Adult Beverage-Makers Abound: A Guide to East End Breweries, Distilleries and Cideries
By Staff
Thirsty for something besides what vineyards on the North Fork Wine Trail are pouring? The region’s cupeth overflows with a mouth-watering variety of locally made beers, hard ciders and craft spirits. Now that’s something to celebrate this summer. Cheers!
BREWERIES
Eastern Front Brewing Co.
13100 Main Road, Mattituck. facebook.com/easternfrontbrewing
A stone’s throw from downtown Love Lane, this rustic tasting room pours such popular brews as North Shore Irish Red Ale, Super Sexy Imperial Stout and Fragile Like a Bomb IPA with guava and orange blossom honey.
234 Carpenter Street, Greenport. 42155 Main Road, Peconic. greenportharborbrewing.com
This dynamic brewery located in a converted firehouse has been such a success that it opened a second location in Peconic featuring a tasting room just like its hometown brewery, specializing in a variety of ales, seasonal favorites—fall is not complete without Leaf Pile—porters and IPAs.
Jamesport Farm Brewery
5873 Sound Avenue, Riverhead. jfbrewery.com
These enterprising hops farmers are leading the way in using local ingredients in their craft brews. Cofounders Melissa and Anthony Caggiano operate the 43-acre farm that’s also home to their wholesale nursery, Plant Connection, and their hop farm, LI Hops.
Long Ireland Beer Co.
817 Pulaski Street, Riverhead. longirelandbrewing.com
Long Ireland Beer Co., located in an East End neighborhood known as Polish Town, sounds like an international brewing operation, but the owners are as fiercely local as can be.
62 South Erie Avenue, Montauk. montaukbrewingco.com
The do-it-yourself attitude that the easternmost community on Long Island is known for flows from the owners of the Montauk Brewing Co. like brew from the taps in their rustic tasting room that’s arguably one of the most scenic local craft breweries on LI, with an outdoor seating area that offers views of Fort Pond.
24 East 2nd Street Riverhead. northforkbrewingco.com
With 12 taps in total on site, the three stainless steel vessel system makes 10 barrels of beer at a time and multiple fermenters allow for a consistent rotation of flavor variety.
Peconic County Brewing
221 East Main Street, Riverhead. peconiccountybrewing.com
Drawing its name from a long-stalled proposal for the East End to secede from Suffolk County, Peconic County Brewing is among the newest craft breweries to open in Riverhead.
Shelter Island Craft Brewery
55 North Ferry Road, Shelter Island. shelterislandcraftbrewery.com
Among the local ingredients this New York State-certified farm brewery reportedly uses are honey, apples, beach plums and scallops from Shelter Island, plus spices grown in the brewmaster’s garden.
Tradewinds Brewing Company
70 West Main Street, Riverhead. tradewindsbrewing.com
This new brewery was founded by a pioneer of craft brewing on LI, Duffy Griffiths, who was the original head brewer at John Harvard’s brewpub in Lake Grove before launching Crooked Ladder Brewing Company six years ago and moving over to Greenport Harbor Brewing. His new venture took over Crooked Ladder’s old space.
Twin Fork Beer Co.
807 Raynor Avenue, Calverton. twinforkbeer.com
This brewery’s name references more than just its location. It’s also a wink to the owners, Dan and Peter Chekijian, identical twins who founded the brewery in 2014. Their tap handles, found at restaurants across LI and NYC, is a musical tuning fork—a tip of the hat to their father, a classical pianist.
übergeek Brewing Company
400 Hallett Avenue, Riverhead. ubergeekbrewing.com
With a loyal fanbase and many connections both up-island and on the East End, the newest brewery in Riverhead took over the space of Moustache Brewing Co.’s old digs.
220 Rogers Way, Suite I, Westhampton Beach. whbbrewingco.com
This brewery has a beautiful indoor/ outdoor tasting room where you can sip a pint, observe the in-house brewing operations and live its motto: “Every Day’s a Beach Day!”
CIDERIES
Riverhead Cider House
2711 Sound Avenue, Calverton. riverheadcider.com
Flavors include Razzmatazz, Benjamin’s Best and Honey Crisp Bolt. Riverhead currently has more than 12 flavors on tap, all made from New York-grown apples with no added sugars. Local beer, wines and apple cider doughnuts are also available.
729 Route, Aquebogue. woodsideorchards.com
The North Fork hard cidery has variations such as sweet, apple lemon and cinnamon apple—they’ve also had apple ginger, apple raspberry and apple pumpkin in the past. All that’s in addition to apple wine, apple pie and other apple goods they sell.
139 Sagg Road, Sagaponack. wolffer.com
Make a reservation for wine or cider tasting at this famed vineyard in the Hamptons. Wӧlffer offers all wine and cider by the glass, bottle or to-go. Ciders, including dry rosé, red and dry white are available in 12 packs.
DISTILLERIES
Greenport Distilling & Bar
211 Carpenter Street, Greenport. greenportdistillery.com
Patrons can select from a number of wines and spirits produced by the owners themselves in the distillery’s tasting room. Greenport distills spiced rum, bourbon, vodka, gin, grappa, apple brandy and amaros.
Long Island Spirits
2182 Sound Avenue, Baiting Hollow. lispirits.com
Sip spirits in a tasting room patio while grooving to live music and grabbing eats from the food truck. This distillery’s award-winning spirits come in rich tastes and innovative flavors. LiV distills its own vodkas and sorbetta liqueurs as well as Deep Wells Dry Gin, Rough Riders Whiskey and Pine Barrens whiskey and gin.
Montauk Distilling Co.
24 East 2nd Street, Riverhead. montaukdistillingco.com
Take a jaunt to this distillery’s tasting room, where guests can choose from a selection of award-winning bottles of spirits such as Bellamy Spiced Rum and Black Sail Rum. In addition to new spirits like Navy Strength Rum and Tunney Bourbon Whiskey, Montauk plans to offer Modico Vodka Hard Seltzer this summer.
369 Sagg Road, Sagaponack. sagaponackfarmdistillery.com
This farm is known for its critically acclaimed potato vodka, wheat vodka, rhubarb liquour and more. One of Sagaponack’s classics, Empire Rye Whiskey, made from 100% estate-grown rye and barley, has been produced at the distillery three years in a row. The distillery has an outdoor tasting room, as well as an indoor one with limited seating.
Twin Stills Moonshine
5506 Sound Avenue, Riverhead. liooldtymer.com
Rated among the finest wines and spirits in New York, give this moonshine maker a shot at a tasting. Flavors include corn whiskey, maple pecan, mixed berry, coffee and more. Check out the website’s calendar for live music and events.
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