After operating for the past 16 years on the mainland in Oceanside, Barrier Brewing Co. recently opened a second taproom in Long Beach on its namesake barrier island.
The new taproom, which opened in August, is located just a few blocks from the Long Island Rail Road station and the boardwalk.
“Our fans on the barrier island won’t have to cross the bridge now to enjoy our beer,” Evan Klein, Barrier’s founder and brewmaster, said.
Barrier was launched by Klein in 2009 in an industrial park in Oceanside with a 1-barrel brewing system. A few years before that, Klein was living in Long Beach when he started homebrewing and then decided to make brewing his profession. After working for two years as a brewer at Sixpoint Brewery in Red Hook, Brooklyn, he founded Barrier and quickly gained recognition for his hoppy India Pale Ales. Barrier won an award in 2010 for the Best Brewery in New York State at the TAP New York Festival.
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Klein moved the brewery to a different industrial park in Oceanside in 2012, setting up a 5-barrel system. Just a few months after opening, the brewery was flooded by four feet of water during Superstorm Sandy and sustained $100,000 of damage. With tremendous support from other Long Island breweries and the local community, Barrier came back even stronger and expanded to a 20-barrel system.
In addition to its focus on popular IPAs, including the flagship Money, Lomax and Daddy Warbucks double IPA, Barrier brews a wide variety of beer styles, ranging from crisp pilsners to German-style Kolsch and hefeweizen to strong Belgian ales and hearty stouts and porters. Seasonal beers include Oktoberfest and The Carver pumpkin ale in the fall and Cryomax IPA in the winter.
The Long Beach taproom is family-friendly and dog-friendly, and occupies 1,500 square feet on the ground floor of a new apartment building. The airy space has tables for large groups in front, a small lounge in the rear and a long bar featuring 20 taps. The taps feature 8 of Barrier’s signature beers along with 8-10 rotating seasonal and small-batch brews, ciders and wine. The taproom also has a large selection of Barrier’s beers in 6-packs and 4-packs available to have on premises or for takeaway.
Licensed as a New York State Farm Brewery, Barrier serves a variety of New York wines and spirits, mostly from Long Island. Currently, the taproom features North Fork wineries, including Peconic Bay Vineyards, Pelligrini Vineyards, Pugliese Vineyards, and Wolffer Estate.
Spirits from local distilleries such as The Better Man Distilling Co. in Patchogue, Twisted Cow Distillery in Northport, and Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn are available straight or in cocktails, including the refreshing boardwalk punch, made with Better Man Bourbon and the Nitro Express espresso martini, made with LIV Vodka.
Small pizzas and pretzel bites are available at the taproom, but patrons are also encouraged to bring in or order in food from nearby restaurants, including some just steps away like Yummy Yummy Asian Bistro, LB Bistro, Francesca’s Pizza, Nagahama Sushi and Margarita’s Cafe. The taproom is open seven days a week and plans to eventually hold weekly events similar to Barrier’s Oceanside taproom such as trivia night and open mic night.
“We look forward to being a part of the Long Beach community on the barrier island,” said Klein, “while giving beer lovers here a chance to try new Barrier beers.”
Barrier Brewing’s new taproom is located at 135 E. Park Ave. in Long Beach. Barrier’s original taproom is located at 3001 New St. in Oceanside. For more info, visit barrierbrewing.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
