New Fort Monmouth Brewery Birdsmouth Beer Plans Oct. 15 Opening

OCEANPORT, NJ — Birdsmouth Beer, the new craft brewery at Fort Monmouth, will officially open their doors to the public Oct. 15, the brewery said this week.

Birdsmouth Beer announced in July they leased a 12,080-square-foot space at 675 Oceanport Way in Oceanport. They're located in what used to be the Fort Monmouth Commissary, or the on-base grocery store.

Plans are still moving forward for Netflix to open a massive film production studio at Fort Monmouth as well, but no opening date has been given for the film studio yet. The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority, which runs Fort Monmouth, has not even officially approved Netflix to set up shop.

Birdsmouth co-owner Andrew Gioia (former head brewer at Kane Brewing in Ocean) was busy all summer turning the space into a craft brewery. They will open with four craft beers brewed on site (an original Helles-style lager, a dark lager, a hoppy pilsner and an Oktoberfest) and a tasting room. There are plans in the future to open an outdoor beer garden.

This area of Monmouth County sure is witnessing a craft brewery boom: Twin Lights Brewery opened Sept. 2 in Tinton Falls Centre, and Alternate Ending Brewery opened at the old Bow Tie movie theater in Aberdeen in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic.

More food and drink businesses will be coming next to Birdsmouth, but property owner Denholtz said it was too early to reveal their names. Red Bank-based developer Denholtz is trying to turn the Commissary "into a multipurpose destination geared towards innovative food and beverage uses."

They are still seeking tenants. If you are interested in leasing a space there, or opening up a business, contact CBRE leasing agent Suzanne Macnow at suzanne.macnow@cbre.com or 732-509-8927.

Related: Twin Lights Microbrewery Opens This Friday In Tinton Falls (Sept. 1)

More about Birdsmouth Brewery:

The brewery’s 2,000-square-foot tasting room will be open to the public Thursday through Sunday (see below for specific times). Families are welcomed and encouraged. There will not be a kitchen at the brewery, so guests are encouraged to bring their own or you can have food delivered there.

Birdsmouth will open with four types of lagers. The opening brews will be Birdsmouth Original Lager (a Helles-style lager), Birdsmouth Hoppy Pilsner, Birdsmouth Oktoberfest and Birdsmouth Dark Lager.

All four will all be under six percent ABV and "represent the full spectrum of colors and flavors," says the brewery.

Birdsmouth Original Lager, Birdsmouth Pilsner and Birdsmouth Oktoberfest will be available in both 6 and 12 packs of 12oz cans, which you can buy at the brewery. But in the future they plan to allow people to order beer through their website, and pick up the beer at the brewery.

The brewery says their Oktoberfest will be replaced by another seasonally appropriate style as we wind into winter, and new brews will be introduced to the line-up "based on customer feedback."

Birdsmouth also hopes to have its original craft lager start appearing on the menu at Monmouth County bars and and restaurants over the next year. Birdsmouth also plans to expand to the side of the building with a large outdoor beer garden.

Birdsmouth is headed by co-founder Gioia, who has more than 10 years experience working in the NJ craft beer brewing industry, as he is the former head brewer at Kane Brewing in Ocean Township.

Birdsmouth bills itself as "Jersey's all-lager craft brewery."

“I'm extremely excited to brew only lager beer. It's been a dream of mine since I was a homebrewer," said Gioia. "The recipes are simple, but it is a delicate process that requires patience. A large part of it is caretaking and stewardship since the process is long. So, in many ways it's like watching and caring for a plant as it grows. If you manage to get it right, the patience and time spent is worth it."

"A well-made lager is ridiculously delicious," Gioia continued. "It pairs up perfectly with everything but most importantly family, friends and food — our most valued things. In fact, the brewery was built by friends who are family and family who are friends.”

Gioia will also serve as Birdsmouth's head brewer.

A "birdsmouth" is a woodworking industry term for a type of wood joint used in carpentry to join wood or other building materials together. The term resonated with Gioia and Laginestra, who said they wanted their beer and brewery to "bring the community together." This utilitarian concept is complimented with New Jersey's state bird, the Goldfinch, cemented in the logo and branding.

"It’s only fitting that the brewery is going to be in the old commissary, a building that was originally constructed to serve as the focal point of the local military community," said Laginestra.

The brewery does not accept reservations, but the space will be available for private and semi-private events as well as group bookings for 15 or more.

Beers available:
Birdsmouth Original Lager: 4.5% (available in can and draft)
Birdsmouth Hoppy Pilsner: 5.0% (available in can and draft)
Birdsmouth Oktoberfest: 5.5% (available in can and draft)
Birdsmouth Dark Lager: 5.2% (available in draft only)
Additional Birdsmouth seasonal lagers will be announced

Birdsmouth Beer
675 Oceanport Way (Baseline at Fort Monmouth)
Oceanport NJ, 07757

Tasting Room Hours:
Thursday 4pm- 8pm
Friday 4pm- 9pm
Saturday 12pm- 9pm
Sunday 12pm- 8pm

Contact info: Email info@birdsmouthbeer.com for all inquiries (973) 352-2842

In 2020, the Fort Monmouth Commissary — or old grocery store — was purchased by Denholtz Properties, a Red Bank-based real estate and development company.

Denholtz currently owns 26 acres of Fort Monmouth, including not only the 53,000-square foot Commissary, but also the PX, Post Office Area and Warehouse District along with an adjacent parking lot.

Denholtz is looking for other food and beverage businesses to open up at the Commissary, as they are trying to transform that part of the Fort into "The Baseline, a transformative retail and commercial hub at the gateway to the historic property."

More information about The Commissary at Baseline and leasing opportunities can be found here.