(bright music)
When you travel almost three
hours east of New York City
to get to the end
of Long Island,
it's hard to believe you're
still in New York State.
And the North Fork
certainly has a landscape
and culture uniquely its own.
Unlike the Hamptons
to the south,
this quaint area is known
for its uncrowded beaches,
farm stands, and
over 40 wineries.
There's a historic maritime
feeling to the villages here.
The town of Greenport was
once a major whaling hub
and the oyster harvesting
capital of New York State.
So when two lifelong
friends decided to open
their brewery here, naturally
they made it a point
to celebrate the
town's harbor heritage.
Back when Greenport Harbor
co-founders John Liegey
and Rich Vandenburgh
were in college,
they used to talk about
opening a brewery one day.
But it was only a dream
for nearly 25 years
until an old
firehouse in Greenport
went up for sale in 2008.
The opportunity
proved irresistible.
In 2012, they expanded
to a second location
seven miles away in
the town of Peconic
that dwarfs the
original brewery.
I wanted to know about
their formula for success
in a region known more
for wine than beer.
Tell me, how did you pick
this specific location?
- We kinda call it an oasis
amongst all the vineyards
for good beer.
- I think the work ethic
out here is really strong.
I mean, they're farm people
and they're sea
people, fisherman.
Long line fisherman
still leave Greenport.
And I think them seeing
us and how focused we were
on what we wanted to do;
we did 95% of the work
on our original
brewery ourselves.
They share that
same kind of ethic.
- You have two
different locations.
Is there a difference
between the two locations?
- The original brewery is
right in downtown Greenport.
It was an old firehouse
that we renovated.
So you get a lot
more walk up traffic.
This was an old car
dealership that we renovated.
Loved repurposing an
old space like that.
Now, here we're more
surrounded by the vineyards.
So it is almost two different
type of demographics
of people that come to visit us.
The original location is kind
of the heart of the brewery.
It's very small.
We outgrew that in two years.
And we always kind of
intended that that would be
the test kitchen, if
you will, for Greenport.
So that is what that
brewery has become,
and this brewery is
more the home base.
But this is our
larger location here.
- You mentioned that it
was an old firehouse.
I saw a gorgeous firetruck.
It looked like there
were tap handles in it.
- We retrofitted
it where we have
six tap handles on the side.
You know, you have the
eight-year-old kids
that are, "Dad, that's
a cool firetruck."
But then you have the
40-year-old firemen like,
"Oh my gosh, that's the coolest
firetruck I've ever seen."
- I'd love to know about
this oyster festival
that you two host.
- Every year we
host it in Greenport
on the Sunday of
Columbus Day weekend.
- And it's at the
original brewery.
It is our one festival there
that we really focus on.
It's home, and it just
feels great being there,
'cause most of our time now is
spent at the second location.
It is just really
getting back to the heart
of that original brewery
and working with people
that are super connected
to the oyster farms
on the east side of Long Island.
- [Rich] We'll bring
in eight or 10 growers
that are all
regional to the area.
We had like this great
two local musicians
that play these sea shanties.
We brought the firetruck down
and served beer
off the firetruck.
So, you know, it's
not necessarily
the kind of oyster
festival that you have
tens of thousands of people at,
but it's really
such an authentic,
kind of intimate
village setting for us
that it's actually really cool.
- In fact, John and Rich love
the oyster harvesting legacy
of Greenport so much that
they even found a way
to celebrate it that
might surprise you.
I have never heard of
an oyster beer before.
Is that something new to
just specifically you all
or is this an old recipe?
- I think it's more of
a harbor kind of style.
There were over two
dozen oyster factories
back in the early 1800s.
It was at one point the
capital oyster industry
out here in Greenport.
So it just seemed like
a real natural fit.
And then the
aquaculture industry
has really rebounded
tremendously
and we're very
supportive of that.
Great symbiotic
relationship with the waters
and the bays and our brewery.
- If you think an
oyster-inspired beer
sounds a little fishy,
it did to me too.
So to understand it better, I
sat down for a little tasting
with head brewer Patrick Alfred.
Now, tell me about
this oyster beer.
I have never heard of
this in my life before.
- Hidden Pearl is
our oyster stout.
Basically, we take out
traditional dry Irish stout,
slightly roasty, little
bit of chocolate malt,
keep the gravity low so
it's like a 5.8% alcohol,
and then we shucked about
three dozen oyster shells
into the boil, where it
sat for about 60 minutes
to the duration, as well as
some of the oyster liquid
from the shell, but
no actual oyster meat.
And what that does
is kind of lends
like a nice briny minerality,
and not fishy at all.
- Where do you
harvest these oysters?
- Little Creek
Oysters in Greenport,
so really super local,
backyard oysters.
And he said he picked them
because of the brininess
and what they can contribute
to the beer overall.
- Now, we are in wine country,
so what is the advantage
to being a brewer here?
Do you get to use some
of the ingredients?
- Absolutely.
Harvest started about
I think two weeks ago,
and it's still going for grapes.
We do a beer every
year in collaboration
with a different
winery called Cuvaison.
We use either grapes
or the juice or both.
We interchange whether a
white or red each year,
and I believe this year
we're using a red grape.
So, definitely just tying
into locally produced
any kind of ingredient that
we can get our hands on.
- [Maya] So it's not
just oysters that
make it into the beer
but all kinds of local
products and flavors.
And their commitment
to local agriculture
extends to the restaurant
side of the business as well.
- We
definitely utilize local,
as far as all of our
produce is actually grown
right across the street.
And the seafood's pulled
right from Greenport Harbor
and local fish purveyors.
- What's it like being
owners of a brewery?
- I think what's
amazing about it is
we'll be able to
kind of interact with
people that come in
that are exploring beer,
kind of learning about beer,
not certain about whether or
not they really like beer,
and then being able to kinda
watch their eyes open wide
when they taste something
that they really love
or have that experience,
and it's a great place.
- I have one other
question for you.
What do you see next?
Are you guys gonna try
to open another location?
- No.
(laughter)
- Okay.
- [John] This is it.
We're very happy to
be in the space we are
and making the amount
of beer that we make
and making the kinds
of beer we make.
So there are absolutely no
goals to go any bigger
than what you see here.
- Hey, I think it sounds good.
When you got a good hand,
you just gotta call it.
John and Rich definitely
drew a straight flush
when they went all in
at Greenport Harbor.
Just like a game of poker,
you need a bit of
luck and skill to win.
Except, in this
case, the winners
are the people of Greenport
and everyone who's had a chance
to sample what this
brewery has to offer.
