Union County Brewery Featured at Beer Festival

Roselle Park, NJ -- New Jersey’s Oldest Micro Brewery, Climax Brewery in Roselle Park, will be among the hundreds of craft beers available for tasting at the Big Brew Beer Festival on Saturday, March 5.

The festival will feature more than 200 craft beers at the Morristown Armory in Morristown during the general admission and during VIP, Morristown native Tim “The Brew Chef” Schafer will create a NJ Brewery Craft Beer infused VIP menu.

Climax Brewery is celebrating its 20 year anniversary this year.

“I was brewing beer before it was hip and chic,” Dave Hoffman told Patch.

The desire for a brewery came long before the doors opened. Dave recalled how his father, Kurt who is from Germany, always had unique brews in the fridge.

“There was never Budweiser or Miller Lite,” Hoffman said.

The father and son duo came together in 1996 after Kurt needed a tenant for the space in the back of his building. Dave at the time was already a beer enthusiast and selling parts for home brew kits in Cranford.

The two then decided to join forces and follow their passion for beer.

The Hoffmans started the brewery on Feb. 27, 1996 when they brewed their first beer, the Extra Special Bitter (ESB).

The ESB is still a classic and high seller at the brewery.

“We started out small with a four barrel, four tank brew system,” Hoffman said. “Now we have 15 barrels and 15 tanks.”

What sets Climax apart Hoffman says is his balance of flavor and not the overuse of hops.

“The art of brewing is to make a blanaced beer,” Hoffman said.

He noted how too many new breweries are adding ingredients like jalapeno or too much hops where the flavor is lost in the beer.

“Respect your craft,” Hoffman said.

He added that with his beers he uses the malt as the base not hops.

“Hops is like a spice when cooking, you use it to accentuate flavor,” Hoffman said.

Climax is available at a number restaurants in New Jersey including the Kilkenny House in Cranford. There are also tours offered every Friday night from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information on the Big Brew Festival and to buy tickets visit www.bigbrewnj.com.

For more information on Climax Brewing and tours visit www.climaxbrewing.com or Facebook.

More New Jersey Breweries that will be on tap at the festival:

• 902 Brewing
• Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing
• Angry Erik Brewing
• Magnify Brewing
• Beach Haus Brewery
• Pinelands Brewing
• Bolero Snort Brewery
• Ramstein Beer
• Climax Brewing
• River Horse Brewing
• Cricket Hill Brewing
• Señor Sangria
• Flounder Brewing (3x People’s Choice)
• Tuckahoe Brewing
• Flying Fish Brewing
• Two Ton Brewing

(Photos by Alexis Tarrazi)