A pioneering craft brewer and restaurateur brings his award-winning beers and elevated, seasonally driven menu to the heart of Red Bank’s bustling downtown dining scene.

By Amanda McCoy  •  Photos by Alex Barreto and Amanda Domenech

In 2010, the craft brewing industry entered a boom era. The number of U.S. independent breweries swelled by an astounding 500% by 2020, and today there are nearly 10,000 operating craft breweries in the United States. But in 1995, when Adam Rechnitz launched Triumph Brewing Company in Princeton, few people on the East Coast were familiar with the concept of putting a brewery inside a restaurant. (These establishments are commonly referred to as brewpubs, though Rechnitz tends to avoid this term as Triumph’s menu is intentionally devoid of the typical “wings and nachos” fare that often dominates brewpub offerings.) But Rechnitz, an avid home brewer and self-admitted beer geek, took a chance on the novel concept, launching a brand that would eventually expand to three locations, win numerous Great American Beer Festival (GABF) awards, and introduce New Jersey patrons to a different kind of dining experience. “I didn’t invent the concept, but in the ‘90s, it was predominantly a West Coast thing,” noted Rechnitz. “But I wanted to do it a little differently, with a modern atmosphere and interesting menu.” In 2018, Rechnitz returned to his hometown to open Triumph in Red Bank, applying everything he learned over 23 years in operation. Set in the heart of Red Bank’s arts and antiques district on the West Side, Triumph fills the lower two levels of the trendy West Side Lofts condo building. Like the Princeton location, the atmosphere leans industrial-chic: clean and contemporary, enhanced by dim lighting,

dark wood, and pops of living greenery. Fermentation tanks are prominently displayed behind glass, and large garage-style doors open on warmer days to create an indoor-outdoor effect. Outside, a south-facing patio showcases a trellis made of hops, while inside, a loft-style, second-floor balcony overlooks the main dining room below. A performance stage anchors the ground floor, where talented bands and musicians from NYC and beyond capitalize on the restaurant’s exceptional acoustics – a point of pride for the owner. “Part of being successful in the restaurant industry is learning from your mistakes, and when we first opened the Princeton location, we didn’t put in any kind of acoustic treatment, so it could get rather loud,” recalled Rechnitz (the noise issue was eventually solved when Triumph Princeton relocated to a new location in the former post office on Palmer Square). “In Red Bank, we did such an incredible job with the acoustics. We have live music five days a week, and the sound is phenomenal.” From the beginning, Rechnitz has been committed to breaking free from the pub food stereotype. (“The world has plenty of brewpubs serving nachos and wings, and I have no interest in a bank of microwaves and deep fryers,” he quipped.) First-time diners might be surprised when they peek at Triumph’s menu. Noticeably absent are deep-fried finger foods or ballpark-style bites; the dishes are elegant, crafted from locally sourced and seasonally driven ingredients, yet remain refreshingly approachable. There are fries on

the menu, but they accompany a juicy New York Strip dressed with a green peppercorn red wine reduction. Pretzels might be a traditional brewpub staple, but here they are made in-house, topped with caraway seeds, and served with whole-grain mustard and ale cheddar cheese dip. The bratwurst is poached in Vienna lager and topped with sauerkraut and Dusseldorf mustard. Then there are items not often associated with a restaurant-brewery. Dayboat cod loin is crafted with lobster broth, Pernod, saffron, orange, Bangs Island mussels, red onion, and fennel relish, while Chicken Saltimbocca sings with Prosciutto di Parma, sage, shaved fennel, radicchio, chicory, olive oil, and lemon. Crisp salads are generously sized, with protein options like salmon, shrimp, and chicken for heartier appetites, while sandwiches go full gourmet: think blackened grouper with coconut-curry aioli, a sweet and savory chicken mole torta, and Triumph’s signature burger, smothered with 5 Spoke Cheddar, roasted tomato, and black pepper aioli. Seasonality instructs the menu, which changes heavily throughout the year, and the restaurant hosts seasonal multicourse dinners with beer and spirits pairings. Rechnitz sources from local growers and farmers as much as possible. Culinary herbs like parsley, sage, rosemary, and marjoram grow in the raised beds along the south side of the building, and the owner even brings in excess produce from his home garden. “I’m a big gardener myself,” he said. “The spent grain from the brewery is composted in my yard, and that’s what I use to amend the soil in my vegetable garden. Any extra produce

winds up back in the restaurant, from heirloom tomatoes to spicy peppers that I ferment into hot sauce.” A purist, Rechnitz speaks of food and beer pairings with a poetic cadence. “Contrasting flavor does not necessarily mean opposition; that is, a contrast does not need to show opposite flavors, but simply ones that harmonize with each other,” he said. “Fiercely spicy food and India Pale Ale match beautifully. A flaming hot quesadilla using habañero peppers sings in harmony with a bracingly bitter IPA; the heat of the peppers is first met with a malty sweetness and then extinguished somewhat by the bitterness of the hops.” Beer is, of course, the backbone of the drink menu, but Rechnitz never treats his brews as the only answer. The restaurant has a full bar, so if a dish would be better balanced by the tannins of a Chianti Classico or bittersweet complexity of a Negroni, Triumph will happily accommodate. (“The expectation is not that beer has to be paired with everything,” added Rechnitz.) Looking back on three decades in business, Rechnitz has weathered several changes in the restaurant and brewing industry, from economic slumps and rising costs to the ever-shifting tides of dining tastes and trends, yet it all has only continued to fuel his fervor. “The restaurant business is just as brutal as everyone says, yet I love it dearly,” he said. “Because when the restaurant is humming along, the music is great, everybody is having a good time, and all the behind-the-scenes hard work pays off, it’s a thrill that I never tire of.”

Triumph Restaurant & Brewery 1 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank 732.852.7300 / triumphbrewing.com