Many craft beer lovers on Long Island may not have heard of it or were never able to enjoy its beers, but a brewpub in Jericho that opened in 1994 helped blaze the trail for what was to come. While it was only open until 1998, Long Island Brewing Company (LIBC) left a lasting impact on its customers and on its staff, including people who went on to play important roles in Long Island’s emerging craft beer scene.
Several alumni of Long Island Brewing Company recently gathered for a 30-year reunion at Great South Bay’s new gastropub at Station Yards in Ronkonkoma. Chris Palmer, who is executive chef for Great South Bay’s two gastropubs in Ronkonkoma and Lindenhurst, was the founding chef at LIBC. He grew up in East Northport and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and had previously been the chef at Conrad’s in Huntington and The Polo Grill at the Garden City Hotel.
“At Conrad’s I had focused a lot on pairing food and wine,” said Palmer, “and at LIBC I was excited about bringing what I’d learned to build a menu using fresh, local ingredients that would complement our fresh beer.” Palmer’s inventive menu included Long Island duck strudel, house-made sausages made with beer, and chili, soups and pot pies served in sourdough bread bowls. Desserts included several made with stout and caramel, including beeramisu.
Adam Schwam, who helped organize the reunion, was a bartender at Long Island Brewing Company and had previously worked for its owner, David Glicker.
“Long Island Brewing Company was a really fun place to work,” said Schwam, “and I hung out there when I wasn’t working and took my future wife Marisa there on many dates.”
Glicker operated high-volume restaurants and nightclubs on Long Island in the ’80s and ’90s, such as J. Sprats, Club Paradise and The Ocean Club.
“I developed the concept for Long Island Brewing Company to combine a microbrewery, restaurant and a coffeehouse with live music, all at the highest quality level,” said Glicker. Long Island Brewing Company took over a spot on Jericho Turnpike that had previously been a nightclub and Glicker hired veteran restaurant and nightclub designer Frank Januszewski to transform the space.
“We wanted to highlight the brewing system and fermenting tanks to make customers feel like they were part of the brewing process,” said Glicker. The decor at Long Island Brewing Company also included extensive beer memorabilia of old New York brewhouses featuring items donated from the collection of Ernie Oest, affectionately known as Uncle Ernie O. At the time, Oest was in his 80s and for decades had built a national reputation as a breweriana collector.
Read also: LI Beerfests on tap: 7 festivals for brew lovers
Long Island Brewing Company’s brewmaster was Mark Burford, who, after leaving LIBC, went on to co-found Blue Point Brewing in Patchogue in 1998. Burford had been brewing for 15 years and owned his own homebrew supply store. He helped select LIBC’s 10-barrel brewing system, imported from the Bohemian Brewing Company in Prague.
“Long Island Brewing Company was a beautifully designed place and we made some good beer while we were all learning together about the industry,” said Burford.
Burford focused on using indigenous materials from the countries of the beer styles he produced, including Czech pilsners, British ESB ales, and German marzens. He also became known for delicious fruit beers including blueberry wheat and raspberry wheat.
“We were early in the craft beer movement on Long Island,” said Burford, “and had to spend a lot of time educating our customers about beer styles.”
LIBC had a Mug Club for regular customers, held beer and food pairing dinners, and hosted events for noted figures in the craft beer industry including British writer Michael Jackson (The Beer Hunter), and homebrewing pioneer Charlie Papazian.
In addition to craft beer and great food, LIBC became a noted venue on Long Island for live music. “Music was Dave’s passion and LIBC became well known for booking national acts,” said Schwam.
Glicker used his connections in the Long Island concert scene and relationships with local radio stations to book acts such as Joan Jett, Todd Rundgren, Randy Jackson of Zebra, Little Buster and the South Brothers, Gov’t Mule and Eric Burdon and the Animals. “We also did live broadcasts from the brewery for WLIR and other stations,” said Glicker.
The high costs of operating the brewery and restaurant ultimately led to the decision to close Long Island Brewing Company. Glicker went on to open The Downtown, a nightclub in Farmingdale that became one of Long Island’s most popular live music venues in the 2000s. He has remained active in the hospitality and festival industry on Long Island.
“It’s a shame that timing was not on our side at LIBC,” said Glicker, “but I was proud of what we built and the great people who worked there and patrons who became lifelong friends.”
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
