Danii Oliver is the owner of Island to Island Taproom in Flatbush, Brooklyn but not only is Island to Island a Brewery it is also a Fermentary and Juicer. One of the few where you can get home made juices, fermented juice mixed with a spirit as a cocktail or in-house beer. She started with juicing a few years ago when she wanted to start living a healthy life, soon noticed the juice fermented over time and turned the fermented juice into Komucha and decided to play around by adding malt and playing around with  other fruits and vegetables blends.
List of House Beer and Ciders
Brewing technique in Island to Island is Craft Brewing, all grain or no grain at times but no extracts only wholes foods grains, fruits and vegetables.  She also uses a technique called Seed to spirit which is the life cycle of fruits and vegetables over time. Grains which are sprouted like chai seeds or almonds which can become spirits through the process of being in alcohol or being stilt.
Strawberry Blond(ABV 4.5%)- FRUIT ALE, Trini Love(ABV 4.4%)-FRUIT ALE, Mango Chow(ABV 4.5%)-FRUIT ALE, Dreamy(6.7% Collaboration with Harlem Brewing Co.)- TRADITIONAL BEER
When I asked about the machines used in her brewery she said “Pumps are the only machines. They pump liquid from one vessel to the next” And factors that can affect the brewing process are Ingredients, time, air, yeast, bacteria, the brewer, the tap lines, the keg quality, storage. They have recently bought in a master brewer and certified cicerone (beer sommelier) Norie Manigault to help refine the recipes before they start to brew in the bars basement.
Behind the Scene in Island to Island Basement
Island to Island is a New York State- grown farm Brewery. So 80% of the ingredients used are New York state ingredients like Apples, raw honey, barley, rye, wheat, corn, oats, hops and seasonal fruits and vegetables such berries, melons, peaches, cherries, pears, apricots, pumpkins, peppers, herbs, flowers, potatoes, greens, grapes, figs, carrots, beets, turnips, radish etc.
20% of her ingredient used are International. Ingredient used to make some of her fruit ales are Sugarcane, coconuts, sorrel, agave, tamarind, starfruit, mango, pineapple, guava, oranges, limes, peppers, spices, ginger, molasses, cassava, turmeric, wormwood and soursop.
Purple reign (ABV 7%) – CIDER and Saint Hilarie Knowles(AVB 4%)- FRUIT ALE
They have a drink called Jun which is a kombucha like drink made with Honey and Green tea. She would usually give it to customers who may be intoxicated and the Jun would aggressively eat the alcohol in your system to help you sober up.
Jun
Anyone can come to Island to Island for a drink. They offer Cider, Fruit Ale, Beer, Grain-free beer and IPA’s and tradition beer. Danii wants all walks of life to be able to come into Island to Island Brewery, pregnant women, elderly and teenagers to come into a Bar environment and grab a alcoholic or non-alcoholic beer or ale and just enjoy each others company in a cool laid back environment. This place is also good for Vegan and people that are interested in juicing and cleansing beverages for there body.
I really enjoyed my time at Island to Island, It was interesting to learn that beers, ciders and ale can be made in non- traditional ways that may be more healthy and give people a wider variety to choose from when i comes to consuming beer, ciders and ale. It was also awesome to learn that Danii is an Alum from City Tech with a Business Degree and showed interest in coming back to talk to student in the Hospitality Department about her Business, which i think would be a pretty cool idea.
Tasting at the Bar
