Raise a Pint One of the many local businesses and individuals, as well as communities, looking forward with pride to the commissioning of the USS New Jersey (SSN-796) at NAD Earle is Belford Brewing at Campbell’s Junction in Leonardo.
What’s more the highly creative and hardworking family that incorporated the Belford Brewing Company in May 2013 has an unusual history of its own and a heartfelt connection to Naval Weapons Station Earle, especially its pier side facilities extending from Route 36 into Sandy Hook Bay.
On Commissioning Day, September 14, Belford Brewing will be serving an incredibly special beverage to honor the third naval vessel and first submarine to bear the name of the state.
After the ceremony, the company will be serving two of their beers on the three mile long pier, the Earle Riser and another selection, most likely Honey Hudson Ale. That’s their beverage named after the Henry Hudson Trail that crosses right in front of Earle’s front gate on Route 36.
You might say it started when brothers Michael and Kevin Emmy were growing up in Belford. Their father was a Marine who had served in the Korean War, so they already had respect and admiration for the nation’s military.
The brothers remember well, as does every kid who grew up within earshot of Leonardo base, when it was 8 a.m. every morning. That’s when the lower Sandy Hook Bay was flooded with the bugle reveille and the National Anthem.
It is traditional that the Anthem would be played loud and proud on base reminding the sailors and Marines stationed there it is the start of another day, and they were needed.
There came the time when newcomers to the area complained the National Anthem was too loud and was “annoying”.
Those comments irked many on the Bayshore who enjoyed the reveille daily, especially those who had served in the military.
The complaints on Facebook were met with comments like “Sorry to disturb your beauty sleep but keep playing the National Anthem as loud as possible.” In the end most comments showed the majority of residents were happy when the commanding officer in Colts Neck ignored the complaints and continued the patriotic Good Morning to the neighborhood and his military.
So a couple of years after the brothers opened the brewery, they designed the Earle Riser, a new beer with a good dose of lemon that wakes up tastes buds and brings them to attention.
The name, Earle Riser, is itself a play on words. Pronounced Early, it’s a wake-up call; pronounced Earl, it’s a reminder the United States Navy installation protecting our country is located right here in the Bayshore at a base named after Rear Admiral Ralph Earle, who was Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance (BUORD) during World War I . Rear Adm. Earle served in the early part of the 20th century until his retirement in 1927. It is the only installation in the Navy named for a person rather than its location.
The Earle Riser, even before it will be served on the pier September 14, has a tradition of its own. It’s the beer the brewery makes for St. Mary’s annual Spring into Summer 5k Run sponsored by the New Monmouth Church. The brewery is the official gathering spot after the race, which starts at 10:30 a.m. so a breakfast pale ale ‘wake-up” beer seems appropriate.
Until now, the Earle Riser has only been brewed in the spring, but it has been added to the fall season specifically for the commissioning.
The brothers Emmy are natives of Belford and take pride in being brought up in the shadow of the naval base, and even more pride today in knowing the Submarine will be commissioned right where the National Anthem woke them up every morning.
Belford Brewing beers are available in several local restaurants and bars, as well as at their own brewery in Campbell’s Junction.
The brothers’ vision back in 2013 when they opened the business was to create a nano-brewery based in and on the local area that creates good, tasty, and, more than anything else, drinkable beverages.
Their brewery is a small five-barrel brew house with a down-home, family atmosphere. They offer tastings tours, and the opportunity to purchase a pint or growler at a spot they consider to be among the best in New Jersey.
They are located at 84 Leonardville Road and have a website at BelfordBrewing.com
