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Picks for Long Island Craft Beer Week

LI CBW logLong Island’s beer community celebrates itself during Long Island Craft Beer Week (LICBW) May 10-19 with a dizzying collection of festivals, special tastings, tap takeovers and more.

LICBW, which actually runs 10 days, is a collaborative venture created by brewers, bar owners and beer event promoter Starfish Junction Productions to raise awareness of the thriving local craft beer scene and promote patronage at local establishments.

This third annual event appears to be bigger than in the past. And with good cause.

The craft beer scene on Long Island has exploded with the opening of new breweries and new places to imbibe.

In the past 12 months brewers Spider Bite Beer Co., Rocky Point Artisan Brewers and Montauk Brewing swelled the industry ranks in Nassau and Suffolk Counties to 15, for now. At least four more are planning to open their doors in the months ahead.

Among new taverns specializing in craft beers include the Black Sheep Ale House in Mineola, the Tap Room in Patchogue and Croxley’s in Smithtown.

What’s more beer distributors and retailers are adding new brands to their portfolios and shelves, respectively, and on the retail level, an increasing number of growler filling stations. Moreover, many dining spots, such as Jackson’s in Commack and Roots Bistro Gourmand in West Islip have embraced craft beer, providing additional locations for beer aficionados to please their palates.

Homebrewers, too, will be participating with a competition sponsored by the Brewers East End Revival home brew club on May 18 in St. James. And, Long Island Beer and Malt Enthusiasts is sponsoring the Golden Tap Awards.

The week’s organizers are dispensing free pint classes across Long Island on May 9 and Untappd, the mobile beer-logging app, will offer badges for those who make it to at least two of the venues participating in Long Island Craft Beer Week.

All told, there will some 80-plus events taking place over the 10 days—11 if you count the kickoff events of May 9. While many of these events will feature fine beers, not all will be Long Island focused.  Troublesome for some Long Island purists, perhaps. But for enthusiasts who want to sample interesting beers, these days ahead offer nothing but excitement.

With so many events on the calendar, what do you do?  Here are my top 10 plus 1 recommendations.

May 9, 6-11 p.m. Croxley’s, Farmingdale, hosts an Official Pre-Party Cask tasting that features a mix of local and domestic cask-conditioned crafts and food, too.  Get there early as these casks often are drained quite quickly. $24.95.

May 10, 6 p.m. TJ Finley’s Public Housewww.tjfinleys.com, Bay Shore. Long Island Craft Beer Week Kickoff Party featuring a PAYG Blue Point Brewery tap takeover as well as a special offering from the Patchogue brewery.

May 11, 1 p.m.- 5 p.m.  Bay Fest at Great South Bay Brewery in Bay Shore. A tented beer fest featuring 20-plus mostly local breweries. Tickets are $40 in advance, $50 at the gate.

May 12,  7 p.m. to 4 a.m. If you can leave mom for a while—or take her with you—get over to the Black Sheep in Mineola for special tapping of Keegan Ales Super Kitty, an American strong ale with honey and plenty of hops conditioned for six months with oak chips

May 13, 6 p.m-2 a.m.  The Tap Room in Patchogue is offering a Dogfish Head tap takeover with 12 lines devoted to such rare brews as 120 Minute IPA and World Wide Stout. PAYG.

May 14, 6 p.m. Golden Tap Awards Gala
 at
 89 North, Patchogue. Long Island’s beer Oscars, Emmys and People’s Choice Awards rolled into one to honor Long Island’s beer innovators and pioneers. Awards will be presented to winners in all aspects of the craft beer industry including bars and breweries, based on online polling and an official panel judging. Tickets include the awards show as well as a cocktail hour before the show with light fare. $55.

May 15, 7:15pm – Midnight. Barrier Brewingwww.barrierbrewing.com beer dinner at Press 195www.press195.comin Rockville Centre, featuring five Jewish-Latin inspired dishes paired with five electric brews from Barrier. Tickets are limited and purchase in advance at bar. $70 including tax and tip.

May 16,  8 p.m.-11 p.m. Black Sheep Ale House, Mineola, veers north with a Maine Beer Co. ‎ tap takeover and Organic Cheese Pairing. Maine Beer’s entire line up of beers paired with small batch organic cheeses from Silvery Moon Creamery in Portland, Maine. Mo, Titus, Mean Old Tom, and Peeper will be available on draught. There also will be beer flight/cheese pairings with 5-oz. pours of each draft and pours from Lunch and Zoe bottles. PAYG

May 17, 7 p.m.-4 a.m. Back to the Black Sheep in Mineola for a special cask. This time it’s Port Jeff Brewing’s Wet & Wild Wet-Hopped
Sour Ale, a wet-hopped brett-laced sour ale. PAYG.

May 18, 3-7 p.m.TJ Finley’s Public House, Bay Shore, puts on 10-plus casks of local and regional beers and BBQ. $40 in advance; $55 at the door.

May 19.  2-4:30 p.m. It’s an all-grain home brew tutorial at The Lark in East Northport, NY 11731
with Alan Talman of Karp’s Hardware and Homebrew. $10 donation to benefit a local animal shelter. Reservations required.

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Creative brews at LI Nano Cask Festival

The scene at 2013 Long Island Nano Cask Festival

Renee Irizarry checks out the brews at 2013 Long Island Nano Cask Festival

Creativity was on display at the 4th Annual Long Island Nano Cask Festival.

Held at the Rocky Point Beach Club on Jan. 26, this relatively intimate beer event run by Rocky Point Artisan Brewers featured nine brewers and twice as many brews. About 150 people attended the five-hour event.

Participating brewers asked by the sponsors to bring unique, creative contributions –all served from casks, that it without forced carbonation – certainly complied.

To be sure, some brews succeeded more than others. Among the best:

Tangerine Belgian Tripel produced by the festival hosts. This was a version of the brewery’s Ardennes Tripel with an addition of fresh, hand-peeled clementine zest. Oddly summery with its light, refreshing “ade” character, the beer was mightily deceptive with 10.5 percent alcohol by volume.

Another fruited beer, Port Jeff Brewing’s Schooner Ale with cherries also was among my favorites at the fest.

Barrage Brewing, which is awaiting the installation of gas lines at its new Farmingdale brew house, showed off a oak-aged, rum-raisin porter called Raven Shadow, a smooth, easy sipping brew with chocolate and roasted grain notes with a touch of acidity in the finish.

There was more than fruit being used in the brews served that afternoon.

Photo1 (82)Prominent among them was Blind Bat Brewery’s Sweet Potato Saison, a round and sweet brew. It will be worth watching to see how brewer Paul Dlugokencky hones the recipe for his second batch of this unique brew.

Hoppocratic Oath by Great South Bay Brewing, though not a nano brewery, also was a winner. This brilliant, copper hued imperial IPA presented a huge citrus nose, deliciously estery fruit notes and a tasty bitter finish.

Stouts also made appearances, albeit with some unusual flavorings. Port Jeff Birch Stout was slightly reminiscent of a root beer with its wintergreen character, but lacked the vanilla creaminess root beer devotees enjoy. And Mint Chocolate Stout from Spider Bite Brewing was a light rendition with hints of both additives.

Were you there?  Tell us in the comments section what beers you enjoyed.

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Jan. 26 Long Island Nano Cask Festival to feature many one-off brews

2013-nanocaskfest (1)

One of my favorite small time beer fests is almost upon us — the Long Island Nano Cask Ale Festival.

Sponsored by Rocky Point Artisan Brewers, this Jan. 26 festival features a small group of small brewers pouring unique brews in a cozy venue, the North Shore Beach Owners Club House in Rocky Point. To keep it comfortable organizers plan to sell only 150 tickets. The festivities start at 3 p.m.

It’s an opportunity to sample exciting local brews—many of them one offs brewed especially for this event —without having to elbow your way to the tap.

What makes this event special is that the brews are served from casks with natural carbonation rather than forced carbonation. Our friends across the Atlantic call cask beers “Real Ale” and it was the traditional way of serving beer until forced carbonation came along. To the uninitiated, that’s why British beers have a reputation for being warm and flat.  To be honest, these beers are neither. A cask beer generally is served at cellar temperature and, if done right, can be downright creamy and flavorful.

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Scene from last’s year’s nano festival. (Rocky Point Artisan Brewers photo)

To be sure, there’s always disagreement among beer aficionados about which beers are best suited to be served on cask.  British-style beers and some Belgians work best, to my taste. Those extreme beers with tons of hops just don’t work. They need the carbon dioxide to offset all that bitterness.

In addition to the host brewery, other participants include Barrage Brewiing, Blind Bat Brewery, Ghost Cat BrewingGreat South Bay Brewing, Greenpoint Harbor Brewing, Montauk Brewing, Port Jeff Brewing and Spider Bite Brewing. Also, Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiasts, a local home brew club will be pouring various homebrews, including an expresso-flavored cider from award-winning home brewer Bobby Rodriguez and Frank Filacchione’s rauch beer.

421410_338113679560636_1970184522_nAmong the commercial offerings  lined up are a vanilla smoked porter from Spider Bite, which also will pour an India pale ale brewed with a  new hop variety, Belma (described as having tropical citrus notes).

Blind Bat, meanwhile will pour a sweet potato saison, while the new Montauk Brewing Co. is bringing what it calls an eastbound brown ale fermented with espresso beans from Hampton coffee company

Port Jeff Brewing will be bringing a birch stout and a version of Schooner Ale flavored with cherries.

Barrage Brewing will have two casks: Ravens Shadow, an oaked rum raisin porter, which I believe they poured at last year’s nano fest, and FairyTale Red Hop Ale, an Irish red ale  dry hopped with Amarillo and citra hops.

Tickets, $40 each, include a tasting glass, unlimited beer samples and live music. Crazy Beans, of Miller Place, and Bite Me Cakes, of Sound Beach, will supply the eats. This year, as an added feature there will be a farmer’s market taking place, where produce will be available for purchase and growlers of beer will be sold during the final hour of event.

For tickets go to Rocky Point’s web site.

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My top 10 U.S. craft brews of 2012

Hundreds of beers have slipped through my lips during preceding 12 months, so it’s not easy picking out favorites, but out curiosity forced myself to revisit my tasting notes to see what I imbibed.

I found quite a few American craft brews with substantial appeal, despite a personal passion for British and Belgian imports. The beers on my list represent a broad cross section of styles and U.S. geography.

For the most part, distribution limited my choices to beers available in New York. Nevertheless, such Internet suppliers as Beerjobber.com and LetsPour.com, have made it easier to locate brews from far-flung U.S.

These beers, presented in alphabetical order, stood out in my tasting notes:

stoutlabelwebDuck Rabbit Craft Brewery Milk Stout. Farmville, NC. Sweet Stout. 5.7% abv. This is quickly becoming one of my perennial favorites with its enormous cocoa hued, rocky head, deep brown, opaque body and rich, sweet toasty malt notes. It’s soft as silk on the palate.

Founders Brewing Co. Linch Pin White. Grand Rapids, MI. American IPA, 7% abv. A collaboration with Green Flash Brewing Co. of San Diego, CA,  this golden, cloudy, brew has a dense rocky white head, citrus on the nose and spices and fruit on the palate with a finish that can only be described as tingly.

irishdeathfullIron Horse Brewing Quilter’s Irish Death. Ellensburgh, WA. American Strong Ale, 7.8% abv. Dark and dangerous with an alcoholic strength is deceptive. Incredibly smooth mouth feel. Malty sweet, with notes of bready yeast, roasted chocolate, raisins and dates, coffee, cola, molasses and a mild alcohol tinge.   Untappd lists this as an American Strong Ale, but this is a brew that isn’t easily categorized.

Ithaca Beer Co. Excelsior! Fourteen. Ithaca, NY. Imperial Black IPA. 8.1% abv. Balance is the key to this brew, which offers sweet malt notes and a nice dry finish.

Kelso of Brooklyn Brett IPA. Greenpoint Beer Works. Brooklyn, NY. Belgian IPA. NA abv. I’m a sucker for sour beers and was quite taken by this tart, funky and fruity brew which emulates the Belgian-style. Hazy, orange-hued and oh-so-delicious.

rpab-logo (1)Rocky Point Artisan Brewers Hefeweizen. Rocky Point, NY. Hefeweizen, 4.8%. Absolutely delicious. Blind-tasted it would fool a Bavarian with its classic banana, bubble gum and spice flavors.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2012.  Chico, CA. American IPA. 6.8% abv. A beautifully balanced copper-colored blend of juicy malt and tangy hops preceded by the brewery’s trademark citrus nose.  One sip demands another and one glass must be followed by another.

Stone Brewing Co. Bottleworks 13th Anniversary Ale. San Diego, CA. American strong ale, 13% abv.   A tribute by Bottleworks, a Seattle craft beer store, to the number 13, marking its 13 years in business with 13 malts, 13 hops, and 13% abv.  Thick and delicious. Malty sweet with notes of dried fruit and licorice. A big thank you to Stone’s Dennis Flynn for the pour.

rudeman137x167Wandering Star Brewery Rude Man.  Pittsfield, MA. English-style Barleywine, 10.6%. A smooth, deceptively dangerous-to-drink strong brew.  Fruity with a pronounced malty sweetness, this brew lacks the  overwhelming hoppiness typically found in American craft barley wines.  I gave this five stars.

Widmer Brothers Pitch Black IPA. Portland, OR. 6.5 % abv. One of my favorites in the emerging black IPA or Cascadian dark style.  Round, smooth and balanced with a resiny, fruity nose, notes of toast and caramel, it has a long. dry finish.

Next: My top 10 import favorites

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Rocky Point Artisan Brewers gets micro brewery license

From left, Voight, Jenssen and Hall at a recent Long island beer festival

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No. 1260239.  This number means everything to Mike Voight and Donavan Hall, principals of Long Island’s Rocky Point Artisan Brewers.  It’s the serial number on their just-granted New York State micro brewery license.

The brewery submitted its application on Jan. 3 and five months and 20 days later, it became a realty on June 20. The project has been in the works for three years.

“It just took so long,” Hall told Corks, Caps and Taps. “They kept giving us so many problems that we thought for sure we’d never get it. It was kind of a shock when the license arrived.”

Hall added, “Now we’re trying to get some beer out the door.”

The 1.5 bbl.-brewery, built in a converted residential garage four doors down from Hall’s home, has minimal beer on hand and shipping won’t begin until the brewer’s labels get government approval, probably in about a week, Hall said. The first release is likely to be Rocky Point Pilsner, which has been part of the brewery’s repertoire  and received favorable notices at beer festivals.

Rocky Point is using a system similar to that originally used by Barrier Brewing in Oceanside. “He’s been brewing twice a day to keep up with demand,” Hall said of Barrier owner Evan Klein.

Rocky Point’s fermenters hold 300 gallons, just under 10 barrels. A house fronting the brewery remains a residence, but may someday be converted into a tasting room, he noted.

Hall, a writer, and partner Mike Voigt, an electronics repairer, both from Rocky Point, met as home brewers and began brewing in Voigt’s basement in 2006. They were joined in 2009 by Yuri Janssen, a research physicist at Stony Brook University, who for now is one of the brewers.

Rocky Point, Long Island’s tenth commercial brewery, is a “nano” in size. “We’re going to stay small for a while,” Hall said. Nano brewers generally produce under 4 barrels of beer at a time.

Other breweries in Nassau and Suffolk Counties (including brew pubs) are: Barrier, Black Forest Brew Haus, Blind Bat, Blue Point, Brickhouse, Greenport Harbor, Fire Island, John Harvard’s, Long Ireland, Port Jefferson , Southampton Publick House and Spider Bite.

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