Good news for folks visiting Governor’s Island for the rest of the summer. An outpost of East Village beer spot ABC Beer Co. has opened on the island, along with food by neighbors Edi & the Wolf. The pop-up, called Governor’s Island Beer Co., will feature all New York City-brewed craft beer (of course), brats, charcuterie, and more to munch on while you soak up sun and drink some beer. The spot is in soft opening now, on the west side of Liggett Terrace. Governor’s Island will be open through October 31st this year.
Two homebrewing competitions are taking place on opposite sides of the city this Saturday, and while it’s obviously too late to compete, you can still reap the benefits by attending and drinking. The first, at Gun Hill Brewingin the Bronx, features close to 30 different homebrewers serving their beers for your enjoyment – sample all you want, meet the brewers, then you get to be the judge of the People’s Choice Award. Yours truly will be there judging the competition, and the winner will get to brew their beer at Gun Hill. The fun gets underway Saturday at 2:30, and tickets are $18.
Down in Brooklyn, Wartega Brewing hosts their Bold Beer Brew-Off on Saturday at 1pm in their tasting room in Industry City. The same rules apply: taste the beers, meet the brewers, and vote for your favorite. The winner gets their beer brewed commercially at Wartega. $10 gets you in the door.
DESTIHL’s new Normal, Illinois brewery (via Facebook)
Illinois-based DESTIHL Brewery makes its New York City debut this week with events across the city. The brewery, founded in 2013, is perhaps best known for its Wild Sour Series, its Dosvidanya Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout, and Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Series, but also makes a wide range of more conventional beers as well. S.K.I. Beer will distribute their beers in New York.
In March, there was a closing that sent ripples through the beer industry in New York. It wasn’t the closing of a brewery or a bar, or even an establishment in New York. Metalcraft Fabrication, an Oregon manufacturer of brewing equipment like brewhouses and fermenters, abruptly shut down in the spring, citing their rapid expansion as one reason for their demise. Overnight, production stopped, employees were laid off, and hopes for new equipment were dashed for more than a dozen brewers across the country.
The shutdown happened while the company was in the midst of building tanks for customers right here in New York, leaving these brewers with unfinished equipment that had already been paid for and whose delivery was dependent on a tight brewery build-out timeline. Among those locally who suffered significant financial setbacks as a result were Barrier, who had planned to increase capacity with a new brewhouse at their Oceanside, Long Island brewery, and Grimm, whose brewhouse was being built for their forthcoming brewery in Brooklyn.
Those two breweries have built a close bond as victims of this incident, salvaging what’s left and finding ways to recover. This new friendship is a beer nerd’s gain, as Grimm and Barrier will come together for a dual can release at Barrier’s brewery and taproom in Oceanside on Saturday, July 22nd. They’ll be releasing two Double IPAs, one brewed by Grimm (with Barrier’s input), and one brewed by Barrier (with Grimm’s input). They’ll also have commemorative Teku glasses that show the unfinished systems. Here’s the lowdown on the beers:
Grimm’s Power Source is brewed with mangos, mosaic hops, and mosaic lupulin powder. Barrier’s Groove Angle is brewed with kiwis and amarillo hops.
The proceeds from the sales of the beers will help both breweries complete their tanks.
Cans will go on sale on the 22nd at noon, and there will be a food truck on site. Limits on can sales will be announced at some point – there’s a page with event details on Grimm’s site.
For the past three months, beer geeks in New York City have been baffled by one question: why did Mikkellerbrew two beers exclusively for the Mets’ home, Citi Field? The beers were brewed in San Diego, yet were sold at the stadium’s Empire State Craft stands, which exclusively sold New York beer. Well, the secret’s out, and now there’s an easy answer: Mikkeller Brewing NYC will be opening at Citi Field.
The brewery will occupy the “South Venue” at Citi Field, a 10,000-square foot space along 126th Street between the Right Field and Bullpen Gates.
The unleased space had previously been used as an event venue for Mets hospitality.
A portion of the space will be dedicated to the 20-barrel brewhouse, fermenters, and canning line – the first brewery Mikkeller has built on their own – a taproom with 60 taps, serving house beers and other brews, plus a kitchen as well. Earlier this spring, the brewery hired a taproom manager and began to establish a stronger brand presence in the city. But this brewery won’t just be about baseball season; it faces outside the stadium and has street access, so it will be open year-round. It’ll mark Mikkeller’s third brick-and-mortar brewing facility, and their second in the US. The Danish outfit also operates the Warpigs brewpub in Copenhagen and a production brewery in San Diego.
Mikkeller NYC EVP Jim Raras said on The 7 Line’s Orange and Blue Thing podcast that the brewery hopes to open by the end of 2017. While the plans get into motion, you can enjoy the Henry Hops IPA and Say Hey Sally Pils around the city, or back at Citi Field when the Mets return home after the All-Star Break next Friday night to face the Rockies – a team whose own stadium, coincidentally, housed the first brewery in an MLB ballpark. A second brewery opened at the Braves’ SunTrust Park this season.
Fourth of July weekend is quickly approaching. What’s more American than drinking beer? Well, considering the Czech Republic consumes nearly twice as much beer per capita as we do, maybe it’s not the most American thing to do, but drinking beer by the barbeque, on a roof, in a backyard, or (legally questionable) in a park or on a beach is a Fourth of July tradition here in New York City. So why not drink New York City beer while you’re in one of those settings this weekend?
Here are some of the beers we’ll likely be drinking this holiday weekend…
