A South Jersey couple will open Freckled Jawn Brewing just in time for Oktoberfest

Woodbury residents John Wagner and Colleen Gibson never planned to own a brewery.

But when the husband-and-wife duo heard that their local drinking spot, Eight & Sand Beer Co. at 1003 N. Evergreen Ave., was up for sale last September, Wagner said they didn’t want to see a place so close to home shut down for good. They spoke with their neighbor, Woodbury’s former mayor Peg Hertrich, who connected them with the 10-year-old brewery’s owners.

“We never got an answer or a reason why not... so here we are,” Wagner, 53, said. “Fast forward almost a year later, and we’re getting ready to open.”

The couple, together for 12 years, officially closed on the 4,300 square-foot brewery (that includes the brewhouse) in Gloucester County in early August, months after Eight & Sand closed. The $730,000 sale, Wagner said, included brewery equipment and a vacant lot behind the building, which will help the couple expand the property’s beer garden come spring.

Wagner and Gibson hope to open Freckled Jawn Brewing in the first week of October. An official date will come in the next couple of weeks, as they continue $40,000 of renovations and add new furniture to make the space feel less industrial and more inviting. Details will include leather and wood accents, an electric fireplace, dim lighting, and hopefully a touch of Philly sports.

“I just want the community to have somewhere they can go that they’re excited and proud to have in the neighborhood,” Wagner said.

The new brewery acquired Eight & Sand’s liquor license within 17 days of closing on the property, Wagner said, so Freckled Jawn has been clear to brew beer since Aug. 21.

Three years ago, before their recent venture, the couple installed a basement bar in their South Jersey home for friends and family. They like to host St. Patrick’s Day parties.

They affectionately called the bar “Freckled Jawn Tavern,” Wagner’s 2 a.m. brainchild. The name was inspired by Gibson’s own freckles and the way she pronounces her husband’s name, John, as the multipurpose Philly term “Jawn,” a symptom of her Jersey accent. The new brewery kept it.

“He calls me his ‘freckled jawn’ because I’m his anything and everything,” Gibson, 44, said.

Plus, the couple has two freckled dogs, Neo and Trinity, adoptees named after The Matrix characters, who will be welcome in the brewery’s pet-friendly beer garden when it opens next year.

The brewery’s indoor tasting room has capacity for 77 people, while the expanded patio area will fit between 150 to 200 people, Wagner said.

Wagner and Gibson plan to run the brewery while continuing their jobs as managers in supply chain distribution and in transportation, respectively, in the Philly region, Gibson said. They’ll manage a staff under 10 to start, which will include some of their children, and head brewer Matt Karg.

Karg, 37, moved to Philadelphia with his partner in July to be closer to family, and the head brewer position happened to open at the perfect time. He started brewing when he got out of the U.S. Coast Guard and went to North Carolina’s Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College to learn brewing, distillation, and fermentation.

He previously brewed for Hickory Nut Gorge Brewery in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, before the spot was destroyed by Hurricane Helene in 2024, and then for Hi-Wire Brewing in Asheville. He said he’s eager to introduce people to Freckled Jawn’s Oktoberfest beer, made just in time for the fall opening.

“The New Jersey brewing scene is a close-knit community, which we’ve learned and loved. But everyone knows everyone,” Wagner said. “They almost know every brewer, so it’s exciting that nobody knows this guy.”

Ready for something new, Karg said his hope for the brewery is simple.

“Good beers and a good environment to sit and hang out for awhile,” he said.

The brewery started on an Oktoberfest lager, Wagner said, since it takes the longest to brew. Freckled Jawn will also serve a light lager, an IPA, a blonde ale, and a stout.

“We’ll continue to expand,” Wagner said. “But we don’t want to wait too long to open.”

Freckled Jawn Brewing’s hours will be 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; noon to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday.