Moustache Brewing Co

You Lucky People, You, or How to Turn Pineapple Ice Cream into a Beer Even a Hazebro Would Love!

About a year ago, when Benedict Beer Blog was just in its infancy (little one year old Benedict Beer Blog, so CUTE 😊!), our friend Matt Spitz, a former coworker and now Co-owner of Moustache Brewing Co. (with his amazing wife, Lauri) called me up to talk about doing a collaboration beer.

As we discussed what would be a good fit for both brands, we landed on the flavor profile of Dole Whip, a pineapple ice cream one can only find in a few places around the world, including Adventureland in Disney Parks, the Dole Plantation in Hawaii, and, in fact, a Poke restaurant across from Grand Central Terminal (which I didn’t find out until very recently!)

For us here at Benedict Beer Blog, Holly Kay and I went on our first vacation together at Walt Disney World, and about a year and a half later, got engaged at WDW, at Narcoossee’s Restaurant in the Grand Floridian Hotel.

Two cutiez in Diznee Whirled

Lauri once told us a story about her experience in Walt Disney World. Typically, you walk around the parks in 90+ degree heat and Disney employees (called Cast Members) shout “HAVE A MAGICAL DAY” after you, with the intonation of Snow White on cocaine. Lauri, after just arriving to run her first half marathon in the snow (in Florida? WTF?), was greeted by a Cast Member who muttered, think like Eeyore on cat tranquilizers “Have a Magical daaaaay.” Lauri said she could relate to her lack of enthusiasm.

Here’s a cute lil’ picture of Matt and Lauri from 2014. Babies!

Initially, we were talking about brewing a Kolsch with pineapple and vanilla, but life, as it does, just gets in the way, and the idea fell by the wayside until about 2 months ago, when Matt contacted us saying that he had a batch of Idaho 7 hops that were bursting with the essence of pineapple, and Rob Raffa, Head Brewer at Moustache Brewing Co. had been wanting to do a Milkshake IPA for a while, so why not bring up the Dole Whip idea again and get Benedict Beer Blog involved!

The name You Lucky People, You was picked by the wonderful Holly Kay Benedict (My Ex-Girlfriend Who I Married), as it’s the second line of the theme song to The Tiki Room, the popular singing birds attraction in Adventureland in the Disney Parks. “Welcome to my tropical hideaway / You Lucky People, You!” It was unanimous, when she said that name, we all loved it.

Schedules worked out perfectly this time, so I headed out to the brewery in Riverhead with Brad Gesaman (@itsbradco on Instagram, go check out his adventures!) homebrewer and friend of the Blog. You know Brad? He’s great!

As the traffic getting out of NYC is about as fun as being swallowed whole by a 23 Foot Long Reticulated Python 🐍 and being shat out the other end, we ended up in Riverhead a bit later than we wanted, so we missed Mash In (when they put all the grains into the mash tun with water and steep them to extract all the sugary goodness from them).

Brad and I got to spend time with Matt, Lauri, and Rob during the lautering process, where the mash is separated into the liquid wort and leftover grain. This is when I got to have fun and add the 55lb bag of lactose, which gives Milkshake IPAs their signature creamy mouthfeel. Haha, mouthfeel.

Speaking of Mouthfeel…

After a lovely lunch of fried chicken and sides (brain food) and after the beer was brought to a boil, it was time to add the aforementioned Idaho 7 hops. I’ve said it before on the blog, but I’d live in a house made of hops. They smell like tropical fruit (dominantly pineapple, but also a bit of grapefruit and tangerine) and a bit grassy and earthy. Yum.

Hops on Hops on Hops. Also, a patchy beard.

Now for the real work, we began mashing out. That’s where you take all the leftover grain, also called spent grain, and remove it from the tank so you can clean it and have it ready for your next batch of beer. Moustache sends their spent grain to local farms to use as feed…

This is what the inside of a mash tun looks like after nearly finishing mashing out. Also Spitzy’s head and face are looking sexy AF…

It’s necessary to spit shine the Mash Tun once all the grain has been removed.

#beerneighborsmakethebestneighbors

I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again. Having a brewery is good for the neighborhood! They’re also surrounded by farmland out in Riverhead, so the farms are happy to have the grains! You know the old phrase, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rdrink Rcraft Rbeer.

The beer is then transferred from the boil kettle to the fermenter, where the yeast, vanilla Beans and 210lbs of pineapple purée are added, and allowed to sit for as long as is needed for all the sugar to be fermented out (the yeast eats the sugar, converts it into alcohol and farts out carbon dioxide, basically). The beer is also dry hopped with EVEN MORE Idaho 7 and Mosaic hops.

Collab friendz!

SMASH CUT TO ONE MONTH LATER!

Is that how a smash cut works? Also, these can labels are fire emoji and were designed by the unlimitedly talented Lauri Spitz.

Release day was great. I brought my dear friend Ryan Keogh (you can read about him in one of my first ever blog posts HERE), we met my Mom for lunch after our drive out to Riverhead from NYC (this time with less traffic!). Moustache opened at 3pm, and they had a decent sized crowd by about 3:15. I thought about asking for selfies with the first two dudes who came in and bought 4 packs, but figured they wouldn’t want to be accosted by some redhead wearing a pineapple hat.

I got my first taste of the beer, and it exceeded my expectations. Loads of pineapple on the nose, but the beer is so damn balanced, and dangerously drinkable. It’s sweet without being cloying (go watch that video of me adding the lactose again 🤗), creamy, with notes of pineapple and citrus, and right as you swallow, the vanilla hits, and it’s just like that sweet Dole Whip treat we all know and love. I couldn’t have been happier.

It also definitely helped that Lauri created a Tiki Music playlist to blast through the Taproom for the evening!

I met some great people throughout the evening, thanks to Sofia from Beer Fit Club and Katarina from Lineup Brewing for stopping by, and got to see some old friends from the Long Island Beer and Malt Enthusiasts, Andrew and Kathy.

The blurb on the back of the can! Oh man this would be so meta if this can brought you here and now you’re reading the can again OH MY GOD.

Matt and Lauri dressed the part for the release party!

A sweaty mess and Ryan

Mattitaco brought their food truck to the party as well, and even created a Chorizo and potato taco to pair with You Lucky People, You! So I had to!

The crew after a successful release!

Thanks to all who came out to taste the beer, there are still cans left at the brewery, at beer stores around Long Island, and at Covenhoven in Brooklyn, and The Baroness Bar in Long Island City.

Make sure to go follow @moustachebrewing and @benedictbeerblog over on Instagram to stay tuned to our latest antics and Moustache can and bottle releases.

Until next time…

Cheers!

Hey Y’all, Check Out These Pictures, Or, Please Don’t Try to Drink This Blog Post…

It’s picture time! I realize I haven’t put up a picture-heavy blog post in a bit, so here’s one coming at’cha!

ALSO: I wrote an article for TigerLyfe Times about Sand City Brewing’s recent Oops! I _____ed My Pants! triple can release! Check that article out over HERE! Thanks for reading!

Radical One from the aforementioned Sand City Brewing. The hop hits keep coming and coming with these guys outta Northport!

#LGM! LIC Beer Project Dutch Kills Kölsch at Citifield! This is my kind of baseball beer! Crisp, malty, fruity and super refreshing!

From Salt House Bar in Galway Ireland! Brouwerij Boon Geuze Mariage Parfait, all the way from Belgium! This beer brought the house down. Tart, funky, dry, and delicious. Absolutely nothing wrong here!

Greenpoint Beer & Ale Co. Particle Pilsner. One of the more hoppy pils’ I’ve had. Bright, crisp citrus is balanced by sweet, cracker like malt. Love it!

A “candid” photograph at Samson’s Birthday party at Greenpoint! Cheers!

Greenpoint Beer & Ale Tremendous. Paired with an, *ahem*, appropriate movie (on VHS, no less!)

My favorite beer of summer, 2017. Carton Brewing Beach, a session Ale with (I believe) Citra hops and orange zest. Bright, beautiful grapefruit and bitter orange, a bit of dankness, but still clean and dry enough and low enough ABV to keep on drinkin’. So, keep on drinkin’!

Also, I’m getting a foot massage whilst I took this photo. So, your opinion is invalid.

Finback x Jacks Abby Spill The Tea IPL. The green tea is a cool addition to the citrus hops and citrus peel, adding a clean, grassy note that’s intriguing. And no need to boil water and risk burning your precious, precious skin. ?

Singlecut Beersmiths strikes again! Some Cat From Japan Session IPA, and Charlie’s Good Tonight IPA. Both phenomenal beers, and I’m hoping they’ll release them again in the future.

I know, I know, this isn’t beer. But when Holly Kay and I found the Dingle Whiskey Bar tucked away inside Fraunces Tavern down in the Financial District of NYC, we had to stop in and have some Irish Whiskey (at triple the price we paid for it on the Emerald Isle, of course). And it was worth every penny.

Bradco brought this beer back from Michigan. Old Nation Brewing Co. M-43 New England Style IPA. These cats from Williamston, MI have nailed this style, which surprised me. Watch out, New England, Michigan’s coming for you. HARD.

Enjoyed this collaboration by Other Half Brewing and Cloudwater Brewing, Tremendous Ideas. The simple can design also lends this can to take beautiful pictures even when an amateur photographer (me) is behind the camera (iPhone). Also my bed looks super comfy and as I’m writing this, I’m minutes away from hopping into it and drifting into a blissful slumber so, that’s also cool.

This was at Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint. The Hellboy pizza with soppressata picante and Mike’s Hot Honey (yo, MIKE’S HOT HONEY. Who’s this Mike guy? I want to raid his house and take all of his hot honey for my own.). This hot-ass pizza was paired with a Greenpoint Beer & Ale Milk & Honey, a sweet, creamy ale that paired perfectly with the spicy ‘zza, bro.

Threes Brewing SFY (the artist formerly known as SuperF*ckingYawn) IPA, as we prepared for the magical wonder that is the Binky Griptite Orchestra at Threes Greenpoint Location. Binky plays guitar with the Dap Kings, and brought his musician friends to play some amazing 1940s Jazz and R&B and it was absolutely incredible. It was the opposite of SuperF*ckingYawn, but so was this beer, so…

Sometimes, it’s nice to go back to basics. Allagash White, my first Belgian white beer I fell in love with. Simple, refreshing, with notes of orange peel, clove, banana. Sometimes simple is beautiful.

Again, let the hate flow through you. I will combat that hate with Polar Seltzer’s Unicorn Kisses Seltzer. Is it Strawberry Kiwi? We’ll never know. Polar’s been keeping these flavors as mysterious as the mythical beasts on the cans. Damn you, Polar.

Fan favorites Moustache Brewing Co. made this delightful Saison brewed with Lavender, Honey, and Lemon Verbena. They knocked it out of the park, with floral, sweet, banana, and citrus dancing mischievously around the palate, this beer is simply a delight. Love you, Moustache Gang!

Thanks to my dear friend Will Russell, for asking me to be a part of his wedding party. As part of our Groomsmen’s gift, he got us these HEAVY DUTY USS Enterprise Bottle Openers. This is insanely dope and I will use it always. Make it so.

Treehouse Brewing Company, if you don’t know, now you know. Christopher Benedict, if you don’t know, now you know. Get with the times, y’all.

Interboro Spirits & Ales x Pipeworks Brewing Mad Fat! Unicorn. Thanks Bradco for sharing!! Mad Fat! Fluid plus Ninja Vs. Unicorn equals an amazing liquid combo. New York x Chicago, taking over the world.

If you’re not salivating by now, you need to let me know, and I’ll take you out and buy you a beer. So, if you’ve made it this far, and it’s had no effect on you, let me know. The next one’s on me.

Until next time!

Cheers!

Moustache Brewing Co. Blue Box, Or Benedict Beer Blog’s Beer of the Week! Also, Happy 3rd Anniversary, Moustache!

We here at Benedict Beer Blog would love to take a minute to wish a Happy 3rd Anniversary to our dear friends Lauri and Matt Spitz at Moustache Brewing Co.!

They celebrated this past Saturday, and we weren’t able to make it to their gorgeous space in Riverhead, I figured it would be fitting to feature them in our first EVER Beer of the Week Blog Post!

This beer is amazing. Trust me, I’m a Doctor. Wink!

Holly Kay asked me what beer we could share with our Eggplant Parmesan dinner the other night, so I pulled this out of the fridge for us (at 10.5% ABV, it’s a great beer to share with those you love!). With powerful citrus and pine notes balanced by sweet malt, this beer packs quite the flavorful punch in a 16 oz can. (Not unlike its namesake, its bigger on the inside… Nyuk Nyuk Nuuk…). Be careful, though, it drinks super easy for a >10% beer. It’s dangerously delicious.

Don’t Blink… This angel will sneak up on you, real quick.

I’ve seen nothing but universal love for this well balanced, bombshell of a brew from our lovelies in Riverhead. #drinklocal ???

Thanks for checking us out! If you’ve been to Moustache, let us know about your experience in the comments!

Until next time…

Cheers!

This Post Sucks! Or, Does It?

Do you have a beer that constantly surprises you?

Do you have a beer that, with each taste, a smile creeps across that sweet mug of yours, and you chuckle to yourself about how damn good that last sip was?

Do you have a beer that inspires you?

I took a sip of beer a few nights ago and stopped in my tracks. I was overwhelmed with thoughts of my (in retrospect, very short) craft beer journey.

This was the first IPA that blew me away. Holly Kay and I were at Tap and Barrel in Smithtown to see our dear friend Matthew Spitz (from the absolutely unbelievable Moustache Brewing Co.) and his band Royal City Riot, whose sole mission was to groove our mind, body and spirit with their reggae/ska/dancehall jamz, and groove our mind, body and spirit they did. My goodness. (Please refer to my Love Letter to Moustache Brewing Co. to learn more about Matt and Lauri Spitz, their baby, Moustache, and how amazing they are.).

I saw they had Lagunitas Sucks IPA on tap, and I was drawn to it, of course, because of the name. I was still naive about IPAs at that point (please refer to This Blog Post in which I have my brother Chris, who’s new to beer, try 3 >100 IBU IPAs, and the results are as expected!), and wanted to try something new.

I took one sip, and thought “THIS is the reason I got into craft beer.” I was overwhelmed with brown sugar (which is interesting when you hear the story about this beer), plum sweetness, and toasted caramel from the malts, balanced with a blast of lemon and orange zest citrus from the hops. One of the most flavorful, balanced IPAs I had ever drank.

Lagunitas Sucks! Also, my foot!

We could talk about how Heinekin purchased a 50% stake in Lagunitas, which would lead us down the wormhole to AB InBev and their acquisition of multiple Craft Breweries in an attempt to conquer the Craft Beer market.

But we’re not here to talk about that.

I want to talk about the time I didn’t get that promotion I had been working so hard for, and Holly came and picked me up from work (because she’s amazing) and surprised me with a 32oz bottle of Lagunitas Sucks (because she’s incredible. Also, beautiful. She has unbelievable brown eyes. Have you seen those eyes? My goodness.). She handed it to me, gave me a big old bear hug, and said “Honey, that sucks.” I drew myself a hot bath, popped open that bad boy, enjoyed the sweet, citrusy blend of magic, went to work the next day as cheery and chipper as ever, and got the promotion a week later. Boom.

Ok, so, the beer name. Here’s the story. Lagunitas has a beer called Brown Shugga. Due to their capacity issues in 2010, that particular beer, a strong ale with tons and tons of, you guessed it, brown sugar, took a long time to make. They were trying to expand, but the giant lauter tun (the vessel used to separate the liquid wort from the grain) they were going to used got damaged, so they couldn’t brew Brown Shugga. They called the IPA they brewed instead Lagunitas Sucks, as a consolation to all the Brown Shugga fans, and a comical, self-deprecating nod to staying humble in the face of success, even when something goes wrong. It used to be brewed only around Christmastime, but it’s become a year round brew for them, and for good reason.

Every time I come back to this beer, I’m blown away. Periods of time will go by, and it will disappear from my grocery store, and will show up again months later, and remind me again why I love craft beer so much. It reminds me of Spitzy, and Holly Kay, and all the adventures we’ve been on since I started getting into craft beer over 5 years ago.

My Dad’s go-to, Founders Breakfast Stout, and mineD Lagunitas Sucks.

It’s all about love, friendship, and great beer. And this is a great beer.

Until next time!

Cheers!

P.S. Huge shout out to my dude Brandon (@itsb_ran on the Instagramz) for helping me come up with the second half of my title this week! Thanks, buddy!