Before Vinyl Brewing Co. opened in 2017, Jim Sacco was creating beer at home with friends.
Later he partnered with his aunt and uncle to open Vinyl Brewing Co.
“I took my love of brewing and my love of music and sort of combined it into one thing here,” Sacco said.
Sacco started experimenting, brewing craft beer at home in his 20s because he didn’t enjoy the taste of regular domestic beer.
“Right now, one of our most popular beers believe it or not is Lowlife. It is sort of my take on a Miller Highlife, so all the years of not liking the taste of regular domestic beer, now that’s what I make and it’s pretty popular,” Sacco said.
When it comes to new ideas for beer, Sacco said he looks to see what’s popular at other breweries or sometimes an idea pops into his head that he will write down.
Vinyl Brewing Co. tries to always keep 13 beers on tap with some being sours.
When it comes to sour beer, the most popular sour at Vinyl Brewing Co. is Glitch in the Matrix, which has blueberry, blackberry and raspberry flavors.
During the Atlantic City Beer Festival a couple years ago, Vinyl Brewing Co. placed first in the sour category with Glitch in the Matrix, and ever since then it has stayed a fan favorite.
When it comes to IPAs, My Brain Hurts is one of their most popular beers and will also be coming back.
Imperial stouts, which are the darker beers, are available at the brewery.
“I try to flavor a lot of them differently, so we have a maple bacon coffee one right now, eggnog one that we did for Christmas and a cranberry crème Brule coffee one,” Sacco said.
People can look forward to a smoked porter being added to the menu.
“It kind of has that campfire taste to it,” Sacco said.
If someone is unsure what beer is right for them, Vinyl Brewing Co. offers flights of four 4-ounce pours.
“A flight is a good way to get a taste of the beer before making a decision on what full pour that you want,” Sacco said.
Sacco works mostly in the back brewing the beer, but occasionally he’ll come out to see everyone enjoying beer with friends.
“That’s the part that I’ve always liked the most is just seeing how beer can bring people together,” Sacco said.
In 2024, Vinyl Brewing Co. plans on hosting more shows.
“We’ve been doing more shows lately. I came up in the punk rock scene, and I wanted to start incorporating that here in the brewery,” Sacco said.
For future plans, Sacco said Vinyl Brewing Co. will continue making high quality beer and there could be a possible expansion down the road.
Sacco’s family has lived in Hammonton for multiple generations, so for him it was important to have the business stay in town.
“I appreciate everybody supporting us over the last six plus years. We’re happy being a fixture of the downtown now and we have a pretty thriving scene here with the other breweries, wineries and distilleries,” Sacco said.
For more information about Vinyl Brewing Co., call (609) 666-5460, visit their website vinylbrewingnj.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram @vinylbrewing.