Departed Soles isn’t your typical brewery. Fitted with multi-colored skateboards, fashionable kicks, and a retro boom box, the dog-friendly tasting room at this brewery is the opposite of most beer factories. But when it comes to craft beer, Departed Soles is on par with the best. We caught up with owner Brian Kulbacki as he prepares to celebrate his Departed Sole’s one-year anniversary.
Departed Soles has a unique story behind it. How did you get into brewing?
Brian: After graduating college, I moved to Miami to work for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. I had a budding fondness of craft beer at the time and found the market to be limited, so I started home brewing. After visiting me and feeling ill, my friend Chris found out he had Celiac Disease. Upon moving home to New Jersey in 2009, I decided to brew gluten free beer. As I got better, Chris and I talked about starting a brew pub, with his restaurant experience and my award-winning home brews. But in 2010 while commuting between jobs Chris was involved in a car accident in which he passed away. I trifled about life for awhile, but decided the best way to honor his legacy was not to turn my back on our dream, but rather pursue it, and went back to school for brewing. And here I am today.
Were you always confident Departed Soles would exist?
Brian: There were many times I almost gave up on my dream — between legal issues, finance issues, health issues, and leases falling through, but I had a great group of friends and family pushing me through.
What was running through your mind on opening day?
Brian: Not to do anything to tick the city off! I was just nervous that everything would work, the beer would be well received, and everyone would have a good time. We had a bunch of soft openings, so I was confident the systems were in place to have a smooth day, but a lot of our recipes were still works in progress, and we’re always tweaking and adjusting them. And this is New Jersey — people love to give you their brutally honest feedback, so that was a bit unnerving.
There were many times I almost gave up on my dream, but I had a great group of friends and family pushing me through.
What was your biggest stress in opening Jersey City’s first — and only — brewery?
Brian: I chose to be the general contractor on our build out, which led to some frustrating moments, but I had to do it to stay within budget. We’re fortunate that 150 Bay is zoned historically for food and beverage manufacturing, so that saved a ton of hassle. Our landlord is great, our neighbors are great, the Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association (PADNA) is amazing, and the mayor and health department have also been awesome.
The newest stress is getting the word out. There are still tons of people in downtown Jersey City that don’t know we exist, let alone The Heights, Hoboken, Bergen Lafayette, or all the other great towns. So it’s really just word of mouth to get people to come through our doors.
Educating the consumer — both Tasting Room attendees and bars — is still an uphill battle too. Distributors are just so strong in this area, to get a tap handle at a local bar is very difficult, and proving to folks we not only make good beer, but we also make good gluten free beer, has a learning curve. A lot of people think we’re the “Gluten Free Brewery,” but we only make 2 gluten free beers!
We have a beer that will satisfy every single palate. I guarantee it.
How would you describe your current beers at Departed Soles? Are you influenced by a particular style or brewery?
Brian: I describe our beers as primarily traditional. Unlike the majority of craft beer aficionados right now, I’m not a hop head, so we try to brew more traditional beers with small twists. That being said, we have 8 draft lines in the Tasting Room, produce 9 full time beers, have 3 additional variants, seasonals, and our SINS Series, which stands for “Sorry, I’m Not Sorry [if it tastes like crap]. So we have a beer that will satisfy every single palate. I guarantee it. You might not like every beer we make. You may only like one. But we have something for everyone.
One thing I like to point out is that I spent 3 years brewing the same two gluten free beers to get them to the point where I could bring them to market and have them appeal to gluten free and non-gluten free drinkers. A lot of our #DefinitelyNotGlutenFree beers were first brewed over the last year in our location, so I’m learning on the fly at some points, hence the experimental SINS Series.
You recently modified your Modern Cup of Sole recipe. How often do you experiment with recipes? Any new releases or experiments planned for the summer?
Brian: We had Modern Cup of Sole (aka Modcup of Sole) in a pin with bourbon-soaked oak spirals. It was called “Chilltown Breakfast Stout.” It will be back. We’ve also done our Philoso-Rapper on maraschino cherries and our blonde with bourbon-soaked oak spirals, mint, and simple sugar.
We’re always experimenting, not only with new beers, but with the existing ones. We want to get to the point where what you see on draft one weekend in the Tasting Room may not be what you see the next week. We want our guests to be a part of the experience and development of the brewery, so I’m always listing to feedback and tweaking.
We’re always experimenting. We want our guests to be a part of the experience and development of the brewery, so I’m always listing to feedback and tweaking.
If you look at our calendar, and see SINS Series, it means we are guaranteeing that there is something new on draft that night. It may be a completely new beer, or it may be a twist on an existing one. I can tell you we have Cantankerous Blonde fermenting with 3 new yeasts, and Philoso-Rapper on 2 different ones, to test variations, as well as two new recipes getting pilot-batched this week, and an anniversary beer in the works.
You’re currently open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Any plans to expand or stay open later?
Brian: We like to keep our residential neighbors happy, so right now I don’t see a drastic change in hours coming. However, we’re adding Thursdays to our Tasting Room schedule for the summer, we’re adding an hour to Saturday Tasting Room hours, and we’re completely altering Sunday hours starting the weekend of June 16th.
Outside of the Tasting Room at 150 Bay, where can someone find/buy Departed Soles beers?
Brian: Not enough places! We’d love to get more local bars — where we have a great following already — and liquor stores carrying our product.
Departed Soles Brewing Co. | 150 Bay Street | www.departedsoles.com
(Images: Departed Soles)
