About Us Event Calendar Latest News Contact Us

CRAFT BREWERY: Greenport Harbor Brewing Co.

The North Fork of Long Island is mostly known for its booming wine country, with more than 40 wineries having sprung up since the first vineyard was planted in 1973. Beer enthusiasts will someday look back to 2009 as the beginning of the North Fork’s craft beer boom, since that year marked the opening of Greenport Harbor Brewing as the North Fork’s first craft microbrewery.

Co-founders Rich Vandenburgh and John Liegey, who met in college and like to say they became the best of friends "over the years and a few beers,” decided in 2008 to pursue their longtime dream of opening a craft brewery. They targeted the old fishing village of Greenport and purchased a historic building that in 1896 was built as a carriage house and served for many years as the Star Hose Fire House.

John Liegey, DJ Swanson, and Rich Vandenburgh of Greenport Harbor Brewingy

Vandenburgh and Liegey were committed to producing quality beer, so they recruited as their brewmaster DJ Swanson, who was a mainstay of Long Island’s brewing community from 2002-2006 as the brewmaster at John Harvard’s in Lake Grove. “I started at Greenport on the day our brewing system was delivered in April,” said Swanson. The brewery is using a 15-bbl DME system with three 30-bbl fermenters. Swanson said, “We opened in the middle of July and went flat out that summer just to supply our tasting room growler sales and our initial customers in Greenport village.”

Greenport Harbor’s beers were an immediate hit, which was not surprising given the loyal following that Swanson developed in his years at John Harvard’s. Known for crafting a wide range of full-flavored ales, Swanson was also recognized for coming up with memorable names for his beers, including Hoppopotamus IPA, Augustus Gloop’s Porter and Chupacabra Barleywine. He won a Gold Medal for his Double Trouble Bock at the 2003 Tap New York Festival at Hunter Mountain. Swanson left John Harvard’s in 2006 to work in the pharmaceuticals industry in his native Rhode Island but his love of brewing and the pull of Long Island brought him back.

Outside the brewery in Greenport

“The beer scene on Long Island has really taken off in the last few years,” said Swanson, “and there’s a real camaraderie among the brewers and beer enthusiasts here that is great to be a part of.” Swanson has been busy keeping up with demand for Greenport Harbor’s three full-time beers – golden Harbor Ale, hoppy Disorient IPA, and full-bodied Black Duck Porter. He brewed a seasonal pumpkin spice beer last fall named Leaf Pile Ale that got rave reviews, and over the winter brewed a series of single batch seasonals including Old Yennecott, an English-style Old Ale, and Kablamarillo, an American Wheat Ale brewed with 100% Amarillo hops.

Catching up with brewmaster DJ Swanson

Greenport Harbor initially self-distributed its kegs but early in 2010 signed on with Union Beer to handle distribution in the five boroughs. Distribution is very strong across Suffolk County and in the fall of 2010 Greenport got its first account in Nassau County, a new British pub and beer bar called The Good Life in Massapequa Park. According to Swanson, Greenport’s annual brewing output is currently limited to 1,200 bbls due to lack of fermenting capacity, but plans are in the works to possibly add more fermenters. To make room, the brewery’s small tasting room on the ground floor, which is open 7 days a week from noon to 6 pm, was moved upstairs in March 2011 to a new space that is also used as an art gallery to showcase local artists. With further expansion plans in the works, the North Fork will not just be known as wine country for very long, but as the home of one of Long Island’s best craft breweries.

Greenport Harbor Brewing Company
234 Carpenter Street
Greenport, NY
(631) 477-6681

Return to LI Beer Guide