Summer is here on Long Island and despite some rain we are looking forward to a fun Fourth of July weekend! BBQs, beach and fireworks will definitely be on tap, along with our favorite beers. There are new craft brewery taprooms on Long Island to visit and lots of new summer beers to try out.
Thanks as always to our subscribers and readers and we wish you all a safe and healthy holiday weekend. Going forward, the LIBeerGuide Brewsletter will be published quarterly so enjoy the summer and we will be back with more Long Island beer news in September.
CRAFT BREWERY ROUNDUP
The craft brewery scene on Long Island has been active so far in 2022, with new taprooms opening and unfortunately a few brewery closings. There are now 54 brewery taprooms on Long Island, but after coming through the pandemic mostly intact these breweries are now faced with increased materials and labor costs, like many small businesses. So it is even more important now to support your local breweries and #DRINKLOCAL!
Long Beach Brewing Opens Oceanside Taproom
Nearly a dozen years after being founded and five years after signing a lease in Oceanside, Long Beach Brewing Company (LBBC) received approval to fully open its taproom on Lawson Boulevard. The finishing touches are being completed and the brewery is planning its grand opening this summer. In addition to its own brews, LBBC’s taproom will feature beers from its two tenant brewers, 18th Ward Brewing and Stay Green Brewing. LBBC co-owners Dan Scandiffio and Brett Blau have brewed collaboration beers with Brooklyn-based 18th Ward, including Sink or Swim Double IPA brewed with Barbe Rouge, Comet, and Amarillo hops.
Jones Beach Brewing Releases First Three Beers
Five years after its founding, Jones Beach Brewing Company (JBBC) has realized its dream of paying homage to Long Island’s beaches, parks and waterways with great tasting craft beers made on Long Island. Founder Chris Mills and the JBBC team are brewing their beers as a tenant brewer at Lithology Brewing in Farmingdale and have released three beers since March. JBBC officially launched on March 11 at The Helm Restaurant in Freeport with a can release of the brewery’s first beer, Jones Inlet IPA. Since then, JBBC introduced Bathhouse Blonde in May at the Point Lookout Clam Bar and launched West End Watermelon, a wheat ale, this week.
Mills and the rest of the JBBC team are passionate about the South Shore’s waterways because they are natives of Freeport. For the launch of Watermelon Wheat, the team participated in beach clean up on the West End of Jones Beach. JBBC Is donating portions of sales from its beers to local organizations that share its mission of keeping Long Island’s waterways safe and clean, including Operation SPLASH, Surfrider Foundation and Jones Beach Power Squadron.
BrickHouse Brewery Gets New Ownership
Long Island's oldest craft brewery, BrickHouse Brewery, is getting new ownership as the original founders want to ensure that the Patchogue landmark is in good hands for many years to come. Founded in 1996 in Patchogue's oldest commercial building, which was built around 1850 and housed Shand's Hardware Store for over 70 years, BrickHouse helped revitalize Patchogue's Main Street and continues to be a beloved spot for great craft beer and food. The original founders -- Tom Keegan, George Hoag, Jim McPeak and Bob Walch — are making way for a group of younger owners with tremendous restaurant experience.
Dave Prunier is a co-owner of four other South Shore restaurants: Tullulah's and King's Chophouse in Bay Shore, Sayville Athletic Club, and Great South Bar in Patchogue. Stephen Rizzo, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, is chef and owner of Sayville’s Off the Block Kitchen and Meats. James McPeak, son of founder Jim McPeak, is a partner of Great South Bar and Sayville Athletic Club. The fourth new owner is chef Francis Derby, a veteran of restaurants on Long Island and in Manhattan, who who has taken over as chef at Brickhouse.
Breweries Close, New Breweries Coming This Year
Darling Brewing Co. closed its Patchogue taproom in May after two years of operations. The location had previously housed Patchogue Beer Project for about a year. Darling's owners said they are planning to reopen at a new larger location on the East End of Long Island.
HopWins Brewery in Bay Shore has closed, unfortunately a victim of COVID and rising costs. The brewery, founded in 2015 by brothers-in-law and award-winning brewers Bill Hoppe and Steve Winn, was forced to delay the planned April 2020 opening of its taproom due to the pandemic and after finally opening later that year was never able to get on a firm footing.
Several new breweries are slated to open later this year: Necromantic Brew Co., Long Island's first gluten-free brewery, is set to open on Main Street in Farmingdale; Take Two Brewery is building out its brewhouse and taproom in Bay Shore; and Lost Farmer Brewing of Mineola is planning to open a larger second location in Malverne.
DUBCO Opens Second Taproom in Hudson Valley
Seven years after opening in Bay Shore, Destination Unknown Beer Company (better known as DUBCO) has opened a second taproom on a historic 50-acre farm in the Hudson Valley. The new taproom in Warwick, N.Y., called DUBCO Acres, opened on Memorial Day weekend and a grand opening and ribbon cutting was held on June 10. For Long Islanders looking to experience the Hudson Valley craft beer scene, DUBCO will run bus trips to visit DUBCO Acres and neighboring breweries.
DUBCO Acres is located in a converted dairy barn on the Thankful Acres Farm, which dates back to ownership by the Demarest family around 1752. Chris Candiano, DUBCO’s owner and head brewer, said, “my wife Jenn’s family has lived in the Warwick area for 20 years and it was our dream to find a space there that matches the beauty and integrity of our products.” DUBCO plans to grow its own malting barley, wheat, rye and hops on the farm to create a series of unique estate-grown beers.
SUMMER FESTIVALS ARE BACK
Long Island's premier summer beerfest, the Long Island Craft Classic, is returning to Heckscher State Park in East Islip on August 13 after a multi-year absence due to the pandemic. The festival was first held at the Coliseum in 2007 and had a good run at Belmont Racetrack from 2016 to 2019. Produced by Starfish Junction, Long Island’s premier beer festival organizer, this year’s event will feature one afternoon session with general admission from 1:30 – 5 pm and VIP tickets that include an extra hour starting at 12:30. Over 100 craft breweries from Long Island and across the U.S. will be pouring their brews and the event will raise funds for the local Kids Need More charity and their Camp Adventure program to enhance the lives of children coping with life threatening illness. The beerfest will also feature tastings of homebrew from Long Island’s three homebrew clubs (more info on homebrew clubs below).
Summer street festivals are also back in full swing:
Riverhead Alive on 25 -- July 15 and 29, Aug. 12 -- Live music on multiple stages, vendors, local restaurants, food trucks and local craft beer from Long Ireland Beer, Twin Fork Beer, Tradewinds, ubergeek Brewing and more.
Bay Shore Alive by the Bay -- July 2, 16 and 30, and Aug. 13 -- summer festival on Main Street with live music, arts and crafts vendors and craft beer from DUBCO, Blue Point and others
Farmingdale Music on Main -- July 7 and 21, and Aug. 4 and 18 -- live music on Main Street with food and craft beer from Lithology Brewing, Croxley Ales, That Meetball Place and other sponsors
Patchogue Alive After Five -- July 14 and 28, Aug. 11 and 25 -- Llive music, local restaurants, food trucks and craft beer from BrickHouse Brewery, Blue Point Brewing and others
One of the most popular attractions at Long Island's beer festivals are homebrews from Long Island’s three homebrew clubs: Brewers East End Revival (B.E.E.R), Long Island Beer and Malt Enthusiasts (LIBME), and Handgrenades Homebrew Club. All of the clubs are getting ready to serve their brews at the Long Island Craft Classic on August 13. The clubs will also be pouring homebrews at the Blue Point Cask Ale Fest, which has been scheduled for Nov. 5 at the brewery in Patchogue.
B.E.E.R. will hold its next monthly meetings at BrickHouse Brewery on July 18 and Long Ireland Beer Co. in Riverhead on August 15. The club's 25th Annual Brew Off Homebrew Competition was held on May 21 at Po’Boy Brewery in Port Jefferson Station. Among the winners were Joe Daly who won Best of Show for his Oh No No No, That's Crazy Schwarzbier, and Brendan McCann who won the Pete Algerio Award for best stout from a tri-club member for his Irish Exit stout.
More info on Long Island's homebrew clubs and stores to buy supplies can be found at libeerguide.com/homebrew.
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