Last night I attended my first Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiast event, Cask night at Dek's in Rocky Point. If you want to drink some great beer with some great Beerfolks who are in the know, make it a point to attend the next Cask night in February.
  I arrived around 9:00 to a generous round of introductions to the folks in attendance. Rich, my liaison, so to speak, made sure that I knew everyones name almost immediately. Just minutes after settling in, a guy by the name of Mike asked me what my favorite flavor of beer was. I responded that I liked IPA's Browns, porters & Stouts. He said "not style, flavor" This is a question rarely asked. I told him "Smokey". He returned from the bar just a couple of moments later with a few glasses and a bottle of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier. WOW!!!!!!!! It had a nose of a pig roast. Powerful assault on the nose! The taste was fantastic, less in your face than expected after taking a couple of whiffs. 
  The cask Beer was Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale. It is one of the few pale ales that I really like in a bottle, and even much better on cask.
  The owner/bartender Dean, seems like a pretty good guy, and carries a very large selection of goodies for your palette. He also has the correct glassware, a rarity.
  I had intended on staying only until 10:30, but with good company, time seems to just drift away. I finally got myself out of there around 1:00, after many starts for the door. The people in this group are friendly, fun, knowledgeable, and definitely lovers of great beer.
  The two links below are about the gathering. If you are interested in joining the enthusiasts, just click & join! Maybe we will see you next time at Dek's!

http://groups.google.com/group/beermalt/browse_thread/thread/9bf87c7d20d1abc0?hl=en

http://beer.donavanhall.net/