Brew York, New York

Your Beery Weekend: The 5 Boro PicNYC & Beer Here

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:42:02 -0400

There aren’t many beer events going on this weekend, on account of it being the first weekend when everyone heads out of town (heck, we’re headed out of town, too, to attend Hill Farmstead Brewery’s Second Anniversary Celebration in Vermont. But if you are staying in town, might we suggest the 5 Boro PicNYC on Governor’s Island or the Beer Here! event at the New-York Historical Society?

The 5 Boro PicNYC runs both Saturday and Sunday from 11:30am-4:30pm, and features a bevy of brews from Sixpoint, a hot sauce tasting, a grilled cheese cook-off, a taco challenge, food from chefs representing each of the five boroughs at 20 different food stations, and live blues music. Five hours of food tastings, beers, and soaking up the sun on an island in New York Harbor will run you just $25 (which includes a beer ticket and unlimited food tastings). Tickets are available online now.

But if you’re more of an indoors kind of person (or need to dodge the raindrops in the forecast), you might want to head to Beer Here: Brewing New York’s History, an exhibit that opens today at the New-York Historical Society Museum. The exhibit features a bevy of malted beverage artifacts, from a 1779 account book of a brewer who sold beer to both British and Patriot soldiers, beer trays from various nineteenth-century brewers, a sign from the campaign to repeal prohibition, and advertisements from former New York brewers Piels, Rheingold, and Schaefer. Best of all, the exhibit concludes with a beer hall that offers pours of local beers. Admission to the museum is $15 (pay-as-you-wish on Fridays from 6-8pm), and they’ll be open all weekend, including Memorial Day!

If none of these events are to your liking, there’s always buying a few beers and drinking them by the barbeque. That sounds just as perfect as anything else, right?

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend! We’ll catch you here again next week.

Newburgh Brewing Company hits NYC bars this weekend

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:00:00 -0400

Staying in town this holiday weekend? Then you’re lucky, because you can be among the first city folk to get a taste of a newly-opened Hudson Valley brewery. Newburgh Brewing Company opened just last month, and Friday morning, they’ll be dropping off their first kegs at bars around New York City.

The brewery’s initial focus is on sessionable beers - all four of their first draft offerings to hit New York City are under 5% ABV. They’ll distribute their Saison, Cream Ale, Brown Ale, and - most uniquely - the Peat-Smoked Stout. All of them have the mark of brewmaster Christopher Basso, who cut his chops at Brooklyn Brewery for five years before shipping up the river this Spring. In addition, Head of Sales Charlie Benedetti and brewery President Paul Halayko also have ties to the five boroughs, so this was a natural choice for their first place to send beer beyond the Hudson Valley.

In addition to the beer, though, there’s another reason why Newburgh’s founders are proud to send their beer to the city. “The City of Newburgh isn’t always mentioned in the most favorable light,” Halayko admits. Now, a high-quality product that is handcrafted right in the City of Newburgh will be enjoyed by people outside of the Hudson Valley. And maybe, when someone drinks a Newburgh beer, and sees our tap handle proudly displaying ‘NEWBURGH’, they will remember Newburgh in a positive light.” That’s a pretty sweet bonus to sending us some good beer.

Here’s a list of places expected to throw on Newburgh Brewing Company’s beers in the coming week:

- The Pony Bar UES (1444 First Ave. at 75th St., Upper East Side)
- Colicchio & Sons (85 Tenth Ave., at 15th St., Chelsea)
- Standings (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village)
- Swift Hibernian Lounge (34 E. 4th St., at Bowery, Noho)
- ABC Beer Co. (96 Avenue C, at 6th St., East Village)
- Dive 75 (101 W. 75th St., at Columbus Ave., Upper West Side)
- George Keeley (485 Amsterdam Ave., at 83rd St., Upper West Side)
- Spuyten Duyvil (350 Metropolitan Ave., at Havermeyer St., Williamsburg)

This list is bound to grow in the coming weeks… we’ll let you know when we spot it at these places or others on our Twitter stream… you do the same!

Happy Hour: Thirsty Thursday

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:00:00 -0400

It’s Thursday, May 24th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

Three Heads Brewing’s inaugural tour of New York City heads to Brooklyn tonight! Meet the beer and the men behind it starting at 4pm at Barcade Brooklyn (388 Union Ave., at Ainslie St., Williamsburg) and at 6pm at Brouwerij Lane (78 Greenpoint Ave., at Franklin St., Greenpoint). They’ll pour the Bromigo Smoked Maple Amber, The Kind IPA, and many more!
It’s a Victory Brewing tap takeover at Alewife Queens (5-14 51st Ave., at 5th St., Long Island City) starting at 6pm, pairing the brewery’s beers with the bar’s food menu tonight. Enjoy beers like the Ranch IPA, Summer of Love, Golden Monkey, and more!
Blue Point visits Buddha Beer Bar (4497 Broadway, at 192nd St., Washington Heights) tonight from 6-9pm, pouring the White IPA, Hoptical Illusion, No Apologies, and many more. Plus, coveted giveaways like hats and t-shirts!
Check out tonight’s Ithaca Beer Dinner at New York Beer Company (321 W. 44th St., at 8th Ave., Midtown West), which features a four-course meal paired with beers like Flower Power IPA, Partly Sunny, and the 14th Anniversary Ale. Dinner is available all night long starting at 5pm, but get your tickets in advance!
Bronx Ale House (216 W. 238th St., at Broadway, Kingsbridge, Bronx) hosts the brotherly breweries of Mikkeller and Evil Twin. Starting at 6pm, try beers from each of the two Danish breweries, both owned by twin brothers, and you decide which twin is best!
The Thursday Tap at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) this week is the Dieu du Ciel! Rigor Mortis. Get there are 5pm to try this great blonde ale from Quebec!
The Thursday Night event at Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) this week features all Farmhouse Ales on draft! If you like dry, funky, spicy beers, you’ll want to be there tonight starting at 7pm.

Follow us on Twitter for ongoing updates, like us on Facebook to spread the word, and check us out on Foursquare for great lists of beer bars, stores, and breweries!

First Look at Alphabet City Beer Co.

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:00:00 -0400

We’re exhausted by the sheer number of beer spots that have opened in New York this year. But last week was yet another week with an opening. This one’s in the East Village, and will bring welcome relief to those who don’t want to trek over three avenues to buy good beer. Alphabet City Beer Co. (96 Avenue C, at 6th St., East Village) is now open. Does the East Village need another beer bottle shop? Even if they don’t need one, they’ve got one… and it comes with a pretty nice beer bar to boot.

Sister of local wine shop Alphabet City Wine (and not to be confused with Alphabet City Brewing Company, whose beer Easy Blonde may occasionally appear on tap here), Alphabet City Beer Co. is a hybrid bar and bottle shop that’s a welcome relief from the existing bars-turned-late night shitshows that persist on Avenue C. They’ve got a dozen beers on draft for drinking on premises and growler fills to-go, plus a wide selection of bottles to-go from all over the country and the world (American beers to the left, imports to the right), and a fun and easy-going staff that’ll guide you through the beers you don’t know without coming down on you for having never heard of the greatest beer ever made (they even say, “we’re beer geeks, not beer snobs”).

The bar is nicely appointed with corduroy-clad stools and dim vintage lighting. In an ongoing trend of offering smaller beer sizes, they’ll pour a half-pint or full pint of beer for you from their twelve taps, which include Bronx Pale Ale, North Coast Red Seal, Founders Cerise, and Thornbridge Raven Black IPA. All are reasonably-priced, starting at just $5 a pint of $3 for a half-pint. Growlers of these beers start around $12.

You can use their beers to wash down their keep-it-simple-stupid food menu, in the form of sandwiches, pretzels, pickles, and meat and cheese plates. Of course, the meats and cheeses aren’t simple - they’re pretty complex, and are on display in a case beside the bar so you can choose.

In the back, there’s a massive wood communal table that can seat about 16 people. There’s also a couple couches and some fancy armchairs for one-on-one congregating or snuggling. There’s lots of exposed brick in this joint, and the place is dim. In other words, it’s not only a great place to grab a beer to stay or to go, it also makes for a pretty decent date spot, too.

You can’t drink the bottles and cans they sell on the premises, but you can take them to go. And of course, that means the prices are a bit lower, and completely reasonable for mixing-and-matching a six pack to take home. Cans and bottles start around $2 and head up from there, with some pretty pricey large-format imports in the cooler that you could bring to a party to impress your friends.

But why bring the party to them? Alphabet City Beer Co. is more a bar than a shop, despite the shop part being front-and-center as you come in. They’re open until midnight during the week and 2am on weekends, so there’s really no point it bringing the party home early.

At a Glance
Alphabet City Beer Co. (96 Avenue C, at 6th St., East Village)
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, Noon-Midnight; Friday-Saturday Noon-2am
Payment Options: Cash Only
Opened: Thursday, May 17th
Serving: Beer only
Taps: 12, $3-9
Bottles: over a hundred, starting at $2
Food: Cheese, meats, and sandwiches
Happy Hour: None
Growlers: Yes, $12-28
Best Bet: Brooklyn Brewmaster’s Reserve Gold Standard and l’Amuse aged Gouda, $10

Beer list, food vendors confirmed for Brooklyn Waterfront Beer Festival

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:00:00 -0400

We’re less than a month away from the Brooklyn Waterfront Beer Festival. The craft beer festival will be held outdoors on the East River waterfront at North 11th Street in Williamsburg in two sessions on Saturday, June 16th. Now that the date is getting closer, the festival organizers have announced the beer list and food vendors that’ll be at the event.

Just like their tasting back in March at the NYC Craft Beer Festival, the festival will have two sessions, lots of beer, and a relaxed environment. But unlike the previous festival, it will expand its extensive list of breweries from just across the country to all around the world. And the food vendors involved will be locally-focused, with Sheep Station, The Brooklyn Star, Cornelius, Coolhaus, and Morris Grilled Cheese all serving up eats for purchase. And to add to the summertime atmosphere, they’ll have live music, too.

Let’s chat about the beers. We were impressed with some of the brews that the festival in March was able to pull in. Instead of the generic, flagship offerings that most breweries serve at festivals, the festival organizers manage to grab some better brews. June will be no different on this front. Brooklyn will serve their new Brewmaster’s Reserve Gold Standard, Oskar Blues will pour Deviant Dale’s, and Victory will serve up their Summer of Love. Beyond that, look for brews like Flying Dog Wildeman IPA, Firestone Walker Wookie Jack Black IPA, Mountain Goat Australian Pale Ale, Unibroue La Fin du Monde, and Birrificio Bruton Lilith. Multiply that by 40 or so, and that’s a beer list that’s nothing to sneeze at.

They’ve learned from experiences and feedback at the March festival, and this time around, VIP and Connoisseur ticket holders will have an express entrance line. They also get a full hour of drinking before everyone else in a less crowded environment. The Connoisseur ticket level has been improved with complimentary food from MexiBBQ, and an indoor and outdoor space with couches and a view of the East River, Manhattan, and the Williamsburg Bridge. Oh - and most importantly, they’ll up the ante in the Connoisseur Lounge with some pretty rare beers. One-offs, barrel-aged beers, vintage beers, and all-around hard-to-spot brews will all be pouring.

They’ll have two sessions on June 16th: an afternoon session from 1:30-4pm and an evening session from 7-9:30pm. General Admission tickets ($55) allow for two and a half hours of tasting, but VIP Tickets ($75) allow access to the tasting an hour earlier. Connoisseur Tickets ($125) give you the extra hour, too, plus access to the Connoisseur Lounge. You can buy tickets now online, but don’t wait - tickets sold out for March’s festival, and even if they don’t, the prices will be higher at the door.

Meet the newest import to NYC, Three Heads Brewing

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:00:00 -0400

Meet the newest brewery to hit bars within the five boroughs, Three Heads Brewing. Since they’re in-state, these Rochester-based brewers didn’t need to jump through any big regulatory hoops to get their beer here, but they had to wait until they could brew enough beer to serve us properly. They’re already in Massachusetts and Illinois, but as of this week, they’re finally shipping their beer down to us!

Founded in 2010 by Geoff Dale, Todd Dirrigl, and Dan Nothnagle, their brewery started as many have lately - as an idea that came from years of homebrewing experience. Dirrigl took classes at the Siebel Institute to perfect the craft, and the three of them started Three Heads as a contract brewing operation at Custom Brewcrafters in Honeoeye Falls, near Rochester. Their popularity grew quickly in the Rochester area, and by 2011, they were distributed across most of Upstate New York and Massachusetts. Earlier this year, they made the leap to ship beer to Chicago, and now, they’ve hit New York City.

Their four core beers are the The Kind, a hoppy American IPA; The Blimey, an English Special Ale with American hops; The Skunk, an aggressive, hoppy black IPA; and The Java Sutra, a Coffee Porter made with the Rochester-based Boulder Coffee Tap & Mallet blend. In addition, they’ve also made a couple of seasonal beers, including last summer’s Ontario Coast IPA, a Belgian IPA, and the fall-release Bromigo Smoked Maple Amber Ale. Here in the city, we’ve spotted a hoppy red oatmeal ale called Loopy and a California Common called Common Man.

The core beers are available both on draft and in 22-ounce bottles.

Three Heads celebrates its release in New York City all week long with events around the city. Tuesday night, it’s The Pony Bar UES (1444 First Ave. at 75th St., Upper East Side), followed by New York Beer Company (321 W. 44th St., at 8th Ave., Midtown West) on Wednesday, and across the river in Brooklyn at Brouwerij Lane (78 Greenpoint Ave., at Franklin St., Greenpoint) and Barcade Brooklyn (388 Union Ave., at Ainslie St., Williamsburg) on Thursday Night. We’ll give you details on these events in our nightly Happy Hour features. And after these events, you’ll soon see Three Heads in other specialty beer shops and bars around New York City.

So give them a big New York City welcome. And ask them about the Garbage Plate!

NY Senate Majority Leader proposes brewery tax credit in jobs bill

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:31:00 -0400

New York Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau Co.) proposed a package of tax credits and tax cuts to spur growth in several industries across the state last week. Within the bill, called the 2012 New Jobs-NY job creation act, is another attempt to give much-needed relief to New York’s small breweries, who were just hit with a surprise new tax burden after a court ruling last month.

The bill, S7448, would essentially roll back most of the additional fees that in-state breweries are now forced to pay as a result of the ruling in the form of state tax credits. In addition, it would allow breweries to credit the excise tax paid retroactively to the time that the State Supreme Court ruled the State Liquor Authority excise tax exemption on in-state brewers to be unconstitutional. The bill would cap the credit at 14 cents per gallon on the first 200,000 barrels of beer produced - identical to the excise tax that was imposed. The bill would also allow brewers to claim a credit on the $150 per-label registration fee that the SLA had waived before the ruling.

The proposed bill does not credit the New York City portion of the tax, which amounts to an additional 12 cents per gallon for every drop of beer sold in the five boroughs.

Earlier this month, identical stand-alone bills were introduced in the Assembly and Senate to offer a tax credit on the excise tax charged to in-state breweries after the court ruling. Those bills have been assigned to committees in their respective houses, and have picked up co-sponsors from both sides of the political aisle.

This morning, an amended version of the Senate bill introduced by Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk Co.) and co-sponsored by three other State Senators added a tax credit for the labeling fee.

Action will need to be taken quickly, however. The state completes its legislative session on June 21st.

Happy Hour: Do it for the Guild

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:30:00 -0400

It’s Tuesday, May 22nd. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

We can’t go a minute without reminding you what you’re missing if you’re not at the New York City Brewers Guild launch party tonight from 7-10pm at Brooklyn Brewery (79 N. 11th St., at Wythe Ave., Williamsburg). It features rare beers from ten local brewers, plus great food from Guild members Eataly Birreria and 508 Gastrobrewery. Tickets are still on sale through Eventbrite for $75, or $125 with a Guild membership included.
Uncle Barry’s (58 5th Ave., at Bergen St., Park Slope) hosts their first-ever beer event tonight at 9pm, featuring the beers of Oskar Blues. They’ll have four beers on, including the Deviant Dale’s and Gubna, plus some very special giveaways!
Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) hosts Cigar City today starting at 4pm, with a huge list of brews from the Tampa, Florida brewer, including Puppy’s Breath Chocolate Cherry Porter, Florida Cracker White, Hotter Than Helles, and the Vanilla-Aged Maduro Brown.
The official Manhattan launch of Rochester’s Three Heads Brewing is tonight at 6pm at The Pony Bar UES (1444 First Ave. at 75th St., Upper East Side). Enjoy your first sips of their beers in New York, including their hugely-popular The Kind IPA.
French craft beers are the subject of this week’s free Tuesday Tasting at Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) tonight at 7pm. You’ll get to sample several different brews from the French portion of Shelton Brothers’ portfolio with their woman on the ground in NYC, B.R. Rolya. Get there early for a seat!
Top Hops (94 Orchard St., at Broome St., Lower East Side) hosts Sixpoint tonight from 7-9pm, featuring Apollo, Sweet Action, Crisp, and Diesel.
The weekly Ten Buck Tasting at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) features Bocks! You’ll get six tastings of brews for $10, including the Ayinger Celebrator, Einbecker Maibock, and Stoudts Smooth Hoperator. The tasting gets underway tonight at 7:30pm.
It’s a celebration of summer beers at Radegast Hall (113 N. 3rd St., at Berry St., Williamsburg) starting tonight at 7:30pm. They’ll be pouring the La Trappe Witte, Sünner Kölsch, Urthel Saisonnière, and more, along with live music and free snacks!

Follow us on Twitter for ongoing updates, like us on Facebook to spread the word, and check us out on Foursquare for great lists of beer bars, stores, and breweries!

Captain Lawrence announces first beers off pilot brewing system

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:00:00 -0400

The brewhouse arrives at Captain Lawrence’s new location in Elmsford last fall (via Captain Lawrence on Facebook)

When Captain Lawrence unveiled their new brewery in Elmsford earlier this year, there was one small detail of the facility that did not go unnoticed by beer geeks: their smaller, 7-barrel pilot brewing system, where brewmaster Scott Vaccaro would brew small test batches and experimental beers. A few months later, we’ve learned the details of the first two of these brews, which should be available at the brewery soon.

The two brews are simply numbered, rather than given names, exemplifying the experimentation involved:

Batch 1 is a hoppy wheat-based pale ale, dry hopped with Palisade hops
Batch 2 is a Belgian Witbier with toasted coriander, fermented with German Kolsch yeast

These beers should be out in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, people heading to their new brewery will also be able to break in a new bocce court starting in early June, and later that month will be able to enjoy a couple of the brewery’s new bottled releases, the annual St. Vincent’s Dubbel and Hops & Roses, a barrel-aged golden ale with rose hips, hibiscus, and elder flowers.

While getting to their new brewery is a lot more difficult than their old location across from the Metro-North station in Pleasantville, there are people finding creative ways to get there. Take a look at Beertography’s bike trip from the World Trade Center to Elmsford, with a couple of beer-related stops along the way. Save this idea for a nice day!

Happy Hour: Colorado State of Mind

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:00:00 -0400

It’s Monday, May 21st. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

It’s the Colorado Shootout tonight at Valhalla (815 9th Ave., at 54th St., Hell’s Kitchen). Starting at 7pm, breweries from Colorado duke it out for Rocky Mountain beer supremacy. They’ll pour beers from Breckenridge, Oskar Blues, Left Hand, and Great Divide all night long!
The Very Special Keg at Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village) tonight is straight out of Maine… the Maine Beer Company Lunch IPA. They’ll tap it at 5pm!

Follow us on Twitter for ongoing updates, like us on Facebook to spread the word, and check us out on Foursquare for great lists of beer bars, stores, and breweries!

Your Beery Weekend: May 18-20

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:00:00 -0400

This weekend, thousands of people will flock to Prospect Park for music, food, and - yes - beer. The Great Googa Mooga may have given away its free tickets months ago, but this Saturday and Sunday will determine if all the hype is worth it. Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver curated the beer list for their beer tasting pavillion, which will include brews from local breweries like Carton and Captain Lawrence, American craft brewers like Smuttynose and Bear Republic, and imports like Schneider and Harviestoun. These should complement the food, music, and other events nicely.

But if you weren’t lucky enough to get tickets to the Great Googa Mooga, there’s plenty of other events with great beer in New York this weekend. Check them out below.

FRIDAY

The Pony Bar (637 10th Ave. at 45th St., Hell’s Kitchen) hosts their last and biggest brewery event of the year, The Maine Event. All weekend long, come by for a huge variety of beers from the Pine Cone State, including Maine Beer Company, Allagash, Baxter Brewing, Marshall Wharf, and many more! They’ll also have Maine-inspired food like lobster rolls and fried oysters. The event runs through Sunday.
Enjoy an Ommegang tasting and cheese pairing today at Best Yet Market (2187 Frederick Douglass Blvd., at W. 118th St., Harlem) from 4-7pm. Enjoy beers like Rare Vos, Dubbel, and the new Art of Darkness paired with artisan cheeses from around the world!
KelSo offers up some samples tonight from 5-7pm at Brew York City Growler Bar @ 76th (2148 Broadway, at 76th St., Upper West Side). Enjoy their IPA and then take some home in a growler!
The Growler Station (26 W. 8th St., at MacDougal St., Greenwich Village) hosts a French beer tasting tonight from 5-8pm, featuring some nice brews that’ll have you say, ooh la la! Try the Gavroche, 3 Monts, and 3 Monts Blonde.
George Keeley (485 Amsterdam Ave., at 83rd St., Upper West Side) hosts Flying Dog tonight starting at 6pm, with a special cask, and the Wildeman Farmhouse IPA and Underdog Lager on tap. Plus, Flying Dog CEO Jim Caruso will be in the house!

SATURDAY

The Pony Bar (637 10th Ave. at 45th St., Hell’s Kitchen) continues their Maine Event on Saturday. All weekend long, they’ll pour beers from Maine Beer Company, Allagash, Baxter Brewing, Marshall Wharf, and many more! They’ll also have Maine-inspired food like lobster rolls and fried oysters. The event runs through Sunday.
Thrillist celebrates both American Craft Beer Week and New York Burger Week with an East Village Beer and Burger Bar Crawl on Saturday afternoon from 1-7pm. Enjoy gourmet sliders and craft beer at several locations, including Little Town, Idle Hands Bar, and more! Tickets are just $30 for 5 sliders and beers and are available through Thrillist Rewards.
Sycamore (1118 Cortelyou Rd., at Westminster Rd., Ditmas Park) hosts Firestone Walker and Nectar Ales Saturday from noon-6pm. Enjoy $5 pours of some great California beers and some specialty barbeque, too!
Harlem Tavern (301 W. 116th St., at Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem) hosts Samuel Adams on all Saturday afternoon long. This is not your father’s Sam Adams… they’ll be pouring their Imperial White, Cinder Bock, Whitewater IPA, Mighty Oak Ale, and more! They’ll have sampling, giveaways, and they’ll be raffling off a trip to Boston.
Sample beers from Raven Imports on Saturday from 4-7pm at The Ploughman (438 7th Ave., at 15th St., Park Slope). Try some Jever Pilsner, Gaffel Kolsch, or Dentergems Wit, then take home a growler… like their new 16-ounce growlers!

SUNDAY

The Pony Bar (637 10th Ave. at 45th St., Hell’s Kitchen) wraps up their Maine Event on Sunday. They’ll pour beers from Maine Beer Company, Shipyard, Sebago, Belfast Bay, and many more! They’ll also have Maine-inspired food like lobster rolls and fried oysters.
The annual Fifth Avenue Street Fair takes place in Park Slope this Sunday. The Gate (321 Fifth Ave., at 3rd St., Park Slope) will be pouring beers streetside and Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope)will be serving up some Sixpoint cans. It’s a great chance to drink good beer in the great outdoors!
Spring Lounge (48 Spring St., at Mulberry St., Little Italy) hosts an event for The Barman’s Fund on Sunday from 2-8pm. They’ll have free beer from Peak Organic, tasty food from Chef Nicolas Belton of the Spotted Pig, and all the tips go to charity!
Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village) dedicates a few taps to Elysian on Sunday with the beers that didn’t make it to the bar in time for their Northwest Beer and Oyster Festival earlier this week. Enjoy the Dread Imperial Stout, Peste Chocolate Chili Ale, Perseus Porter and more starting at 3pm.
There’s a free sampling of Staropramen Wheat at Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden(29-19 24th Ave., at 29th St., Astoria) from 3-5pm on Sunday. Free beer in the great outdoors on a beautiful weekend… what more could you want?

Beer list announced for NYC Brewers Guild launch party

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:00:00 -0400

We’ve already told you about the formation of the New York City Brewers Guild, and about their upcoming launch party at Brooklyn Brewery next Tuesday night, May 22nd. That party will bring together the ten brewing companies that are a part of the guild and feature rare beers from each brewery, along with food from 508 Gastrobrewery and Birreria.

Now, the list of those beers has been released, and it’s pretty awesome.

The epic list includes rare beers, unique brews, and special editions of beers you’re already familiar with. The biggest surprise: the U.S. debut of the collaboration 175th Anniversary Carnegie Porter from Brooklyn and Carlsberg, brewed then aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels to celebrate the birthday of the classic Swedish dark brew.

Here’s the full list what you’ll come across at the party on May 22nd:

+ Birreria Gina American Pale ale with Wild Roman Thyme
+ Birreria Gaia Saison
+ Bronx Brewery 3 Ways: Bronx Pale Ale, Bronx Pale Ale Cask & Bronx Bourbon Barrel Aged Pale Ale
+ Brooklyn Cuvée de la Crochet Rouge Riesling
+ 175th Anniversary Carnegie Porter Brooklyn Collaboration
+ Brooklyn Black Ops Cask
+ Chelsea Brewing Co. Checker Cab Blonde
+ Chelsea Brewing Co. XXX Stout
+ Coney Island Barrel-Aged Geektoberfest 2011
+ Coney Island Barrel-Aged Human Blockhead
+ Coney Island Funky Jewbelation
+ Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner
+ Harlem Brewing Co. Sugar Hill Golden Ale
+ Heartland Imperial Black Saison
+ Heartland Old Red Nose Special Edition 2008
+ Kelso Rye Rauchbier
+ Kelso Cabernet Barrel-Aged IPA, dry hopped in barrel with Galaxy Hops
+ Kelso Brettanomyces Aged IPA
+ Sixpoint Spice Of Life Series – Columbus
+ Sixpoint Apollo
+ Sixpoint Mad Scientist Series
+ 508 GastroBrewery Greenwich Gueuze
+ 508 GastroBrewery Montezuma Imperial Stout
+ 508 GastroBrewery DBIPA
+ 508 GastroBrewery Spring Saison

Tickets are on sale now through Eventbrite for $75, or $125 with a Guild membership included. The guild membership gets you an official NYC Brewers Guild t-shirt, VIP access to official NYCBG Events, and access to VIP tours and tastings at Guild breweries and brewpubs throughout the year. Have at it; these tickets will be gone fast!

Happy Hour: Thirsty Thursday

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:00:00 -0400

It’s Thursday, May 17th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

First and most importantly, there’s our little event tonight at 6:30pm at 92Y Tribeca (200 Hudson St., at Canal St., Tribeca), called Summer Suds: A Craft Beer Tasting. We’ll be pouring light-bodied, easy-drinking summer beers from Peak Organic, Captain Lawrence, and more. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online!
Empire visits Alewife Queens (5-14 51st Ave., at 5th St., Long Island City) starting at 6pm, pairing the brewery’s beers with the bar’s food menu tonight. Among the pairings: Empire Strikes Bock with Mac and Cheese and the Wheat Wine paired with Magret Duck.
The Thursday Tap at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) this week is the Zinnebir from De La Senne. Get there are 5pm to try this great warm-weather Belgian beer!
Celebrate beer and the Yankees with Bronx Brewery tonight at House of Brews (363 W. 46th St., at 9th Ave., Hell’s Kitchen). From 7-10pm, have some $5 Bronx Pale Ales, and if you’re one of the first ten to show up in a Yankees jersey, your first beer’s on the house! They’ll also be raffling off Yankees tickets!
David Copperfield’s (1394 York Ave., at 74th St., Upper East Side) hosts Rogue tonight at 6pm They’ll be pouring an extensive list of beers from the Oregon brewery, including the omnipresent Dead Guy Ale.
The Growler Station (26 W. 8th St., at MacDougal St., Greenwich Village) hosts a tasting from Captain Lawrence tonight from 5-8pm. They’ll be showcasing the Westchester brewery’s draft beers and brand-new six-packs!
Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) is out to remind you tonight that you’re standing on Long Island when you’re at their shop. It’s Long Island Craft Beer Week, so Bierkraft features breweries from across the island tonight, including Greenport Harbor and Blue Point, starting at 7pm.
Albert Hall Tavern (508 9th Ave., at 39th St., Hell’s Kitchen) hosts a Ballast Point tap takeover tonight starting at 5pm, pouring over ten different brews from San Dee-ahh-go, including Levonian Saison, Abandon Ship Smoked Lager, and the Sculpin IPA. These beers are delicious, but they are filling! Stay classy, New York!
St. Louis’ otherbrewery, Schlafly, visits Barcade Jersey City (163 Newark Ave., at Erie St., Jersey City) tonight. They’ll pour the Export IPA, Oak Aged Barleywine, Yakima Wheat Ale, and lots more starting at 5pm. They’ll also host owners and co-founders Tom Schlafly and Dan Kopman.

Follow us on Twitter for ongoing updates, like us on Facebook to spread the word, and check us out on Foursquare for great lists of beer bars, stores, and breweries!

Happy Hour: Free the Scrapple!

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400

It’s Wednesday, May 16th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

It’s “Battle of the Points” tonight at The Belfry (222 E. 14th St., at 3rd Ave., East Village). Starting at 7pm, Sixpoint, Blue Point, and Ballast Point square off for supremacy among breweries with the word “point” in their names (yes, there are others… let’s call this the finals). They’ll serve up three beers from each brewery all night long.
The Double Windsor (210 Prospect Park West, at 16th St., Windsor Terrace) hosts Founders tonight starting at 7pm. On tap, they’ll pour Curmudgeon’s Better Half, the 2010 Nemesis, the Centennial IPA, and many more. Plus, they’ll be raffling off a bottle of the Canadian Breakfast Stout!
Sly Fox visits The Stag’s Head (252 E. 51st St., at 2nd Ave., Turtle Bay) tonight starting at 6pm, pouring beers like the Dunkel Lager and Odyssey on tap, and Chester County Bitter on cask. Plus, they’ll serve a Pennsylvania culinary favorite - free scrapple at 6pm!
Empire invades Astoria tonight! Sunswick 35/35 (35-02 35th St., at 35th Ave., Astoria) hosts the Syracuse and Brooklyn-based brewery tonight from 7-10pm, with their Cream Ale, Empire Strikes Bock, Liv & Let Rye, and more on tap!
Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village) continues their two-day Pacific Northwest Beer & Oyster Fest. They’ll serve up oysters from the waters of the great Northwest all day today, and pour beers from Elysian, Midnight Sun, Hair of the Dog, and Rogue - including four rare beers from their Chatoe Rogue series, with ingredients sourced from Rogue’s own hopyard and barley farm.
Artisanal Imports visits Taproom 307 (307 3rd Ave., at 24th St., Murray Hill) tonight starting at 6pm. They’ll dedicate some of their taps to a variety of craft brews imported from Belgium, like Tripel Karmeliet and St. Feuillien Saison!
Two Door Tavern (116 N. 5th St., at Berry St., Williamsburg) hosts a Stone Beer Dinner tonight at 7pm. They’ll pair five courses with six beers for $65, plus you’ll get to take a Stone glass home with you! Call Erik at (315) 380-5016 immediately to grab one of the last spots!

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Bronx Brewery teams up to grow hops in the Bronx

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:31:18 -0400

Hops like these in Washington State will take a back seat to local hops in a late-year release by Bronx Brewery.

The Bronx Brewery announced today a partnership with Bronx Green-Up and the Cornell Cooperative Extension to grow hops for their beer at community gardens in the Bronx. 125 Cascade hop plants were planted this spring as the brewery teamed up with the Botanical Garden’s community outreach program and even a local Catholic parish. Community gardeners across the borough will maintain the plants for a harvest at the end of the season. The crop will be used to make a special-release Urban Hop beer come harvest time, with all proceeds from the beer going to the Bronx Green-Up Program to support further growth of community gardening in the Boogie Down.

Historically, New York State was a significant hop-growing region in the United States. Prior to prohibition, Upstate hop farms supplied nearly 90 percent of all the hops grown in the United States. Even as late as the 1920s, our state yielded a large hop harvest that helped supply local brewers. Unfortunately, the effects of prohibition and a hop blight helped bring New York’s hop-growing industry to its knees. Recently, Cornell Cooperative Extension has been making efforts to revive the industry, especially with a renewed focus on local beer and local ingredients.

Steve Miller, the hop expert that Cornell hired last year on to take up this task, was approached by Bronx Brewery’s Damian Brown and Chris Gallant about partnering to grow hops in the Bronx this year. He agreed right away. “What a great idea to capture the flavor of New York City,” Miller explains. “The gardeners are all
excited because hops are such an unusual crop. We have a new industry starting up all over the state, bringing endless nuances of flavor to New York beers and now we even have hops in the Big Apple.”

The hops will be grown across the Bronx, even in the garden of Holy Family Church in Castle Hill, whose priest, Rev. Andrew O’Connor, reached out to Bronx Brewery to help.

Urban hop growing continues to expand, from your neighbors down the block for their homebrew to professional brewers in urban environments around the country. When hops are shipped from halfway around the world, it’s hard to truly celebrate a beer’s localism. This is one step toward making a beer - and everything in it - truly local.

Happy Hour: Oysteriffic

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:30:00 -0400

It’s Tuesday, May 15th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village) kicks off their two-day Pacific Northwest Beer & Oyster Fest. Starting today and noon and running until close tomorrw, they’ll serve up oysters from the waters of the great Northwest, and pour beers from Elysian, Midnight Sun, Hair of the Dog, and Rogue - including four rare beers from their Chatoe Rogue series, with ingredients sourced from Rogue’s own hopyard and barley farm.
The weekly Ten Buck Tasting at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) features Beers of the Northeast! You’ll get six tastings of regional brews for $10, including the Maine Beer Company Peeper Ale, White Birch Tavern Ale, and yes, The Alchemist Heady Topper. The tasting gets underway tonight at 7:30pm.
Celebrate American Craft Beer Week with a Pennsylvania Beer Night at Good Beer (422 E. 9th St., btw. 1st Ave. and Ave. A). Starting at 6:30pm, they’ll offer up discounts on pints and growlers of beers from Weyerbacher, Stoudt’s, and Victory. Plus, get a pint glass with the purchase of any growler!
It’s North Coast Night at Mission Dolores (249 4th Ave., at Carroll St., Park Slope)! Starting at 4pm, they’ll pour the Old Rasputin, Pranqster, Le Merle Saison, the 2011 vintage Old Stock, and more! And they’ll have discounts on pints from 7-10pm!
Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) hosts Harpoon today starting at 4pm. They’ll have over a dozen brews from the Boston-based brewers, including the 2010 Leviathan Barleywine, the Rich and Dan’s Rye IPA, and their 100-Barrel Series Catamount Maple Wheat.
Empire wraps up their two-night event at Upstate (95 1st Ave., at 6th St., East Village) tonight. From 5pm-Midnight, enjoy any of five Empire beers on tap, like White Aphro, Liv & Let Rye, or Empire State Pale Ale, for just $5!
Beer and Chocolate pairings are the subject of this week’s free Tuesday Tasting at Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) tonight at 7pm. You’ll get to sample several different brews with cellar manager Matt Barclay, and pair them with five different chocolates from Taza Chocolate. Get there early for a seat!
The Growler Station (26 W. 8th St., at MacDougal St., Greenwich Village) serves up a free tasting of Kona Longboard Lager to celebrate its new release in cans! Give it a whirl tonight from 5-8pm.
Tickets are still available for the Extrava-Canza tonight at DBGB Kitchen & Bar (299 Bowery, at 1st St., East Village). $80 gets you access to a whole hog feast from 7-10pm. It’s a slow roasted Provencal suckling pig stuffed with tomato, fennel, niçoise olives, and bacon and served with beer braised sauerkraut, grilled asparagus, spring peas, and fingerling potatoes and ramps. So what about the beer? Well, it’s perfectly paired with canned beer from Sixpoint! Buy your tickets here.

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First Look at Pony Bar Upper East Side

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Photo by Jordan F. on Foursquare

The long-awaited Upper East Side spinoff of The Pony Bar swings its doors open to the public today at 3pm. We were lucky enough to check out the place last night, and we can safely say that if you like the Hell’s Kitchen location, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that very little has changed in its second incarnation at The Pony Bar UES (1444 First Ave. at 75th St., Upper East Side).

What can we really say? Everything is pretty much the same here: beer barrels for seating, plus some lower tables and stools along the sides, 20 American craft beers on tap at $5 a piece, 2 cask engines, an identical food menu, friendly bartenders, and an All-American Club (drink 100 different beers, earn a Pony Bar work shirt). The new location uses the same electronic menu boards now in use at the Hell’s Kitchen location, the same type of growler lamps, and yes, there’s a “new beer” bell.

We find nothing wrong with this at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Pony has had plenty of success in Hell’s Kitchen, and this new location might alleviate the crowds at the original location that have given regulars pause.

The only two big differences are the staff and All-American shirts are gray instead of black, and the restrooms are downstairs - which saves a bit of room upstairs for more seating and allow the restrooms to be bigger, too. Even some of the bar staff from the Hell’s Kitchen location are coming over to the East Side, so regulars from across town will be welcomed here with open arms.

We suppose there’s one other difference: this being an Upper East Side bar, Pony Bar UES will probably have an Upper East Side crowd. But given the success of spots like Cafe D’Alsace (1695 2nd Ave., at 88th St., Upper East Side), Earl’s Beer and Cheese (1259 Park Ave., at 97th St., Upper East Side), and City Swiggers (320 E. 86th St., at 2nd Ave., Upper East Side), we’re sure the demand for craft beer is as strong as ever uptown without bringing in too much of the cheap-beer-swigging riff-raff. If by now you still aren’t convinced that it’s worth going to the Upper East Side for craft beer, nothing will get you up here.

At a Glance
The Pony Bar UES (1444 First Ave. at 75th St., Upper East Side)
Hours: Monday-Friday, 3pm-4am, Saturday-Sunday 12 Noon-4am
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Cash
Opened: Tuesday, May 15th
Serving: Beer, wine, and cocktails
Taps: 20, $5 each
Bottles: 2: Bud and Bud Light, $5
Food: Sandwiches and snacks, $4-9
Happy Hour: $1 off, 4:20-5:20pm every day
Growlers: Yes
Best Bet: Short Rib sandwich and a Brooklyn Brewmaster’s Reserve Gold Standard, $14

Happy Hour: Have a Flashback

Mon, 14 May 2012 12:50:40 -0400

It’s Monday, May 14th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

Empire kicks off a two-night event at Upstate (95 1st Ave., at 6th St., East Village) tonight. From 5pm-Midnight, enjoy any of five Empire beers on tap, like White Aphro, Liv & Let Rye, or Empire State Pale Ale, plus six oysters for just $12! And tomorrow, all Empire pints will be $5 from 5pm-Midnight.
As we mentioned earlier today, the Very Special Keg at Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village) tonight is not a keg at all, but rather cans of The Alchemist Heady Topper. They’ll be released at 5pm today, so get there early or you’ll probably get shut out.
A nationwide simultap of the Boulder Flashback India Brown Ale on nitro takes place tonight at 6:20pm (4:20pm MT). Here in New York, Alewife Queens (5-14 51st Ave., at 5th St., Long Island City) and Washington Commons (434 Park Pl., at Washington Ave., Prospect Heights) will be tapping the beer at 6:20 sharp!

Follow us on Twitter for ongoing updates, like us on Facebook to spread the word, and check us out on Foursquare for great lists of beer bars, stores, and breweries!

Review to win two invites to the Google Places Brewskee Ball Tournament!

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:30:00 -0400

photo courtesy of Annie Wong

Few things in the world are better than craft beer. And if you throw in hot dogs and skee-ball, you might have the greatest combination known to mankind.

We here at Brew York, New York like to bring people together over great beer and good times.

That’s why we’re teaming up with Full Circle Bar and Google Places to put together a special version of their famous Brewskee Ball tournament on Wednesday, May 30th. We’d like to give you an opportunity to try your hand at unlimited skee-ball, unlimited drinks, snacks, and maybe even take home a trophy - all just for sharing your opinions (about your favorite beer halls, gardens and bars) on Google Places!

More details and the entry form can be found here. Happy reviewing!

Let the Heady Topper madness begin in New York

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:00:00 -0400

The long wait is over. We mentioned last month that Vermont brewery The Alchemist was planning to ship their much-praised Heady Topper double IPA to New York City, and we’ve confirmed that the shipment of tallboy cans has arrived to Union Beer’s warehouse.

Two huge warnings about this beer: first, it’s obsessed about by beer geeks, so people are going to be going out of their way (and possibly out of their minds) to get this, much to the chagrin of people who just enjoy really, really good beer. Secondly, there is very little of it to go around here in New York. They shipped the same amount of the beer to Boston and Philadelphia in recent months, too, and it went quickly there - and there’s a lot more people here.

In other words, expect to be disappointed. It’ll make getting your hands on a can of this stuff even better.

We’re still waiting for a full list of where the beer will be found, but so far we’ve heard from restaurant Guilty Goose (131 W. 23rd St., at 6th Ave., Chelsea), who’s offering it in cans at their bar, and Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village), who will offer up the cans at 5pm sharp today as part of their weekly “Very Special Keg” series. Get there early, because we don’t expect it to last. In addition, Randolph Beer (343 Broome St., at Bowery, Little Italy) and Top Hops (94 Orchard St., at Broome St., Lower East Side) confirmed they’re getting their shipments this week, too.

And never fear, Westchester! Fans of Heady Topper north of the city can have some at The Craftsman (235 Harrison Ave., at Halstead Ave., Harrison) right now, and will be able to grab some at Birdsall House (970 Main St., at Division St., Peekskill) starting tomorrow.

These are just a few of the many places that will be graced with Heady Topper’s presence. We’ll let you know where else you can get your grubby hands on a can right here when more details come in. Also, follow our Twitter stream for immediate updates!