Hoptron Brewtique to reopen in Port Jefferson

Craft beer fans should recognize the name Hoptron, which sounds like what you might call an IPA but was actually one of the first specialty taprooms on Long Island.

For seven years until it closed in early 2020, Hoptron Brewtique in Patchogue was a place for beer geeks who delighted in funky, esoteric beer styles they couldn't find anywhere else. Beer enthusiast Amanda K. Danielsen sold the bar right before the pandemic and has been wanting to open another spot ever since. Now she's signed the lease on the new Hoptron, which she plans to open in the space that housed the original Toast Coffeehouse, whose latest iteration, Revival by Toast closed in 2025. 

Danielsen has done some renovations to the building, creating a look that she describes as "playful," including a brightly colored room with LED lights and another space that's doubling as an art gallery. She is currently in the permitting stage and hopes to be open in February. 

The new concept won't be quite as beer geeky as the last one, she says, because the drinking scene is different from what it was when she opened in 2012. Back then, she had 16 taps that were mostly dedicated to American craft beers she was digging at the moment. Now she'll have 12 taps, with one reserved for a wine and another for a batch-made cosmopolitan cocktail. The beers won't necessarily all be American craft beers either. 

"Before, we were trying to educate people on what craft beer was back in the day. We don’t need to do that anymore," she said. "We'll still have a few beers that’ll please the connoisseurs. That's my core, chasing new flavor profiles. But because I dig something, doesn't mean everyone else does." 

In today's environment, she said it's more important to provide a welcoming hospitality than an uncompromising niche product. But since the space is a former restaurant, there will also be a kitchen putting out "elevated munchies" with a mix-and-match formula to customize different bases, like lettuce cups, Belgian waffles and focaccia. There will also be vegan options and multiple soups, she said. 

The bar will continue to host its popular Tuesday running club. And now that Danielsen has reached middle age, she said, the bar will most likely close around 9 p.m. on weekdays and around 11 or 12 on weekends.

Said Danielsen, "Nothing good happens after midnight." 

By Andi Berlin

andi.berlin@newsday.com

Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.