Adam Rechnitz: A TRIUMPHant Leader in the History of Brewpubs

By: Cathy Padilla | September 1, 2022 |  Dining |  Rumson

FEATURED PHOTO: Adam Rechnitz, owner of Triumph in Red Bank, the oldest continually operating brewpub brand in New Jersey | PHOTO CREDIT: Melissa Amorelli

If you’re old enough to remember the 80s, you may recall the buzz around movies like Top Gun, wearing neon-colored…well, everything…as we danced to Let’s Get Physical, and either buying or receiving a home-brew kit for beer.

Although enjoying the pleasure of alcohol started more than 7,000 years ago, in the beginning of 1979 it was still illegal in our country to brew your own beer at home. President Jimmy Carter and the Cranston Act changed all that and ushered in the home-brew hobby craze that reached its peak during the decade that followed. Soon the idea of craft beer, as it came to be called, as a viable local business took hold around the country and microbreweries and brewpubs began emerging in the 80s and 90s. As September is the traditional start of Octoberfest for all beer-loving enthusiasts, we at CM caught up with the man who pioneered the brewpub in New Jersey. He owns Triumph in Red Bank, the oldest continually operating brewpub brand in our state. Settle back, pour yourself a pint, and meet your neighbor Adam Rechnitz.
 

CM: You started your first brewpub soon after…
Adam: Yes, but it took some work. The same year I earned my Siebel diploma, 1992, I founded the Garden State Craft Brewers Guild to lobby for changes in the law to create a new license for a new kind of entity called a brewpub – a restaurant and full bar with a brewery inside of it. Before then, it wasn’t legal in New Jersey. Governor James Florio signed the bill into law in 1993. Triumph was the first licensed brewpub in the state and opened its first location in Princeton in March of 1995. I’m happy to say Triumph is the oldest continually operating brewpub in the state.

CM: What’s the meaning behind the name?
Adam: There was significant opposition against changing the law that allowed brewpubs to operate. So that was part of it…we were triumphant. I was also looking for a slightly British sounding name as we were brewing mostly English-style ales in the beginning.

CM: Why take on the battle? Why not open just a restaurant or just a brewery?
Adam: The craft-beer revolution had already begun when I was in college in the mid-80s. Anchor, Sierra Nevada, and New Albion were brewing on the West Coast and East Coast beer importers responded with never-before-seen beers from the UK, Belgium, and Germany. I was awash in it all. When people ask me how I came to own these brewpubs I tell them that my homebrewing just got out of control. As a brewing consultant I was paid to be the hired gun working behind the scenes. I saw many brewpub operations around the country at the time and thought to myself that I’d like to step out from behind the curtain, taking everything I had learned in both brewing and business, and give it a go.

CM: You started in the college town of Princeton…
Adam: The Princeton brewpub opened in 1995 and was the first. It was an immediate hit with the public; at first because of the novelty; no one had seen a full-scale brewery operating inside of a restaurant. When the novelty wore off, it became the quality of the experience that kept them coming back. The New Hope, PA location opened in 2003. The Red Bank location opened in November of 2018.

CM: Why Red Bank, and what about the town is special to you?
Adam: Red Bank is my hometown; I was born in Riverview. My family lived in Oak Hill (Middletown) and my siblings and I went through the public school system. My brother and I rode our bikes everywhere, and Red Bank was where we would go to hang out with friends. So, I have fond memories of the place and even though it’s changed a lot, it’s still home to me.
 

PHOTO CREDIT: Melissa Amorelli
 

CM: What sets you, and Triumph, apart from others doing what you do?
Adam: What sets Triumph apart from many brewpubs is that we are not shooting at the lowest common denominator. I think sometimes Triumph throws the public a bit of a curveball because even today beer still gets treated in this country as a less sophisticated drink than wine or liquor. As a result, the public’s expectation for menu offerings is fairly low. They expect nachos, wings, burgers – traditional pub food. This is partly a result of the mass marketing by the major industrial brewers; a milder product will have the greatest potential appeal. It’s a shame because as many people have learned during this craft-brew renaissance, beer pairs better than wine with many dishes, especially spicier ones like Indian, Thai, and Mexican. Furthermore, I just don’t think the area needs yet another casual restaurant and bar serving mass market beers and a pub menu. I want more interesting food on the menu, and I want service to be a little more polished, even though execution can prove difficult in current conditions.  I even want different music. I grew up with what has come to be known as classic rock; Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Stones, Tom Petty… but there is so much more interesting music out there. So, much of the music we play both canned and live is of a much wider variety, including jazz and bluegrass. 

CM: What’s your favorite aspect of Triumph?
Adam: Triumph is not a nano or microbrewery that serves only its own beer. We are a restaurant with a brewery inside of it. We have a liquor license that allows us to function as a full-service restaurant; we serve wine and cocktails made with botanicals from our extensive garden, and serve lunch, dinner and brunch five days a week. We have daily seasonal specials on our menu, host live original music Thursday through Saturday and eschew cover bands.

CM: What is the most rewarding part of your career?
Adam: When all the work and preparation behind the scenes pays off, the restaurant hums with a palpable energy that both the staff and public feels and the machine thrums along. It is electric and an addictive thrill.

CM: What comes next?
Adam: Growing the business and becoming more a part of the fabric of the community. Triumph was closed entirely to the public from March of 2020 until May of 2021. So, it’s felt like we’re really starting over. I like being in town rather than out on Route 35. Being part of a community and giving back to it has always been important to me. I’m looking forward to continuing to partner with different civic groups and associations. Lunch Break, Monmouth Conservation Foundation . . . we want to learn about the community’s needs and how we can help.

CM: What is the most challenging part of what you do?
Adam: Everyone knows the restaurant business is brutal, you hear it all the time. But this last year has been off the charts; a global pandemic, a brutally tight market for labor, snarled supply chains, and recalcitrant inflation. Life; you never see it coming!

CM: So how do you overcome all that? What is your best life tip to share?
Adam: Be an unsparing critic of your own performance but do your best to avoid perfectionism.

CM: Do you have a favorite quote that helps keep you going?
Adam: The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.  – Jonas Salk

CM: Who has most influenced your career or life? 
Adam: My father. Very bright, very demanding. And yet he gave a wonderfully maddening piece of advice, “Play it with a lighter hand.” How do you square the two? (Adam’s father is the late Robert Rechnitz, the playwright and philanthropist who co-founded Red Bank’s Two River Theater with his wife, Joan.)

CM: What do you do when you’re not working? 
Adam: I’m married to a beautiful woman, Liz, and have a beautiful daughter, Esme, and two wire-haired fox terriers, Tilly and Popeye. My wife and I love to garden; we have a garden for perennials and a large vegetable garden. Composted spent mash from the brewery and vegetable trimmings from Triumph’s kitchen wind up back in the garden feeding vegetables, some of which end up back in Triumph’s kitchen. It’s nice to ‘close the loop’ this way. Giving back, however you can, is something I learned from my parents.
 

See this story in print!

Colts Neck – Holmdel – Lincroft Edition – view here.

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