The Many Breweries of Long Island City
When I landed in New York City for the Great Book Promotion Tour of 2017, I had a plan regarding the speaking venues but only a vague idea of where I was staying. One of my fraternity brothers had offered up some space in his Long Island City apartment, which I gratefully accepted as one night’s stay in a hotel would have necessitated the sale of more books than I’ve sold to date.
As it turns out, Long Island City is a hotspot for the burgeoning microbrewery scene. There are currently four breweries operating with a fifth opening in just a few weeks (ok, more likely months) and a sixth reportedly in the works. What to do with a morning unscheduled? Drop in to say hello!
Fifth Hammer
My first visit was to the soon-to-be opening brewery Fifth Hammer. The exterior is not that pretty yet but, as with most things, it’s what’s on the inside that counts
. They are still engaged in the final stages of their build-out but I can feel the potential for this location and completely understand what attracted them to it. I had the privilege of meeting both Chris Cuzme and Dave Scharfstein. They were pretty psyched to receive a copy of my book and I hope to work with them with cask ale in the future.
Rockaway Brewing Company
This little gem is a straight shot down 46th about 1.5 blocks away from Fifth Hammer and made a great second stop. Smaller in scale than what Fifth Hammer is building, they’re already planning for a second site with an amazing bar area. At this 
location they proved to be the only brewery already committed to cask with their flagship beer being an ESB and available via handpump.
Transmitter Brewing
Heading south from Rockaway brought me to the southern tip of Long Island City and the delightful little Transmitter Brewing Company. Focusing on Belgian and French wild fermentations, XMTR is focused on bringing the sensibilities of the Flemish farmhouse brew to the good people of the big city. I
inconvenienced these guys during their lunch break so forgive the lack of detail there. Brewing is hungry work! They were kind enough to share a bottle of their 100% New York Saison with me. I’ll have to try it with my friends over at Mystic for a little side-by-side.
LIC Beer Project
From the southern tip to the northern reaches of the city-within-a-city, such was the transition from Transmitter to the LIC Beer Project. Of the breweries in this little tour, this was the most far-flung of the five. The guys here were very busy so there wasn’t a lot of time
to chit chat. Damien, pictured here, was more psyched than his smile lets on.
Big Alice Brewing
Walking back from LIC to Big Alice Brewing was a return to the neighborhood of the first two breweries. They have a relatively small space in a large building but it was very nicely laid out and utilized. Reading up on their history, they’re one of the nano-breweries that grew directly out of a passion for homebrewing 
and started out commercially on a 10-gallon scale. That’s some dedication! Fun fact: Jon Kielty in the background working though a stuck sparge earned his magnificent brewer’s beard at Sam Adams, followed by Harpoon, and Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. Nice to see some Boston talent thriving down in NYC!
Bonus: Strong Rope Brewing
Chris at Five Hammers recommended that I seek out Jason over at Strong Rope Brewery in Brooklyn. This was a bit later in the afternoon so I had the privilege of walking in while they were actually open for business. Tried a couple of beers before tasting the Fat Man, Little Stout. I’ll have a pint of this 3.6% Dry Stout, please! Really chill little place rockin’ an electric brewery and what turned out to be a substantial portion of Rockaway’s original brewing kit.