The city of Asbury Park is inextricably linked to its musical history (if you like Bruce Springsteen, you should thank it), and its eponymous brewery is no different. Asbury Park Brewery founder Bob McLynn first encountered beer culture while touring Germany with his band, and founded Crush Management, which represents artists such as Green Day, Lorde, Miley Cyrus and Fall Out Boy.
The walls of Asbury Park Brewery’s recently opened taproom are plastered with posters from significant musical performances in the city’s history and artists who have played there.
The brewery’s previous taproom closed in 2020, and it reopened in a new space in June. Asbury Park Brewery produced 4,180 barrels of beer in 2023, according to data from the Brewers Association (BA).
McLynn discusses getting into craft brewing, opening a new brewery, hosting Jon Stewart’s band and much more in the latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders.
You were introduced to the notion of better beer while touring Europe with your band in the 1990s. What was it about Germany’s beer culture that inspired you most?
Bob: We played in 14 cities and every one had their own brewery that the locals were super proud of. I thought that was really cool and it was something that wasn’t going on at home yet.
What role did you play in the founding of Saint Archer and what did your time there teach you about the beer business?
Bob: I used to work with [Saint Archer founder] Josh Landan at Crush Sports in Carlsbad. He was managing surfers at the time and he had the idea to start Saint Archer. Being a huge fan of craft beer, I thought it sounded like a fun thing to do, so I got on board. My time there taught me to be careful of trying to get too big too fast.
What similarities do you see between the music and beer industries? Is there anything craft brewers can learn from music?
Bob: Making beer is kind of like writing a great song. It’s hard to find the right formula but when it hits, you know it. The process of creating a beer can be like writing a song in the studio where you have your initial song or recipe, then you go back to fine tune it.
Asbury Park just celebrated the grand opening of its new brewery. What are your goals for the new space?
Bob: We are really excited to be reopened with a space to bring some of our new recipes to life and have the chance to interact with our customers, both new and old. Our goal is to continue to be creative with our beer and create a space for music lovers to discover new music and artists. Jon Stewart actually played his first show with his new band Church and State at our tasting room a few weeks ago.
New Jersey lifted its draconian restrictions on craft brewery taproom operations earlier this year, restoring the ability to host weekly events and coordinate with food trucks and vendors, among other things. How has regaining these privileges affected your business?
Bob: The ability to bring in food hasn’t really impacted our business, as we don’t plan on serving food. Our brewery allows customers to bring in food to enjoy with their beer, so we like to be complementary to our neighboring businesses who serve food. The ability to host weekly events is great because we plan on having live music, which is a big part of our brand. We’re excited to welcome musicians to perform at our tasting room.
Your portfolio includes a few beers brewed in collaboration with beloved New Jersey institutions like Rutgers University Scarlet Ale and Pony Pale, brewed with your neighbor, the Stone Pony. How have these products widened your drinker base?
Bob: I am a Rutgers University graduate and I am a huge fan of Rutgers sports. They serve our Scarlet Ale at the stadium for sporting events and even though the beer is only two years old, the fanbase is definitely starting to recognize it as the beer to drink at Rutgers University events.
The Stone Pony is so akin to what we do at Asbury Park Brewery. Myself and the brewery’s co-founders grew up playing there and we continue to go to shows there all the time. Having this relationship with the Stone Pony is so important to us and we love seeing everyone drinking Pony Pale at shows.
What’s keeping you up at night?
Bob: Seltzer and non-alcoholic beer.
Have you had any wins recently that surprised you?
Bob: I am grateful that our business is growing at a time when a lot of other craft breweries are going the other way. We are just thankful to get to see our business continue to thrive.