Lounging in Long Island

New job, new opportunities, that’s my motto! Change is difficult, but there are always new opportunities to learn new things, establish new relationships, and for the beer lover find new beer bars. So when I had the opportunity to meet one of our vendors down on Long Island I took it and started making my plans. And since dinner is always on the agenda, I chose a nearby German brewpub that offered great food and their own drafts, the Black Forest Brew Haus (http://www.blackforestbrewhaus.com/ordereze/default.aspx).

I had been to the Black Forest many years ago with another co-worker, and I was excited to return. It was a slow night (not many customers) but that meant we were able to sit next to the beer kettles and get quick service. To wet my whistle, I tried a Scotch Ale (I know, weird choice in a German bar but I hadn’t tried it before and it was really good!). My buddy Mike got the German Ploughman’s, a mixed plate of sausages, and I ordered the Tafelspitz, a plate of marinated beef in a horseradish cream sauce. To wash my meal down, I was delighted to find a Smoked Porter for their specialty beer. We had a nice dinner and then checked in at our hotel and I checked in with Jenn. It was still early and there wasn’t anything on TV, so I went out to find Croxley Ale House (http://www.croxley.com/Croxley/Farmingdale_Main_Page.html). This was a trendy bar with food, lots of TVs, and over 50 microbrew taps. So I watched Kansas blow out Missouri on the hardcourt, and sipped a Croxley Winter Malt. This was a specialty Christmas beer brewed for Croxley’s by Brooklyn Brewery with a good balance of spice and alcohol.

The next day we held our meeting, and I wasn’t able to get on the road until 16:30. That meant traffic, lots of traffic, for getting off the island. Mike let me borrow his Garmin, so I drove a ways to Bethpage and stopped at Mr. Beerys (http://www.mrbeerys.com/) to let some of the rush pass by. Mr. Beerys was a small bar with about 14 taps, but the taps offered a lot of beers that I had never found on draft before. I tried a Long Ireland Breakfast Stout while listening to the owner show off by calling some outside source to answer beer fact questions. That seems to be the story of this bar, and although I was impressed with the selection, I wasn’t so much with the atmosphere.

On the road again, and needing some food. I stopped at the Hyde Park Brewpub (http://www.hydeparkbrewing.moonfruit.com/), which is located right across from the FDR museum. I knew about the place since we had visited it some years before. I got a sampler and some sliders (both very good), and really enjoyed the Red Rider Red Ale. I struck up a conversation with the brewer who was impressed with my beer book, so he gave me my beer for free. A kind gesture, designed to bring me back. It’ll probably work. - 5375

"I think this would be a good time for a beer." – Franklin D. Roosevelt on the Repeal of Prohibition