(This article first appeared in the June 21, 2017 issue of The Independent Newspaper)
It was Memorial Day weekend last year when a friend decided to introduce me to the “real Montauk.” I’ve been coming to The Hamptons for years, but Montauk always felt like an exhausting drive past the key points along Route 27 (that is why it’s called “The End” after all). Sure, I’d been to the Lighthouse as a kid, Ditch Plains during my surfing days, and years later — dare I admit? — the Sloppy Tuna. But that wasn’t the true vibe of this far-out town.
We parked at what looked like a cute red house. A Montauk Brewing Company chalkboard sign in front read
“First of all, you look awesome today. No joke, like really awesome. That’s it, there is no second of all.”
No explanation needed. My friend knew everyone, she’d clearly been here a few times before.
Inside, I had no idea what to taste first. “Try it all. There’s no judgments here,” the blonde surfer girl employee said to me. I ordered a Summer Ale, seemingly fitting for the situation. With one sip, I was hooked. If this was the authentic experience, I had just soberly stumbled into paradise.
Fast forward to today and I’m a MBC junkie. On top of a few more summer visits, I’d been twice in the cold, winter months and have picked up a few of their eco-friendly cardboard six-packs with aims to purchase their new logo can glass upon my next visit this season. (Seriously, have you seen those things? They’re adorable.)
All of which is reason to celebrate the milestone birthday of this East End treasure this Friday. The trio that started it all — Vaughan Cutillo, Joseph Sullivan, and Eric Moss — will be high-fiving to five years as an established company. Starting at 6 PM, the party will be held at Ruschmeyer’s, one of their first accounts, with food, Montauk beers, a short video, and music.
In tribute to their half-decade’s worth of success, the boys have specially brewed a batch of Five Year Beer. This 5.4% ABV is an IPA with blood orange and vanilla bean that will be on tap at the brewery all day on Friday along with servings at Ruschmeyer’s. Let’s toast to that!
To the men who taught us to “come as you are,” but leave feeling better, cheers!