It’s a good week to be a beer geek in New York. Sure, you might know the basics of how beer is made and where it comes from, but why not go a step further? You could be a beer guinea pig, or learn about dry-hopping or yeast strains. We’ve got three ways to do that this week.

The first is an event called “The Battle of the Batches” tonight from 7-9pm at Idle Hands Bar (25 Avenue B, at 2nd St., East Village). We’ll be on hand with Radiant Pig as they roll out two versions of their flagship beer, Junior IPA. Since beer is always evolving, their second batch of the brew is a bit different from the first batch. We’ll discuss the differences, let you taste both, and choose your favorite. $10 gets you eight ounces of each batch, and then a full pint of your favorite. Just think: your opinion could help shape the beer they brew for years to come!

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

• A visit from Quebec’s Dieu du Ciel! at Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., Greenwich Village) kicks off today at 3pm. Enjoy some of the province’s finest beers, like the Péché Bourbon Imperial Coffee Stout aged in bourbon barrels, Pénombre Black IPA, Mea Culpa Cream Ale, Solstice d'Hiver barleywine, and many more on tap!
  
  
• Speakeasy and The Double Windsor (210 Prospect Park West, at 16th St., Windsor Terrace) team up for a Girl Scout cookie and beer pairing tonight at 7pm. They’ll pair the Black & White Cookie Milk Stout with Thin Mints, the Tallulah Blonde with Lemonades, the Old Godfather Barleywine with Samoas, and more!
  
  
• The Pony Bar (637 10th Ave. at 45th St., Hell’s Kitchen) hosts Sly Fox brewmaster Brian O'Reilly tonight at 6:30pm. Meet the man who’s the namesake of their silky smooth nitro stout.
  
  
• ABC Beer Co. (96 Avenue C, at 6th St., East Village) hosts a fundraiser for SKIP of New York tonight at 7pm. Enjoy a selection of crowd-pleasing beers paired with cheeses! Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the door.
  
  
• Taproom 307 (307 3rd Ave., at 24th St., Murray Hill) hosts Oskar Blues tonight at 6pm. Grab some Colorado (and North Carolina) goodness, like the world-famous Dale’s Pale Ale.
  
  
• City Swiggers (320 E. 86th St., at 2nd Ave., Upper East Side) hosts a Chimay tasting tonight from 6-9pm. Try the Cinq Quents, and grab some of the Premiere Rouge, Grand Reserve, and 150th Anniversary before they’re done!
  

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Each week, the New York-based Beer Sessions Radio airs from the backyard of Roberta’s (261 Moore St., at Bogart St., Bushwick). The program, hosted by Jimmy Carbone of Jimmy’s No. 43, discusses the beer industry each week with guests from around the region and around the world. Here’s what you missed this week:

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It’s Tuesday, April 23rd. 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) features Ballast Point tonight at 7pm for their free Tuesday Tasting. Enjoy some beers from California with your host, Ballast Point’s man about town in NYC, Billy Denniston.
  
  
• This week’s Tuesday Tasting at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) features Wild Ales with host Mike Lovullo! $20 gets you six tastings of beers like the Bruery Saison De Lente and Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood. Things get underway at 7:30pm.
  
  
• It’s a Battle of the Importers today starting at 4pm at  Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown), as they pit the beers of Belukus Distributors against Artisinal Imports. Either way, you win, with beers from the likes of Meantime, La Trappe, Belhaven, and Timmermans.
  
  
• Radegast Hall (113 N. 3rd St., at Berry St., Williamsburg) calls their Tuesday Tasting tonight “April Sours.” Starting at 7pm, enjoy a flight of sour beers along with live music from the Rad Trads.
  
  
• Ulysses’ Folk House (58 Stone St., at Pearl St., Financial District) psychs up for summer with Sixpoint tonight from 5-7pm. Get in on some Sweet Action, in the figurative and literal sense.

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.

By now, you probably know about the city’s breweries that are open to the public: there’s Brooklyn Brewery and Singlecut Beersmith’s boisterous taprooms on weekends, the rooftop at Birreria at Eataly, the nanobrews at Rockaway Brewing, the low-key meals at the 508 Gastrobrewery, and the riverside vistas at Chelsea Brewing Company. But there’s a whole world of breweries just beyond the five boroughs that are easy to access by commuter rail and make ideal weekend day trips. Here’s four of our favorites, along with handy directions by train for a Saturday visit…

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

• It’s VSK (Very Special Keg) Monday at Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., Greenwich Village). At 5pm, they’ll tap a rare or unique keg of the bar’s choosing. This week, it’s the Lagunitas Waldo’s Special Ale, a boozy IPA with skunky, resinous hops.
  
  
• Beer Table Pantry (Grand Central Terminal, Graybar Passage, Midtown) hosts a free sampling of beer from Ballast Point tonight from 5-7pm. Stop in on your way to the train for some Big Eye IPA, then get yourself a growler to take home.
  
  
• Alewife (5-14 51st Ave., at 5th St., Long Island City) continues their Mikeller Beer Week tonight from open to close. They’ll pour five beers from their Yeast Series, plus the Orange You Glad I Said Yuzu Porter, Rauch Pils, and a ton more - 18 beers in all!
  
  
• Over in New Jersey, The Iron Monkey (97 Greene St., at York St., Jersey City, NJ) celebrates the New Jersey debut of Cleveland-based Great Lakes Brewing Co. tonight starting at 5pm. They’ll pour the Commodore Perry IPA, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Elliot Ness Amber Lager, and more.

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.