LIBME’s Drinking Well

On Saturday June 7th, The Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiasts will be holding a fund raiser in the historic George Weir Barn of Caumsett State Park of Lloyd Harbor, NY. The event is raising money primarily for the electrical upgrade and restoration of an old barn used for elementary classrooms and community events. The LIBME will be hosting the colorful event featuring the well-known blues and swing band Lil’ Cliff & The Cliffhangers with support from CANVAS magazine, Bellport Cold Beer+Soda, Sixpoint Craft Ales, The Cooke’s Inn, our own award-winning home craft brewers, and local volunteers.

Date: Saturday, June 7th (rain or shine), 5pm-11pm Where: George Weir Barn, 41 Lloyd Harbor Road, Lloyd Neck, NY 11743 (Caumsett State Park) What: Barbeque & Southern style dinner & craft beer party. Refreshments for kids too. Tickets: $40 for Adults, $10 for Children under 16. **All tickets will be sold in advance and no money will be accepted at the door** (police will be present to prevent crashing). Seating is limited. ****Tickets can be purchased in the following ways:

1. Sending a check or money order payable to Rich Thatcher (LIBME) at 41 Lloyd Harbor Rd, Lloyd Neck, NY 11743. Please include name(s) of those attending, a phone number, and email address for confirmation notice to be sent.

2. Paying by credit card through PAYPAL to bonbright7@yahoo.com, then following up with an email to the same address for the name(s) of those attending.

3. Picking up Tickets from Rich at Bellport Cold Beer on 417 Station Rd, Bellport, NY (exit 56 off of Sunrise Hwy, then 1 mile south).

A check will be presented to the Lloyd Harbor Historical Society during a break in the show.

This coming Saturday (the 19th), you should head on down to Dave’s Bellport Beer & Soda where a representative from Sixpoint Craft Ales (Brooklyn) will be present with 7 or 8 different kegs for our sampling and purchasing pleasure. Here’s the list of beers:

1. Sweet Action
2. Brownstone
3. Gorilla Warfare Coffee Porter (this one’s limited edition, come and get it)
4. Sixpoint Triple (one the last known kegs of this beer)
5. Apollo Wheat
6. Righteous Rye
7. Groundskeeper Spilly Scotch Ale (one of the last known kegs of this beer)
8. Diesel Stout

Bring a glass and a growler. The event starts at 1 pm and the good folks of the Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiasts will be grilling hot dogs and burgers for the hungry masses. If you come out, you’ll find ample parking at the Bellport train station at the corner of Station Rd. and Montauk Hwy. If you come out, be sure to meet the new manager at Bellport Beer, Rich Thatcher. He’s a friendly and beer-knowledgeable guy.

This is a Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiast-sanctioned event. Come on out and meet a bunch of fellow beer lovers. If you are new to the scene, make sure you introduce yourself. I’ll be wearing my RadioBeerHall.com button, but you can always ask for me at the bar or at the grill. Everyone at Bellport Beer knows Donavan. One more thing, all these beer events (and more!) are listed on the Long Island Beer Calendar.

The next Firkin Friday at DEKS is coming up soon; it’s tomorrow, the 18th. A firkin of Green Flash Hop Head Red is on its way from Vista, California for our cask conditioned drinking pleasure. Hop Head Red is “a deliciously full-bodied and appropriately hoppy ale,” according to Celebrator Beer News. It earned the silver medal in the American-Style Amber/Red Ale category in the 2007 Great American Beer Festival, the USA’s oldest and most prestigious craft beer competition.

As far as I can tell, this may be Hop Head Red’s Long Island premier (in a firkin, at least). The Hop Head Red was spotted on tap at Big Z Beverage on Jericho Turnpike in Huntington (if you want a preview). Green Flash is a popular brewer in southern California and they’ve had a presence on the East Coast for at least a couple of years. Their IPA has been readily available in multiple venues on the Island (notably at Bobbique in Patchogue). Currently, a Green Flash Imperial IPA is pouring at Once & For All in Patchogue.

This is a Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiast-sanctioned event. Come on out and meet a bunch of fellow beer lovers. If you are new to the scene, make sure you introduce yourself. I’ll be wearing my RadioBeerHall.com button, but you can always ask for me at the bar or at the grill. Everyone at DEKS knows Donavan. One more thing, all these beer events (and more!) are listed on the Long Island Beer Calendar.

Before CANVAS magazine goes to press for its May issue and advertising
our fund raising party in Lloyd Harbor on Saturday afternoon/ night
June 7th, I thought to give the LIBME members first shot at the
tickets:
Theme: “Electrify This Old Barn…with Lil’ Cliff and The Cliffhangers”
When: Saturday June 7th
Where: The George Weir Barn, 41 Lloyd Harbor Road, Lloyd Neck, NY
(Caumsett State Park)
Time: 5pm-11pm+
Tickets: $40 per person, tickets for children under 18 are $10. All
tickets will be sold in advance, No Money Will Be Accepted At The Door.

Tickets may be purchased in advance through PAYPAL
by sending the money to > bonbright7@yahoo.com. An email
confirmation will be sent.
Tickets can also be purchased by seeing me in person at
Bellport Cold Beer & Soda on Station Road
in Bellport, NY or at the next cask night, or by sending
a check to LI Beer Malt Enthusiasts at the new post office box, which
we will have tomorrow.
What’s For Dinner: Southern Style menu of fried catfish, fried
chicken, bbq’d chicken+pork, hot wings, ribs, greens,
salad, corn bread, a rice/beans combination, and an undetermined
desert (possibly ice cream).
What the LIBME is serving: Mike N.’s “Money Pig Hefewiezen”, Donavan H.
+Mike V.’s “Saison”, and two flavors of Sixpoint Craft Ales (maybe
cask or keg). Soft drinks will also be served.

Here’s the email Sam Adams has sent out;

As a loyal supporter and fan of our beer, we wanted to get in touch with you about an announcement that we made yesterday. We have announced a cautious, voluntary product recall of some bottles of Samuel Adams. While there is no problem with our beer, we believe a small proportion of bottles from our outside glass supplier could contain some small bits of glass.

The bottles we’ve identified as being possibly affected are from one glass plant of the five that we get our bottles from. The issue affects less than 25% of our bottled beer and of that amount, we believe far less than 1% of the bottles we’re recalling are actually affected. We have no reports of any injury from our drinkers related to this issue. But because the safety of our drinkers is of paramount concern to us, we are being cautious and issuing the recall for all bottles from this glass plant.

But not to worry, this doesn’t mean that you have to stop drinking Samuel Adams! All draft beer is perfectly fine and most of our bottled beer is not in these possibly affected bottles. It’s easy to spot the bottles we’re recalling: they are all embossed to say “N35″ at the base of the bottle below the label (see photo on web site). We are working with our wholesalers and retailers to ensure that the affected bottles are removed from stores quickly.

We wanted to be sure that our loyal Sam fans are aware of the problem and know that we are doing everything we can to address this situation quickly. We are disappointed that because of these bottles supplied to us, we didn’t live up to your expectations as a loyal Sam Adams drinker. We believe that we are taking all the right steps to ensure that the bottled Samuel Adams beer out there meets our quality standards and your expectations. If you have any questions about the recall, we created a special web site and a toll-free number 1-888-674-5159 to answer your questions.

As always, we appreciate your support.

Cheers,
Andrew & Bert

There will be an interesting tasting of rare Sixpoint Ales at Dave’s Bellport Cold Beer on Station Road in Bellport, NY (LIE Exit 67 Sills Road South, left to Station Rd nr big strip mall) on Saturday 4/19 after everyone has survived the Green Flash “Hop Head Red”cask at Dek’s on 4/18. The list will be updated prior to the event itself, but I have heard Gorilla Warfare Stout and the Apollo Wheat will be there.  I would encourage everyone to park in the nearby Bellport Train Station lot, if the event is overflowing with cars.

I heard this was a remarkable catch for Dek’s when it was mentioned to
me as the next firkin to be slaughtered by the thirsty and shaggy
hordes of beer guzzling fiends of Rocky Point, NY. While there is
little about this ale on the brewery web site, there was a good review
of it recently in the BA (which I excerpted..):
Appearance: Nice looking amber red. Light shines through and comes out
the color of red and orange mood lamps. Head is brownish white, with 2
fingers height. Great retention and lacing.
Smell: At first there was an odd funkiness I couldn’t describe, so I
set the beer down to warm up and watched two guys shooting pool for
about 10 minutes. When I returned to the beer, the funk had vanished,
thankfully to be replaced by a hardcore pine scent. I love the smell
of pine. Some citrus, sweet malt, grapefruit, and a small touch of
booze finish the nose off.
Taste: Hoppy as hell, with pine dominating, followed by some wood and
citrus notes. A little bit of caramel malt, then back to bitter ass
pine.
Mouthfeel: Semi-full, but not too thick. Bitterness makes you feel
this one throughout the entire mouth. Tingly carbonation enhances the
mouthfeel. According to my notes, if I could have given it a 4.2 I
would.
Read: Hop-Bomb

Thanks to Bellport Dave and Andy Calimano, we had a table at the Spring Craft Festival at the Nassau Coliseum where we were proudly serving Capt. Lawrence Liquid Gold from a 5o Liter barrel as well as some super home brews from Mike, Donavan, and Michael. I was pleased to have been there with my group as we served thousands of little tastes of our beers to the thirsty masses. It was also tremendous exposure for this group as we were hitting our target audience as we met hundreds of interesting people who wanted to know more about our group. Those little red bottle openers with our name on it just flew out off the table as well as the paperwork I created for the show.

I was very happy to be a part of the show, rather than just a visitor, as I didn’t mind helping other brewers out with service or helping the show’s food service by lifting palates of vendor foods. Of course, in the case of Brooklyn and Long Trail (VT), I also got to taste their wares and I thought the Blackberry Wheat by Long Trail was good .

I would like to thank everyone in the LI Beer & Malt Enthusiasts who came out in support of our table and this event as we are now on the LI Map. I should also make an honorable mention of Bernie’s column in this month’s Ale Street News, which I read at the show as it told the readership about us and Dek’s.

Cheers,

Rich

There has been a change in the cask for this Friday’s Cask Night at
Dek’s American in Rocky Point, NY. The formerly announced Dorothy
Goodbody Stout arrived damaged in the USA and thus “undrinkable” so
the York Brewery’s Saaz (single hop brewing) has taken its place.
There have been few recent reviews of this apparent CAMRA medal winner
on line and recent email from the brewery said we got the last batch
of it (and to enjoy it!).

Latest review from RateBeer:

DruncanVeasey (1252), Burbage, England
Date: Feb 1, 2008

Swigs of Pa MacDrunkeasy’s at The Black Horse, if that counts. We were struck by its unabashed cream soda malt sweetness, which in no way diminished the beer’s delicate hoppiness. Or something. Hops way back in the mix, but present and correct. Basically what a really well-executed lager should taste and look like- refreshing but tastier than coloured water.

As many of you who have attended previous cask nights at Dek’s
American know, the LIBME group is happy to share something different
after the cask has been kicked. For this Friday’s Cask night, I
propose we have a ~Russian Imperial Stout~ tasting and everyone bring a bottle of
something different.
I will bring the Sixpoint Bolshoi and the Three Floyds Dark Lord ‘07. Lenn has volunteered to bring the new Southampton RIS and Randy has volunteered to Old Rasputin. Everyone participating should post here, or in the Google Groups section, which one they are bringing to prevent overlap.

Cheers,
Rich

For those of you who have recently joined LI Beer & Malt, I thought to tell you that we have been given a gift of a table at the Nassau Spring Craft Beer Show at the Nassau Coliseum on Saturday March 29th. While we are currently working on displays and stuff to show, we will have a Mike Napolitano (home brewer and our VP) at our table dispensing ale to all who come by to see us.

Also I should note, that as this group’s main information page is at beermalt.org.  There are no requirements to join the Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiasts, so sign up soon; all are welcome.

Just for dates into the future: We are working on a business meeting of the LIBME at The Black Forest on 3/19 7:30pm, there is another cask night at Dek’s on 3/28 with a CAMRA winning ale from Wye Valley, and we are working on three future event-A Brooklyn walking tour, a Patchogue walking tour, and a Huntington, NY family bbq in June.