Noble Savage Brewing opened in the heart of downtown Glen Cove this summer and quickly gained a following for its distinctive beers and cozy taproom.
Owner and brewmaster Frank Bilello began the search for a location for his new brewery in 2016 and quickly focused on Glen Cove, where Garvies Point Craft Brewery opened a year prior.
“I think is was serendipitous,” says Bilello. “We found a great spot in a city that is business friendly and was going through tremendous revitalization.”
Bilello, who was born in Glen Cove and now lives in Sea Cliff, caught the brewing bug as a homebrewer and then honed his craft working at Oyster Bay Brewing for a year. After finding the location for his brewery, he spent almost two years renovating the 2,700-square-foot building with the help of grants from the City of Glen Cove, National Grid, and PSEG Long Island.
“Without the grants I received, I wouldn’t have been able to get everything done,” says Bilello, who gutted the century-old building where he built a 2-barrel brewing system and rustic taproom featuring a long bar accented by handmade barstools.
Noble Savage is licensed as a New York State farm brewery and sources many ingredients from the Hudson Valley.
“We work with Hudson Valley Malt in Germantown, which is the closest provider and gives us the freshest malt we can use,” says Bilello. He also uses hops from Germantown Beer Farm, including Cascade hops that are the only hops used in his Amber Ale.
Bilello’s beers at Noble Savage run the gamut from light lagers to hoppy pale ales to hearty brown ales and stouts. One of his experiments was Kveik Pale Ale, named for a slang Norwegian word for yeast, a nonpurified yeast used in traditional Norwegian farmhouse brewing.
Another creation was Bomb Johnson, a dry-hopped New England-style hazy IPA. Bilello has also used ingredients from local businesses in his brews, including brownies from Pudgy Owl Bake Shop in his Fudge Yeah Glen St. Stout.
Noble Savage’s taproom, which was initially open Thursday to Sunday, recently added Wednesday nights in addition to happy hour specials.
Downtown Glen Cove is poised to become Long Island’s next hot restaurant and nightlife destination and Bilello is happy to be there, saying, “We got in at a good time.”
Noble Savage Brewing Co. is located at 27 Glen Street in Glen Cove. For more information visit noblesavagebrews.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
