PORT JEFFERSON, NEW YORK
Founding brewmaster Bob Rodriguez setup shop as PO’BOY BREWERY in Port Jefferson during January 2017. Inside a red brick-fronted 2,200 square-foot Industrial space, its loose New Orleans vibe gets reinforced by all the greenery, gazebos and decorative ephemera complementing the cement-floored nanobrewery. A gorgeous side-walled forest mural adds to the bayou splendor and caged Edison lights hang from the ceiling.
The wooden kiosk-like front bar, recalling a nifty backwoods shack, features a dozen-plus tree-branched tap handles. Silver tanks fill out the backroom brewing section. Most of Po’Boy’s delectable beer fare are one-offs, but a few recurrent brews have scratched the surface of an IPA-heavy lineup.
There were also a host of sour ales from the rear “Experimental Room” I didn’t get to try, including Miss Granny Smith Sour Golden, Sour Mash-Up (a marshmallowed kettle-sour with raspberry, blackberry and blueberry tartness), black tea-based Prickly Pear-Adox Sour Blonde, coconut creamed Coco-Stoutin’ To Impress and cask conditioned Shadow Of A Stout. Hard ciders are also available. A pub menu with pizzas and nachos sufficed.
Sweet millet-grained rice stayed soft for Ricey Business Lager, a pleasant lemon-fizzed light body perfect for casual tastes.
Tropical fruited IPA yeast and delicate hop spicing embraced My Cousin Kelly Blonde Ale, another soft-toned lightweight.
Dewy peat guided the mild raisin-date conflux, sweet autumn spicing and chalky chocolate parch of The Dark Schwartz Rises, a lightly barley-roasted German schwarzbier.
Molasses-draped cinnamon and nutmeg seasoned ‘yammy’ Pumpkin Out, picking up dry gourd earthiness over caramelized crystal malts.
Spiced orange, sweet cider and white peppered herbs nabbed Saison Rollin’ On, leaving a crystalline citric vodka kick.
Dry Irish stout, Shadow Of A Stout, coalesced black chocolate bittering with black licorice sweetness, gaining musty cellar funk along the way.
Easygoing IPA, East Coast State Of Mind, plied sweet navel orange, bitter yellow grapefruit and tangy pineapple to dry pine tones.
Delicate West Coast IPA, Just Peel It, let mildly spiced grapefruit-peeled orange tanginess and wispy pine resin ride atop dry pale malting.
Lightly honey-glazed Let’s IPA And Chill wrangled tangerine tanginess out of the misty tropical fruiting.
Bittersweet orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess allowed mild perfume spicing and dry piney hops to sidle Citrus Squeezebox IPA, another tropical delight.
Crisply clean lager yeast-induced One Hoppy Ending Cold IPA retained lemony grapefruit, orange and peach niceties above sweet white-riced amber graining.