Crafting Local Beer at Westhampton Beach Brewing Co.

Westhampton Beach Brewing Co. has been open for a little over a year, and in that time they’ve made pretty big waves in the craft beer scene. With a lively tasting room, eight different beers on tap and canned beers that are distributed throughout New York, Westhampton Beach Brewing Co. is on a continual upward trajectory.

Run by Brian Sckipp, John Salvaggio, Kathleen Tedesco, Rich Tedesco and brewer Dave DeTurris, Westhampton Beach Brewing Co. hit the ground running. “We were all very like-minded and had a similar dream, and decided to go into business together,” says Rich. “It’s been very well-received by the local village, as well as the residents. It’s been very unique for us. Everybody, with the exception of Dave, we all have regular day jobs, but it’s been wonderful being in Westhampton Beach.”

One of the goals of Westhampton Beach Brewing Co. is approachability. “Dave’s philosophy is that every beer on the menu should be drinkable for both novice beer drinkers and beer geeks,” Rich says. “We wanted to make a product that appeals to everyone as far as taste. Our tasting room has a really nice, relaxing vibe to it. It’s comforting, there’s couches, nice tables for people to congregate, it’s family friendly. We wanted a nice product, an inviting atmosphere and we wanted to start distributing it as soon as possible.”

The company’s canned beers have been a great success. “We started canning within the first few months. With other breweries, it usually takes quite a while to do that,” Rich says. “It’s been difficult for us to keep it in stock—it almost leaves the loading dock as quickly as we can make it!”

Sckipp, the COO, wants the company to continue to grow and expand the canning process. “We’ve sold over 100,000 cans of beer in our first year,” Sckipp says. “We’d love to see that double next year, if possible.” Canning was part of the plan from the jump. “The tasting room is great, but there’s a finite number of people you can seat through the door, even at the peak of popularity. The canning was a must. We opened in July and started canning in late September.”

While having a Hamptons business often means summer is the most important time of year, Sckipp stresses that Westhampton Beach Brewing Co. is actually at its busiest in the colder months. “Our strongest four months were the last four months of the year. The year-round residents are done with the boat and going to the beach and looking for other options,” he says. “They come in, they bring their kids, we have games. We see our numbers go higher in these months, while in the dead of summer the tasting room is relatively empty until 5 p.m. or so. In the fall, people are waiting for us when we open the doors.”

DeTurris, who Sckipp describes as a “celebrity” in the craft brewing scene, has brought a lot of his creative ideas to the table. “He was able to tweak a lot of recipes in his notebook that he hadn’t been able to make yet.” One of those beers is the Irish Eyes Cream Stout, which both DeTurris and Tedesco note is among their most popular. “The Irish Car Bomb drink was an inspiration,” Sckipp says.

Sckipp encourages beer lovers and their families to visit the tasting room for their live music and comedy series. “We become a little nightclub one night a month for comedy and music. We’ve had a great response
from people.”

Westhampton Beach Brewing Co. is located at 220 Roger’s Way, Westhampton Beach. For more information visit westhamptonbeachbrewingco.com.