Beach Haus fall seasonal in pipeline

East Coast Beer Company will follow up its Beach Haus pilsner with a dark lager as its second label on the shelf and its first seasonal.

Named Beach Haus Winter Rental, the new brew is being targeted for the close of the summer season, says John Merklin, of one the founder's of the contract-brewed brand.

"If we can debut it Labor Day weekend, which is the same time we debuted Beach Haus Classic American Pilsner, it would be all the more fitting," John says.

The new lager is leap-frogging over an ale that Point Pleasant-based East Coast had in the pipeline. The ale is now being tabbed to early spring 2012,

"It's the logical, best next step for us. We always wanted to have a fall-winter seasonal to accompany the pilsner, even though it's a year-round beer," John says. "We wanted to further the brand with a seasonal."

The lager was actually being developed along with the ale, both brewed in pilot batches going back to the end of 2010. John says the new lager will share some flavors with Beach Haus pilsner, especially from the use of Horizon hops in both.

"But you're going to see much different body from it, both in color and in flavor, probably increased maltiness to it, certainly not overbearing," he says. "We'll continue to make these – we like to call them accessible beers – where both the high-end craft beer folks and some of the craft beer newbies are going to be able to enjoy different aspects of it."

One more in development

There's yet another hopeful looking to join the Garden State's craft brewing scene.

Ocean County resident Michael Kane is in talks with the town of Manasquan to locate his venture, Kane Brewing, in a building on Main Street in the Jersey Shore town.

The 33-year-old who lives in Ortley Beach (in Toms River) with his wife, Erika, is following the arc of a lot of passionate amateur brewers who went pro. Kane has homebrewed for a decade and wants to commercially brew a draft-only lineup of Belgian and America ales.

Earlier this month, Kane took his idea to use 8,000 of the building's 13,500 square feet for a brewery before the southern Monmouth County town's planning board. He heads back for another round of review on May 4. (The building was once used as a foundry and to store boats. It's been vacant for 15 years.)

Starting a craft brewery is a path Kane began heading down a couple years ago, shifting from a career in investment banking in Manhattan. (Erika still works in NYC doing marketing.) This year saw him taking up the brewery project full-time.

If he can win the blessing of the folks who run Manasquan, Kane estimates there's still a minimum of eight months' of work ahead to get things launched.

Still, his efforts represent some more green shoots in the Garden State's brewing industry.