Tag Archives: Barrage Brewing

March 24, 2016 · 3:03 pm

A chocolate beer instead of Easter eggs?

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A proliferation of chocolate-flavored beers provides a twist for Easter quaffing

By Alan J. Wax

What will the Easter Bunny bring you? Some chocolate eggs?  Better still, some chocolate beer?

Easter is the perfect excuse to indulge in as much chocolate as possible with no regrets. For all the adults looking to treat themselves this Easter weekend it’s the perfect time consider a beer made with chocolate.

There are plenty of choices as brewers increasingly have been wedding chocolate in its various forms with the maltiness of their brews. The result can be tasty.

Typically, chocolate beers are produced using dark chocolate or cocoa in various forms during different parts of the brewing process, depending on how much chocolate influence the brewer wants to impart.

Often, these beers are stouts. The malt flavors in stouts and porters often mimic flavors of dark chocolate and roasted coffee beans anyway, so if a brewer wants to take it the next level, they can add actual chocolate for aroma and (or) flavor. Chocolate beers can range in taste from a chocolate milkshake to burnt cocoa — depending on the brewer’s preference.

Chocolate beers can be the perfect pairing to dessert or even as a substitution for it. Try a sweet chocolate beer (like Boulder Shake) with drier desserts, say a black chocolate cake that’s more on the bitter side, or a creamy vanilla ice cream, so that the beer serves as a chocolate sauce on top.

Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, which I first sampled in 2003, was among the first of this ilk. Nearly an opaque, ruby- black brew, I recall it as smooth with a lingering chocolate aftertaste.

A much sought after beer:  The cocoa-infused Sexual Chocolate by Foothills Brewing Co., a brew pub in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is a Russian Imperial Stout that weighs in at over 9 percent ABV. It attracts hundreds of devotees to the brewery every year to get their hands on this special release. Unfortunately, I’ve not sampled it.

Barrage Brewing Co., in Farmingdale, Long Island, produces a couple of chocolaty brews. One is Yada Yada Yada, a brown ale that’s sort of Snickers bar in liquid form. Peanuts dominate the palate, which includes notes of caramel and chocolate. Barrage’s Assault ‘N Fudgery is Bosco (a chocolate syrup popular in the New York area for decades) gone boozy. It’s sweet and chocolaty and best slowly sipped.

To be sure, there are many others.

Evil Twin Even More Denmark is a terrific ebony hued brew with a nose of orange peel marinated in alcohol. Orange and alcohol flavors mingle on the palate.  It’s velvety with a bitter chocolate finish. It was sold only at Whole Foods Market.

Dogfish Head Theobroma, a chili beer with chocolate among its flavorings also is a winner and has been around since about 2008. It’s a cloudy, deep gold with a fruity nose and light chili pepper notes on the palate. The chocolate is subtle and the finish is sweet.

Dogfish Head Higher Math is definitely a beer for dessert. Murky brown, it exudes cherries and cocoa on the nose. It’s thick and mouth-coating, sort of like a high octane chocolate-covered cherry.

Boulevard Chocolate Ale is a richly flavored American-style strong ale that debuted in 2011 and is produced as a collaboration with Kansas City chocolatier Christopher Elbow as part of the brewery’s Smokestack Series. Deep gold in color, there is a complex meld of chocolate, caramel and vanilla notes.

Moody Tongue Caramelized Chocolate Churro Baltic Porter, from the chef-led Chicago brewery, is brown in color, spritz and has notes of cinnamon but only a hint of chocolate.

New Belgium Brewing Co.’s Salted Caramel Brownie Ale with its chocolaty nose, is a light style, easy drinking brew that seems more like a cream soda with a strong vanilla finish.  It’s a collaboration with ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s.

New Belgium Brewing Lips of Faith Chocolate Stout exhibits big alcohol notes and a burnt caramel flavor. It finishes on the sweet side.

Boulder Beer Co. Shake Chocolate Porter is definitely easy drinking, like a creamy, chocolate milk shake.

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, an import from England, hits you with its big chocolate nose, but the impression on the palate is light and silky smooth.

Off Color Brewing’s Dino S’mores is an opaque, black-hued, high-alcohol brew with notes of roasted coffee and chocolate on the nose. The palate suggests creamy marshmallow but that flavor fade fast. It’s a thick, chewy brew.

Evil Twin Christmas Eve in A New York City Hotel Room is a potent, opaque black imperial stout with a nose and palate that suggests crème cacao chocolate liqueur. It’s rich and smooth with a light alcoholic bite (10% ABV).

Funky Buddha Nib Smuggler Chocolate Porter, a winter brew from the Fort Lauderdale brewery, is a deep brown milk porter with a nose of chocolate syrup and notes of roasted grain. There’s chocolate and vanilla in each sip. The finish is dry malty finish.

There are many more out there, I‘m sure.  If you find them give ’em a try. They’re unique and fun to drink.

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April 28, 2015 · 6:11 pm

Long Island breweries, bars to celebrate Craft Beer Week May 6-17

LI Craft logo

By Alan J. Wax

Long Island: get ready for Craft Beer Week.

Long Island’s craft beer industry and its supporters in the hospitality and retail trade are readying a week-plus long celebration of the region’s breweries and beers. It runs from May 6 to May 17, which of course, is more than a week.

Breweries, bars and restaurants will be running special events to mark the celebration. So far, 21 breweries have signed on along with 20 restaurants and bars, three retailers and two wholesalers.

David Schultzer, owner of Bellport Cold Beer & Soda and the lead organizer of Long Island Craft Beer Week, says the celebration is designed to create awareness of Long Island breweries and beers and to attract mainstream beer drinkers to craft beer. “While the focus is Long Island beer and breweries, we need to get more people into craft beer.”

Nevertheless, he said, other states, such as Oregon and California, sell a far greater proportion of locally produced beers than New York.

“We don’t do a good job of letting people know we exist,” he says. Moreover, he said, with the growing number of small breweries opening in the region, brewers will be fighting for the same piece of the pie—and survival, unless they attract legions of new imbibers. “If you don’t expand that customer base, how can you survive?”

The first big event of Long Island Craft Beer week is the May 6 kickoff, Long Island Craft Beer Cares, a charity beer and food tasting at the Melville Marriott Hotel to benefit the Long Island Cares food bank; the Lustgarten Foundation, which raises funds to fight pancreatic cancer, and the New York Bully Crew, a pet-rescue organization.

A collaboration brew — Long Island Craft Cares — developed and brewed by Great South Bay Brewery, of Bay Shore; Port Jeff Brewing, 1940’s Brewing Co., of Farmingdale; Barrage Brewing Co. of East Farmingdale, Blue Point Brewing Co. of Patchogue, and BrickHouse Brewery, also of Patchogue, will debut at the charity event.

Breweries represented at the Long Island Craft Beer Care event include: Blue Point; Great South Bay; Barrage; 1940’s ; Port Jeff; BrickHouse Brewery; Brooklyn Brewery; Sixpoint Brewery, Brooklyn; Spider Bite Beer Co., Holbrook; Blind Bat Brewery, Centerport; Destination Unknown Beer Co., Bay Shore; The Brewers Collective, Farmingdale; Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, Bronx Brewery and Southern Tier Brewing Co., Lakewood, New York.

Beers, Burgers Desserts of Rocky Point, The Tap Room of Patchogue, Noodles & Co., of Garden City, Verde Wine Bar of Deer Park, The Trattoria, St. James will be among area eateries serving up delicious food to accompany the local craft beer at the Craft Beer Cares event. Tickets are $55 and can be purchased online at Eventbrite.

Free Long Island Craft Beer pint glasses will be available and can be ordered online and picked up on May 7 at these locations: The Tap Room, Patchogue; Savoy Tavern, Merrick; Beers Burgers Desserts, Rocky Point; Brewology, Speonk; Lil’ Left Coast, Bellmore; Bobbique, Patchogue and Eat Gastropub, Island Park.

The celebration’s other big event is Bay Fest, a beer festival featuring dozens of breweries at Great South Bay Brewery, i25 Drexel Ave., Bay Shore on May 16. Twenty-seven  breweries — at last count — and several home brew clubs will be pouring samples of their wares. There’s a general session from 1:30 to 5:30 pm with tickets $40 online and $15 for designated drivers. A VIP session, which starts at 12:45 p.m. $55 per person and $15 for designated drivers. Tickets are available at Ticketfly.

In addition to the host brewery, participating brewers include Port Jeff Brewing, BrickHouse Brewery, Blue Point Brewing, Barrage Brewing, 1940’s Brewing, Montauk Brewing Co., Oyster Bay Brewing, Barrier Brewing of Island Park, Southampton Publick House, Riverhead’s Crooked Ladder Brewing, Goose Island Beer Co. of Chicago, Two Roads Brewing of Stratford, Connecticut, Brooklyn Brewery, Ommergang, Greenport Harbor Brewing, Long Ireland Beer Co. of Riverhead, Adirondack Pub and Brewery of Lake George, Third Rail Beer Co. of Manhattan, Southern Tier, Samuel Adams, Destination Unknown, and Lithology Brewing, Farmingdale.

The big events sandwich a multitude of smaller, but no-less exciting events. You’ll find them listed at the Long Island Craft Beer week website.

Hope to see you at one them.

 

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January 29, 2014 · 2:36 pm

Barrage Brewing, ending a 2-year haul, opens its doors in East Farmingdale

Owner-brewer Steve Pominksi inside the new Barrage brewery

Owner-brewer Steve Pominksi inside the new Barrage brewery

Stephen Pominski Jr. has been working on the railroad. Now, he’s also working in a brewery — his own.

Pominski, 52, who works full-time as a trackside tower operator for the Long Island Railroad, has just opened the doors to Long Island’s newest microbrewery, Barrage Brewing Co.,  in East Farmingdale.  He’s been making beer commercially since mid-December after two years of planning and construction.   He’s at the brewery between his LIRR job and time at home, often aided by his son, Adam, 25.

“Now, it’s for real,” said Pominski.  “But it’s still very daunting. It’s still intimidating.”

Barrage is marking the occasion of its opening with launch parties on Jan. 31 at Morrison’s Restaurant in Plainview and on Feb. 1 at Dave Schultzer’s Bellport Cold Soda and Beer.

In addition to these two outlets, Barrage’s beers will be available by the growler ($13 each) at the brewery – on Sundays only, and, eventually at a growing number of bars, among them The Good Life in Massapequa Park , the Black Sheep Ale House in Mineola, and Hoptron Brewtique in Patchogue, and beer distributors with growler taps around Long Island. He plans to self distribute and eventually get his beers into New York City. “Right now, we want to take care of our close area.

The Barrage brewery consists of a 1-bbl. gas-fired stainless steel brewing system. By doing step infusions, Pominski says he can brew twice a day. There also are 10 42-gallon conical fermenters, some of them housed inside two 8×8 walk-in cold rooms. Bags of malt from German, English and American maltsters are stacked on pallets and bins of specialty malts line a wall.

BarrageBrewingLogo smallFinanced with savings and investments by relatives and a successful $18,000 Kickstarter campaign, Pominski’s brewery has its roots in craft beer’s first go-round in the New York area, the early 1990’s. That’s when he discovered the flavorful beers available at Mr. Fadely’s Deli Pub in Patchogue, where he also got to know Blue Point Brewery co-founder Peter Cotter. A homebrewer for 15 years, Steve and his wife, Diana, in 2009 converted a small existing room in their home and their garage into a family room, equipped with a 16-foot bar with two taps for his homebrews. Friends raved about his beer and encouraged him to sell it Soon, the family room became a regular stop for friends and the bar in the garage became known as “The Barrage.” In June 2010, stirred by the opening of nano brewery Barrier in Oceanside, Pominski founded his brewery.

But forming a company and getting to the point where you could sell beer are a formidable challenge. After trying to open in Freeport, N.Y. – zoning issues prevented this from occurring— the search was on for a new location. Landlords didn’t want fumes or sewering was inadequate.  In March 2012, Pominski found his current location. But other obstacles got in the way. The installation of a gas line was delayed six months as National Grid focused on Hurricane Sandy repairs and then Suffolk County decided his sewer lines weren’t up to code and ordered him to dig them up and replace them at a cost of $17,000.

“It’s been anxiety ridden and overwhelming,” Pominski said,. “Now, it’s a relief. But,  he noted, adding that after giving away brews at festivals, now “people are paying for this beer and I have to make sure it’s worth it.”

Pominski is targeting novice craft beer drinkers as well as beer aficionados. His first offering, Fairytale Red Ale, an Irish-style red, “is right down the middle.” Also now on tap are Blackspot, a black rye IPA; Citralization, an all Citra hop American pale ale, and Mclaughlin’s Folly, an oatmeal stout brewed with raisins and vanilla. Other brews, mostly dark and in an Old English vein, will follow, Pominski said. “I really like dark beer.”

The new brewer says he hopes to produce about 300 to 400 barrels of beer during his first year, but admits, “I’ll have to brew a lot.”

You’ll find Barrage Brewing at 32 Allen Boulevard, Unit E. Located behind TJA Auto Collision, less than a block off Route 110. Pull into the driveway along the east side the body shop and count a half dozen or so garage doors. You’ll see Barrage’s name on the window.  Call before you go (516) 986-8066.

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January 30, 2013 · 12:12 pm

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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January 16, 2013 · 5:04 pm

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

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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 Brewing, Great 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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