LI's Necromantic Becomes 1st Fully Gluten-Free Brewery In New York

FARMINGDALE, NY — Ralph Mandarino has been gluten intolerant for 10 years now. Many foods and drinks — craft beer included — contain gluten, which triggers an immune response in the small intestine of anyone with celiac disease.

Mandarino, 39, along with his friend, Jesse Silano, 34, opened Necromantic Brew Co. in Farmingdale in October to give those with gluten intolerance a place to go spend time with others and indulge in craft beer safe for them to drink. Necromantic Brew Co., at 253 Main St., is the only brick-and-mortar tasting room/brewery in New York state to be fully gluten-free.

Mandarino, who says he is not overly emotional, said he has been overwhelmed by the support he has received from people with or without gluten intolerance who have enjoyed his beers.

"When I read some of the things people have sent me, it’s hard not to get choked up, because I felt that, too, for so long where you’d go out to a restaurant because you heard it was safe, or there’s something on the menu you can eat," Mandarino told Patch. "And when you go home, you wake up the next day, your stomach is killing you, your head is foggy, you’ve got a rash on your arm that burns, you’re nauseous, pain; and now, people can come to gather for either the love of the movies, love of the beer, or you just like the atmosphere. It’s been phenomenal to watch our patrons socialize with each other, make connections, and feel normal. I think that’s the biggest gift: just allowing somebody to feel included again.”

Necromantic Brew Co.'s walls are adorned with memorabilia and signed pictures from many horror films over the years, including "Friday the 13th" gear signed by a few actors who have played Jason Voorhees over the years.

Mandarino and Silano have been cultivating relationships with horror actors and actresses for the past few years and hope to get some of them to visit the brewery for events. The two would watch movies together while they were brewing beer.

"We thought, ‘How cool would it be to bring the basement to everybody else?’" Mandarino said. "It’s not only the beer we’re bringing, it’s the whole experience."

Mandarino recalls the evolution of gluten-free food and how it went from pasta that would "disintegrate into gruel" to food where Silano, who does not have a gluten allergy, could hardly tell a difference. Mandarino, who used to be a stay-at-home dad, went from cooking three meals — one for his wife, one for his children, and one for himself — to having tasty food he could eat.

One day, Silano suggested to Mandarino that since he misses beer so much, why not have the two of them brew their own gluten-free brews in Mandarino's basement? Silano would come over to hang out and watch horror films anyway, so the two could watch them while they wait for the brewing process to complete.

"I thought [Silano] was out of his mind, because the time, the energy, the effort, the money that’s involved to start something like that," Mandarino said. "Lo and behold, you wake up one day and you’re wondering ‘What am I doing with myself?’ Other than being a father, in my professional life, I wasn’t doing anything. I felt like, this is something we can tackle and be really good at."

Silano can drink regular beer and know how it's supposed to taste, said Mandarino. While he can no longer recall what a normal beer tastes like, Silano was the duo's quality control man.

“He would be able to decipher and distinguish, ‘OK, this recipe needs work. This one is really good. This one, we should up this. That one, we should decrease that,’" Mandarino said. "Because of that, the average person who comes [to Necromantic Brew Co.] isn’t suffering when their celiac or gluten-intolerant significant other wants to come in here, or friends who are supporting their friend want to go out, because somebody can come in here that has an intolerance, and they feel safe, because they know they’re going to go home and they’re not going to get sick. There isn’t going to be cross-contamination, and the people around them are happy to support them, and they’re not suffering.”

Traditional beer is made with wheat, barley, rye, malts and hops. Of those, hops are the only ingredient that is naturally gluten-free.

To make gluten-free beer, Necromantic Brew Co. uses buckwheat, Millet flour, flaked quinoa, rice, and in some instances, organic corn. Their ingredients come from a dedicated gluten-free facility in Oregon.

Generally speaking, Mandarino said, gluten-free beer would not appeal to people without celiac disease. But he and Silano pride themselves on making beer that tastes "normal" to anyone.

"If you go on Google, Yelp, or any of the Long Island gluten-free groups, they will swear up and down that the people that they come with in support of them love the beer because they can’t really tell the difference," he said.

Necromantic Brew Co. runs 10 tap lines. Their current brews include a roasty, toasty stout with comparisons to Guinness; a bitter orange and grapefruit IPA; a pale ale conditioned over orange and lemon peels; an amber ale; a pumpkin ale; a pumpkin sour; and a brown ale.

The brewery serves gluten-free snacks like cookies, meats and cheeses, kettle corn, and voodoo chips.

Necromantic Brew Co. will run horror movie nights, trivia, and more. It runs horror flick trailers on its televisions, as well.

The brewery took over the lease in February 2020 but hit snags along the way, delaying the tasting room's opening.

Mandarino wanted to thank everyone for their support, including those who have left messages on social media. He also thanked Farmingdale Village Mayor Ralph Ekstrand and his fellow small business owners, namely Jeff Rumman, the owner of High Tide Taco Bar and Vintage Wine Bar. He also thanked the Farmingdale Village Board of Trustees and the Farmingdale Small Business Development Center at Farmingdale State College.

“Everybody played a part in our community, and we would be remiss to not say thank you to all of you," Mandarino said. "We wouldn’t have made it at all.”

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