Long Island Cask Beer Festival

I usually don’t break character when I make posts on this page. But today I will. I hope this message finds you well and that everyone is taking the situation s...eriously and being as careful as they can be for themselves and the people around them. For those of you who are not familiar with me, I just want to give you a little history so you know where this is coming from. I’ve been part of this Long Island craft beer explosion since day one and am very proud to have been instrumental in getting the word out. So at this important moment, I think I have the credentials to put this message out there and hope that it gets heard. Bellport Cold Beer was the first store to carry many of the local beers. We proudly have invoice number one from almost 10 different breweries. We were the first store to host regular tastings from our local breweries. We always headed up the bandwagon and tried to let as many people know about our local scene as possible. That favor has been returned many times over, not only to me but to so many in the Long Island beer community. The coolest part about it was that my friends and customers jumped right on and helped with every kickstarter, every opening, every launch etc. I have personal and emotional ties to so many in the industry from the people who make it and pour it, to the people who sell it and drink it. My hope is that this message gets carried around and shared like my other messages. Our local breweries and the restaurants and tap rooms that support many of our local breweries are suffering right now. Some of these people may be out of business before this is over. The operating expenses of these places are so much more than most people actually would ever imagine. To give you an example, my stores operating expenses without even opening the doors, which means not including the cost of product or employees, are over $8000 a month. Many of our friends are right up there with me, and some have a bigger monthly nut than that.You would be shocked at how much the insurance, rent, loans, utilities, taxes, licenses and permits are. The purpose of this post is to rally all of you who have discretionary income and love these places as much as I do, to put your money where your mouth is and do what you can to patronize these establishments. No one is asking for charity, you get value for your money spent and you also have the chance to be part of keeping your favorite places going. I have seen people talk about the pros and the cons of gift cards. Just so you know, even though some people are saying eventually they have to give all of that back in product, so it won’t do anything for them in the long run, this is false. Sometimes businesses need a loan to stay afloat. They eventually have to pay that back. Look at it that way. You’re lending them money to keep them afloat. When life returns to normal, you can use those gift cards to get your money back. It’s that simple. But the real purpose of this post is to have people realize what they can do to help not only the people who own these breweries, but the people who work for them and rely on them for income. When this is all over, it would be even worse if those people don’t have someplace to go back to work. Many of the breweries on Long Island have always stepped up to the plate when we’ve needed donations of money, product, gift certificates, swag etc. At this count, I have run over 20 different fundraisers And helped with countless others. I am happy to say that 95% of the time I asked for help, or suggested someone else running something, go to someone for help, we have received that help from my friends at the breweries, restaurants and tap room‘s. It’s time for us to step up to the plate and help them if we are able. There are many ways to do this. Almost everyone is doing deliveries or curbside pick up at this time. Order your meals, a growler, whatever you can, from your favorite local establishments. If you’re shopping retail beverage, and this goes for wine as well as beer, ignore the it beers and the chase beers from out of state. These establishments aren’t supposed to be selling those anyway. Spend your beer /wine budget on something local. Every time you spend money on these beers, that’s less money you have to spend on the local beers that need your support, especially at this challenging moment. And don’t forget none of those breweries have ever donated anything to help out our local beer community, because as great as those beers may be, not only do we have equally great beers, they have their own local people supporting them as we should be supporting ours at a time like this. I have nothing against any of them and I hope they all survive this crisis as well. I know I’ve rambled here for a while, but I worry that people don’t understand how important it is to think local for everything at this time. The future of our local industry, community, and the wonderful people who work in it, is it risk right now. There are many places who will find it difficult to stay in business even if this only lasts 2 to 4 weeks. Operating expenses are unforgiving. They never stop even if business does. I also want to open this forum up to anyone who is doing anything to help at this time. Be it raising awareness of new business schedules, or much more important, raising money to help our friends who have been forced out of work survive during this work stoppage. We all have a bartender or some other server that truly makes our visit to a certain place so much better. Don't forget our musicians either! They certainly enhance the experience. We, as a community have the ability to help them as well as help the businesses stay afloat. If you have job openings, even temporary, let me know, I will put the word out. PM me on this page or personally so I can get the info out. Please share this post, or at least the ideas contained within, with your friends and fellow fans of our local scene. Please keep yourself out of harms way, check on your elderly neighbors, see if they need anything, be a good neighbor, and hopefully when this is all over, we will emerge a stronger, more compassionate community. Thank you for reading this and thank you in advance for all you do and all you can do to make sure that this does as little harm as possible. WE are "damage control" Regards and please be safe and stay healthy, Bellport Dave #licbw #longislandcraftbeerweek #libeer #longislandbeer #thinklocal #drinklocal #buylocal #craftbeer #coronavirus #socialdistancing #grabandgo #curbsideservice #beertogo #growlerstogo #foodtogo #supportcraftbeer #supportsmallbusiness #supportlocal #drinkcraft #quarantinebeers #coronaggedon #stayhome #craftbrewery #longisland #drinkny #suffolk #nassau #drinklongisland #nybeer #thinknydrinkny #licraftbeer #bekind #bethedifference #helponeanother #weareourbrotherskeeper #weareoursisterskeeper #ittakesavillage

Today is the day! Tickets will be available at the door

For those looking for a gluten free option there will be cider and mead in the line up this year!

stick in the mud imperial stout with coconut 14% and six degrees of Kevin Berliner with mango (Berliner Weiss) 5.5%.

Tickets are still available!

If you haven't experienced real cheese fondue, you are in for a treat! Michael Affatato owner of The Village Cheese Shop will be serving street style swiss fondue. Perfect with beer on a chilly winter afternoon.

The next 3 people to purchase a ticket to this Saturday's fest will receive a can of Treehouse beer purchased fresh from the brewery last weekend.

Sand City will be pouring at the 10th Anniversary LI Nano Cask Ale Festival January 26th in Rocky Point!