AUGUST 2018 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 73
DOUBLED UP
TAG TEAM BREWERY
Gutterman Funeral Homes are one of the largest family owned funeral homes in America. Since 1892 the Gutterman family has instilled dedicated service with a
personal touch to the Jewish community which has now spanned over 120 years. Still today, commitment to excellence and knowledgeable funeral directors is
what separates our chapels from all the rest.
Most recently we have taken the steps to become more of a resource and asset to families NOT only at the most emotional time of need, but rather years ahead of
time. We have found some of the most sought after requested referral sources to direct you to in order to help start or compliment your estate planning, begin your
Medicaid application or to nd professional home care aides to protect the aging in place or nd you assisted living, nursing home or Hospice placement services.
By Pre-Arranging funeral services with us, you will help secure your wishes on permanent record by locking in on today’s “out of pocket expenses” controlling your
spending and option of payment plans. Initial consultation is at no obligation and can be discussed at one of our chapels or in the comfort of your own home. Call
now to inquire how we can help direct you in order to save you time and monies with all of your unique estate planning needs.
Call our Main Ofce to schedule your personal, condential appointment. Christopher M.Tombline Executive Manager of Gutterman Funeral Homes
516.764.9400
1895 Flatbush Ave. 1 Block north of
Kings Highway
MAIN DISH
By BERNIE KILKELLY
Craft beer lovers can soon taste
brews from two of Long Island’s best
breweries in one stop.
Fire Island Beer Co. (FIB) plans to
open its new tasting room this fall
at 25 Drexel Dr., Bay Shore, where
Great South Bay Brewery (GSB) has
been run its popular tasting room for
five years.
“I couldn’t be happier to have Fire
Island join Great SouthBay,” GSB’s
owner Rick Sobotka says.
The two breweries have been sharing
the 40,000-square-foot building
since 2016, when FIB leased 15,000
square feet that GSB was not using.
Sobotka grew up in Upstate
New York, where his father was an
award-winning homebrewer and
brewing was a family tradition dating
back to his great-grandfather, who
distilled his own whiskey in Poland.
After polishing his homebrewing
skills in college and apprenticing at
breweries, Sobotka took the leap to
start his own brewery on LI, where
he established a practice in medicine
as an anesthesiologist.
“I really enjoy anesthesia as a
career, but I always knew one day
I would start my own brewery,” he
says.
Since 2013, GSB has emerged as
one of LI’s leading craft breweries,
winning awards under the direction
of head brewer Greg Maisch.
FIB was founded by a trio of homebrewers:
two brothers, Bert and
Tom Fernandez, and their cousin
Jeff Glassman. They homebrewed at
their summer house on Fire Island in
the 1990s and sold some of the beer
at a concession shack they ran at
Atlantique. The positive feedback, including
the amber ale that became the
flagship Lighthouse Ale, encouraged
them to take the plunge into commercial
brewing by contract brewing
while searching for a location.
In 2014, Simon Leonard, who had
been the primary contract brewer,
purchased 90 percent of FIB and officially
came on board as brewmaster.
The long search for a permanent
location for FIB ended in 2016 when
Sobotka reached out to longtime
friend Fernandez and offered to sublease
space that wasn’t being used in
his building. They began brewing on
the new system last year under the
direction of Dan Moss, who joined FIB
as head brewer after brewing at Black
Forest Brew Haus in Farmingdale.
With the new system now fully
operational, FIB producing is now
all of its beers in Bay Shore.
“We’re excited about being able to
play around in there,” says Fernandez,
“and experiment with new styles
and seasonal beers.”
Fire Island Beer Co. and Great
South Bay Brewery are located at 25
Drexel Dr. in Bay Shore. For more
info visit fireislandbeer.com or greatsouthbaybrewery.
com
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and
publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
Fire Island Beer Co. now shares
a home with Great South Bay
Brewery.