Czignature Operation

"You can walk around and look, but don't bother anybody. We're trying to get ready for the HopFest. But feel free to walk around and check the place out."

Her voice was pleasant, but firm and authoritative, which you might expect from a woman whose day gig is being a Nursing Coordinator at a major hospital.

"The Place" was the capacious, former home of a Ford dealership in Hackettstown which serves as the base of operations for Czig Meister Brewing, and it's very much a family-run affair. Taking the scenic route from central Jersey, Dr. Paul Zavodny and I had come up on two wheels to meet friends for this special event called the Hopfest.

We arrived a tad early, parked our bikes in the shade and went round back hoping to meet Brewer Matt Czigler, and while he may be the Czig Meister

( a name given to him by his buddies in his home-brew days) it was clear who was running this operation: the youngish-looking--but no-nonsense--Frau Kommandant Laura, his mom.

We took her suggestion and walked about, impressed by the size of the place, eventually coming upon a bespectacled gentleman seated at a computer who turned out to be Matt Czigler's dad, Frank. We stopped to introduce ourselves, but our chat was cut short by Laura who insisted that Frank had no time for such things. He and we scurried away.

Even Matt, whom we met later, smiled knowingly when I mentioned first meeting his mom. But he also was very appreciative of the fact that both his parents helped him make the daunting transition from successful Brewer at Kane Brewing to small business owner tasked with a lot more responsibility.

"My time at Kane prepped me for being a solid brewer, but there's a lot more to this business than just brewing." His business--which in just eleven weeks is thriving with his beer at no fewer fifty bars-- has eight or nine full time employees and fifteen part-timers. His sister Liz works there, and even his grandparents had a hand in decorating the place. Grandma made the banners that hang on the walls of this "Old World" tasting room, and his grandfather made the impressive stained glass you'll admire.

And, like many who open their own places, he's done much of the decorating work by hand. He's made tables and shelves from the wood of delivered pallets, used old compressed air pipe for support and decoration, and he and the staff had to sand every brick in the building by hand because the sand blaster was removing too much original brick. He makes his own tap handles, too, and built the outdoor biergarten. And he makes his own neat flight paddles, using a clever 1-4 dot quasi-Braille system to help identify which beer you're drinking.

And he still has time to make some damned good beer. Matt, who holds three BS Degrees (in Microbiology, Molecular & Cellular Biology, and Biochemistry), is an experimenter in terms of beer styles as witnessed by his "Forge Batch" system, which constantly turns out unique beers in small quantities for "field-testing" with his steadily growing cadre of faithful customers. He has four year-round beers available, but the Forge Batches are relatively evanescent. Once they're gone, they're gone.

Yesterday, for example, his Hopfest had thirteen Forge Batch offerings and included fruit offerings, spicy offerings, single-hop offerings (which were outstanding, and, so far, my favorites) and even a hoppy Kolsch based off one of his standard beers. Everyone in The PubScout's party was impressed with the beers, including The PubScout. For all his dabbling in unique styles, though, Matt's personal favorite is his Amber.

But what impressed me even more was the solid marketing associated with this business. Your beer can be great, but you don't get it into fifty bars in a month and a half without yeoman's work and hustle from your sales rep--in this case, Mark Merville.

A substantial social media presence helps, as do the coasters that advertise it and the wearables and mementos that promote it via impressed customers. Event Coordinator Kirsten Stout ( I know, right? ) does excellent work in keeping the brand visible.

But other smart touches, assist in making Czig Meister a destination. For instance, food cannot be sold at a brewery in NJ--but there's no law against bringing your own in. Marc Lobur and Angie brought us some incredible wings from Marley's down the block. And Czig Meister has a large poster with names of other local places, categories of food, maps as to where to find them in town and even which ones will deliver.

That kind of thinking explains why Czig Meister is usually packed during its hours of operation, which are Thursdays and Fridays from 3-10 PM, Saturdays from noon to 10 PM and Sundays from Noon to 6 PM.

The Czig Meister has a plethora of events planned, including an Oktoberfest that I don't want to miss. And to hear Matt tell it, this operation is just getting started in terms of beer styles.

Go.

Chances are you'll meet The Frau Kommandant. But don't be intimidated.

She runs a taut ship, but she's a sweetheart--once the work is done.