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A new craft whiskey and gin distillery located next to the Asbury Festhalle and Biergarten received its final approvals from the Planning Board last week, according to Andy Karas, the lead managing partner for the ownership group.

An opening is planned by the end of the year. About six months are needed to build out the 3,500 square foot space, as well as to manufacture the still for the site, Karas said.

The distillery will be located at the corner of Lake Avenue and Press Plaza. Its frontage will be on Press Plaza [shown at right in rendering presented to the Planning Board].

James Waters, who’s experienced in craft distilling, will be in charge of the manufacturing process, Karas said. The distillery and the Festhalle and Biergarten are adjacent to each other, and a large window inside will separate the two, allowing patrons at the beer garden to see the distilling process.

There will be no doors between the two buildings, and no owners involved in the Festhalle and Biergarten will be owners in the distillery, Karas said. The distillery’s Class A manufacturing license bars anyone from an ownership interest if they are also an owner of a Class C retail consumption license.

The distillery’s license allows on-premises consumption of the manufactured spirits as well as retail sales of the product, subject to regulatory limits. A tasting room will be part of the site, as will as retail sales.

The rise of the arts in Asbury Park makes the craft distillery a good fit for the downtown, said Karas.

“The nature of the project — craft distilling — requires art. You’re creating something, not just making something,” Karas said. “There’s an art to the process, such as how you make your mash that goes into the still and how you age your whiskey. The craft nature of whiskey fits into the downtown. That’s what is unique about Asbury Park.”

Karas is also an attorney in Paramus and has handled several development applications for downtown Asbury developer Carter Sackman. The distillery site is owned by a Sackman entity, and Karas’s group — Asbury Park Distillery, LLC — has a long-term lease for the property.

The name for the brand is still to be decided, with 20-30 names under consideration, Karas said.

There will be two full-time employees on site to start — Waters and his assistant. All the partners will also volunteer their time to the business, he said.

Also required will be federal permits, and some additional state approvals, for the distillery. Those approvals should take three to six months, said Karas.

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