Blind Bat Brewery Brings Experimental Beers To Centerport

CENTERPORT, NY — After flying around on Long Island in search of a home, Blind Bat Brewery Bistro & Take-Away landed in Centerport earlier this summer.

Paul Dlugokencky, the co-owner and brew-master, began home-brewing as a hobby in 2008. Officially, he started Blind Bat Brewery as a part-time endeavor in 2008 and began looking for a location in 2013. A 2015 space in Smithtown never actually opened due to technical issues that arose after the lease was signed that were out of Dlugokencky's control.

Eventually, Dlugokencky and his wife and co-owner, Regina, both in their late 50s, found a space in their hometown of Centerport, where they hope to keep their brewery long-term.

The brewery is located at 94 Washington Dr., and a look at its beer list would certainly have it stand out from other breweries. Of course, there are the traditional beers like pilsners, pale ales, brown ales and IPAs. But the area where Blind Bat differs is in some of the truly experimental beers crafted by Dlugokencky.

Unorthodox offerings include Hell Smoke Porter (smoky porter), Long Island Potato Stout, Long Island Oyster Stout, Hickory & Maple Smoked Brown Ale, Nun More Black (black IPA), Honey & Basil Ale, Vlad the Inhaler (smoked wheat ale) and Sweet Potato Saison.

"These are the beers I’m interested in brewing and drinking myself," Dlugokencky told Patch. "I was not sure how well that would be received. That’s why I started small-scale and part-time. Not every beer is for everyone, and that’s one of the great things about beer: the wide variations."

Customers have reacted positively to the experimental beers, which gave the Dlugokenckys the confidence to work towards making their brewery and bistro a full-time venture.

Dlugokencky said his brewing philosophy is to just have fun with it.

"To me, it’s a lot like cooking, if you enjoy cooking and playing around with different ingredients. Sometimes you get bored making the same thing day in and day out. It’s just fun to explore the variables that different ingredients, approaches and techniques can give you. Sometimes you get an idea or notion for a beer, and you try to figure out, ‘Well, how can I make that?’"

Speaking of cooking, Blind Bat is armed with a full food menu. Featured are variations on SmashBurger that come in both beef and turkey. There is also the Potato Onion Duck Bacon Knish, inspired by Dlugokencky's fascination on attempting to make knishes. Sausage on a pretzel hot dog roll and potato chips are just some other options.

Regina, who enjoys gardening in her spare time, grows organic vegetables that the business uses to make seasonal tarts. The Dlugokenckys have a greenhouse, and Regina has friends who are leasing land in Old Westbury so they can grow things on a larger scale.

In addition to the vegetables she grows for the tarts, she also supplies Dlugokencky with the basil he uses in his Honey & Basil Ale, which customers have taken to.

Blind Bat Brewery doesn't have anything it would call its flagship beer, due to Dlugokencky and fellow brewers' belief that the flagship concept is outdated. Instead, it all comes down to whatever beers take off based on their popularity among customers. Dlugokencky said Hell Gate, a Belgian golden ale, and Blind Bat Be Bop, a Belgian IPA that came from hop variations to Hell Gate, are his two most popular brews. His potato stout has done particularly well, too, he said.

The brewery has eight taps. With Dlugokencky having roughly three dozen recipes to pull from, that means tap rotation will be a regular occurrence, especially as he adds more hours of operation.

Blind Bat Brewery Bistro & Take-Away is currently open on Friday (4 to 9 p.m.), Saturday (12 to 8 p.m.) and Sunday (12 to 5 p.m.). However, Dlugokencky plans to add Thursdays in September, likely with the same hours as Friday, and potentially Wednesdays, as well. He's transitioning to Blind Bat as his full-time job.

The name is inspired by Prohibition-era speakeasies that were referred to with the slang "Blind Tiger" or "Blind Pig." Since both names were taken, Dlugokencky came up with Blind Bat "as a nod to my colorblindness and extreme nearsightedness."

Dlugokencky said he and his wife are excited to be in Centerport, where he hopes to become "a neighborhood brewery," akin to a neighborhood bakery.

With a plethora of drinking options both traditional and unique, Blind Bat is at long last poised to accomplish that mission.

Photos

All photos courtesy Blind Bat Brewery Bistro & Take-Away