Naval Officer Turned Brewer To Open Distillery In Hillsborough

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A former Naval Officer turned brewer Camden Winkelstein is taking the plunge by opening Bellemara Distillery in Hillsborough.

Winkelstein of Plainsboro is teaming up with Jeremy "Flounder" Lees, who owns and runs Flounder Brewing, to build their new home at Carriage Farm, at 2 Clerico Ln. in Hillsborough, just off Route 206.

"Distilleries and breweries are a great match, great symbiosis," Winkelstein said. "We will be right next to each other and the barn is a beautiful place."

Winkelstein will set up shop for his first distillery inside a 100-year-old English barn on the property. The barn needs too much work to be restored so it will be torn down and rebuilt while incorporating the original materials of the barn.

By calling the farm home both Bellemara and Flounder will be able to give customers a new and unique experience by merging brewing and distilling with agricultural.

Bellemara will distill high-quality grain to glass single malt whiskey along with bourbon, gin and seasonal specialties. Winkelstein will offer tours, educational experiences and a tasting room allowing guests to sample while enjoying the farm scenery.

The name Bellemara roughly translates to beauty of the seas, which incorporates Winkelstein's background as a naval officer in with his brewing passion.

Winkelstein had served on submarines for seven years before getting off active duty in May 2015. That is when he did some "soul searching" to figure out what he wanted to do with his life.

"I did countless interviews and got a couple of job offers but there was always something on my mind to do my own thing," Winkelstein said. "I wanted to produce a product and get into the creative process."

Winkelstein, who met his wife Christina and moved to Plainsboro, had been craft brewing at home and initially thought of opening a craft brewery. At the time there weren’t many breweries in New Jersey so he went to Scotland to learn the art of brewing and distilling.

When he came back to the states in 2016, he had every intention of starting his craft brewery but the amount of brewery locations had exploded. Instead he took a job as a head distiller.

Winkelstein and his wife then began looking for a location. Winkelstein works in Skillman and he and his wife spend a lot of time in Hillsborough, so when the opportunity to work alongside Flounder at the Carriage Farm came up — it was a perfect fit.

"It is incredibly exciting," Winkelstein said. "This has been years in the making, and the fact we are here and able to take the whole project off of paper and turn into a new thing is exciting."

Construction is expected to begin sometime in early 2020.

To follow along on the progress and updates or to learn more about Bellemara Distillery visit bellemaradistillery.com.

• See Related: Flounder Brewing, Distillery To Build New Home At Carriage Farm

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