In the Professional Science Master’s program, our professors are experts in their fields—guiding students using their vast experience and know-how. Many MBS students know Professor Braun Kiess as instructor of the core MBS course Principles of Accounting and Finance.
Students may not know that Prof. Kiess, a serial entrepreneur, co-founded a brewery in Readington Township, New Jersey. Located off Route 202 in Neshanic Station, Readington Brewery and Hop Farm is a bucolic location where guests can visit, explore, and taste great beer. The brewery offers 12 beers on tap, as well as hard seltzers, hard kombuchas, and house-made sodas.
Prof. Kiess has spent his entire career as an entrepreneur—starting right here at Rutgers. While he was an undergrad studying finance and philosophy, he started his first company, Pleasant Run Structures, selling backyard products such as Rainbow swing sets and Amish-made sheds and pool houses. He still owns this company today.
Prof. Kiess completed his MBA at Columbia Business School and a master's degree at London Business School before returning to Rutgers to join the BEST Institute as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence. At BEST, Prof. Kiess helped Rutgers commercialize its intellectual property (IP). He created an MBA course with Dr. Ben Sopranzetti, where teams of MBA students looked through patents and learned how to write business plans around the technologies. Prof. Kiess later licensed a portfolio himself, founding a medical device company along with two partners. Since then, Prof. Kiess has been involved with over a dozen IP-focused startups, in a diverse range of industries including food packaging, IT services, robotics, and AI.
The Brewery’s Beginnings
Five years ago, Prof. Kiess Kiess and his business partner in Pleasant Run Structures, Dan Aron, bought a 25-acre farm on Route 202 to relocate one of their businesses.
“It was really too much space for that company,” said Prof. Kiess. “So we were brainstorming ideas, and that’s how we came up with the brewery. We were both craft beer fans, and we had home-brewed together back in the late 90s.”
Mr. Aron had stuck with the hobby, continuing to home-brew beer. The pair saw promise in the growing industry of craft breweries.
Readington Brewery and Hop Farm grows hops and barley on location. Guests can tour the farm and see the ingredients that go right into their beer. The brewery offers beers from all over the world brewed to style based on their country of origin with a local flavor.
“We grow our own ingredients and use them whenever we can,” said Prof. Kiess. “Our beer is traditional to style and to recipe but imparts the local flavor from the terroir of our crops.”
Overcoming Challenges
Although Prof. Kiess has experience starting and running companies, the brewery posed unique challenges. This is the first real estate development project he’s worked on. He and his team built the brewery from the ground up, learning about zoning, construction, brewery setup, equipment installation. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted construction.
“There was no shortage of challenges every day, but also great learning experiences,” said Prof. Kiess.
Messrs. Kiess and Aron also had to read up on farming. They set up the hop yard themselves and planted the crops.
“One of the most difficult things I’ve ever done is trying to grow things on a larger scale,” said Prof. Kiess.
However, overcoming these challenges proved to be a worthwhile learning experience for Prof. Kiess. He gained valuable wisdom that he tries to impart to his students.
“As long as you’re learning, even if you fail, it’s not really a failure,” he said. “You just count it as tuition and realize that if you don’t make those mistakes again, it was worth the time and effort because now you’re better off than you were prior to the experience.”
More than Just a Brewery
Readington Brewery and Hop Farm serves the community in more ways than one. The farm has helped bring the community together.
“I think it’s, in a lot of ways, served as a hub for the community,” said Prof. Kiess. “We’re very family-friendly and dog friendly. It’s a place where a lot of people who live locally feel that they can bring their kids and / or their dog and come hang out and connect with some neighbors and enjoy a good beer.”
The brewery and hop farm also raises goats—the fastest goats in Hunterdon County, Prof. Kiess claims (the brewery often features goat races during special events).
Prof. Kiess’ experience running a brewery proves invaluable when teaching MBS students.
“I always try to bring in as much real-world perspective as possible because, at the end of the day, my goal in the course I teach is to give the students some toolsets to help them make better business decisions.”
Prof. Kiess is always delighted to share real-world advice, lessons, and strategies.
“In reality, there’s never complete information,” said Prof. Kiess. Decision-makers are often faced with information overload, which can lead to analysis paralysis. They may also face difficulty getting relevant information.
“I try to impart that there’s a balance there,” he said. “You’re never going to have perfect information. Oftentimes the challenge is separating the bad information from the good information and realizing that it’s never going to be perfect but that there is an advantage to just making a decision with the information you have available and then being willing to correct course later on if you find out it’s not the right direction.”
Visit Readington Brewery and Hop Farm
For students interested in visiting the brewery, Prof. Kiess recommended trying a flight—a sampling of beers.
Readington Brewery and Hop Farm hosts many exciting events. Recently, the brewery hosted an MBS alumni mixer.
The brewery also holds an annual classic car show, Hops and Rods, on the Saturday of Father’s Day Weekend.
They host an annual Hop Harvest at the end of August or the beginning of September, depending on the growing season. Visitors can help gather the hops—and participate in the brewing experience, adding fresh hops from the field to the brew kettle.
The brewery also hosts a country weekend the weekend after Labor Day—September 9th and 10th. There’ll be country bands, BBQ and a good reason to break out your cowboy boots and hat.
Of course, Readington Brewery and Hop Farm hosts a Maifest and an Oktoberfest! Check out their website to see when their dates will be announced or follow them on Facebook or Instagram. Cheers!