Long Island breweries (south shore)

I am not familiar with 2-4 on your list. You may want to consider Barrage which is on the way. Sand City is cream of the crop for LI breweries, it is on North Shore but if I was you I would definitely go there.

 

If you are hitting Barrier then definitely take the 10 min detour to Monarch in Long Beach. Also if you are looking for food, Press 195 in Rockville Centre (5-10 mins from Barrier) has great sandwiches/paninis/burgers and a very good tap/bottle list. Or you can hit Eat Gastropub in Oceanside (2 mins from Barrier; great burgers. The 50/50 is half ground beer and half ground bacon) or Swingbellies in Long Beach if you make your way to Monarch.

While no longer a historical site because the original boardwalk was destroyed by Sandy, the Long Beach Boardwalk is a great visit for a walk if the weather is nice. It runs for 2.1 miles east to west.

 

My ranging of LI's breweries in a middle part of Island
1. Sand City (North)
2. Great South Bay Brewing
3. Blue Point
4. Destination Unknown Beer Company
5. Barrier

 

Barrier is worth the stop. Sand City is good but too far from where you will be. I would also hit 27A and or DUBCO. There is nothing special at Barrage. In Oakdale, there is Spider Bite, which isn’t bad. I’ve heard good things about Lake Ronkonkoma beverage. They re-sell Tree House, Alchemist, Other Half if you are into that. Or you could hit the new Blue Point brewpub in Patchogue. Great restaurants and bars in that town too.

 

Do you guys actually enjoy Dubco? I find they try too hard to hit current trends (milkshakes, neipa) before they perfected their brew system. In my opinion they rush their beers to accomodate the newest trends and they fall seriously short.

 

Their regular IPAs are pretty good. I’ve never tried the milkshake IPAs due to my lactose intolerance.

 

Went to 27A for the first time today and I gotta say I was thoroughly unimpressed. Beer was undercarbonated and really lacked a flavor that “popped out” (if that makes sense). Just seemed bland. Had the IIPA, Kolsch, Session and Coffee Shake.

I’m definitely not writing them off as they are very young and brewing on a small system. Plenty of room to grow. Staff was very friendly and had a great punk playlist on. Just not what I was expecting based on the early reviews.

 

I'll second Spider Bite.
If you're hitting Squarehead anyway, it's right there.
They don't get much love, but Boris The Spider is a dangerously sippable RIS.

 

The reviews on Square Head are all over the place. Decided to look it up since this is the first time I’m hearing about them. All the positive reviews seem to be about the space and their “unique beers” (unique does not always equal well made). The negative reviews are all about the beers and their lack of flavor.

As I don’t usually trust google reviews, has anyone on this site actually visited? If so, what is your take.

 

Yea I would definitely still make a point to visit. I heard nothing but good reviews before my visit so maybe it was just an off day?

 

Keep an eye on the Root + Branch Instagram feed for news of their next release. They're currently brewing and doing releases out of Great South Bay Brewing until they get their own place in Copiague up and running. Cans are usually also available post-release at Monarch and Brightwaters Beverage.
Also, if you make it out to Patchogue check out Hoptron Brewtique for flights, full pours or stuff to go.

 

If you are going to Barrier I highly recommend Stuff’N Bagels in Oceanside (about 5 mins from Barrier via Lawson Blvd; closer to 10 using Long Beach Rd). They’ve won best bagel on LI numerous times. IL

 

My go-to for bagels is the Bagel Boss on Montauk Highway in Bay Shore, just a couple minutes straight south of Sunrise Highway via Saxon Ave.