Triumph Brewing Company in Red Bank offers an experience few can match

By:  | October 10, 2024 |  |  Red Bank

By Bill Clark

The unofficial last Saturday of summer is a perfect day for Triumph Brewing Company in Red Bank. Diners are enjoying the pilsners, lagers and IPAs that Triumph offers al fresco as they wait for their dinner. The quickly setting late-August sun is being shaded by the canopies, the posts of which are lined with climbing greenery providing a bit of the natural in the middle of the modern, urban set up. 

The Red Bank location, opened in 2018, is the company’s third location (they have spots in Princeton and New Hope, PA as well). Although it isn’t situated on the main drag of Front or Broad Streets, Triumph’s location on Bridge Avenue anchors the side of Red Bank that is less apt to get foot traffic. But for Triumph owner Adam Rechnitz, it's the perfect location for the vibe that Triumph brings.

“This side of town is a little more eclectic,” he said. “It's a little more arty.” 

The space was built on the former Blaisdell Lumber yard, Rechnitz said. When the Red Bank native decided to open the Red Bank location, he had the option of rebranding however he wished. Rechnitz was not limited to retrofitting former brick warehouses to fit brewing equipment, a kitchen, bar and seating area like he was with the previous locations. But Triumph Brewing in Princeton and New Hope had a certain look and feel which Rechnitz wanted to build on. He tapped the same architect who was responsible for crafting the first two. 

“One of the tricks was in trying to get a little bit of an older aesthetic in new construction,” he said. “That's why you see a whole lot of restored barn wood and just that vintage feel from a modern space. It's really the combination of seeing both.”

What resulted is a look with broad appeal. The bar is lengthy with just a few televisions mounted on the back wall. Tables fill the space until they reach a small stage for performers and events. Windows allow sunlight to pour through during the day. Seating circles the perimeter of the second level where the brewing space is on full display behind a clear partition. The prominence of the tanks reminds patrons that the beer that fills their pint glass was brewed in the building itself and not shipped in from across the country or abroad. 

The type of consumption license the business operates under allows Triumph to function as a brewpub instead of a traditional microbrewery. Wine and cocktails are available for those who favor beverages other than beer. 

The menu offers traditional entrees, sandwiches, appetizers and salads, all of which are allowed under the license that Rechnitz operates under. 

But with “Brewing” in the name, Triumph can sometimes get confused for one of the microbreweries that work under stronger restrictions or even the misconception that beer has to be paired with simpler fare. Rechnitz said that beer can still be considered a second-class drink to some, but craft brewers are chipping away at that notion and bringing legitimacy to the world.

“Because they see ‘brewery’ in the name, people automatically think you're going to have nachos and wings or you'll just have food trucks. And we’re trying to get the public to understand that we are really a different animal than a lot of these other breweries around,” he said. 

Triumph offers a burger and pretzels on the menu, but it certainly isn’t what a diner would expect at a local dive bar. 

“We have our own twist,” Rechnitz said. “What the kitchen provides is an elevated dish where we have something for everyone, including a brunch menu, where we serve brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.”

Rechnitz and General Manager John Badaracoo make sure that their employees are educated and ready to answer questions that patrons may have. Bartenders and servers have to be ready to suggest a beer to a guest that may count one of the mass-produced, domestic beers as their favorite. 

Both say that the bartenders are informed by the brewer on staff daily. They routinely update training and information about the science and market.

“We're talking about the beers and what's happening,” Badaracoo said. “We have beer classes. Our staff fully knows the process from point A to point B.”

Badaracoo said that the management is Cicerone Certified as well, the equivalent of a wine sommelier for the brewery industry. 

“We know origins of beer hops to storage to the whole inner workings of beer,” Badaracoo said. “Making beer, storage, beer laws. That's one of our prerequisites so that we can share that knowledge along with our staff.”

But since Triumph also has a full cocktail selection, bartenders must be competent mixologists as well. Badaracco is confident that the mixological skills of his staff allow the liquor drinker to be just as satisfied as those who are happy with a pint. 

“That's one thing that we do here is create a culture that everyone's involved from start to finish,” he said. “We're not looking for that person to come in and just be here to make money and be out the door. There's education, there's levels of service, and there's involvement. That all happens.”

Triumph even offers nonalcoholic drinks outside of the typical sodas or iced teas. 

“Mocktails have exploded on the market,” Badaracoo said. 

Bechnitz also referred to the seasonality of the business multiple times. Triumph has staples that will be on its menu year-round like its Keller Pilsner, but different months call for different flavors. Stouts, Hefeweizens and Saisons have their times. The menu alters with the calendar as well. 

“We're changing with the times. We're changing with what's available from the fresh fish that we offer to the cuts of meat that's out there,” Badaracoo said. 

Triumph also serves as a venue for weddings, rehearsal dinners, corporate meetings and private parties. The space is dynamic enough to mold itself to what is needed. Much like the beer and food menu, there is something for everyone. Those looking for a beer while they watch football this fall have a space. Craft aficionados have a menu they can taste to see how Triumph differs from other brewers. Those just looking for a relaxed outdoor space to enjoy lunch in the fresh air are taken care of too. Even the dogs are welcome to curl up under the patio tables hoping for the chance to pounce on anything that falls their way. 

Badaracoo said that the music the space offers is varied in genre but they restrict it to original artists which provides an outlet for local musicians to share their talents. Certain nights are popular enough that a sign posted by the host stand informs diners that seating by the stage cannot be guaranteed.

Triumph may have started in 1995 in Princeton, but the Red Bank iteration is special to its owner who wanted to bring his vision of artisan beer and a diverse menu to his hometown. Bechnitz knows that sometimes people can roll right past Red Bank on Route 35 for the hipness of Asbury Park. 

“I think they're kind of calling it the sixth borough of New York,” he said with a laugh about the city to the south. 

But Bechnitz knows that beach towns are subject to the quality of the summer. 

“It’s kind of feast or famine down there and definitely gets slower in the cooler months,” he said. 

With that, Bechnitz and Triumph benefit from the year-round demand of Red Bank. Visitors are drawn because of the quality of stores, restaurants, bars and a brew pub, all of which are not dependent on the demand of weekenders and tourists. 

“I'm happier to be in Red Bank,” he said. “In no small part because it is my hometown.”