It’s Wednesday, December 12th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

• As we mentioned earlier, Alewife (5-14 51st Ave., at 5th St., Long Island City) will be the only place in New York where you’ll be able to try ten of the Stone Vertical Epic beers in one room. Alewife tapped the 03.03.03, 04.04.04, 05.05.05, 06.06.06, 07.07.07, 08.08.08, 09.09.09, 10.10.10, 11.11.11, and the new 12.12.12, and while some may be gone by tonight, you should still give them a visit, because they’ll also be pouring other Stone beers, including the Ruination IPA, a cask of Smoked Porter, the hard-to-spot Lukcy Basartd, and more!
  
  
• Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., Greenwich Village) is hosting their own Vertical Epic tasting today, dating back to the 2005 release. Things started at noon, but they plan to have 05.05.05, 06.06.06, 07.07.07, and 08.08.08 available for individual pours from bottles, and 09.09.09, 10.10.10, 11.11.11, and 12.12.12 on tap, as long as they last.
  
  
• Astoria Bier & Cheese (34-14 Broadway, at 35th St., Astoria) celebrates their official grand opening tonight at 7pm. They’ll have unlimited sampling of select draft beers and amazing cheeses, plus their debut of the Stone Vertical Epic 12.12.12, too!
  
  
• It’s a “Once in 100 Years” Beer Tasting with Brooklyn Brewery tonight at Beer Boutique (497 Union Ave., at Meeker Ave., Williamsburg). From 6-9pm, taste a vintage Black Chocolate Stout, The Companion, Blast!, and the brand-new Brewmaster’s Reserve beer, There Will Be Black.
  
  
• Celebrate 12/12/12 with Empire Brewing at Kupersmith (49 Clinton St., at Stanton St., Lower East Side) tonight starting at 7pm. Enjoy some tasty beers from Upstate and some cool giveaways!
  
  
• It’s a Winter Wonderland at Idle Hands Bar (25 Avenue B, at 2nd St., East Village) as their weekly $10 Bourbon and Beer Tasting Series is dedicated to Winter beers! Enjoy beers like Victory Yakima Glory, Great Divide Hibernation, and Abita Christmas. From 7-10pm, $10 gets you 2 full beers, a 3-beer tasting flight, a taste of whisky, and an order of tater tots!

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It’s been a long time coming, but today is 12.12.12, and there’s a couple of big reasons why this day is important for beer lovers. First, the final beer in the series of Stone Vertical Epic beers, 12.12.12, isn’t just named for today’s date. It marks the intended date of the “Vertical Epic Tasting,” where their annual releases from 02.02.02 to 12.12.12 are to be consumed. Today is also the day that the rare Trappist beer Westvleteren XII is released at retail in the United States for the very first time.

Here’s where you can partake in these festivities today:

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It’s Tuesday, December 11th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

• The Pony Bar UES (1444 First Ave. at 75th St., Upper East Side) hosts Green Flash tonight at 6pm, with ten tap lines including the rare Green Bullet, Cedar Plank Pale Ale, and American Strong Ale!
  
  
• Good Beer (422 E. 9th St., btw. 1st Ave. and Ave. A) hosts Dogfish Head tonight at 6:30pm. Come by for a tap blowout that includes Bitches Brew, Hellhound on My Ale, Midas Touch, and the incomparable 120 Minute IPA.
  
  
• On paper, this sounds like a bad idea, but at The Owl Farm (297 9th St., at 5th Ave., Park Slope) hosts an Imperial Stout Takeover tonight at 6pm. Enjoy lots of big, dark beers like Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer, Ballast Point Indra Kunindra, and many more! They’ll be priced nicely until 10pm.
  
  
• This week’s free Tuesday Night Tasting at Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) features beers from KelSo! Meet local brewer Kelly Taylor as he discusses his lineup of fresh beer from just down the street. The tasting kicks off at 7pm.
  
  
• It’s Ballast Point Night at Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) starting at 4pm. They’ll pour several brews from the California brewery, including Piper Down Scottish Ale, Serrano Pale Ale, Abandon Ship Smoked Lager, and lots more surprises all night long!

• This week’s Ten Buck Tasting at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) celebrates beers of Belgium from Shelton Brothers importers. $10 gets you six tastings of brews like Drie Fonteinen Beersel Blonde, De la Senne Taras Boulba, and De Ranke XX Bitter. Things get underway at 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!

It’s Monday, December 10th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

• Beer Table Pantry (Grand Central Terminal, Graybar Passage, Midtown) hosts KelSo beer in their weekly series of visits this month, tonight from 5-7pm. Before you catch the train, grab a sample or a growler of the Nut Brown Lager!
  
  
• 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 Wet-Hopped Lagunitas Dogtown Pale Ale, chock full of fresh Simcoe and Citra hops.
  
  
• Beer Authority (300 W. 40th St., at 8th Ave., Hell’s Kitchen) pits Christmas beers against Hanukkah beers tonight. In the Christmas corner: Delirium Noel and Golden Carolus Noel. In the Hanukkah corner: Shmaltz’s He'brew Jewbelation Sweet 16 and Hop Manna IPA. Whose beer will rein supreme?

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!

For folks in Astoria, and a team of hard-working brewery employees, this weekend marks the end of the wait. Singlecut Beersmiths, the third brewery to begin operations in Queens this year, will open its taproom (pictured above) on Saturday at noon for the first time. They’ll be pouring two of their beers, the Dean PNW Mahogany Ale and the 19-33 Lagrrr!, for samples and growler fills. And local councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. will be on hand to celebrate as well, showing the groundswell of local support this brewery has to succeed. In a week or so, their beer will be available well beyond the brewery walls… but for now, swing by to welcome them to the neighborhood!

If you’re afraid to venture out to Astoria, there are plenty of other great beer events this weekend. Here’s our rundown.

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For the first time in its history, Westvleteren XII, the highly-regarded Trappist Quad from Belgium that’s considered one of the best beers in the world, will be available at retail locations in the U.S. this week in 22 states. The six-pack of 33cl bottles, which will also include two goblets, carries a suggested retail price of $85, but it sure beats making reservations with the Abbey and traveling to the Belgian countryside.

Shelton Brothers, who’s importing the beer for distribution in the U.S., has announced which retail locations will be carrying the six-packs, which will be available starting next Wednesday, December 12th, and we’ve compiled a list of all the stores who will be carrying it locally.

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