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Getting Goosed at a craft beer festival

 A trio of beers from Goose Island prove to be among the best of the fest

Barry McLaughlin (1)

Goose Island rep Barry McLaughlin shows a bottle of Halia

By Alan J. Wax

Time to eat my words after drinking against my principals.

Since AB-InBev’s acquisition of Chicago’s Goose Island Beer Co. —and subsequently, Blue Point Brewing on Long Island and Elysian Brewing in Washington—I had made my mind up to pass up on their offerings and not support this industry giant.

I’d been loath to indulge in these AB crafty beers, particularly after the Budweiser commercial launched earlier this year that mocks craft brewers.

That changed today at the North Fork Craft Beer Festival on Long Island’s East End.

As I strolled through a dried patch of grass that was once a fairway at the Calverton Links Golf Club, I came upon the Goose Island Brewery booth staffed by Barry McLaughlin, a friend who is now the brewery’s representative for Long Island.

As it turns out, he was pouring the best beer I tasted at the event and two others that came darn close, all Goose Island products.

McLaughlin, who until recently marketed craft beers for AB distributor Clare Rose, poured me a few ounces of Halia, a sour elixir based on Goose Island’s popular farmhouse ale Sofie. Halia is Sofie aged on whole peaches in neutral wood barrels. It’s name means “remembrance of a loved one” in Hawaiian; Halia was brewed in memory of a friend of one of its brewers who loved peaches. It also sells for nearly $40 for a 765ml bottle.

Wow! What a delight this hazy golden 7.5 percent ABV brew proved to be. Brettanomyces dominated the nose and on the palate I puckered up for a hit of sharp lacto tartness. It’s juicy brew that offers up definite peach character. Not much oak there, but that was just fine. No distraction from the other flavors. 5 stars.

The beer is part of Goose Island’s barrel program, which encompasses thousands of wine and spirits barrels (Bourbon barrels, of course, are used for Goose Island’s much-sought-after Bourbon County Barrel Stout), filled with brew.

Next, McLaughlin poured me Gillian, another brew based on Sofie, but one with honey added. Goose Island’s web site describes it as inspired by an amuse bouche often prepared by the wife of one of its brewers. Gillian also is aged in part in wine barrels and made with Michigan strawberries and Michigan organic honey. This orange-hued beer boasts 9.5 percent ABV. It’s got a honeyed nose, rounded mouth feel and offers up fruity notes leading to a dry, tart finish. 4.5 stars.

Last in the Goose Island line up was the brewer’s 25th anniversary beer, an American wild ale from Goose Island’s Clybourn facility brewed in 2013 and also known as Brettanomite. The 6.3% ABV golden sour ale was tart and flavorful with an in-your-face brett character, it was juicy and a bit cidery. 3.5 stars.

So glad I was willing to keep an open mind about these beers. I’ll be happy to open my fridge door for Goose Island beers like these going forward.

 

 

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Great South Bay Brewery’s Bay Fest brightens a grey day with new brews

BAYFESTThe skies were threatening as Great South Bay Brewery’s Bay Fest neared its opening moment.  Crowds waiting for admission were herded inside the vast brewery in Bay Shore, Long Island, as a cast of 18 brewers beneath a white tent in Great South Bay’s back lot hung their banners and prepared their taps.

Inside the vast 39,000-square-foot brewery— two-thirds the size of a football field — live music from Tradewinds, a 12-person cover band with a powerful horn section, made the day more festive. So did the bits of sun that peaked through the grey clouds of May 11. At 1 p.m. yellow-shirted security personnel gave the okay and within minutes the tent was wall-to-wall with fest goers.  More than 1,000 tickets had been sold for the event, certainly the largest event of Long Island Craft Beer Week, a regional celebration of mostly local brews that continues through May 19.

And, it seemed as if all 1,000 attendees, many of them beer devotees, some not, had arrived at the same time. The professional brewers inside the tent were besieged for tastes of the more than 40 ales, lagers and stouts available.

The host brewery’s beers, not surprisingly, were ubiquitous throughout the fest. Under the tent and inside the brewery, Great South Bay’s Blood Orange Pale Ale, a refreshing summer brew, could be found on tap or on cask.  The cask version was especially enjoyable.

Inside the tent at Great South Bay Brewery's Bay Fest

Inside the tent at Great South Bay Brewery’s Bay Fest

Other brewers offered staples from their respective repertoires and a few experimental, one-off special brews.   For me, tasting new and unusual beers is the whole point of attending a beer festival.

Port Jeff Brewing, its tap-truck parked adjacent to the tent, offered attendees two variations on India Pale Ale, its citrusy Hop Star, which is brewed exclusively for Superstar Discount Beverage stores, and its more aggressively hopped sibling, Party Boat IPA.

Just steps away, Paul Dlugokencky, the owner-brewer of Blind Bat Brewery in Centerport, offered samples of a staple, Long Island Potato Stout, and its sweetish Spring Folly, an as-yet-unreleased beer in the Belgian ale style flavored with coriander.  Though billed as a springtime brew it will undoubtedly give as much refreshment come the summer.

Bay Fest Blind Bat

Blind Bat’s Paul Dlugokencky offers samples of this brews

Across the tent, brewer Joe Hayes of Black Forest Brew Haus in Farmingdale poured a beer called Fritz, a full-flavored, albeit somewhat murky, brew made with rye in the style of Steam Beer. The beer, Hayes said, isn’t yet available at the brewpub.

Meanwhile inside the brewery, hungry attendees lined up 30 deep for a chance to chow down on pulled pork sandwiches, smoked turkey legs or pretzel from Bobbique of Patchogue.

A less frenetic atmosphere and, for sure, the most interesting beers of the day, could be found in the brewery’s tasting room, where home brewer groups and brewery wannabes poured their wares.

Alas, despite good intentions, I did not get to sample Peaches and Scream, a brew made with scorpion chili peppers, among the world’s hottest, by homebrewer Mike Napolitano of Long Island Beer and Malt Enthusiasts. Warned that it would kill my taste buds, I had waited. By the time I was ready, however, the keg had been kicked.

But I did get the opportunity to sample the exemplary Irish-style gruit made by Tim Dougherty of the Brewers Collective, a homebrew group that has plans to brew commercially. The gruit, a style of beer brewed before in the days hops became a necessary ingredient, offered up a fruity, floral aroma followed by balanced sweet and savory notes on the palate from the inclusion of barley, oats, elderflower, yarrow root and juniper berries.

Matthew Titmus, right,  of Outer Brewing describes a beer to Barry McLaughlin, craft beer specialist at Clare RoseA different flower, camomile, made an appearance in a light wheat ale poured by Matthew Titmus of newcomer Outer Lands Brewing Co.  Outer Lands’ name stems from the geological nomenclature for Long Island, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island. The brewery, as yet unlicensed and with no home, also poured its mouth-filling, bitterish Good Mojo IPA and a stellar, if understated, espresso stout.

Regrettably, by 3:30 p.m. with 90 minutes remaining in the fest, many brewers were out of beer and had packed it in.

While some attendees might have faulted the wall-towall crowd and the early finish to some kegs, Great South Bay Brewery’s first Bay Fest nevertheless was a good time event. With better planning and more beer (or smaller pours), it can only get better if  the brewery chooses to repeat it next year.

 

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Hurricane Sandy collaborative relief beer, Surge Protector IPA, makes debut

Surge labelThe culmination of 13 weeks of effort involving a group of Long Island brewers has come to fruition.

The group’s collaborative beer, Surge Protector IPA, makes its debut today (Jan. 22). Proceeds from sales of the beer will go to help victims of Hurricane Sandy and Barrier Brewing Co., whose Oceanside, Long Island, brewery was decimated by the storm surge.

After six weeks of emails, meetings and brainstorming, the group on Dec. 4 produced a collaboration brew at Blue Point Brewing Co. in Patchogue.  Each of the breweries — Barrier Brewing Co., Blind Bat Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Co., Great South Bay Brewery, Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., and Long Ireland Beer Company – donated an ingredient.

Surge Protector IPA initially will be released in six locations on Long Island and in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens. They are:

Beginning Jan. 23 the beer, bottled by Blue Point, will become available across the Long Island.  Clare Rose is distributing the beer. The group also is selling commemorative T-shirts.

Sandy Relief Beer started as a video project by photographer Matt Furman and freelance journalist Niko Krommydas, but evolved into a collaborative relief effort involving the eight local breweries.

Long Island Cares, Inc. will receive one-half of all proceeds from Sandy Relief Beer.

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