who provides the space, equipment, supplies and expertise. The ABC strictly prohibits the BOP operators from doing any of the actual brewing themselves. They can show customers how it's done, however, and The Brewer's Apprentice has a trained staff to do just that.
The ABC also prohibits the consumption of beer on the premises.
This is different from other states, where you can simply walk in off the street, without any kind of license, and start brewing. But Bianchi said the practical application of New Jersey's requirements are not as complex as they might sound.
Essentially it works this way. Bianchi simply asks customers to call ahead to make an appointment to come in and brew. While she's on the telephone with them, she arranges to fax or mail them an application for a home-brewer's license. This is a one-page form that asks for the applicant's name, social security number, age, place of birth, address and information about any other alcoholic beverage license they might hold. It takes about two minutes to fill out.
The license usually takes about a week to process, Bianchi said. The Brewer's Apprentice gives first-time customers a $10 discount, which makes up for the cost of the license.
So what happens at a BOP?
First you decide what kind of beer you'd like to brew. I recommend some advance thought on this topic, since there are so many styles and types from which to choose, from pilsners and pale ales to Scotch ales and stouts. Keep in mind that you will end up with 72 22-ounce bottles of beer. The cost varies depending on the ingredients involved, ranging from $125 to $145 (the bottles are included in the price).
Producing your own beer involves two visits to a BOP, both lasting about two hours. On the first visit you do the brewing, which involves measuring out the ingredients -- malt extracts, hop pellets and other adjuncts, if necessary -- and mixing them with water in a 30-gallon, heated kettle, adding, or "pitching," the appropriate yeast at the end of this process. The unfermented "wort" is then transferred to individual hard plastic containers and placed inside a large, temperature-controlled, walk-in refrigerator, where the fermentation takes place over the next few days. Two weeks later, you return to bottle the beer, using automated bottle fillers and capping machines. You can also get customized labels for your brew.
Bianchi, who handles the day-to-day operations with her mother, who lives in Brielle, said said starting The Brewer's Apprentice was difficult, but she's now glad they persevered.
"Now I can kind of walk through the place and say, 'This is mine,' " she said.
Shannon Mullen is the Press Beer Columnist. You can reach him via e-mail at shannon@app.com. or write to him at the Asbury Park Press, 3601 Route 66, Neptune, N.J. 07754. The Beer Keeper appears biweekly in the Food section.
Posted: 02/12/97 02:31:18 PM