Bay Shore is already one of Long Island’s top craft beer destinations and now beer lovers have another great reason to visit: The September debut of Take Two Brewery increasing the community’s brewery taprooms to five and bringing a delicious fresh take on dark beers including porters and stouts.
Take Two’s opening is the culmination of an idea hatched 10 years ago between co-owners and brewers Brendan Byrne and David Cristelot, two Deer Park residents whose wives are cousins. At a family Thanksgiving party in 2013, the men began talking about their shared love for craft beers and decided to try homebrewing. After starting out with a few 5-gallon kits, they moved to all-grain brewing and designing recipes with a focus on the dark beers they both liked. They also joined the Handgrenades Homebrew and Craft Beer Club, which they credit for advancing their knowledge of beer styles and brewing techniques.
“We met so many great people, including Peter Tripp, who is now the brewer at South Shore in Oceanside,” said Byrne, “and we got really valuable feedback on our beers.”
They won several awards in the club’s homebrew competitions, including a first place award for Big D’s Oatmeal Milk Stout, which is now on tap at the brewery. It didn’t take long for Brendan and David to decide to take the next step and look to open a brewery.
“We viewed it as a way to have a second career, which is partly where the name Take Two comes from,” said David, who had a long first career in finance, while Brendan continues to work in his first career as a database administrator. “We also believe it takes two of us to make great beer,” said David, “and for our customers, one beer is just not enough.”
After scouting several potential locations across the South Shore, the cousins found the location and signed a lease in 2020. The COVID pandemic slowed renovations of the space and the buildout of the 7-barrel brewhouse. At the same time though, Bay Shore went through a building boom with hundreds of new apartments built near the brewery, including the Shoregate complex around the corner opening later this year.
Take Two plans to capitalize on its prime location by hosting regular events, including live music. In addition to the 2,800-square-foot interior, the brewery has a 3,000-square-foot outdoor space behind the brewery that is being built out as a patio for outdoor seating and events.
The main attraction at Take Two is the dark beers, with three of the 10 taps offering porters and stouts, including rich EB Baltic Porter and for coffee lovers the robust Dark Sunrise Mocha Latte Porter. The beer menu also includes Tamarack Pale Ale and Wickedness IPA, along with crisp Hurricane Ridge American Lager and Lambs to the Cosmic Slaughter, a malty Irish Red. The brewers demonstrated their range with a delicious Peach Vanilla Saison, Georgia on My Mind, which packed a punch at 8.9% alcohol by volume (ABV).
Take Two is licensed as a microbrewery and as a New York State farm brewery, which enables it to serve wine from Borghese Vineyard & Winery in Cutchogue and Tipsy Tea from Great South Bay Brewery. The owners look forward to becoming a vital part of the Bay Shore community.
“We are grateful for the support we’ve received from Bay Shore and intend to be civic-minded and contribute to the continued revitalization of the downtown area,” said Byrne.
Take Two Brewery is located at 1676 Union Blvd. in Bay Shore. For more information visit taketwobrewery.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
