#Matchbook distilling how to

Arnholt joined the crew earlier this year after working across the country in cocktail bars and consulting restaurants to build up bar programs. They even have a create your own gin class on the weekends. Its bespoke products are mostly limited release and range from a pumpkin, koji and corn spirit to a pink lemon and rose petal-infused vermouth. is a research and development facility that makes its own spirits, as well as contracts the production of spirits for clients. “I thought ‘How can I take this rugged-savory thing and match it in a way that is playing off of the flavors that are there?’ ”īased out of a warehouse in Greenport, Matchbook Distilling Co. When it came to creating a cocktail with the distillery’s popular Late Embers spirit, made with smoked sunchokes and honey, many of those schools of thought came into play. “It could be like sunshine, or blue, or maybe it’s themed like Tiki,” he said. The third is being inspired by the flavors of the spirits itself and the fourth is an off the wall concept that could stem from anything, like a word. The second school of thought is pairing the cocktail with the food. What do I make with these pineapples?” he said. “A pineapple comes in and they’re the freshest pineapples ever. The first school is creating the drink around the ingredients. As a mixologist at Matchbook Distilling Company, one of his many responsibilities is creating cocktails with its spirits. When Chad Arnholt makes a cocktail, he pulls inspirations from four schools of thought.

#Matchbook distilling how to

“We have these ingredients with a general idea of how to work them, and it’s really just manipulating these flavors.” Chad Arnholt making one of his creations at Matchbox Distilling Company in Greenport. “I would consider it very much like a chef’s approach,” Alfred said, referring to how he thinks up a recipe. After the primary fermentation, he added pineapple and then coconut for a piña colada vibe. He started with a wheat beer base and layered in milk sugar for a light creaminess. “I wanted to introduce that into a beer, but keep the beer lower in ABV.” “I was really captivated by those flavor profiles,” he said. In 2018, he made the move to Greenport as head brewer and now, he gets to cook up his own creations like Tiki Paradise, a beer inspired by tropical cocktails, something Alfred loves. in Oceanside, for the staff to try.Įventually that paid off and he was brought on as a brewer. Credit: David BenthalĪlfred started off as a home brewer more than a decade ago, and started bringing in his creations to his local craft brewery, Barrier Brewing Co. We got a little bit of corn in there to lighten up the body and the mouthfeel.” Alfred said sour beer is among the biggest requests these days. “We go super light American lager - a target 4.5% American lager of American malt. “12th anniversary - I’m thinking of something that’s in a 12-pack,” he said. So, he took a step back and thought of the number in a different way. 2021 marks 12 years, but “no one wants to drink a 12% beer in mid-July,” Alfred said. drops a beer to commemorate the occasion, the beer’s ABV matching the anniversary. Other times, inspiration comes from a problem.Įvery year on the business’s anniversary, Greenport Harbor Brewing Co.

“So we take that information and then immediately get to the brew house and cook something up.”įor that one, they made a fresh batch of their popular UPick!, a wheat beer made with seasonal fruit, this one with raspberry and boysenberry. “Recently, people have been coming in and asking for sour beer, specifically fruited sour beer,” he said. Sometimes, it’s demand from the tasting room. The business address is 230 Corwin St, Greenport, NY 11944.When it comes to beer, Pat Alfred, the head brewer at Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, gets inspiration from everywhere. Matchbook Distilling Company LLC is licensed by New York State, Liquor Authority, Licensing Bureau.