As most sailors on Long Island know, trade winds are winds that reliably blow from east to west. In the craft beer business, market trends are not always reliable, so breweries are constantly tacking and changing course. Tradewinds Brewing Company in downtown Riverhead has followed the market east to the North Fork by closing its taproom in October and now only serving its beers at Alizé Brewing Company, its sister restaurant in Mattituck.
Alizé, which is the French word for trade wind, was launched in October 2023 by Duffy Griffiths, brewmaster of Tradewinds, and Stephen Wirth, owner of Digger’s Ales N’ Eats, the longtime popular Riverhead pub. The partners took over the location on Main Road that previously housed East on Main restaurant for five years.
“We saw opening a restaurant as a natural extension of the brewery with the opportunity to become a regular destination for community members and visitors to enjoy,” Griffiths said.
The 200-seat restaurant includes a spacious bar area, main dining room, a large private room for events, and seasonal picnic table seating in front.
In July, Alizé Brewing debuted a new seafood-forward menu and rebranded the restaurant as Clam Bar at Alizé Brewing. The new menu, using seafood sourced from local businesses such as Braun Seafood Company, includes both New England-style and Connecticut-style lobster rolls, blackened Mahi tacos, ahi tuna poke, PEI mussels, fried flounder sandwiches, lobster risotto and lobster mac and cheese.
“The Clam Bar menu has taken off, especially items like fried belly clams and charbroiled oysters,” said Griffiths, “so we will continue to focus on seafood while bringing back some old favorites that our regulars love.”
Among the dishes coming back are popular items from the Digger’s menu such as the Thanksgiving sandwich with fresh turkey, stuffing and cranberries.
Alizé has a full bar, with an extensive cocktail menu and 16 local wines on tap, and serves all of Tradewinds craft beers, which are available to taste in flights. The beer will continue to be brewed by Griffiths at Tradewinds’ brewhouse in Riverhead, which has a seven-barrel brewing system and six 15-barrel fermenting tanks.
Griffiths helped pioneer the craft brewing movement on Long Island as the original head brewer at John Harvard’s brewpub in Lake Grove from 1997 to 2001. He moved east to open his popular Duffy’s Deli in Jamesport and Riverhead, and in 2013 Griffiths and Wirth were among the first movers in the Riverhead craft beer scene when they partnered to open Crooked Ladder Brewing next door to Digger’s.
Griffiths moved on in 2015 to oversee brewing operations at Greenport Harbor Brewing, but after Crooked Ladder closed in 2019 he returned and took over the location with partners and launched Tradewinds in 2020. Tradewinds gained a loyal following for its wide variety of beers, with Griffiths brewing up to 20 different styles over the years, including New Guy New England-style hazy IPA, No Paddle pilsner, Alsatian Hefeweizen, House Boat IPA, Breaking Tide double IPA, and Incarnation Pumpkin Spice Ale.
While Riverhead continues to be one of Long Island’s best craft beer destinations, with five taprooms, including Riverhead Brew House which opened in May, the North Fork has caught up. With Alizé, Eastern Front Brewing Co., and The Branch Brewing Company in Mattituck, and Jamesport Farm Brewery and Greenport Harbor’s two locations in Peconic and Greenport, the NoFo now has six taprooms.
Craft beer lovers will not want to stop in Riverhead if they have time to follow the winds eastward.
Clam Bar at Alizé Brewing Company is located at 10560 Main Rd. in Mattituck. For more info, visit alizebrewing.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
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