Here’s what’s brewing on the beer scene this week in New York and beyond:

• Greenpoint’s Anella hosts Brooklyn Brewery beer dinner August 2nd
• Another media outlet doesn’t understand what a beer garden is [Complex Mag]
• Meanwhile, NY Press gets it; insists La Birreria is not a beer garden
• Food + Wine wraps up Eleven Madison Park/Brooklyn Brewery beer dinner
• Midtown is discovering the convenience of growlers [DNAInfo]
• Sixpoint nano-kegs lauded by package design experts [The Dieline]
• This is how you run a food festival on Governors Island [Serious Eats]
• Fill up your gas tank and your growler at Buffalo-area Sunocos [Buffalo News]
• Is beer good for runners? [Beer Runner]

If you’re not familiar with Yard House, it’s a chain of restaurants around the country that are known for their expansive beer selection, food, and classic rock playlist. The chain started in Southern California - a place not known for its beer - after its founder moved from Denver - a place quite well-known for its craft beer - in the 1990s. Most of their locations are in California, and their nearest location to New York is four hours up in the road in Dedham, Massachusetts.

But that’s about to change.

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Since d.b.a. co-owner Ray Deter’s tragic death earlier this month, we’ve seen an outpouring of support and a celebration of his life in the form of a Second Line March. On August 1st, there will be a final tribute to Ray, in the form of a big bash at his Brooklyn bar. Everyone’s invited, and it’s for a good cause.

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Among the options at the to-go stand at Laurelwood Public House in Portland’s Terminal E are sandwiches, water, juices, and… beer!

When I came back from Portland, Oregon on Tuesday night, I took six 22-ounce bottles of great local beer home with me that I can’t get here in New York. Among the brews were Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA, Laurelwood Free Range Organic Red, and Bridgeport Stumptown Tart. But I didn’t check a bag.

How did I do it?

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It’s too hot to stay in. I may have to retreat to an air-conditioned bar tonight. Here are the beer-related goings-on after work in and around New York:

• There’s a free tasting of Oskar Blues tonight at Whole Foods Bowery Beer Room (95 E. Houston St., at Chrystie St., Lower East Side) from 5-8pm. Enjoy free samples of Dale’s Pale Ale, Gubna, Old Chub, and many more all on tap.
• Pretty Things is front and center at Barcade (388 Union Ave., at Ainslie St., Williamsburg) tonight starting at 5pm, with six beers on tap including American Darling, Field Mouse’s Farewell, and Fluffy White Rabbits, plus founders Dann and Martha Paquette in the house.
• Blue Point takes over the taps at Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) tonight at 7pm, with the Hoptical Illusion, Toxic Sludge, ESB, and more on tap, plus a cask of the No Apologies Imperial IPA.
• Standings (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) throws their Sierra Nevada Summerfest tonight at 6pm, appropriately. They’ll have Torpedo Extra IPA, the Ovila Dubbel, and Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale on tap along with others, plus free brats from Wechsler’s.
• Finally, as we mentioned earlier, The Iron Monkey (97 Greene St., at York St., Jersey City, NJ) hosts Sixpoint Craft Ales tonight at 6pm, serving their Spice of Life Series - Chinook pale ale, plus Brevity Wheat and the Mad Scientists Series #4 - Hibiscus Ale.

There is no style that’s seen as much popularity among American craft beers as the India Pale Ale. That’s because it’s the most easy to identify; once you’ve tasted an IPA, you have a pretty good idea what hops smell and taste like. While many beer drinkers are keen on the fact that its flavor and aroma impart a distinct hoppiness, what they might not know is that different varieties of hops produce very distinct and different tastes and aromas.

Sixpoint Craft Ales looks to enlighten the masses with their new Spice of Life Series, which will produce a new pale ale every month that pays homage to a particular hop variety.

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