We received our first order of grain from Hudson Valley Malt. The owner delivered it himself and we spent some time talking about beer, grain and life in general. I realized that one of the things that I enjoy is being able to taste the flavors of the grain in the finished beer. A “malt” forward beer if you will. The latest brewing trends have really moved away from this with hops and fruit flavor overshadowing any flavor of grain. It’s a trend that won’t find a hold here. While I like a really good IPA or NEIPA, there are way too many beer styles to enjoy and grain is what makes a local beer.
As a farm brewery we use New York based products in our beers. Today we were testing several grains to see where to fit them into our recipes. All of the grain is base malt (typically the majority of the grain bill in a beer). There were very interesting differences with one having a decidedly crisp Pizza crust thing going on. What I found out doing this is that the taste of the grain by itself (not as a tea), seemed to be the best way to get a flavor profile.
Moriches Field Brewing Company is looking for an Assistant Brewer to join our brewing family in Center Moriches. This is a part-time position with a start-up brewery that will grow as the brewery grows. The position may become full-time in the future. Compensation will be at an hourly rate plus a share of tips from the tasting room. Our ideal candidate is responsible, creative and will contribute in meaningful ways to growing the business. We expect that you will grow as we do. The candidate must have a flexible schedule with the occasional weekend shift. A basic understanding of brewing or fermentation science is a must. Candidates must be 21 or older. Please send your resume to and mention that you are applying for the assistant brewer role.
What an amazing amount of progress, especially in the last week. Our equipment is back in place after re-doing the floor, our first order of kegs arrived, the front sign is finally done and we have seating in the main room. I feel like so much has transpired in the last 10 days. The next few weeks are cleaning and testing as well as decorating. I have one last Moriches Field Brewing Company sign to hang over the taps and my unofficial career as a sign-maker will officially be over. We’ll look to start the hiring process the first week of July.
With all of the various delays caused by Covid 19 pandemic, we took the opportunity to “upgrade” the brew floor with an epoxy finish. It was oddly easy to do from a technical point of view, although quite an effort over the weekend. It’s results like this that you put your own sweat equity into that mean the most when you look back. The picture is coat number 1. As always I couldn’t have done this without my wife who did 50% of the work but made the weekend 100% better.
We are continuing to make slow but steady progress towards opening later this summer. Various final inspections are taking place which are going well. It’s amazing how many regulators you have when opening a brewery and they all need paperwork. As you might imagine the pace is slower given all of the restrictions for the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s happening. On a more fun note, our chairs for the tasting bar are here. They look great, so it’s sad that we won’t be able to use most of them for a while. We are actually looking at some alternative configurations to manage social distancing protocols. Nothing like changing business plans on the fly!
After waiting and waiting for the weather to cooperate, we finally finished the corner sign. While we are still working to open some time this summer, it feels “official” now. There was a huge smile on my face when I drove up this morning.
First and foremost, we wish everyone well during this troubling time. A few weeks ago we were thinking about the opening date for the brewery. It’s amazing how things have changed so quickly and now the focus is on ensuring friends and family are safe and have what they need to get through the Covid-19 crisis. On a personal level my family is fine and for that I am very grateful. The last few weeks, have felt more like months. We are still progressing with the brewery although construction is severely curtailed at the moment. I won’t predict when it will be done, but I know we will eventually get there.
It’s satisfying to see things move from concept through to completion. The front of our building is starting to look like we envisioned. The guys really took this very quickly from approval by the town on our revisions to the initial design to actual construction.
A lot has happened since the last update. The fire alarm is in, electric & plumbing fixtures are starting to get in place and we found a bargain for new windows to let some light into the hallway. Most of the painting is done and now we are focusing on the tasting room.
