74 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JUNE 2019
SMALL CRAFT BREWING COMPANY
BREWERY MAKING WAVES
By BERNIE KILKELLY
A year after opening in Amityville,
Small Craft Brewing is letting its sails
unfurl with a major expansion.
Small Craft was founded in 2014 by
brothers Gerard and Greg Sims, who
grew up in Wantagh. After a long
search for a location to open a brewery
on the South Shore, they came
across a CrossFit gym in Amityville
that was moving.
“We thought the space was perfect
for us,” says Gerard, “so we talked
to the Village of Amityville and they
were receptive to the idea of having a
brewery in the village.”
The brothers signed the lease for the
2,200-square-foot space at 66 Merrick
Road in late 2016 and installed a
two-barrel brewing system. After the
tasting room was built out, the brewery
opened to the public in March 2018.
When Small Craft opened both Gerard
and Greg held full-time jobs, Gerard in
network security and Greg as a teacher.
Gerard moved to the brewery full
time soon after its opening and Greg
joined him full time last fall.
An additional 1,700 square feet of
space became available in their
building last summer and the brothers
took the space with the intention
of adding more brewing equipment.
Early this year, they took delivery of a
five-barrel unitank and two 10-barrel
unitanks, which enable brewers to
ferment, carbonate and filter a brew
all out of the same tank.
Small Craft brewed dozens of different
beers in its first year, covering
a wide range of styles ranging from
lighter beers like South Shore Blonde,
Haka pilsner hopped with New
Zealand hops and Berried Treasure
fruit sour with four kinds of berries,
to darker beers such as Bow RYEder
Black Rye IPA, Bay House Brown Ale
and Dream Boat Irish Stout.
Small Craft’s tasting room typically
has 12 beers on tap and sells pints
and flights, along with crowlers
(32-ounce freshly made cans) to take
away. The comfortable room, which
is kid and dog friendly, has a seating
area with a big-screen TV for sporting
events along with counter seats
overlooking the brewhouse. The
brewery sells cheese plates made by
Slates & Plates but patrons are also
welcome to bring in food.
Small Craft’s tasting room is open 5
to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and
1 to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays,
making it a great place to stock up on
the way to Jones Beach or to stop off
on the way home to cool off.
Small Craft Brewing is located at
66 Merrick Road in Amityville.
For more information visit
www.smallcraftbrewing.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher
of LIBeerGuide.com.
MAIN DISH
Brothers Greg and Gerald Sims,
co-owners and brewers of Small
Craft Brewing.
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