Long Ireland Beer Co. in Riverhead for sale for $1.4 million

Long Ireland Beer Co. in Riverhead, which was opened by two friends in 2011 and distributes to bars and restaurants throughout Long Island and Massachusetts, is for sale for $1.4 million. It will remain in operation while the owners wait for a buyer.

The approximately 8,800-square-foot building on Pulaski Street includes a brewery, a tasting room and all the equipment needed for production. Beer for other, smaller brands is also produced there, and the sale price includes the beer-making equipment, inventory, the Long Ireland  brand and recipes for the more than 60 beers Long Ireland Beer Co. created.

“I am very blessed that something that started on my kitchen stove, then moved into a garage became a business that we were able to sustain for almost 15 years" after originating as a part-time venture, said Greg Martin, 52, of Manorville, who owns the brewery with Dan Burke, 49, of Shoreham. “But there have been things happening with my personal life and I was just ready for a change. I lost a child a couple years back and went through a divorce.”

Interest from prospective buyers has come from individuals and other breweries, Martin said, but he declined to reveal who they are.

Martin said he and Burke discussed selling the brewery last summer. “Someone approached us [about buying it] and that went on for a few months, then they changed their mind right before the closing. So we were in the mindset of selling and officially listed it about five weeks ago.”

Martin and Burke were co-workers at a heating and electric company when they began brewing together in 2003 using instructions from a basic home brew kit. Martin said the two made their first sale in March of 2009 while both were still in the HVAC business, and by January of the following year they had left  their jobs to devote themselves full time to the beer venture.

More than 60 different craft beers were created by the brand over the years, with the most popular including their “flagship” Celtic Ale, Balor IPA, Hooligan Irish Stout, Pumpkin Ale and Polish Tom Pilsner .

The brewery was the pair’s livelihood, but Martin said Burke did not want to stay on without his friend. Burke was unavailable for comment. Martin said both of their business plans for the future are “open-ended” and noted, “Dan and I are in different points in our life.”

Beer from the brewery is sold to the public as draft beer on tap at bars and restaurants and in cans through local distributors and supermarkets.

“It’s a full production facility,” Martin added of the property. “All the manufacturing and packaging is done in-house. We don’t outsource anything, and we co-pack for other Long Island brewery brands.”

Martin said the brewery usually has about four or five employees on its payroll and “a big caveat” for the two partners is that maintaining all the Long Ireland workers be a part of any sale.

“Most of them have been with us for an extended period of time, and everyone we’ve spoken to wants to keep them on board. They’re hard workers.”

The sale is being handled by Douglas Cabral and Stephen Pisacano of Century 21 Excelsior Realty in Mattituck.

 Another brewery in Riverhead closed in August. Peconic County Brewing called it quits after about two years in business.

Also in August, it was announced that the New York City-based Tilray would be buying the Patchogue-based Blue Point Brewing Co. from parent company Anheuser-Busch in an $85 million deal that included seven other craft beer makers.