With Spring finally in full effect and New Yorkers starting to head off for Long Island beaches, I thought it would be fitting to have a go at Fire Island Beer Company’s Lighthouse Ale. I was not disappointed. It is kind of a bizarrely simple beer but somehow also really tasty, possibly the quintessential ale. There’s nothing really striking about the flavor but it is also the farthest thing from underwhelming. It is, in fact, delightful. You can call it ‘toasty’ and ‘robust with a slight caramel finish’ (as the brewery describes it) and those would be correct descriptors, but the first thing that comes mind when I try to sum up a feeling for this beer, is ‘old-timey.’ With this beer it is as though you are at first hit with an overwhelming simplicity, a middling-out of sorts. But this is only superficial. You sense that underneath lies a deeply complex wisdom. Basically this beer is like your grandma, replete with her somewhat over the top affection for lighthouses.

I also love that their Lighthouse Ale started as a home brew all the way back in 1999. You guys, this beer is so craft, they don’t even have a logo stamped on the cap. They also have the best website ever, complete with a stag floating in a row boat.  Seriously, go check it out. It is totally adorbs.