There’s a lot going on over on North 11th Street in Brooklyn these days. Some of the happenings at Brooklyn Brewery are pretty obvious to see - like the massive 200-barrel fermenters above that were craned into their newly-expanded space last week. This was one of 17 (!) new tanks at the brewery to complete its multi-million dollar expansion that will let them brew a whole lot more beer in Brooklyn.

Other happenings at the brewery are a little less obvious, like the new book that brewmaster Garrett Oliver is about to publish, and the accompanying new beer that will be brewed to celebrate its release…

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Now, go out there and drink some IPAs! And while you’re at it, use the #IPADay hashtag on Twitter so we can tell the world there’s more to beer than fizzy, yellow water!

Happy International IPA Day! Today, we celebrate the styles of IPA, new and old, that let the magical fruits of the hop vine shine through in beer.

For those curious about the origins IPA, or India Pale Ale, here’s a quick refresher: the style was invented in the 1830s in England as a heavily-hopped (with East Kent Golding hops) brew popular among voyagers to India on East India Company ships. Contrary to popular belief, it was neither stronger nor heavily-hopped to survive the voyage to India; the style was just suited quite well to the hot climate of the East Indies.

Years went by, and in the American craft beer movement, West Coast brewers became especially enamored with the hops grown in the Pacific Northwest. The American IPA became especially prevalent in the past few years, using hops with high Alpha Acid levels, which produce more slap-in-the-face bitterness than the old-school English IPAs. Thus began the New World-Old World battle: who’s better at brewing IPAs? The Americans or the Brits? That battle continues today, taking on the form of two events at two New York City bars tonight.

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Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight in and around New York:

• Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village) goes nuts over Pilsners today for their monthly Style Event. All day and night, enjoy several pilsners from locally and abroad, including Southern Tier Farmer’s Tan, Coney Island Mermaid Pils, Mikkeller Dream Pils, and Einbecker Pils.
• Captain Lawrence is at The Double Windsor (210 Prospect Park West, at 16th St., Windsor Terrace) tonight starting at 7pm, with Kaptain’s Kolsch, Ginger Man Ale, Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA, and more on tap.

And remember, for more updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

We know you rely on us for news about new beers being available, or the annual return of seasonal beers to our city, but after seeing what we’ve seen this week, we have to draw the line somewhere.

You see, we’ve noticed that seasonal beers keep creeping up earlier and earlier - to the point where it’s hard to find them halfway into the season.

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Here are the beer-related goings-on after work in and around New York tonight:

• Smuttynose is at Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) starting at 3pm today and all night long, with the 2010 Wheat Wine and Baltic Porter, the Finestkind IPA, and the Noonan Black IPA named in honor of the late Vermont Pub & Brewery founder Greg Noonan. Oh, they’ll have other beers, too, but those alone will make your night.
• Wandering Star is at Bierkraft (191 5th Ave., at Berkeley Pl., Park Slope) tonight at 7pm for their free weekly tasting. They’ll have Raindrop Pale Ale, Mild at Heart, Alpha Pale, and more on tap, and Chris Cuzme and Alex Hall from the brewery will speak.
• Shmaltz takes the taps at Valhalla (815 9th Ave., at 54th St., Hell’s Kitchen) tonight at 7pm, with nine beers on tap, including the rare Barrel-Aged Human Blockhead. They’ll also have their He'Brew Origin, 2010 Rejewvenator, Sword Swallower, and more.
• Knights of Bruklyn Homebrewers Sentry Homebrewing Competition returns tonight at Union Hall (702 Union St. at 5th Ave., Park Slope). While the brewers’ spots were taken months ago, you can taste the homebrews in the contest for free tonight while snacking on cheese from Stinky Bklyn. The sampling and judging get underway at 7pm.

And remember, for more updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.