Long Island is pretty well known for its wineries but there are some very good breweries as well.

Barrier Brewing Co. in Oceanside puts out some solid beer selections and their brewery is just as intoxicating.

Jon and I walked into the facility where they were listening to Pink Floyd on a record player and watching Sin City on mute. You can't really top that for ambiance.

I ordered their Vermillion Saison Rouge and Jon got their well-known Money IPA - which is a great IPA. He then realized he wanted to sample more of the beers and got a sampler with Evil Giant, Bulkhead Red, Humulus Belgicus, Lights Out Stout, and MooChelle Milk Stout. All were pretty good, especially with the fresh popcorn.

Our bartenders were well-informed in beer (something you don't always find at a brewery, unfortunately) and talkative. We got a great tip from one about a place in Brooklyn called Bierkraft which we went to the next evening.

Barrier beer is not found too easily in the Capital District so I definitely recommend a trip to see these guys/gals.

They have half-off specials on Wednesdays and there is a food truck on site regularly.

Address: 3001 New St., Unit 2A, Oceanside, NY
Hours: Wed/Thurs - 4-9 p.m.
Fri - 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Sat - noon to 10 p.m.
Sun - 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

We also visited Blue Point Brewing Company in Patchogue which Jon said he wanted to check out since the brewery was purchased by Anheuser Busch. We got there just a little before they opened on Saturday and weren't the only ones waiting for the taproom to open.

The bartender here was definitely one of the friendliest I've ever met. She informed us that we were allowed three free samples (about 5 oz pours) and then she poured something called a Black and Blue which was a combination of their Blueberry Ale and Imperial Stout.

It was here that I checked into a beer for the first time on Untappd (a social network of beer folk that keeps track of the beers you drink). I ordered a Sour Cherry Imperial Stout (which didn't really taste very sour-y/or cherry-y to me), Blueberry Ale, and Hoptical Illusion. Jon also got an ESB.

Their brewery has a back area with picnic tables and an open taproom with the bar and seats but only a couple of tables.

Address: 161 River Ave., Patchogue, NY
Hours:
Thurs/Fri - 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Sat - noon to 7 p.m.


Other Long Island Breweries include: Great South Bay Brewery, which won an award at the Great American Beer Festival for their Splashing Pumpkin (I got a bottle while down there and I wasn't impressed); and Oyster Bay Brewing. Other craft breweries can be found here.

On another beer-related note:

I have finally decided to embrace the fact that beer is going to be a part of my life for a long time. It took about four years to come to this conclusion. Yeah, I guess I was a bit stubborn about it.