photo by Lauren Jablonski
Taste the East End, which took place at the Long Island Aquarium on May 29, was a great event to discover some hidden gem restaurants, breweries, and cider mills on the east end of Long Island. Here are some of my top picks…
Woodside Orchards, located in Jamesport & Aquebogue was serving up their original dry, raspberry and lemon ciders. All the ciders were light, crisp, and easy to drink. The lemon and raspberry flavors were faint and not overpowering. Although Woodside Orchards does not distribute their ciders, you can stop in at either cider mill to fill up your growlers.
The Brewers Collective had four beers to choose from on tap; Cawfee, a chocolaty coffee porter, Loot, a gruit ale with lemon balm and hibiscus, Witchbinder, a gruit ale with smokey sage and roasted squash and the Illuminator, an IPA with amarillo hops and hibiscus. The Brewers Collective isn’t open to the public yet, but the brewery plans to open in Bay Shore soon.
Moustache Brewing Co. from Riverhead poured Everyman’s Porter on tap; a light bodied, easy to drink porter at 4.5% ABV. The dark bittersweet chocolate tastes even better as the beer become room temperature. You can stop by Moustache Brewing to fill up your growler or stop by June 4 to try the the release of their Blueberry + Ginger Tripel, a barrel aged brew.
Long Ireland Brewing Co., also located in Riverhead, poured their Summer Ale on tap. The Summer Ale is a golden ale brewed with Pacific Northwest Hops and lemon. I highly suggest you find this beer on tap this summer!
Twin Fork Beer Co., based in Calverton, poured their Chromatic Ale, a unfiltered pale ale that is malt forward, hop balanced with a crisp finish. This beer paired awesome with the kielbasa and pierogies from The Birchwood of Polish Town.
Bellport Brewing poured two beers: South County IPA, brewed with pilsner malts and hops, and Very Bitter Thaw, an American double IPA that is 8.9% ABV. If you like IPAs make sure you hop over to Bellport Brewing to try these two.
