| Kane Brewing Company 1750 Bloomsbury Avenue | Ocean, New Jersey 07712 732-922-8600 www.kanebrewing.com |
Kane Brewing Company, located in Ocean Township in Monmouth County on the coast of New Jersey, opened in August 2011. The 20 barrel brewhouse produces about 4,000 barrels per year, focusing on American-style and Belgian influenced ales, all of which are unfiltered and unpasteurized.
Kane Brewing Company self-distributes their beers, limited to the state of New Jersey. Most beers are draft-only and can be found on tap in over 100 establishments. Both 32 and 64 ounce growlers can be purchased to go from the brewery every Friday from 5pm to 8pm and Saturday from 12pm to 5pm. Occasionally there are limited release 750mL bottles available for purchase.
President and founder, Michael Kane fell in love with beer during college when he traveled to Europe, enjoying English, German, and Belgian beers, and later learned to homebrew during a trip to Vermont. His finance background, including a job on Wall Street as an investment banker, taught him about funding, starting and managing a small business.
After years of writing a business plan, researching the industry, and developing recipes, Kane left Wall Street and signed a lease on a 7,500 square foot building in Ocean Township, New Jersey.
Head Brewer, Michael LaRosa started homebrewing with his father at a young age. He brings experience from several Pennsylvania breweries, including Rock Bottom’s King of Prussia location, Manayunk Brewing Company, and Saucony Creek Brewing Company in Kutztown. Mike joined Kane Brewing Company in April 2014.
Assistant Brewer, Stephen Bohacik brings experience and knowledge from the Culinary Management program at The Art Institute of Washington and the American Brewers Guild. He joined Kane Brewing Company after completing an internship at Basil T’s in Red Bank, NJ.
The beers on tap during my visit included 3 year round beers and 2 specialties.
- Head High – 6.5% ABV, 80 IBU American-style India Pale Ale brewed with a blend of five hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest at various points in the brewing process: Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Columbus, and Chinook.
- Overhead – 8.2% ABV, 100+ IBU American-style Imperial IPA loaded with Amarillo, Columbus, Centennial and Simcoe hops; over 5 pounds of hops per barrel!
- Single Fin – 4.8% ABV, 26 IBU Belgian-style Blonde Ale modeled after a Belgian Single or Enkel, a flavorful, low alcohol beer meant for daily consumption.
- Solitude – 9.5% ABV, 28 IBU Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale with flavors of dark cherries and plums, part of the Tidal Series.
- Malus – 9.7% ABV Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale made with locally sourced apple cider and autumn spices. This limited brew was also available to go in bottles.
While all of the beers are delicious, I especially enjoyed Solitude, which I slowly sipped during our guided tour of the facility. The crew at Kane Brewing Company is extremely welcoming and knowledgeable.
The brewery is open for tours, tastings and retail every Friday 5pm to 8pm and Saturday 12pm to 5pm. It is important to note that you must take a tour at production breweries in New Jersey in order to sample beer. Continuous self-guided tours are offered on Fridays and Saturdays and guided tours at 1pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm on Saturdays. In conjunction with a tour of the brewery you can purchase a flight of 4 ounce samples of 4 different beers for $6 or an 8- or 12-ounce glass for $5 depending on the beer style.
