There is nothing better than enjoying good beers, music, food and the warm weather at the annual LI Craft Classic. Here are some event highlights incase you missed this fun festival.

Peachy Keen Brews

Long Island Breweries competed in the LI Classic Brew’d Competition for the best peach beer. Festival attendees cast their vote for their favorite peach beer by placing an orange bottle cap inside a voting box. Bay Shore’s Destination Unknown won the LI Classic Brew’d Competition for their collaboration brew with Greenport Brewing Company, the “Fuzzy Flamingo.”  This beer was made with peach and raspberry purée (giving it its flamingo pink color) and lactose Berliner. Other peach beers that stood out include Saint James New York Peche. This peach ale was 7% abv and had beer enthusiast lined up for a taste, unfortunately it got tapped out early on because it was so popular! Lithology Brewing’s Peaches Be Crazy, an Indian Summer Ale (5.2% abv) was brewed with peaches and Belgian saison yeast, definitely one of the festival’s finest.

That’s the Way the Love Gose

Gose is definitely one of my favorite styles of beer to drink during the summer. I highly recommend Blue Point Brewing’s Macho Muchacho, a Mexican style lager brewed with agave, lime and salt and Destihl’s  Wild Sour Series Blueberry Gose, a sour beer with hint of blueberry flavor and a slight salty bite.

Falling in Love with Pumpkin Beers

Summer is winding down and pumpkin beers are already starting to hit the shelves. Long Island Beer Company poured their Pumpkin Ale, made with real pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Shipyard Brewing poured their Pumpkinhead Ale, a wheat ale brewed with pumpkin and a blend of spices including cinnamon and nutmeg.

What’s Hot in Homebrewing

LI Craft Classic is a great place to taste unique beers from some of Long Island’s best homebrew clubs. Nice Melon, a hard cider with watermelon and basil was brewed by Jen and Tim from LIBME. This gluten free cider embodied the flavors of a watermelon and basil salad. Even though it was 8.75% abv, it was light, refreshing and easy to drink, perfect for summer. Scotty Doesn’t Know, a summer wheat hibiscus beer was brewed by Danielle & Russell from Homebrew & Handgrenades. The hibiscus flower gave this beer its luscious pink color.  This unique beer was perfectly balanced and easy to drink.

Be sure to check out other upcoming Starfish Junction events including Pour the Core September 30^th at Heckscher State Park.