Not too deep into Long Island is a nice little brewery called Port Jefferson Brewing Company. Opened in 2011, long time Port Jeff native, Mike Philbrick, thought it would be a great idea to open a brewery in his home town. Port Jefferson is a beautiful place, and I would have to agree that it is a prime location to serve up some craft beer.
Port Jeff is a busy place, and I am not just talking about the brewery. People come from all over New York, New Jersey, and even ferry over from Connecticut to visit. For a Monday night, the tasting room was quite busy.
Manning the ship was Daniel O’Leary. Long Island native, and advocate of delicious local beer.
After introducing myself, Dan brought me into the brewing area. A creative use of space, this tiny area holds a 7 barrel brew house, Four 14 Barrel fermenters and one 14 barrel bright. I thought the layout was pretty cool for the small brewery that they are. Head Brewer, Matt Gundrum is turning out some great beers from this system. Not having a huge scale to deal with, you can be more meticulous on a smaller level.
They like to keep with a nautical theme here at Port Jeff. The door that separates the brewery from the tasting room has this old port hole in the door.
The bulkheads and dock cleats are a nice touch to the theme as well.
One of the neatest decorations, were the different kinds of knots surrounding the borders of the windows.
A harpoon on the ceiling just in case you want to pierce a can of Party Boat for shot gunning.
The tasting room had 11 beers on. All varying in style, there is something that is sure to please anyone that walks in the door. I myself had a few samples of their Launch IPA, Schooner Pale Ale, Ryes-N-Bok, and White Beach Wit. All fantastic and super fresh, as the beer is made only a few feet away.
Aside from grabbing a few taster here, you can get some packaged goods to go. Whether it be a bomber, growler, or a six pack of Party Boat, you can be sure you’ll have some Port Jeff to take home.
One thing that stood out here was their growler program. They had these neat little punch cards, fill ten growlers, get one free. If that doesn’t keep people coming back, there is something wrong.
Port Jefferson has a lot to offer for such a small place. I would highly recommend checking them out if you are on your way up to the Hamptons, coming over from Connecticut, or just want to venture out to Long Island. Thanks to Mike and Dan for having me out. The beers were delicious and I can’t wait to visit you guys again. Cheers and we’ll see you soon.
-Brian