Blue Point Hoptical Illusion, Great South Bay Blonde Ambition and Port Jeff Low Tide Black IPA are just a few of the tasty local craft beers that will be flowing freely during Long Island Craft Beer Week starting Friday.
The collaborative venture created to raise awareness of the thriving local craft beer culture and promote patronage at local establishments is back uniting local breweries, restaurants and bars with hops heads over the course of 10 glorious days.
The Island-wide celebration will be filled with entertaining and educational beer events—including special events such as meet the brewer nights, beer dinners, brewery tours, cooking with beer classes, beer tastings and more that will be hosted by participating breweries, bars and restaurant owners.
The taps started flowing for Craft Beer Week on Friday and continues through Sunday, May 20.
“People are really into it and getting behind it,” Mark Burford, founder of Blue Point Brewing Co. said in a statement. “This year will be even better.”
Three local breweries will dive deep into the beer celebration for the first time: Long Ireland Beer Co. opened in Riverhead last summer, Port Jeff Brewing Co. set up shop in its namesake village in the fall, and Great South Bay Brewery opened its Bay Shore headquarters this winter. Those are others among the latest additions give LI 13 breweries to call their own.
Getting thirsty yet?
While this week is a joyous occasion for any beer fan, some local breweries are going into the week-long celebration with their heads down after a state court ruled unconstitutional two state tax exemptions that saved local breweries thousands of dollars annually.
The ruling comes after the court took the side of a Massachusetts brewing company that filed a lawsuit saying the tax exemption gave New York craft breweries an unfair advantage because they were saving money by paying lower taxes than out-of-state breweries.
The ruling means craft beer fans will have to pony up some more money. The New York Post reported that New York beer makers will have to pay 14 cents more for every gallon sold. That is, unless the state legislature passes legislation addressing the issue.
There is a bit of good news, however.
It was announced earlier this week that Spider Bite Brewing of Holbrook won the coveted best brewery in New York State award at the Tap NY festival at Hunter Mountain. They were the second LI brewery in as many years to win the prize.
So here’s to a local brewery dominating the competition. While you’re doing that, here’s some events to mull over.
Mirabelle Restaurant at Three Village Inn on 150 Main Street in Stony Brook will celebrate Long Island Craft Beer Week with a special beer dinner on Thursday, May 17 at 6 p.m.
Two local breweries, Long Ireland and Blind Bat Brewery, have joined forces to brew a beer especially for the celebration. Craft beer lovers can check out the unique concoction at The Cortland on 27 West Main St. in Bay Shore, The Black Sheep Ale House on 78 2nd St. in Mineola and Tap and Barrel on 550-8 Smithtown Bypass in Smithtown.
Check out Long Island Craft Beer Week’s website for other events.
