Blue Point Brewing Co. opens tasting room, restaurant in Patchogue brewhouse

Dozens of taps. Elbow-to-elbow indoor picnic tables. Lights hanging from nautical rope, a raw bar, and an open kitchen churning at full capacity -- smoked scallops, tuna poke, creamy seafood chowder and burgers topped with fried oysters.

Such is the scene inside Blue Point Brewing Co.’s new restaurant and tasting room, which opens to the public tonight, April 18, in Patchogue.

The second-floor space is divided into two rooms: One, a more traditional, rustic-chic tasting room with a bar, 30 taps (a few of them hooked to casks, and at least one to cider) and high tops. It overlooks Patchogue Lake on one side and a downstairs beer garden on another.

The other is an airy dining room with an open kitchen on one end, an expanse of modern picnic tables, more taps and a mural along one wall, as well as a view of the brewery floor.

Hustling at full speed during a soft opening was chef Charley Sinden, who moved here from Seattle for the gig. His menu is gastropubby and heavy on local seafood, such as baked Blue Point oysters topped with blue crab and Parmesan ($16), a brisket-blend burger served on brioche and topped with fried oysters, bleu cheese and bacon remoulade ($16); and IPA-battered local cod and gose-brined fries, aka fish and chips ($15). Sausage-steamed PEI mussels in sausage-studded Toasted Lager broth ($11) and smoked duck tacos ($13) are among the other dishes. Two soups (including the chowder, $7, and a pickled shrimp salad with feta, avocado and wasabi for $14) are among the lighter fare, and a raw bar features local oysters, though it was empty for the soft opening.

The opening beer lineup included longtime standbys such as Hoptical Illusion and Toasted Lager, alongside newer suds like What the L? (a Helles lager named for Brooklyn's L train), as well as three casked ales.

Last summer, Blue Point moved from its longtime boatyard home on River Avenue to a new 54,000-square-foot brewhouse constructed inside the former Briarcliffe College, on West Main Street, at a cost of around $40 million, according to Jenna Lally, president of Blue Point. (The brewery is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev,  which purchased Blue Point in 2014 for $24 million). Under the guidance of co-founder Mark Burford, director of brewing operations Dan Jansen and brewmaster Mike “Stoney” Stoneburg, the brewery has more than quadrupled production and added more than 100 employees.

During opening week, the tasting room has limited hours, and it will be closed on Easter; starting next week, the regular hours come into effect: Wednesday and Thursdays from 3 to 9 p.m.; Fridays from 3 to 10 p.m.; Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is live music every weekend.

Blue Point Brewpub & Tasting Room, 225 W. Main St., Patchogue. bluepointbrewing.com