Elite Event: Taste The Craft at Rockaway Brew Co

Elite Event at a Brewery Count me in!
I thought this spot was hiding from me, located on a corner across the street from the LIC Flea Market!
The brewery is a nano brewery everything they serve is brewed on site (Ask for a Tour). What a great pub everything about it screams layback & enjoy yourself. There are a variety of different brews ranging from
1875 Pale Ale, Double Curiosity, Rank & File, 1492, Cream Ale & Nitro Black Gold Stout.
Everything hit the spot some stronger then others, all did the same kept me buzzing.
Mr Cheese Guy was on the scene with tasty cheese, complementing the sweet nectar of Rockaway brewery.
There is no bells & whistles just a cool ass place to have a brew. Good people Good Drinks Old school Pinball Machine Only 1 quarter, u can’t beat that. Big Ups tOo Jando … Nelson … Rockaway brewery & Mr Cheese Guy for showing Luv !

This was a fun Great event in LIC. This tuesday the weather was great to walk around and this brewery is near some of the most amazing views of the city.
This cozy event was catered to the beer and cheese lovers of Unilocal elites. I personally enjoyed the beers, the cheeses and just the overall ambiance of the joint. Laidback, owners are chill and people made it a better experience.
Met a couple of new Unilocalers and re– quindle with others that i haven’t seen in a bit.
#yelpqueens knows how to party

First things first, I thought the event was in Rockaway Queens… good thing I checked the events page before I left. Anywho, the event was a lot of fun, thanks to Jando for always throwing an amazing event, too bad there were a good number of no shows. Boooooo. The brewery is a nano brewery, aka smaller than a micro brewery, in a little area of LIC that’s kinda in the shadows of the massive apartment complexes that we all think of when we think LIC.
There were eight beers to choose from, there was Original ESB, Pharm, 1875 Pale Ale, Double Curiosity, Rank & File, 1492, Cream Ale, and Nitro Black Gold Stout. I typically like the higher percentage beers since I think they have better flavor. So I really enjoyed the Rank & File (6.8%) and the Double Curiosity (9.5%). Both had nice flavor, good alcohol content and had a nice finish.
Also at the event was The Cheese Guy, beer and cheese? Hell f’in Yeah! He brought some Chipotle Cheddar (Cynthia’s fav), Gouda, Brie, Vermont Cheddar etc I think the Vermont Cheddar and Chiptole were really good. The chiptole actually had a decent kick, I wouldn’t think cheese and spicy but it worked.
Overall, met some cool new Unilocalers, add some awesome beer and cheese on a Tuesday night? What more can you ask for?

#TUT AKA TurnUpTuesdays… was fully in effect on 4÷14÷15. THis time it was held at one of only 6 beer breweries in the whole borough of queens. According to Jando, these breweries only popped up a mere three years ago. So beer is definitely on the rise in our native burough.
Never actually been to a brewery, so this was an enlightening experience. On top of that, I never thought of pairing beer w/​cheese. The beer was provided by Rockaway and the cheese was by, I shit you not: Brent «the Cheese guy». Jando manned the door and it was a small event w a nice turnout.
Beers were given to try off the menu with accompanying cheeses, I like the ESB w/​Gouda pair. The chipotle cheese was to spicy for my taste. The Vermont cheddar was tasty, especially on the ritz cracker.
During the sampling event, a brief tour was conducted by the owners of the brew house. It consisted of them explaining the process of beer and how simple it actually is, given the right tools.
An interesting event, to say the least. I mean how does one say NO to beer or cheese??? Lol
Thanks Jandooooo…

This is one of those things in which I’m really annoyed that I can’t give more than 5 stars.
This was my 3^rd time here but my first time trying their Rank & File beer. It was delicious — light, refreshing and crisp. All of their beers are fantastic, especially the stout they had on hand. Mmmmmmm, STOUT.
Flint is such a cool guy. He still remembers my enthusiasm for mermaids and Marcus even seemed receptive when I suggested a Mermaid themed Hefeweizen (or he could have just been humoring me, all good, lol). Pete is also freakin’ awesome and he was a lot of fun to talk to. I was also overjoyed when I noticed him changing the vinyl on their record player. YES. VINYL on their RECORD PLAYER. I can be an audiophile when I want to be and this was one of those times.
Brent aka «The Cheese Guy» was fantastic and his cheeses pairs wonderfully with the beers. I was glad I got to chat with him about how he sources for his cheeses, makes them in Vermont, is originally from Yonkers and how he is super hands-​on regarding the cheese making process, down to what the cows are grazing and what kind of soil the cow pastures grow in. Apparently that’s why cheddar is so awesome from Vermont — the soil!
Although all his different types of cheese are amazing, the star of the show for me was his brie and his White Double Cheddar Ale. Man. They were so great with the crackers and le beers. The Cape Cod chips and the cheddar bacon pretzels were also a fantastic touch to an already awesome line-​up.
Thanks so much to Rockaway Brewery for hosting us and special shout out to Unilocaly Unilocal,Jandito, Flint, Pete, Marcus, Brent and everyone who played a part in setting up this event! Cheers!

What a fun event!
The beer flowed, the cheese was delicious, and the company was, as always– awesome! It was a blast checking out how a brewery works, plus getting a taste of yummy fresh beer! I tried so many, I can’t remember if I had a favorite. (Or is my lack a memory because of the beer? Hmm.) In any event, they were all very tasty and I can’t wait to bring my friends here. Who doesn’t want to party in a brewery?
And thank the heavens for the The Cheese Guy. Any person who loves cheese as much as I do is a saint in my book.
Three cheers for the never ending pinball machine, and shout outs to Ethan for making me and my pizza sneakers feel like a rockstar.
Thanks to Jando and Rockaway Brew Co for such a stellar evening!

Beer and Cheese. Pretty much my top two favorite things so this was heaven.
I worked my way through the tasting list from top to bottom — I honestly liked them all but my favorite was the Pharm, as I am a sucker for saisons. Like a one night stand, we were told we probably won’t be seeing some of these brews again. I think one of the beers gave me a fake number.
The mood was great and the Unilocalers happy. What more can you ask for, really? All the staff were very nice and were happy to answer all my questions — and when I get a little tipsy I become a 5 year old that wants to know how everything works.
The cheese was incredible. Seriously, I want to roll over and wake up to that Brie every morning. I would be willing to make that commitment. I think I have found «the one». Not to say I wouldn’t have discreet trysts with the Cheddar or Parmesan, but Brie would always know it was my main squeeze — or cheese.
I also went down to the water per Jando’s suggestion. The views are incredible!
Thanks Rockaway Brewery, the Cheese Guy and as always, Jando.

Unilocal Queens takes us to LIC on this particular Tuesday to Rockaway Brewery for some beer tastings and tour.
What’s in the name? What began as a story like many others in the world of microbreweries, it began out of passion for beer, in their home in Far Rockaway before breaking ground on their relatively new digs in LIC in 2012. Sold by the keg here at the growler room, or on tap in local bars, owners Marcus Burnett and Ethan Long were here on hand with us to tell us about their first distribution deal. Kudos to your hard work and dedication! I love microbreweries and stories like this!
A small event, it gave the chance to mingle, catch up and meet new elites. (Props to Marthy S. for venturing all the way from North Jersey!)
I had a run at the entire board, providing a tasting of all the brews they had on tap and they were all something wonderful. Complemented by cheese pairings from the Cheese Guy himself, we were in heaven! My top favorite brews of the evening were the Stout and Double Curiosity for their flavor. Both were very drinkable as was their most popular pale ale offerings of ESB. I also fancied the Chipotle cheddar bites, they were out of this world!
Major props to Team Unilocal once again for a fine event, As well as Rockaway Brewery for the space and the brews and the Cheese Guy for the wonderful cheese pairings. I have plans to do a UYE with the area breweries for a beer crawl in the near future. Who’s up for that? Sound off with a compliment, please!

These three guys really have some passion for brewing and beer. I came right at 7:30, ready for the tour. The beer guys told our group that the Rockaway Brew Co first started as an informal home brewing get together, and gradually increased their output until they moved into this cozy space in up-​and-​coming Long Island City. As a resident of LIC, I’m glad they’re adding to the «hip factor» of my neighborhood.
I tried all eight beers, and each was different and special in their own way. Original ESB was uncontestably my favorite, and I took a growler home. Easy to drink, the perfect gravity, and just flavorful enough, it was a favorite among almost everybody I spoke to. Other more intense beers were Black Gold Stout, which reminded me of an espresso, and the Cream Ale, which reminded me of a Creamsicle.
Brent (aka the Cheese Guy) proudly showcased his Vermont cheeses and taught us how to pair them with the beer guys’ beer, which worked surprisingly well. (Full disclosure: I’ve never paired cheese with beer).
Thanks to Jando for organizing another fun event (and finally helping me solve my email problem once and for all)!

This event was such a blast, where do I begin? First… The beer! So many choices, all of them great. I think I sampled a little of everything that was on tap for the evening, my favorites were the 1875 pale ale & the ESB (ESB happens to be my favorite beer style), with a special mention to the Parm and the double red ale. What made the beer taste even better was the cozy space and the awesome people from Rockaway Brew Co, and of course The Cheese Guy. Wonderful pairings. I chatted with Brent for a little while, and he’s got quite the background… Did you know he was trying to get NYC on a quinoa kick 15 years ago? Talk about being ahead of the curve!
I can’t wait to head back here again, maybe bring along a few more beer-​loving friends as well to enjoy the fruits of RBC’s labor. Thanks go out to Rockaway beer for the tastes (and the pints!) as well as Brent for his delicious cheeses, and of course Jando, thanks again for setting up something so fun — and for MAKING me go to Gantry plaza, it was totally worth it!

Got this brewery goin’ up, on a Tuesdayyyy*. Pretty much sums up this amazing event at Rockaway Brewing Co. Where can I find myself sampling some delicious brews AND nosh on a variety of cheeses on a Tuesday night? Well thank you Jando for setting this event up!
It was a nice, cozy intimate group which I really liked. I got the chance to catch up with quite a few people. But of course I have to highlight the star of the show… the craft beer. Rockaway Brew Co. was extremely generous and let us try eight of their brews. I started from the bottom with their Nitro Gold Black Stout which I of course loved since I’m a big fan of dark beers. To the very top with their Original ESB! From trying them all, my favorites were the stout and the Cream Ale. One interesting fact — the staff told us that it’s possible if we stop by and have a drink, that they’ll never have it again. It’s specially made and once it’s kicked, finito. So drink up everyone!
And to compliment our beers, we had a fantastic assortment of cheeses from The Cheese Guy (love the name). I mean, how can you go wrong? The Brie, Chipotle Cheddar, Vermont Cheddar… all delicious. That Chipotle had quite the kick.
What I appreciated most about this event was seeing the evident passion in their products. With both the beer and the cheese, these guys knew what they were talking about. And you can 100% tell, they LOVE what they do. Which is so so special. The tour gave us a nice insight into how they work from start to finish and they let us take a look at the barley/​hops they use in each batch. (see professional hops aroma photo) I loved it all.
MANY thanks to Jando for putting on this great Queens event, And to Nelson, The Cheese Guy and the staff of Rockaway Brewery! I left albeit a bit buzzed but also much more informed of the beer/​cheese biz. I can’t wait to come back and see what new products you have in store!
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*I think that’s the first time I ever quoted Drake in my life. Thank you to my students who cannot stop singing this song.

Amazing craft brews and delicious, natural cheeses on a Tuesday night? Yes, please! So much this.
As much as I love craft beer, I haven’t had the opportunity to visit many breweries near/​in the city. Words cannot describe how perfect this event was. Beer flowed, cheese was sampled, and Unilocalers chatted (all in great spirits).
Thank you so much to Rockaway Brewing for your generosity and hospitality! After a brief tour, we were treated to samples of their brews (from staples to super rare!!). The Cream Ale was one of the best cream ales I’ve ever tasted, but my favorite had to be the double red ale Double Curiosity. I also really enjoyed the 1492 all Columbus-​hopped Pale Ale and the nitro Black Gold Stout. Did I mention that their ESB is also excellent? I think it’s safe to say that I’m a fan and will return with friends in tow.
Brent aka The Cheese Guy wowed me with his fantastic cheeses. That table Parmesan was made just for me. I’m convinced. The Brie? Divine. Fantastic flavor and heat level in the Chipotle Cheddar. Thank you for sharing your creations and your passion with us!
Once again Jando has hit it right out of the park. Thank you so, so much for bringing us all together for an incredible, local experience!

Tipsy Tuesday was in full effect last night! This Jersey girl trekked over 2 bridges to join an awesome group of Queens Unilocalers for this fantastic event.
And Jando, you throw one hellava Unilocal elite event! :bows:
Rockaway Brewing Co, you have made it on my list of fave craft breweries! Marcus gave a wonderful tour of his brewery, showcased his deep knowledge and love for beer, and served up 8 amazing craft beers! I followed the list and tried each in order and concluded my faves: Original ESB, Double Curiosity, Rank & File, and Nitro Black Gold Stout. Nitro + Stout have been a new love of mine. It’s just too damn bad you can’t take a growler home of this combo!!! And hoppy beers always win my heart (and my beer belly!)
Brent, «The Cheese Guy»…mannn…what can I say about you (that I already didn’t say to you last night) — I’ll need to see that vid btw! =) You have this aura that holds so much love and positive energy for your craft. I think everyone felt it. And I think everyone could taste it from your exquisite and flavorful selection of cheeses! I can’t pick a fave. They were ALL my faves because they all were unique and distinctive in their own ways. The double cream Vermont Brie was buttery and yet slightly pungent. Chipotle Chedder brought on the heat and yet was well balanced with the smokey flavor. And the fact that your cheeses are (just to name a few) Kosher, organic, vegetarian, all-​natural; makes you feel good knowing you are consuming a pure product.
Thank you Rockaway Brewery and Brent for coming together for this event! Jando, keep being Unilocaltastic! Queens Unilocalers, it was a pleasure to meet so many of you and hope to see you all soon!

As many people have already mentioned, nothing beats beer and cheese and being surrounded by awesome Unilocalers on a Tuesday!
The space that Rockaway Brewery Co occupies is more compact than other breweries I’ve been to and with the small staff, at first I doubted their ability to house a successful Event. With minutes, the place was packed and booming. The staff was super knowledgeable and friendly, and everyone was being served at a faster rate than some other Event’s I’ve been to held in grander spaces with larger staff. They explained every beer on the menu– a list of 8 very different beers with varied notes and alcohol contents– something for everyone! It was soon obvious that these people knew what they were doing and we were all in for a treat.
I tried several brews, but the Nitro Black Gold Stout definitely stole my heart. It was an incredible brew combining some of my favorite things– stout, espresso, and chocolate! I am looking forward to seeing their brews being served in restaurants!
Brent The Cheese Guy had a great offering of cheese pairings– the Brie was smooth and creamy, but that Chipotle Cheddar was the clear winner for me. I don’t even like cheddar! I hope he follows through and becomes a vendor at the market– I’d definitely be interested.
As usual, Jando and the Unilocal crew made this another big success and it was great to see so many familiar faces. A HUGE thanks to the generous Rockaway Brew Co & The Cheese Guy for the great sampling and pairing!

I love going out… On a Tuesday! Especially when it involves craft beer, cheese and chill Unilocalers.
Rockaway Brewery is resembles all things NYC: compact but functional. The staff was wonderful and eagered to explain the beers on tap. They gave two enthusiastic tours of the brewery and made us feel really welcome. I’m a girly beer drinker so I really enjoyed the Cream Ale (smooth & sweet) and Nitro (chocolate & expresso)
Of course that was not enough, we were treated to samples of yummy cheese from The Cheese Guy. Double Cheddar, Chipotle Cheddar, Gouda & Brie! Oh my! And Parmesan joined the cheesy party later on. I enjoyed trying them all and was ready to buy the cheddar right there but he didn’t bring the goods! =(
Overall, another cool Unilocal event in my neighborhood of Queens. Great job Jando and Hiii to all the new & familiar faces last night! I’m ready for more nights like this. =)

It was my first Unilocal Elite event in Queens and it certainly won’t be my last.
Jando told us all at the door, I hope you all came thirsty? And the Rockaway Brewing folks made sure we didn’t stay that way. We entered the cozy bar space, where they were fully prepared for us and had a listing of 8 beers. My brother and I logically started at the top with the Original ESB which was slightly sweet and my clear favorite. I’d give my runner up awards to the Pharm and the Cream Ale (which was on the sweeter side). We had a 4 oz glass of every single selection and I wasn’t dissapointed in any.
The event included a tour of the facility and the owner gave a nice speech about the brewing process and how he loves his job. They were seriously really welcoming and even offered to allow anyone to come by on a Thursday to see the entire process take place from start to finish.
What would a Unilocal event be without food? The Cheese Guy was slicing and dicing his product for what seemed like two hours straight. There must have been 50 people their maximum and he was prepared for an army of 500! He was clearly very passionate about his trade and was explaining to us how he personally goes to Vermont and upstate New York to harvest and select his cheeses. The Brie was delicious and I braved sampling the Chipotle, even though I’m not a fan of spicy/​hot stuff.
The crowd was great, everybody was having a fun time and the bartenders/​brewers were happy to chat about their product. They’re a nanobrewery, even smaller than a micro and I could tell this event made their day. If I see any Rockaway Brewery beers at a bar in the city I will definitley grab it in ode to them.
Special thanks to Jando for allowing me to check out a Unilocal event in Queens and all the other folks I chatted with. My brother and I also got to check out the view from the water of LIC afterwards and it was awesome. I might take friends there from now on instead of Roosevelt Island.

Love love Rockaway Brew Company! This was my third time here and every time I have a different experience and they fail to disappoint. Which jumping in to how its a different experience each time the bartenders and brewers stress how each batch is unique for their beers and really you get a completely different taste each time they replenish or come up with a new brew. My personal favorite of the night that I had never tasted before was their Double Curiosity. It’s an Imperial Double Red Ale clocking in at a whopping 9.5%abv. It’s pretty smooth tasting and full of trickery as it doesn’t taste very hoppy but more like a caramel chocolaty glazed grapefruit if I had to describe it as anything. I had never tried the Rank and File either and was pleasantly surprised with how great a hopped up Belgian beer could be. Others on the list I’ve had: The Original ESB, Pharm, 1875 Pale Ale, 1492, Cream Ale, and Nitro Black Gold Stout. Each are pretty unique and stand out as being quality pure beers without any gimmicks and/​or added flavorings.
The cheese guy from Yonkers, NY was on hand for some tasty pairings. Brie, Gouda, Chipotle, Double Ale Cheddar soaked in Schmaltz brand IPA and Nut brown ales, and some type of aged yellow blue cheese to round it all off. The brie was like butter and the double ale cheddar was the one that stood out the most to me. Beer and cheese are a perfect match and should always be together like sliced bread and butter.
–Also, side note, they have an old school record player crooning out tunes below the bar. That was a pretty neat touch.

Such is life, that many labels can apply to one particular thing. It’s natural to wear many (proverbial) hats. The Rockaway Brewing Company is no exception; literary tropes/​maxims/​axioms such as «variety is the spice of life…» and «it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog…» are some of those that instantly come to mind. While it’s true that one may advocate/​argue in the adverse (i.e. «a jack of all trades is a master of nothing…» or «bigger is better…») I would have to strongly disagree to such a position, and assert that the principles in the preceding statement are much more applicable to this event, and even more so to this brewery.
Now that I’ve established the theme of this review (as well as blatantly showed off my superior acumen/​knowledge regarding literary clichés), allow me explain my position. The brain trust of the Rockaway brewing company clearly demonstrated their expertise in the chemistry behind beer brewing. Eight beers were presented to the favored few Queens Unilocalers selected to attend this event, and we were allowed to sample them all at our own pleasure/​pace. Each brew had their own distinct characteristics (e.g. the Double Curiosity boasted the highest alcohol content… and the 1875 had a unique citrus-​y taste); needless to say, there was a brew available for everyone, from the casual beer drinker, to the «out-​on-​a-​mission-​to-​get-​sloppy» drinker, to the beer drinking connoisseur, and so on. As for this particular writer, I’d say I was most partial to the Rank & File, a hoppier number when compared to the other brews available.
And if you’re worried that the Rockaway Brewing Company is spreading itself too thin with their impressive array of different flavors (i.e. a «master of nothing»), fear not. After sampling each and every beer, I can honestly exclaim that I would have loved a pint of each of them (though I am grateful for the sampling glasses provided; clearly for portion control in the war of attrition on my fat @ss). You could chalk this up to either my (*cough *cough) refined taste when it comes to beer, or that I’m just easy to please and don’t know anything… but whatever shred of credibility you apply to my sentiments, let it be said that the dudes behind the operation clearly know what they’re doing (and their product is a apparent indication of that).
One thought that was echoed a few times during the course of the evening was the surprise of the size of the brewery. It was a noticeable factor, but in no way a negative thing. It seems that the common perception of breweries are that they are labyrinthine halls filled with an endless collection of vats, pipes, coils, metal, etc. Sure, some are that big, and some are a tad smaller. The Rockaway Brewing Company would fall into the latter category. And while their facilities may not be as grandiose as the engine room of the USS Enterprise (fact: the Anheuser-​Busch brewery was used in the Star Trek reboot and it’s sequel), they still manage to turn out an impressive product (looks like this «dog» has a lot of «fight» in it).
Enough can never be said though about the Unilocalers that attend these events. After all, even the best event at the fanciest venue would not be nearly as pleasant without some good people to share the experience with. A plentitude of friendly familiar faces were present, and even a few newbies joined the fray. Definitely looking forward to crossing paths again at one point or another.
And last but not least, a tip of the hat our fearless leader Jando for outdoing himself yet again. It’s obvious that he pushed this event from April 1^st to the 14^th so that yours truly would be able to partake in the libations offered tonight; had he not, I would have had to break my 40 day beer fast or missed out on this event entirely… needless neither option was palatable for this particular writer. Can’t thank you enough, and can’t wait to see what’s next.

Woohoo Jando did it again!
This was a fantastic event held near the waterfront area of the LIC.
There was a short line of people waiting at the door right around 7 PM. Upon entry, we were immediately served with delicious beer. And snacks were well stocked on the side ready to go. What a great start! What was even better? The bartenders worked hard to keep the beer coming for us.
I tried a number of drinks but my personal favorite was the cream ale. I really enjoyed the foam and the beer itself was delicious. I had a full dinner before this event but the snacks were absolutely appreciated and needed!
Interestingly, this was also a cheese pairing event. I have never had beer and cheese pairing before so that was super interesting. My personal favorite was the chipotle flavored cheese because there was more of a kick to it. But they were all delicious. What was even better was that the owners were nice enough to explain the concept and ingredient (which was all locally sourced) of their products.
They led a semi-​structured tour at 7:30 and 8:30. We got to listen to its history and story behind the brewery. That was very informative.
Overall, I had a great time! Kudos to Jando and everyone who worked so hard to put on such a great event for us!

I love drinking craft beer and this is my first time stepping foot into a brewery! This is where all the magic happens. It was a such welcoming atmosphere that gathered everyone to have discussions about our love for beer. Eight choices of beer was on tap today which is more than generous! Cheese Guy was present too!
My favorite happened to be my very first one, the Original ESB, an English Ale. It is slightly sweet, malt-​forward, and I just love the crisp every sip. Of course, the recommended cheese pairing was also happened to be my favorite of the night, the spicy Chipotle Cheddar! The combination was indeed phenomenal! After finding my favorite beer and cheese for the night, it was hard for me to sway! The Nitro Black Gold Stout was a showstopper for a coffee lover like me! This is how i can get best of both worlds, espresso and beer!
Thank you Rockaway Brewery for inviting us and teaching us all about beer. I definitely feel special being able to sample beer that may not taste ever again. I appreciate your passion for beer and your mission to create beer that New York City can call its own. Thank you Cheese Guy, I admire your passion and your patience in raising your cheese babies. I really appreciate your patience for educating me about the process of making cheese. Last but not least, thank you Jando, Unilocal Queens, & Unilocal Elites for making this event unforgettable — while I am still sober! Haha, just kidding!