Rinn Duin Brewing Opens Today In New Jersey

I have to admit, I cringed when Jacqui Town told me at our first meeting, at the Craft Brewers Conference in D.C. last winter, that everything was running right on schedule at the brewery she was establishing with her dad, Chip. With no prior brewery experience for either of them, I wondered if the Tom’s River, NJ, father-daughter team realized that breweries and restaurants never open on time. Never. So it was with little surprise but absolutely no pleasure that I heard shortly thereafter that the Towns had hit a huge snag. Huge. They had to rename their brewery.

After going through the processes to legally label, brand and market themselves as “Blackthorn Brewing,” they discovered that a European cidery going by the same name would in fact have the right to sue over trademark infringement if they so chose. Rather than risk a lawsuit, the Towns changed gears and picked a new name: Rinn Duin, which is a castle where their Irish ancestors lived.

Jacqui, who’s about as friendly and generous as they come, has since become a good friend of mine, so I’m very happy to share that three years and “three projected opening dates,” after embarking on her family venture, she and Chip are soft opening Rinn Duin today at 4 pm.  The Irish-pub styled tasting room and brewhouse, located in Tom’s River, will be open for tours, growler-fills, pints, samples of their English, Scottish, and Irish beers until 8 tonight. Tomorrow they’ll open again from 4-8, and Saturday hours are 12-6 pm.

Jaqui’s very interested in the community aspect of craft beer, so aspiring brewers may want to go pick her brain and wish her a sincere slainte.

Rinn Duin Brewing [Official]