Long Valley: Andrea from Long Valley Brewpub alerted us to the new brewmaster, Michael Formisano. Here is a sample of some of the new beers Michael’s putting out. Restaurant Village at Long Valley is located at One Fairmount Road in Long Valley. Call the brewpub 908-876-1122 or visit their site for more details. Don’t forget to join the Membership Club and save $5 off $30 of food (pre tip and tax) & $5 pints at the Brewpub.
I asked Mike some questions about himself and what he likes to drink and brew. Here are the results!
I’ve been brewing for 14 years. I started out as a home brewer, winning 80 regional and national awards over a four year span, including a Gold Medal in 2011 at the National Homebrew Competition, the largest beer competition in the world, as well as a Silver Medal in the 2013 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition. I brewed one of my personal recipes with New Belgium Brewing Company, and the Beer placed second among 100 entries. I also have experience brewing with Rockbottom Restaurants, Golden City Brewery, and Oskar Blues, from Longmont, CO. Most recently, I was the Research and Development Brewer for the Wallenpaupack Brewing Company, on the north shore of Lake Wallenpaupack, in Hawley, Pa.
There are many great beers in the marketplace right now, such as Pliny the Elder from Russian River in California, Yeti from Great Divide in Colorado, Heady Topper from Vermont, and then international beers, classics like Pilsner Urquell, the ales brewed from Fullers and from Youngs in England. Maybe one of my longstanding favorites has to be Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Chocolate Stout. A great beer to pair with Vanilla Ice Cream on a Sunday Night!
I don’t have a specific style that’s a favorite, but I tend to gravitate to English Ales and German Lagers.
