Montauk Brewing Company
Montauk Brewing Co.
By Lauren White
For most of my life, my family has been making trips out to Montauk and our favorite stay is over the 4th of July weekend. We book the same spot right on the beach and enjoy our days on the sand playing Kan Jam and, of course, drinking beer. I remember how great it was spending my first summer in Montauk after turning 21; finally getting to enjoy local hot-spots like the Surf Lodge and the Sloppy Tuna.
Over the years however, we have never made our way into the Montauk Brewing Company. When Ryan suggested we go out to Montauk to visit the brewery I jumped at the opportunity. Without knowing what to expect we got on the train and began our trip out to my favorite place. We arrived before the brewery opened at noon, which was okay with me because we were able to go down to the beach! Then, it was finally time to head to the brewery.
It was a lot smaller than I had expected; a small red house with a lot of outdoor seating and beach house charm. We walked inside and again, the tasting room was a lot smaller than I had imagined. There was a short bar right in front with 6 taps flanked by two high top tables. The setup complemented the “beach town” escape that Montauk offers, and I immediately felt an inviting vibe. There were a few other couples already at the bar so we quickly walked up, claimed our seats, and ordered two flights.
As I mentioned, they had 6 beers on tap that we were able to taste, three of which we’ve had in cans. Their flight included samples of their Mango Pineapple Wit, Session IPA, Driftwood Ale, Offland IPA, Evan’s Pale Ale and their Double IPA. Tasting our way through, each beer was better than the last, especially when we tasted the Offland IPA. This is one of the beers that Montauk Brewing Company doesn’t can so it was the first time that we’d tasted it. Simply put, it was amazing and easily my personal favorite Montauk beer. It was smooth with a citrusy taste that wasn’t overwhelming. So good in fact that both Ryan and I had a few pints after we finished our flights.
Similar to other breweries, Montauk offered a few different growlers to take with you, but they also offered “crowlers” (a term I wasn’t familiar with, and for those of you that aren’t familiar with it either, it is a 32oz. can). Like a growler, you can have the crowler filled with anything that’s on tap. I’m still a little fuzzy on the precise benefits of the crowler over the growler, but in short, it tends to be cheaper, and it’s much more portable than its glass counterpart.
Overall, the Montauk Brewery experience was excellent! As far as cost is concerned, the merchandise was definitely a bit pricey, but the quality was substantially higher than a lot of other breweries I’ve been to. The brews on the other hand were a steal! At $12 a flight, you got 6 beer tastings and got to keep the souvenir tasting glass. My only complaint was that I wish the weather had been better so we could have spent the day on their patio. Even in the rain, Montauk Brewing Co. was packed with friendly faces (human and canine), I can’t wait to come back for 4th of July!