Climax fires up new bottler

An inside look at the bottler acquired by Climax Brewing.

For the first time in its 15-year history, the Roselle Park-based maker of ales and lagers began putting its beers in 12-ounce bottles and six-packs, a move that for the most part retires the 64-ounce growlers that were the brewery's longtime shelf presence at packaged goods stores.

After a month of set-up and testing of the bottler it bought from Fegley's Brew Works (Allentown and Bethlehem, Pa.), owner Dave Hoffmann launched the new packaging last week with a run of his India pale ale (a top-seller for Climax).

Dave already has label approvals for his nut brown ale and a golden ale, so those will hit 12-ounce bottles soon, as will seasonals like Dave's eponymous Hoffmann Oktoberfest. Dave's also expanding his reach, lining up a distributor for South Jersey.