Michael L. Diamond

@mdiamondapp

MIDDLETOWN - It's been a painstaking process, but Belford Brewing Co. is expanding.

Owners Mike and Kevin Enny have operated the craft brewery for two years, slowly building a customer base while still working full-time jobs in information technology. But they're ready to double the size, taking up another 1,200 square feet next door.

"It's starting to come to fruition," Kevin Enny said.

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The brewery and tasting room on Leonardville Road features as many as 24 different beer labels. It has three employees. And it is open Thursdays and Fridays from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

It is part of an industry that has grown fast since 2012, when Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill allowing smaller breweries to increase production and giving consumers the chance to drink on site – as long as they tour the brewery.

The state has approved 50 production brewery licenses in New Jersey, and it has 29 licenses pending. It has approved another 18 licenses for businesses that brew a limited amount of craft beer and serve food, with seven pending.

To set itself apart, Belford Brewing takes a decidedly local angle. The owners gave their beer names like Wares Creek Pale Ale after a creek that runs through Middletown and Whipporwill Saison after a supposedly haunted, unpaved road.

The brewery has turned into a draw for Stephen Petit, 37, of Manalapan, who grew up nearby and went to Middletown High School North.

"It's kind of like a hometown thing," Petit said one day last week, sampling Belford Brewing's beer.

Mike Enny, 56, lives in the Leonardo section of Middletown. Kevin Enny, 47, lives the Belford section of town in the house he grew up in.

Kevin Enny said his brother long had talked about going into the restaurant and bar business, but at least one potential deal fell through. In 2013, Kevin said, he had an epiphany: He had home brewed beer as a hobby, sticking to recipes that he enjoyed. Why not open a brewery?

They crunched the numbers for several months before deciding their idea could pan out. They used about $100,000 from their own savings to buy equipment and pay the rent. They began to sell to local restaurants and in the tasting room, where customers can sample beer and buy pints and growlers.

Business hasn't grown enough to allow them to quit their day jobs, but they did need to expand. So they took over the space next door that once was the Dawg House Restaurant. And they have doubled their production.

The grand opening is this weekend, which might not coincidentally be Oct. 1. It is just in time for an event it calls Belftoberfest, which will be from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"This isn’t paying the mortgage yet, but that’s where we want to get," Kevin Enny said.

Michael L. Diamond; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@gannettnj.com