RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK
Owned by twin brothers, Dan and Pete Chekihian, Riverhead’s TWIN FORK BEER CO. opened October 2020 – six years beyond doing minor contract brewing. Now producing a steady lineup of year-round brews in a spacious gray aluminum facility, the arts-loving duo name each of their consistent beers after music language.
A front-benched glass frontage leads to Twin Fork’s overhead-doored pub area. The sparingly decorated interior includes black and white metal chaired barreled seating, wood tables and community benches – a pristinely embellished warehouse pub further galvanized by its colossal pipe-exposed aluminum ceiling. Stainless steel aluminum tanks tower thru the huge backspace.
Twin Fork’s relaxing outdoor setup includes a well-groomed gravel-stoned deck with Adirondack chairs, wicker furniture and a wooden bench.
The small stooled serving station slung two IPA’s, a pale ale, kolsch, marzen and pils to my wife and I during our sunny Saturday afternoon stopover, September ’23.
Lemony grapefruit zest glanced dry pilsner malting for Prelude, a sessionable pils.
Sharply citrus-spiced pale ale, Chromatic, countered dark-roast hop bittering with crispy amber graining.
Orange-rotted lemon herbage initiated lightly soured kolsch, Sonata, picking up contrastive floral-daubed apple-pear snips desiccated by oats-dried barnyard acridity.
Sessionable Mosaic-hopped IPA, Minuet, allowed tangy orange-peeled grapefruit bittering to contrast reluctant candied peachy mango sweetness over dry pale malts.
Piney citrus sharpness bestowed West Coast-styled IPA, Crescendo, leaving oily pine residue upon orange-peeled grapefruit bittering and reclining peachy pineapple tang.
As for the autumnal seasonal, pumpkin-spiced Harvest Notes let reclining ginger-cinnamon-nutmeg spicing speckle light vanilla creaming.