A new brewery is calling South Jersey home—this one in Marlton, New Jersey. Zed’s Beer will be offering up craft brews to New Jersey beer lovers starting on Saturday, September 9, and you’re going to want to start sipping as soon as those doors open!
Bado Brewing, LLC is opening Zed’s Beer, a five-barrel microbrewery and tasting room at 19 N. Maple Ave., in the heart of Marlton’s historical district. The new microbrewery will offer a wide variety of craft beers brewed right on the premises, served up in a friendly, community-focused setting.
The microbrewery is founded by Geoff Bado, an award-winning homebrewer and former advertising executive, who will offer handcrafted beers using locally sourced and fresh ingredients wherever possible.
Zed’s will have up to 12 varieties on draft, with five core varieties and as many as seven additional rotating selections, each named after a particular region or location. Zed’s seasonal offerings will feature locally grown ingredients such as peaches, blueberries and honey. Patrons can enjoy beers in the tasting room by the pint or as flights. Growlers for take-away will also be available in 64- and 32-ounce sizes.
“Craft beer shouldn’t be intimidating,” says Bado. “By offering what I call ‘approachable craft,’ people can come to visit, enjoy several different types of beer and discover that sessionable beer doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice complexity or flavor.” For him, that means aiming for a sweet spot of about 5.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) or lower, and a level of international bittering units (IBUs) no higher than 42.
Zed’s Beer is named after Bado’s great-grandfather, a coal miner in Hungary, who was known to brew beer and share it with his entire village, inviting friends and family to fill up steel pails when the beer was ready. Here in the United States, Bado’s grandfather ran a beer garden outside of Pittsburgh and reveled in keeping the bar open as long as his customers wished to stay.
“Beer is in my blood,” says Bado, who has continued the tradition. He experimented with homebrewing for more than two decades, then trained to become one of only 6,500 certified beer judges nationwide. He’s also taken brewery business classes at the renowned Siebel Institute in Chicago before making his dream of opening a brewery a reality. With the launch of Zed’s, Bado is yet another member of the South Jersey Barley Legal Homebrewers club to turn professional.
The brewery will look to offer community events, such as meetups, potlucks and game nights. Dog lovers, take note: the tasting room will also be pet-friendly (well-behaved pets only, please)!
Hours of operation will be Thursday 4–9 p.m., Friday 4–10 p.m., Saturday noon–10 p.m. and Sunday noon–6 p.m.
Find Zed’s Beer at 19 N. Maple Ave. in Marlton, N.J.; phone: (856) 872-7632.
- Photo: Zed's Beer
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