Sinking our Talons into Taps

There aren’t too many opportunities where you can look a bird of prey squarely in the eyes. And there are even less that you can do so while holding a cold glass of a craft brew in hand, which makes this unique event at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown one of the most satisfying and rewarding of the year.

Elizabeth Santosus of Streetbriar was in charge of assembling the event and, after last year’s success, it was a no-brainer for her to repeat the magic of combining great local craft beer with an up-close look at birds of prey. Inspired by her own experience at the Beer on the Back Porch event at Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve in Alabama, Santosus decided the event could be replicated to raise funds for the center and educate about Long Island birds.

“It’s hard to raise money,” Elizabeth said. “We saw that there is such a strong community among craft beer and decided to reach out.”

The culmination of Elizabeth and her staff’s work brought out over 10 local breweries to pour at the event. Many of the breweries were first-timers at the event, including Blind Bat, Brewers Collective, Po’Boy Brewing, and Spider-Bite. Elizabeth credits a lot of the organization to Anthony Celentano (Tony), owner of Tap and Barrel, who also volunteers at Sweetbriar.

“The beer community was more than eager to help out, especially for an opportunity like this to raise money,” Tony said. On top of his volunteer work, Tony was dishing out Maine Brewing Company’s Maine Peeper and Allagash’s Special Blonde.

Moustache Brewing Company was also on-site with their taps. Candi and Frank hadn’t been the ones working the taps last year when Moustache was at the event, but were more than happy to attend this year, with Moustache’s Everyman’s Porter and their Wanderlust (Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB).

The event was not only good exposure for the conservationist cause, but a good choice for newer brewing companies like Po’Boy Brewery, who have been tapping kegs since January 2015. Owner Bob Rodriguez, however, is a seasoned brewmaster. He has won multiple competitions and is also a certified beer judge.

At this event, Bob brought a crisp Granny Smith cider and a beer of the Bitter Chocolate variety. “At festivals I like to get experimental and get feedback on what may or may not be around again,” Bob said.

This was also a celebration of fall, and while ciders and pumpkin ales were aplenty, Bellport Brewing Company brought something unique with their Grammy’s Special Sweet Potato Casserole Porter. At 5.5% the beer is actually made with sweet potatoes and marshmallows. It’s a strong contender for my favorite seasonal flavor.

“I didn’t want to do something everyone else did, and I thought about my favorite dish at Thanksgiving,” Brian from Bellport Brewing Company said of his first offering at Taps & Talons.

While attendees mingled with beer in hand, Isabel and Maggie crisscrossed the grounds with some very special guests. Isabel, one of the wildlife experts, and Maggie, Elizabeth’s daughter and volunteer, educated the crowd on the many different types of birds the center cares for. With just over 20 different resident birds, and rehabilitating over 500 animals per year, Sweetbriar Nature Center is a busy place. The volunteers brought around an Eagle Owl, a Great Horned Owl, a Barred Owl, a Eurasian Owl, a Red-Tailed Hawk, an Eastern Screech Owl, an American Kestral, a Barn Owl, and, to my terror, a tarantula.

As Isabel and Maggie explained, not all the birds and animals that are brought to the center can be rehabilitated and released back to the wild. Lily is one of those birds, who came to the center with a broken wing that couldn’t be fixed. With 600lbs of pressure in her talons (more than an eagle), she is one of the fiercest birds of prey around. Her injury, like many that come to the center, was most likely due to being hit by a car.

All of the animals we were able to meet up close were stunning, and it was an honor to learn about them, their species, and how they are treated at Sweetbriar Nature Center. The day’s events were complimented with the beer, we were allowed access to the butterfly sanctuary and to look at the center’s other resident animals.

At the end of the afternoon, Isabel and Elizabeth took us over to the nearby meadow, where Tom Loberto of the Long Island Beer and Malt Enthusiasts had the honor of releasing a rehabilitated red-tailed hawk back to the wild. It was a surreal and humbling moment to see the successful efforts of Sweetbriar Nature Center and the benefits of funds like those being generated by the day’s event.

photos by Laura Cerrone

Author: ciderella

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