Beach Haus to double portfolio in 2012

After adding a new black lager to its lineup this year, East Coast Beer Company now plans to double the labels under its Beach Haus brand in 2012.

That means a total of four Beach Haus brews in the regional craft beer market for the Point Pleasant-based company, which contracts with Genesee Brewing of Rochester, N.Y., for its flagship Beach Haus Classic Pilsner and the schwarzbier cold-weather brew, Winter Rental.

The company's first entry in the key seasonal beer market, Winter Rental was released in October, a little over a year after East Coast celebrated its one-year anniversary as part of the Garden State craft beer scene.

Sometime next year, East Coast founder John Merklin says, a pale ale and an as-yet-undecided style will join the year-round pilsner and the schwarzbier.

A number of styles are being pilot-brewed to come up with that fourth beer, an approach John says is intended to make the decision-making process as organic as possible. It's a matter of finding the right fit with the existing Beach Haus labels, plus keeping with the company's business model of making brews that are, by turns, accessible to novice palates and interesting and challenging for the more adventurous craft beer drinkers.

Meanwhile, John says, Winter Rental has done well in the marketplace, outpacing expectations. And, as part of the Beach Haus brand, it has even given a some lift to its sibling, Classic Pilsner, as the summer turned to fall and beer tastes and preferences resolve to darker, more robust brews.

About the video
At the Somers Point Beer Festival in October, interviewer Tara Nurin, of the women's group Beer for Babes, talks to East Coast Beer's John Merklin about the milestones the company has observed over the brand's first year in the Garden State craft brew market.

East Coast Brewing, part 2

A follow-up item to East Coast Brewing ...

John Merklin and Brian Ciriaco, the two guys behind the planned contract-brewing enterprise, extended an invitation last week to come to their Point Pleasant office to taste a pilot batch of their Classic American Pilsner, the pre-Prohibition lager that forms the foundation of their Beach Haus brand.

The beer, hopped with Horizon and Mount Hood, was homebrewed three months ago on an upscale, 15-gallon hobby system by Tom Przyborowski, who has been providing consulting help to Merklin and Ciriaco (that's John in the dark blue hoodie and Brian holding a copy of Mid-Atlantic Brewing News). Filtered and bottled with a counterpressure filler, the brew represents their vision of what they want produced by their hired brewer, Genesee Brewing in Rochester, N.Y. (The brewery also produces beer under contract for Boston Beer Company; it changed its name from High Falls back to Genesee last year.)

Here's what can be said about Beach Haus Classic American Pilsner: It's definitely a respectable turn on a pilsner, a little beefier and deeper in color than what you might expect from the style (think of something trending toward Vienna lager). It was certainly full-bodied, with a hop presence in the finish. It's impressive, too, since as a homebrewer Tom enjoys creating wits and other Belgian styles. This recipe marks his first efforts with a lager.

It's worth pointing out these details, since in some craft beer enthusiast circles, when you say contract-brewed pilsner (or even just pilsner), the image of fizzy yellow beer instantly comes to mind for some folks. And amid the popularity of big beers, like hop-bomb double IPAs and Belgian styles that can stretch your palate, a pils can easily get shouted down.

But to their credit, John and Brian's brew seeks to be heard.