We just spent last night in Philadelphia and shared a couple beers with the owner of the famed Monk’s Cafe, Tom Peters. He told us he brewed a special beer exclusively for Philly Beer Week at Brouwerij de Molen in The Netherlands that’s been aging in whiskey barrels since last October. So now is as good a time as any to remind you that Philly Beer Week is coming up in June. We may be a New York-centric site, but if you can even get down for one day, it’s completely worth it.

Not only does Philly boast a ton of local breweries, but they also have access to some of the nation’s best beer, like lauded brewers Bell’s, Russian River, Furthermore, and for the first time ever on the East Coast - Deschutes… all of which can’t be bought here in New York (here’s why). So if you can get away to Philly sometime between June 1st and 10th, it’ll be well-worth it. You could just enter Southwest Airlines’ Philly Beer Week contest, which includes tickets to two of the biggest events of the week, airfare, hotel, and brunch. Details are on Southwest’s web site.

Meanwhile, we may not have all those fancy breweries, but we’ve got plenty of great beer for you to enjoy this weekend. A rundown of this weekend’s events are below…

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

• KelSo visits Breukelen Bier Merchants (182 Grand St., at Driggs Ave., Williamsburg) tonight for an educational beer event with Urban Oyster. It’s an off-flavor tasting. Learn what makes good beer taste good and what happens when beer goes horribly wrong! The class starts at 7pm. Plus, enjoy beers like KelSo’s Jack Daniels Barrel-Aged IPA, Maple Barrel-Aged Nut Brown, Saison, and more on tap!
  
  
• Standings (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) hosts their Founders Festival tonight starting at 6pm. They’ll be pouring the Old Curmudegon, Double Trouble, Kentucky Breakfast Stout (tapping at 6:10pm), and others, plus serving up free pizza starting at 8pm!
  
  
• The Thursday Tap at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) this week is the Makana Honeysun iQhilika African Chili Mead. Get there are 5pm to try this spicy honey-kissed mead from South Africa!
  
  
• The Growler Station (26 W. 8th St., at MacDougal St., Greenwich Village) hosts a free tasting of Victory tonight from 6-9pm. Get your hands on some Hop Devil and the debut of their summer seasonal blonde ale, Summer Love!
  
  
• Over in Jersey, Allagash takes over the taps at The Iron Monkey (97 Greene St., at York St., Jersey City, NJ). The tap list includes the Bourbon Black, Confluence, Saison Mihm, and many, many more! Things get underway starting at 6pm.

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!

As we mentioned a couple weeks back, the New York City Brewers Guild has officially launched, bringing together professional brewers across the city to support and build the industry here. Even better, they’re even taking over the reins of the next New York Craft Beer Week. But best of all, they’re kicking things off with a big party at Brooklyn Brewery on May 22nd!

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It’s Wednesday, May 9th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

• Brew York, New York (hey, that’s us!) presents our Clues & Brews Trivia Night tonight at 7:30pm at Breukelen Bier Merchants (182 Grand St., at Driggs Ave., Williamsburg). Answer trivia questions (some are even about beer) and win beer while you enjoy some fine craft beers like Carton Boat Beer, Ballast Point Pescadero Pilsner, and the delicious new Spider Bite Eight-Legged RyePA.
  
  
• Head to 61 Local (61 Bergen St., at Smith St., Carroll Gardens) for a cool screening of a new episode of the Eat This NY web series. The episode features Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver, 508 Gastrobrewery’s Anderson Sant’anna De Lima, KelSo’s Kelly Taylor, and Urban Oyster’s David Naczycz as they discuss the importance of craft beer in New York. Enjoy great local beer and check out the screening at 7:30pm, followed by a Q&A.
  
  
• Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village) hosts Captain Lawrence today starting at 3pm, with a bevy of Westchester-brewed beers like Golden Delicious, 5 Years Later, Nor’Easter, and the Wine Barrel Sour Golden, plus some favorites that you know and love… and can now find bottled at your local beer shop!
  
  
• Flying Dog pays a visit to Idle Hands Bar (25 Avenue B, at 2nd St., East Village) for their weekly $10 Bourbon and Beer Tasting Series. From 7-10pm, $10 gets you 2 full beers and a 3-beer tasting flight from the Maryland brewer, plus a taste of whisky, and an order of tater tots!

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!

It seems like a lot of the beer bars that have opened this year have felt generic and stifling: the same list of craft beers, the same pub food, the same lack of uniqueness that some of the more long-standing beer bars in New York have had. Thankfully, Proletariat (102 St. Marks Pl., at 1st Ave., East Village) manages to pull off something that’s completely different and a little bit strange - with its atmosphere and its beer.

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It’s Tuesday, May 8th. Here’s our list of recommended beer-related events in and around New York after work tonight:

• Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) hosts Rogue today starting at 4pm, with over 20 beers on tap including Captain Sig’s Northwestern Ale, Double Dead Guy Ale, Morimoto Imperial Pilsner, and lots more from the Newport, Oregon brewery.
  
  
• The weekly Ten Buck Tasting at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) features Wheat Beers! You’ll get six tastings of some brews with wheat for $10, including the Ayinger Weizenbock, Schneider Hopfen Weisse, and Allagash White. The tasting gets underway tonight at 7:30pm.
  
  
• Saisons are the subject of this week’s Tuesday Tasting at Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) tonight at 7pm. Come have some delicious crisp beers in this free weekly tasting! Get there early for a seat.
  
  
• Hitachino Nest is at Radegast Hall (113 N. 3rd St., at Berry St., Williamsburg) starting tonight at 7:30pm. They’ll be pouring the White Ale, Ginger Brew, the rare 3 Days, and more, along with live music and free snacks!
  
  
• It’s Sierra Nevada Night at One Mile House (10 Delancey St., at Bowery, Lower East Side) starting at 7pm. They’ll be pouring the Summerfest, Hoptimum, Ovila Quad, and more on tap, plus offering up giveaways and free samples!

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!