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RateBeer Brew Tour Guide's Comments
Black Forest Brew Haus is a joint venture by German brewer Hoepfner Gmbh and a Mr. Waite of Farmingdale, NY. Opened in 1998 in a site that was a former Denny’s-ish chain restaurant, Black Forest Brew Haus brews Hoepfner beers onsite using Hoepfner ingredients, recipes and supposedly input from Hoepfner’s brewmaster. In this way, Black Forest joins a small list of U.S. brewpubs with affiliations to European breweries. Others that come to mind are Kaltenberg Castle brewpub in Vail, CO and Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY (which is evidently owned by two Belgian brewers).
Black Forest Brew Haus was not difficult to find using MapQuest and can be reached easily by car, or adventurously, by LIRR to Farmingdale, NY followed by taxi or bus (or jog, as I did) for the remaining 2 mile leg. Black Forest has some positives: first, the five beer sampler is only $6. Second, the menu offers traditional German specialties like sauerbraten and wiener schnitzel for the purists. Nice.
However, Black Forest has several notable bad qualities that detract from its heritage and authenticity, even though it truly is affiliated with Hoepfner Gmbh brewery. No one thing was its undoing, but combined, all were disastrous and added up to a subpar experience from the tacky York Peppermint Patty dispenser to the 4 TVs near the bar to the several video poker monitors to the building which was clearly a former Denny’s-type restaurant and did not look one bit like a brauhaus. The playing of N’Sync’s "Bye Bye Bye" and other 90’s boyband hits on the stereo further detracted from the experience. Supposedly $1M was spent in 1998 on this brewpub but painting fake foliage on the exterior and throwing up a few dilapidated umbrellas to create a beer garden is just not enough.
Five beers were on tap: Pils, Sticke Alt, Summer (didn’t say what it was), Hefe and Amber. All were fairly bitter for the style. Fine. Barstaff were unhelpful, unfriendly and slow. The decor consisted of planks of wood hanging from the ceiling and murals of Bavarians frolicking with steins in hand. A "Stubbe Room" sign and a scheduled meeting of the Kraeusen Klub showed some interest in German authenticity.
All in all, a significant disappointment, as was the area of Farmingdale, NY, itself, which was seemingly one immense industrial park with a nearby airport for small Cessnas.
Your Opinions - Last rating was last month
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 dchmela |
Made a trip to check this out while on a vacation to Long Island. The tour guide comments here are very acurate, strange place. From the music to the TV’s, everything is just a little off. We didn’t have time for food, but my wife and I had a beer sampler and found the beers decent. We had the pilsener, brown, summer, amber, and hefe and all were fine beers and I even bought a growler of the pilsener ($12, not a bad deal). The non authentic part was the poker machines at the bar, the forgetful bartender (how many times do I have to say I want the sampler), the mismatched sampler glasses, and the dirty sampler glasses. Wanted to stay for another, but was afraid what I might found in my next glass and I got to check the growler before they poured it, so it was easier to go home. This could be a cool place, but it is Long Island.
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| JoeMcPhee |
Kind of a strange faux-German vibe in what looks like an old Denny’s or some such restaurant. Kind of sprawling, but I’ve only eaten at the bar. Decent pub grub with a few German items as well. The beers here are quite solid really. Good IPAs and the pilsner is one of the best I’ve had outside of the Czech republic when it is fresh. Service can be iffy, but most times I’ve been treated well.
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| MaliMisho |
This is a great place to hang out, but not so much for people looking for great beer. They have five different kinds of beer that they make, which they offer to try all five of them in a "sampler" for $6. The beer isn’t bad but its nothing to go crazy for. The place is pretty big, they have multiple bars inside, and a place outside as well. I see this as a great place to just go and hang out at with friends and try a few different beers.
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| bonbright7 |
I visited the Black Forest for the first time this evening after driving by it for years. It seemed larger than it appeared from the out side and the bar area was a few step up to tower above the rest of the dining areas below. My friends and I sat outside while drinking the beer made on site. I thought the Hefewiezen was very good as a late summer selection and the Pils was good too. It was disconcerting to find ourselves in the flight path of Republic airport with corporate jets zooming in at night. I couldn’t comment on the food, but the sliced steak sandwiches look good on the table next to us. I hope to return another day to try out the other beers made there.
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| Chapel |
The inside of this brewpub can best be described as a casual dining restaurant with a German accent. In general the bar area is identical to every other bar with the notable exception that they serve 5 different kinds of their own beer. The beer itself is ok usually ranging in the high 2’s to low 3’s. Most of the beers seem a little over hopped in order to make up for some other error. If you are from Nassau or Suffolk you should really make a point to go there, otherwise you are much better off staying in Manhattan or Brooklyn for beer. I will only be going back when they change their line up to the next season.brbr
Re-rate: They have been doing some impressive stuff recently in reviving several retired beers. Maybe they are just more of a Winter place.
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| mkobes |
Was out in the area yesterday. We got there and it was my first time there. I liked it. This place is big. Went outside to look at the beer garden and that was big too. The beers were solid. Nice selection. Pilsner, Amber, Klosterbrau, Summer, and the Hefeweizen. I had the amber, it was pretty good. We didn’t eat here, so i don’t know if the food is good or not. I liked the place though. Growler prices are good. Good place.
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| hophead75 |
Met up with beastiefan2k here on Memorial Day during lunchtime to trade and have a couple of beers. The atmosphere/decor was nothing special, but it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it was going to be. Beers were all solid, with the Maibock, Klosterbrau, and Pils being the standouts for me on my visit. If I lived closer, I think the beer would keep me coming back. Service seemed decent at the bar, but the place was empty so I really can’t accurately comment. The main drawback that I noticed during my visit was the beer prices. With the exception of the Pils (4.75 I think) the other beers offered were all around 6, which is overpriced in my opinion, especially for a hefeweizen. Growlers seemed signficantly cheaper, as I took out the Klosterbrau, which only set me back a little bit over 11. As I am out on Long Island quite a bit, I am sure I’ll be back for a beer and a growler.
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| PilsnerPeter |
Ventured out to the Brewpub. I asked if I could drink a sample of one of the offerings, and the girl brought me a "sampler". It had their 5 offerings at the time which were the Pilsner, Hefeweiss, Amber, Choco. Doppelbock, and the Big Rye Doppelbock. Each glass is about 2oz (if that) And that with dinner for my girlfriend and I was $30. Usually I’m not charged for a taste of a beer at any bar, or especially a brewpub. Samples should be free, but other than that they seem somewhat solid, and have new releases every two months. Not a bad place.
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| beastiefan2k |
One shining star for this place is the Brewer Joe can actually make good beer. Everything else sucks big balls. I have been here a few times now and I want to like it but they just dont let me. Lets start with ambiance- If you come in for dinner they will most likely sit you in the "family" room. It looks like a freaking Denny’s or something. Its got Van Gogh prints on the walls, or more like posters. Nice way to classy the place up, at least put up a German artist in a german themed place. The service, oh this must be the worst service ever. they do not give bread with dinner, when I asked for it, the waitor asked me if I was sure I wanted it. I always have to ask for water. They dont know crap about their beers and take too long to do everything, even on empty nights. The food is ok, they have a German menu as well as other food. But it really isnt that special. Should I go on... Octoberfest could be fun, but too many fat ass waitress in leiderhousen, trust me not a pretty picture. There is a nice bar area and a patio. Um... my favorite part is that they have Coors light and Corona, score. If it werent for the fact that the beer is actually good I would personally set a torch to this place. Also only 4 taps and two are usually the same. I have made a promise to myself to never have dinner here ever again and only sit at the bar.
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| seeknay36 |
Trying hard to be an authentic german biergarten. The food is good for the area and the wings are HOT (I know not real german food, but a bar necessity!).
The bartenders place heavy emphasis on their regulars. The day I went the bartender said he was out of two beers, I was not sure if they were actually out of the beer or he just did not feel like changing the taps.
I did not like the videogame machine at the one end of the bar and the vintage yet still functioning cigarette dispenser next to the bar, very tacky.
The are currently having their oktoberfest, and I will try to make it out there to see how it is.
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