The Last Leg from Long Island

After enjoying downtown Patchogue N.Y. we hit the road to make our way back to Philly. Everyone had made sure to warn us of the horrible traffic we would encounter as thousands of NYC residents headed back to their lives in Manhattan. This scary exodus didn't sway us from continuing the beer quest along the Southern Parkway. The next stop, the Black Forest Brew Haus in Farmingdale.

As we pulled into the parking lot we were greeted by rousing rock tunes from the band in the beer garden. This wasn't going to be a quiet afternoon on the deck. Normally I am up for good tunes on a lazy Sunday, but after a late night and an early rise we opted to hang at the quieter inside bar. The square bar is a few steps up from the main floor and takes up one side of the large restaurant. If you didn't catch the German theme from the name of the place one look around the room and at the beer list confirms this brewery's roots. The German style beer rules in this brew haus. I ordered a sampler to get a good taste of all their current beers. Pilsner, Chocolate Double Bock, Amber, Hefeweizen and Jahrestag (10th Anniversary Barleywine) were all served in tall 5oz tasters. The two standouts, for different reasons, were the hefeweizen and the barleywine. The hefeweizen from go was odd. I am not completely knowledgeable on all off aromas and flavors (I am learning) but this beer had a strong sour yeast smell. The taste had the typical banana, clove, spicy flavor but finished slightly sour. On the other hand the jahrestag (barleywine) turned out to be the surprise beer of the weekend. This beer is brewed with 20% rye malt, Amarillo hops and is aged a year in oak. The combination of alcoholic sweetness with a smooth oak finish made it the perfect afternoon sipper. I regret not leaving Black Forest with a growler of this barleywine. I didn't expect the best beer of the weekend to come from Farmingdale but it did. The Black Forest Brew Haus offers a good line up of solid German style beers in a warm brew hall atmosphere.

The final stop of the day didn't happen until we were outside the NY border. Kelleigh manned the wheel so it took some coaxing but I got her to jump off the Turnpike and stop at J.J. Bitting Brewing Company. The only problem was that after a day of drinking I started fading. I wasn't a bumbling mess but my head was less than clear. Such is the way of the weary beer traveler. Sad but true. This was the quickest of all our stops. I sat for one pint, tipped the bartender and we were gone. So no beer, food or pub comments. How can I review a place when I don't even remember the name of the beer I had? My notes didn't even offer any help. I guess all comments will have to wait until my next NY/NJ road trip.

Overall the trip was a success. The engagement party (the reason for the trip) on the Long Island Sound was perfect. Congratulations again Dara and Ari. There were some eye opening brewery and beer stops. Best of all we never got caught up in the horrible island traffic. I didn't get to every place I wanted to but that gives me more reason to plan another beer trip north very soon. Manhattan and Brooklyn have far too many great beer stops that I haven't explored.