BREWERY REVIEW: Rockaway Brewing Company

My search for the best beer in New York continues….

When I list the number of new breweries in the city, people are always shocked to hear that Queens holds the highest number: 8 currently in operation. There is so much love and excitement for beer in the borough that Queens even has its own weeklong festival of local beer.

Queens Beer Week is this week and it’s the perfect time to celebrate suds in Queens. I recently visited Rockaway Brewing Company in Long Island City and sampled some of their traditional offerings.

I really like Rockaway because they keep their beers simple, but with a focus on high quality. Their tasting room (which is open almost every day) is not too big and not too small, so it keeps things roomy but intimate. And they have a fun, convenient but off-the-beaten path location. Plus, they give out free Cape Cod potato chips and there’s nothing better than a crunchy, salty handful of chips to go along with beer.

At the brewery, you can get a tour of their small distillery and you can also pick up a flight of beer for $7. I love that they let you choose which four of the eight on draft that you’d like to try. Because I came on our NYC Brewery tour, I was able to taste more than just four. So here goes.

Rockaway focuses on practicing the Reinheitsgebot (German purity law) to make all their beer. That means the only ingredients allowed are water, barley, hops, and yeast. No blueberries or chocolate. That keeps the beers traditional and forces them to focus on quality.

I started with their flagship beer which is an ESB (extra special bitter). This is a beer I could drink all day long with a classic malty grain base and a hint of sweetness at the back.

Following that, I sampled their Golden Rye, a spicy peppery rye ale with a hint of mellow hops. I found this one also to be extraordinarily drinkable, especially for those that want more of a bite.

Curiostiy came next (that’s the name of the beer), which was a very balanced red ale. The nose didn’t reveal much, but the bitter grapefruit notes came alive in the smooth body.

Rockaway’s Cream Ale was the creamiest cream ale I’ve ever tasted. In addition to a rich, silky body, it had a slightly sweet flavor with a bracing bitter finish. And that creamy white head helped release all the aromas.

I finished with their two darkest beers. First came the Black Gold Stout, which had a very nice carbonation that helped release the nose of coffee grounds and a mellow sweetness that finished dry.

Taking the original a step further, the Nitro Black Gold, is a creamy stout reminiscent of chocolate milk with an underlying smokiness that I found irresistible.

If I wasn’t such a lightweight, I might have gone for a second flight to work my way through their entire repertoire. So Rockaway specializes in classic beers with classic ingredients, while other Queens breweries do things like wild fermentation, unique lagers, and fruit sours. It’s a great time to be a beer drinker in Queens. And if you’re not in Queens, it’s just a subway ride away.

Is Rockaway Brewing Company the best brewery in NY? It’s a very comfortable (and cheap) place to sample some of the more traditional beers in the city. It also gets a 8 out of 10 for giving tours and having the brewhouse on display.

Is Rockaway Brewing Company’s ESB the best beer in NY? It’s a classic, starter beer and with its mild sweetness and cereal grain notes, it’s possible to drink all day long. 8 out of 10.

Is Rockaway Brewing Company’s Golden Rye the best beer in NY? Spicy and peppery notes give way to mellow hops. It also gets an 8 out of 10 for its drinkability.

Is Rockaway Brewing Company’s Curiosity the best beer in NY? I love its subtle grapefruit peel flavor, but otherwise it’s a little too mellow for my tastes. 7 out of 10.

Is Rockaway Brewing Company’s Cream Ale the best beer in NY? The cream ale name rings true and gets an 8 out of 10 for the rich texture and sweet malty finish.

Is Rockaway Brewing Company’s Black Gold the best beer in NY? It’s a dry stout with aromas of coffee grounds and a nice carbonation. 8 out of 10.

Is Rockaway Brewing Company’s Nitro Black Gold the best beer in NY? The flavor is jacked up to a 9out of 10 with a decadent chocolate milk body and a pleasant smokiness rounding it out.