It’s Halloween! Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

• Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) hosts Ballast Point tonight starting at 7pm with a big ol’ tap takeover. You can be guaranteed some fresh Sculpin, of course, but also many other surprises, and BP’s man about town, Billy Denniston, will be in the house.
  
  
• Malt & Mold (221 East Broadway, at Clinton St., Lower East Side) hosts a Halloween night tasting of Grimm Artisanal Ales. Sample three of their beers, including the new Going Awry Rye Abbey Ale, from 5-8pm.
  
  
• The Gate (321 5th Ave., at 3rd St., Park Slope) hosts some monstrous beers tonight at 7pm to celebrate the holiday, including a 2010 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine and seven others. They’ll also have an amplified sword demonstration out front, because that’s just how they roll.
  
  
• Brooklyn Tap House (590 Myrtle Ave., at Classon Ave., Bed-Stuy) celebrates Halloween by welcoming Schlafly into the house. Meet brewery staff and enjoy three of their IPAs, plus the Oktoberfest starting at 6pm.
  
  
• The weekly Thursday Tap at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) is a very spooky one - Kyritzer’s Mord & Totschlag (“Murder and Manslaughter”), 7.2% ABV combination of a Baltic Porter and Schwarzbier. It goes on tap at 5pm!

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It’s Wednesday, October 30th. 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., Greenwich Village) celebrates Halloween with a costume party and beer from Avery starting at 3pm and running all night long. Enjoy some intense brews like a 2010 vintage keg of The Beast, the 2011 Samael’s, and the Lilikoi Kepolo on tap.
  
  
• It’s Schrecktober at The Owl Farm (297 9th St., at 5th Ave., Park Slope) tonight starting at 6pm. Enjoy some scary German beers from Freigeist, Mahr’s, The Monarchy, and more - all $2 off from 6-10pm.
  
  
• Shipyard stops by City Swiggers (320 E. 86th St., at 2nd Ave., Upper East Side) tonight from 6-9pm to serve up a tasting of tap beers like Smashed Pumpkin, Smashed Blueberry, and Monkey Fist IPA, and more from bottles!
  
  
• Check out the debut of Goose Island’s Halia and Gillian at Top Hops Beer Shop (94 Orchard St., at Broome St., Lower East Side) tonight starting at 7pm. They’ll both be available in bottles, and they’ll have Lolita, Sofie Paradisi, Bourbon County Coffee Stout, and more on tap!
  
  
• The Stag’s Head (252 E. 51st St., at 2nd Ave., Turtle Bay) hosts Dark Horse tonight, serving 13 brews from Marshall, Michigan, including the 4 Elf Winter Ale, Scotty Karate, Perkulator Coffee, and many more, plus free mushroom croquettes with truffle oil served at 6pm.
  
  
• Speaking of Michigan breweries, Mudville 9 (126 Chambers St., at W. Broadway, Tribeca) hosts New Holland tonight at 5pm. Check out an assortment of beers on tap from this Holland, Michigan-based brewery.
  
  
• Downtown Bar & Grill (160 Court St., at Dean St., Cobble Hill) celebrates Joctoberfest, a beerfest of epic porportions, starting at 5pm. On tap: the Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2010, Brooklyn Monster Ale 2008, Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2009, Founders Backwoods Bastard 2012, and more surprise brews and vintages. Plus, get a raffle ticket for any beer purchased, and win prizes like a bottle of Goose Island King Henry, Westvleteren XII, and other rarities.
  

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram 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.

It was a year ago today that water started pouring into Barrier Brewing’s building in Oceanside, Long Island. The damage they suffered in the wake of Hurricane Sandy was daunting, but they bounced back with the help of fellow brewers and their loyal fans, who have come in droves to their brand-new taproom. But it’s important to remember the past even as they look to the future.

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It’s Tuesday, October 29th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

• The top spot on this month’s Hot List, The Jeffrey (311 E. 60th St., at 2nd Ave., Upper East Side),hosts a Flying Dog tap takeover starting at 4pm at their coffee bar. They’ll have Pineapple Saison, Orchard Ale, Simcoe Single Hop Imperial IPA, and many more on tap all night long!

• Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) hosts Schlafly tonight at 7pm for their free Tuesday Tasting. The Cards aren’t playing tonight, so get there early to enjoy a guided tasting of this St. Louis-based brewery, hosted by Schlafly CEO Dan Kopman.
  
  
• Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) hosts Sierra Nevada for a head-spinning tap takeover today starting at 4pm. They’ll have a whopping 40 taps and two casks of beer from Chico, California, like the Knightro, Foam Pils, DevESTATEtion, Red Ryeot, and many more favorites and rarities. Hold on to your hats.
  
  
• The 508 Gastrobrewery (508 Greenwich St., at Spring St., SoHo) hosts their weekly $5 beer night till 10pm, with brewer Chris Cuzme on the sax with his band, and the debut of his new Skinny Pete® 2x IPA.
  
  
• Bar Catalonia (206 W. 41st St., at 7th Ave., Midtown) continues their series called Boogie Down with The Bronx Brewery, featuring local musicians and their beer. The Markham Group, a jazz ensemble, will perform as you enjoy the Bronx Pale Ale from 6-7:30pm.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram 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.

You might have noticed that beers from Florida’s Cigar City Brewing have been virtually impossible to find in New York for the past couple years. Bottles and kegs of even their flagship Jai Alai IPA  slowly and quietly disappeared last year as they pulled out of New York and Pennsylvania to better serve their home state of Florida, where demand was outpacing supply. But good things come to those who wait, and thanks to nearly doubling their output this year, Cigar City’s beers have returned to New York this month. Here’s what they brought back and a few places to find it.

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From this morning’s chill in the air, it’s pretty clear that winter is well on its way. But where are the winter beers? I mean, it’s already less than two months before the official start of winter, and there isn’t much winter beer on the shelves!

Well, we’re not complaining, because you’re probably familiar with our opinions on seasonal beer creep, but we may have discovered one of the only reasons to be thankful for the Federal Government Shutdown. Before a new beer can be distributed, its label - even something as simple as a keg collar - must be approved by the Tax and Trade Bureau. During the shutdown, the label approval process went dark, leaving breweries who submitted labels for winter seasonal beers before the shutdown facing delays, and leaving those who planned to submit during the shutdown without a working system to do so.

Now, despite a two-and-a-half week backlog of labels to approve, the TTB is still approving labels at the same rate as before the shutdown. In fact, they approved 248 beer labels in the first week after the shutdown, compared to 287 in a similar week prior to the shutdown. Now, a two-week waiting period becomes a four-week waiting period, and that winter beer doesn’t get out the door as quickly. Which is why it’s nearly November 1st and we haven’t seen much winter beer on shelves. So, while Congress can’t seem to be capable of doing anything else, they managed to put a brief pause in the beer industry’s maddening seasonal creep.

Oh, but don’t worry - Samuel Adams, always the brewer who always sets the pace for seasonal creep, had their Winter Lager label approved before the shutdown.

Meanwhile, there’s still plenty of fall beer activities to enjoy over the next couple days. Here’s our rundown for the last weekend of October.

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