Weekend afternoons in Long Island City would not be complete without a visit to the Rockaway Brewing Company brewery and Growler Room. Located conveniently across the street from the LIC Flea & Food, this craft brewery delivers fresh beer of all different kinds – to stay and enjoy or to take away in growlers – all with a smile. AND free bags of Cape Cod potato chips. What’s not to love?  Flint, who was on hand filling glasses and answering questions, quipped “I have 1,200 more bags, so just let me know if you want some more!”

Local brewing is experiencing a boom in Queens: Big ALICe Brewing, Fifth Hammer Brewing, LIC Beer Project are just a few of the other breweries new to the scene. But, Rockaway Brewing Company was the first.  And there’s something about the first that’s special in itself.  Not only are they the first, but they have been delivering fresh beer for a few years now and have been growing exponentially.

On tap are 10 different rotating brews, ranging from their flagship English Style ale  (the Original ESB) to saisons, cream ales, stouts, cask ales, nitro stout and pale ales.

We couldn’t decide, so we started out (by kidding ourselves that we were only going to have a taste) withsplitting the “Other Flight“, a tasting flight of 4 of their more specialty brews at a price of $7. Pints are $5, half pints are $3 and the cask ales come in a bit higher at $6 each for a full pint and $5 for a half pint.  That’s cheaper than many regular bars in NYC.

It was then that I found my hop-mate. My personal favorite? The Cream Ale. Creamy, but light, just perfect for the weather that day. The Nitro Black Gold was also amazing, but I was in the mood for something a bit more fitting for the 65*F and sunshine just outside the doors.  My husband was seriously digging on the Rank and File Belgian blonde, and ended up getting a pint of that for himself.

Next, for me,  it was on to a committed full pint of my new love.

And maybe another bag of potato chips.

We met some really cool people as we enjoyed our beers and chips, discussing our favorites and what was going on in the beer world in Queens – including which activities Rockaway Brewing Company was planning on partaking in, in the near future.

Then, Flint decided to change up the music and reached for a record on a shelf, then proceeded to remove the vinyl record from its sleeve and put it on the turntable. I mean, how many other bars, let alone breweries, have a record player in the tasting room with vinyl? The answer? Probably not many. That’s just one of the cool things about this place.

As it grows, this once-little neighborhood brewery could be a major player in the craft beer market – especially on the East Coast. So, head over now before word really gets out and there are no more seats at the bar in the Growler Room.

The best way to get here? Hop on the 7 train to Vernon-Jackson or take the E, M or G to Court Square and walk the short distance to Rockaway Brewing Company, located at the corner of 5th Street and 46th Avenue (one block from Center Blvd.). Drink responsibly, and enjoy it!

Visit the website for Rockaway Brewing Company HERE.