Recently, I had the opportunity to visit my old neighbors from Cambodia in their new home – Long Beach, New York. It was so great to see them in their new spot AND do something we used to do together – drink craft beer! We checked out Bright Eye Beer Company, a local brewery that opened up right before COVID hit the USA and has family ties to Cambodia. Can you believe it?
On my first night, we tried two crowlers from Bright Eye Beer Company. The first one was Sipulation, an American Pale Wheat Beer. The second beer, we tried was the Foam-O, (play of FOMO – fear of missing out) a hazy IPA. Of the two beers, I definitely liked Sipulation more, but that isn’t surprising since I’m not a huge fan on IPAs.
The next day, after enjoying a day of surfing, we went to the brewery to check it out. (We sat outside, socially distancing of course). I got the sampler and tried:
Hazy Pants Creamsicle IPA – inspired by their original cream ale, the Crazy Pants, has a little twist, heavily dry-hopped this IPA is made with fresh orange zest, Madagascar vanilla beans, and a touch of milk sugar. This was hands down my favorite Bright Eye Beer Company’s beers. This is shocking because like I said before, I don’t typically enjoy IPAs, but I DO love fruit beers – and this beer definitely balanced out. I ended up ordering a second pint of this one!
Regular Slice Blonde Ale – a fresh batch of their blonde ale for all the regular beer drinkers out there. (Fun fact: beer used to be served with a slice a bread for farm workers in Egypt and Mesopetamia. They are also made out of almost the exact same ingredients).
Just a Splash – A grapefruit beer, that I thought I would like more than I ended up enjoying. Still good, just loved the Hazy Pants Creamsicle IPA so much more.
Babe’s Stout – This delicious stout is doused with some tender and sweet loving (coffee beans and cocoa nibs) from their friends over at Flux Coffee. I loved this beer and would definitely love it more on a dark and stormy day, rather than a hot and sunny one.
I loved the brewery so much. Even their logo has a fish made out of a hop that I absolutely loved. I picked up a shirt so I can represent their brand all the way in Cambodia.
Next time you are in Long Beach, New York, stop by Bright Eye Beer Company, order a Hazy Pants Creamsicle IPA and pick up some cute Hop Fish looking swag. The owner has a passion for social justice work in Cambodia and is doing great things with the Long Beach community, even in the midst of a pandemic. Show up and show some support!
Have you ever been to Bright Eye Beer Company? What did you think of the beer? Been to Long Beach, New York? What was your favorite brewery there?
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