June 2025 - Lindenhurst, New York
KEVIN SIHLER - Master Brewer | Owner | Founder - SAND CITY BREWING CO.
As luck would have it, I had the opportunity to meet with Kevin Sihler, the owner and operator of Sand City Brewing, as the company is nearing its tenth anniversary. He graciously welcomes me in to observe and document his operation. Though I’m here for professional interests, I am struck by the warmth of his greeting, I immediately feel like I am conversing with an old friend. We talk a bit about the business and meander through various subjects. We discuss the beginnings of what would become Sand City. “More importantly than discussing a chronology of the company’s history” I explain to Kevin “I would like to get to know the personal stories of those who make this place what it is.” Kevin obliges without missing a beat. “I'm like a cat.” Kevin says, with a playful smile “I think I have like nine lives because I've done so many things before this. Coming out of college I started working in the banking industry. I worked for Bear Stearns for five years before going back to school to become a math teacher. Then I taught math for nine years and decided that brewing beer is my passion so here we are.” “My passion for beer has always been there. In the beginning it was a small risk because it was a small company - there’s never any crystal ball, so it was hard to foresee what the business was going to become - how many people we’re going to have working for us…” He continues “now the level of risk is much bigger but that's what propels me every day.”
Following our brief informal interview, Kevin returns to the brewery floor to prepare for the day’s task of packaging the batch of summer ale that is ready for canning. I follow and begin to work.
Before the canning machine can be run, all connections must be checked, ensuring a successful packaging of yesterday’s yield. Kevin prepares the completed batch to be moved from the cooling tank to kegs and cans. He carefully inspects each fitting to ensure a successful transfer of beer to their final vessels of distribution. With a meditative demeanor, he intently moves through the steps. A clipboard hanging from the tank reveals what beer will be getting canned today, the popular Italian-style pilsner called VESPA.
JOHN CLANCY - Brewer - SAND CITY BREWING CO.
On this rainy Thursday morning with my camera in-hand. I am then introduced to twenty-eight year-old John Clancy. He greets me with a firm handshake and a confident gaze. We exchange pleasantries, and after a brief explanation of my story and my interest in the work, he invites me to tag along and observe. He gives me a detailed explanation of each task, welcoming my questions and accommodating my curiosity. When we finally get to the part of the conversation about his personal philosophy with brewing, his eyes brighten, and with a smile “It’s a labor of love” he tells me “because you work really hard up front. You make this sugary, watery substance, you put it in a tank, and then you wait a couple weeks for it to be done fermenting and have alcohol in it“ he explains further “…and along that time, you're nourishing it, feeding it, taking care of it, and then the final product at the end is something really enjoyable.” After a thoughtful pause he continues “Some days are really hard. Some days aren't that fun, but at the end of the day, when you walk upstairs and you have a shift beer, all that hard work that you've done gets rewarded. and you can walk upstairs and drink what you made - and that's a really glorifying thing.”
There is much work to do. The tanks are full with the batch started yesterday. Preparations are taking place to move yesterday’s yield from the brewing tanks to the fermenter. A batch in the cooling tank is ready for canning. The brewers prepare for the next batch. The team will be engaging in three distinct processes today. John cleans and prepares equipment to brew the next run of the popular, and long-awaited, WHITE SAND SUMMER ALE.
I ask John, while he works, to walk me through a typical day. “Depending on the day, we usually start at eight” he tells me “Sometimes we come in earlier, depending on how long the day is going to be. We usually start off by getting anything that immediately needs to get done. Beers start to carb, tanks need to get dumped, and then we kind of take it from there.” With a zen-like calm, he moves through his workspace. He cleans each piece of equipment with an impressive attention to detail. “We’re usually packaging maybe three or four times a week,” John explains “…and we're brewing at least four or five times a week.”
IN A DAY’S WORK
With the brewery in constant motion, there exists a shorthand between John and his fellow brewer, Nick Romeo. As I watch him work, one particular question on my mind was being answered in real time. How do they handle such a high volume between just the two of them? It is a sight to behold. There is a camaraderie, a trust, and communication between them that make it all possible.
NICK ROMEO - Brewer - SAND CITY BREWING CO.
After meeting with John and Kevin, I am finally introduced to thirty-three year-old, Nick Romeo, who is the lead brewer on the batch of summer ale that is being brewed today. He shakes my hand and welcomes me into his workspace. A little shy at first, he soon begins to open up about work and the experiences that led him to becoming a brewer. “I’m coming up on my tenth year of professional brewing” Nick says "I got my start at Brooklyn Brewery kind of a conventional way. I started on the kegger, and in a few months I showed some interest to some people and asked the right questions to the right people and got an opportunity to work in the cellar.” He explains further “…Eventually I got an opportunity to move into the brew house and that was a really transcendent four years of my life”
Following a brief pause, Nick continues to reflect on his earlier years “ [I] made a lot of friendships during that time and from there, I moved back home to my native Long Island and started working for Blue Point Brewing Company, another massive brewery in the industry…what I learned at Brooklyn did mirror what I was about to take on at Blue Point Fast-forwarding to today, I’m curious to know what inspires him. I ask him about what holds his attention. What keeps things interesting? “I’m creating flavors” he responds “…and usually the inspiration from what flavors we're trying to create are coming from cultural trends, culinary trends, also health trends.”
A PROCESS UNDERWAY
While John prepares the equipment on the brewery floor, Nick is tending to the brew currently in progress. Nick has started his shift in the early morning hours. With this delicate and complex process, their shifts overlap to ensure that the tasks requiring teamwork are getting done. There exists a shorthand between them.
Nick checks his readings and prepares to add ingredients to ensure a consistent yield. As the first of a three-step process is nearing its end, Nick adds sugars and botanicals that will ultimately determine the flavor profile of the final product.
Nick explains “The wort that we're brewing, this soupy, sugary solution that we're making on the brewing side needs to turn into alcohol. That's what everybody's waiting for. That's the headliner. So essentially, we pitch this microorganism into that sugary solution.” referring to the importance of yeast “…out comes a - you know - a beautiful concoction.”
As John and Nick work together brewing the day’s yield, Kevin is preparing the canning machine to package a run of VESPA, Sand City’s popular Italian-style Pilsner. Kevin has been working on clearing a jam in the labeler.
THE BATCH READY FOR CANNING
He is in a sea of moving parts that all must work together to ensure a smooth process. A slow and careful start will ensure that the team makes its day and their orders are filled. Once he’s finished getting the labeler threaded and ready to go, something isn’t quite right. Kevin investigates further as his team stands ready to assist.
To make their day, Kevin must make sure all of the parts work in sync. The canning machine has other plans today. With one labeler jam and another yet-to-be identified issue later, frustration sets in. The day has gotten more complicated. This seems to be a situation where Kevin is in his element.
PUTTING OUT FIRES
“I think that my background where that really comes in handy,…it’s not necessarily in the scientific approach to making beer as much as it is in the problem-solving aspect of running a brewery.” Kevin explains “There's going to be, anywhere between 1 and 20 things that unexpectedly show up. Whether it's a good thing or something that is problematic, we got to figure out a way to keep operating…so I often see that that's where my role is - in taking care of those things, putting out the fires that show up on a day-to-day basis.”
OLD FAVORITES
In a remote corner of the brewery sits a series of stout barrels their contents aging to perfection before being packaged for distribution. I curiously inspect the barrels. As my imagination is drawn to things that look antique, I am curious about what’s inside. Every artist has a favorite subject to paint. Every chef has a favorite dish to prepare, Surely, Kevin must have a favorite beer to brew. “SOUTHDOWN BREAKFAST STOUT,” Kevin tells me without hesitation “…because I love the complexity of the beer. I love that - you know -you can smell the chocolate when you're brewing it. You can almost taste the oats when it's boiling, and then when we get to add the tremendous amount of coffee into it and it just packs the room full of coffee aroma, it's a nice environment to be in brewing that beer.”
A visible indicator called lacing is one way of showing the quality of the yield. Nick inspects the beer by holding it up to the light and seeing how the beer clings to the inside of the glass. Each variety has its unique properties. This example of the popular WHITE SAND SUMMER ALE shows ideal lacing for this variety of beer. A smell test, and ultimately a taste test will determine if it’s good. Success! “What I like to focus on” Nick explains “…is really just this the symbiosis of all of our ingredients. I think everything has an integral role. We're trying to achieve flavor, but we're also trying to harness it and achieve balance overall. For me, in brewing, you have nothing without healthy yeast. We are yeast nurturers. We are yeast babysitters. We are yeast worshipers.” He continues “So, we have to think…you could really formulate any combination of really high quality malts and hops and stuff, but if you don't have the yeast down, if you are not learning more about your yeast and your fermentation every day, that recipe, although you use the same stuff, is going to taste different every time.
THE CANNING LINE FINALLY MOVES
The canning machine is finally up and running. All parts seems to be working now. Kevin is performing a quick inspection of the machinery before moving ahead with the canning process. Kevin and the team are back on track to package the day’s yield of VESPA. Kevin is joined by Tom Erickson and Marc Raguso, who will assist on the canning line. They will move the sealed cans off the conveyer belt and arrange them into neat stacks ready for distribution.
Morale is up on the canning line. The canning machine, now fully operational, outputs cans. Tom moves the labeled cans from the conveyer belt to the cases. Marc and Tom work quickly. The stacks of VESPA pile up fast. The newly packaged beer will then be moved to the walk-in refrigerator where it will be stored for future use. Some will go to local retailers, others to bars and restaurants. Others will be sold in the taproom to be enjoyed on-site or at home.
INVENTORY CHECK
I duck into the open door of the walk-in refrigerator. Assistant Taproom Manager, Grimm signals that the taproom will be opening soon (a). Shortly before opening the bar, he inspects the inventory for outgoing orders and the needs of the taproom. He will determine, based on sales, availability, and customer feedback which keg should be tapped. The selection of the taproom’s offerings is both an art and a mathematical calculation.
IN CONSTANT MOTION
In the brewery, there is always work to do. Between each step, there is no shortage of tasks. While Kevin works the canning line, Nick clears spent grains from the brewing tank. A full cleaning of the equipment will follow to prepare the vessel for the next batch.
“There’s so much that goes into making beer” John explains, while he prepares ingredients for the special edition beer, a mint julep variant of BLUEBERRY CRUSH “…how such minor changes and tweaks to recipes and other things can affect the product.” The air thick with a comforting essence of blueberry and distinctive fragrance of mint.
We return to the brewery floor, where John prepares a keg of ale that will have the newly prepared ingredients added to it. Watching John work each step in methodical fashion, I ask him about his interests. We get on the subject of creativity and his science background, recalling an earlier conversation. “I really enjoy messing with those things,” referring to the special ingredients “… and understanding how they come out in the end. So this [beer] is really my creative outlet.”
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
As the brewing day draws to a close, there is another life to this place that is just beginning. Bartenders stand ready to serve. The rain has stopped, and the clouds have broken. The afternoon sun of the midsummer heralds the arrival of guests. Alive with chatter, the room hums as people fill the taproom.
Soon the taproom will roar with happy noise - friends gathering, families enjoying an afternoon outing. Some will arrive for a date, others to talk business. Some will drink to reminisce, others to forget. Many familiar faces are in the crowd, others are coming in for the first time. This brewery takes on a life of its own.
A PLACE IN THE WORLD
The next day I return to Sand City to attend an outdoor summer festival where the true scope of Sand City’s impact on the local community is on full display. I recall an exchange with John Clancy from the previous day.
I asked about his role at Sand City, noting its loyal and diverse following. I wanted to get a brewer’s perspective.“I think almost all breweries are staples in the community, and bring people together, where families…and dogs…” he says with a smile “can just come, sit down, have a beer, be outside, be inside, have live music, have a good experience and a fun time…my job is to put out a consistent product for all the local community to gather around and enjoy.”