brewing buddies By Marilyn Baer Photos courtesy of 902 Brewing Company
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ooking at it you would never guess that the industrial tap room and brewery of 902 Brewing Company began with a three-gallon home brewing kit and chance meeting down the shore. Friends and founders of the Jersey City based brewery, Colby Janisch and Don Vogt met in 2007 when they were roommates at a Belmar beach house during a summer getaway. Several years later they decided to go into business together. “My parents got me a home brew kit for Christmas right after college, Janisch said. “I already drank beer, and I had a bunch of fun making it. The home brew hobby grew into a business. It’s been wild.” After winning several home brewing competitions, the duo decided to make a real go of it, with Janisch focusing on production and CPA Vogt handling the financial and accounting side of things, not to mention helping with “quality control, the tasting aspect.” Vogt recalled, “He needed help with a couple of things, and I jokingly said ‘people pay me a lot of money for this,’ and he asked if I wanted to get involved. It’s been almost 10 years now that we’ve been in business together, and we are still friends. It’s great fun to drink together and work together. Our kids are even the same age.”
Beer Building 902 Brewing Company, named after the Washington Street apartment building where Janisch first started home brewing, spent several years searching for a permanent home, working as a “gypsy brewer,” brewing beer in someone else’s venue using their equipment. “A ton of places fell through,” Janisch said. “It’s a very time heavy process. You have to get approvals from the state and local approvals.” After looking in Hoboken, Union City, and Edgewater, Vogt and Janisch found a property in Jersey City, Vogt’s hometown.
The warehouse at 101 Pacific Avenue needed work to say the least. “When we first looked at it, the roof was caved in, and it was boarded up,” Janisch said. “It was just a dilapidated warehouse and wasn’t safe to go inside really.” But that didn’t stop the two from signing a lease in 2018. The 6,000-square-foot space has now been completely renovated. The space pays homage to the surrounding neighborhood, keeping a rustic industrial feel with exposed cinderblocks and beams.
Dads on Duty The taproom is filled with picnic tables and a 25-foot bar made by Janisch’s dad and uncle. Vogt’s father helped too, painting the boards behind the bar. It is truly a family affair with some of Vogt’s cousins working the taproom and Janisch’s brother performing live music on Saturday nights. 902 Brewing Company offers a breath of fresh air with a rooftop where customers can get a glimpse of the New York City skyline. After a lot of work, in March 2020, 902 Brewing Company officially opened just two days before the state went into lockdown due to the pandemic. “It was an interesting 48 hours,” Vogt said. “Everything was changing on the fly.” The pandemic caused other problems. As the brewery pivoted to adhere to state guidelines and continue operating, keg sales plummeted as bars closed, and canning skyrocketed causing an industrywide shortage of aluminum cans.
Going with the Flow The friends navigated the uncharted waters and even helped the community
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by partnering with Corgi Distillery to make hand sanitizer and participating in the All Together initiative. Spearheaded by Brooklyn’s Other Half Brewing, the group raised money for local hospitality industries. Recently, the brewery released a new amber ale, Hurley, Hoops, & Hops, to celebrate the legendary coach Bob Hurley. A portion of the proceeds were donated to the Hurley Family Foundation which runs a free basketball clinic for Jersey City kids. Now 902 Brewing Company is open for business and looking forward to finally having a grand opening when safe to do so.
Belly up to the Bar Stop by and take a tour of the operation to learn how the craft beers are made or relax in the taproom which offers 16 lines of beer from pilsners to stouts not to mention kombucha and hard seltzers.
Don Vogt (L) and Colby Janisch.
