Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight:

• Because you need to be reminded that there are indeed places much colder than New York City in the winter, Dive Bar (732 Amsterdam Ave., at 96th St., Upper West Side) is having a New York State Tap Takeover tonight, with all their lines dedicated to Saranac, Lake Placid, and Ithaca.
• Southampton breaks out the good stuff tonight at The Gate (321 5th Ave., at 3rd St., Park Slope) starting at 7pm, including a ton of vintage beers. Look for a 2005 Grand Cru, a 2006 Cuvee des Fleurs, and a 2003 Abbot 12. Plus, some old favorites and standard offerings from the South Fork of Long Island.
• Sunswick 35/35 (35-02 35th St., at 35th Ave., Astoria) kicks off the East Coast vs. West Coast Punk Rock Brewery Tour tonight at 7pm, which pits two East Coast breweries, Smuttynose and Victory, against two West Coast breweries, Lagunitas and Ballast Point.

It always seems that beer snobs in New York give Heartland Brewery an especially hard time. Yes, it’s a chain, but it’s a local chain. Yes, they do a steady business with tourists, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. No, they don’t brew their beer on-premises, but the beer is brewed in the city by a respected brewery. Yes, they do a steady business with beer styles that might appeal more to your average Budweiser drinker, but that doesn’t mean all - or any - of their beers are bad.

Heartland’s beers, for those who don’t know, are brewed at Greenpoint Beer Works in Fort Greene, Brooklyn - in the same brewery, on the same equipment, and with the same staff that brews Kelso. The brewmaster is Kelly Taylor, who has been pumping out a consistent product for Heartland since 2003 when they consolidated their brewing operations off-site (he also brewed at one of Heartland’s locations when they brewed on-premises). While beer snobs may thumb their noses at their Indian River Light or Cornhusker Lager, by casting off Heartland’s entire operation, they’re missing out on more refined beers like their Mother’s Milk Maibock and Full Moon Barleywine. Given there’s only a handful of beers that are truly native to New York City, we think it’s best to embrace them, or at least give them a second try.

There’s a good opportunity to do that next month, when Heartland Brewery teams up with Draft Magazine for The Brewmaster’s Feast, a walk-around food and beer pairing event at Heartland Brewery Empire State Building (350 5th Ave., at 34th St., Midtown). Heartland brewers Taylor and Eric Richardson curated the event with Draft’s editor-in-chief Erika Rietz to pair five food items with a handful of Heartland’s beers, including an exclusive Imperial Stout. The event is casual, but the food pairings are decidedly refined, including a char-grilled lamb tenderloin stuffed with spinach and goat cheese, a pepper seared beef tenderloin with mushroom-leek puree and a stout glaze, and a double chocolate hazelnut pudding.

The event, on Tuesday, February 8th from 6:30-9pm, is $50 (which also includes a one-year subscription to Draft) and can be purchased online. It’s also worth noting that the event is limited to 200 attendees, so there won’t be any long lines that you might associate with an all-you-can-eat-and-drink event.

Best of all, for once, you might be able to avoid saddling up to Heartland’s bar next to a businessman in town from Indiana.

Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight:

• The “Shelton Brothers Winter World Tour” is at Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village) starting at 3pm today. It’ll feature over 20 winter seasonal beers from the famed importers. Among the breweries represented: Denmark’s Mikkeller, the UK’s Ridgeway, plus a boatload of Belgian beers, including De Struise’s Struise Tsjeeses.
• Standings (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) celebrates the season tonight at 6pm with their “Wild Wednesday Winterfest.” On tap, they’ll have winter seasonals like Rogue Yellow Snow IPA, Geary’s Winter Ale, Speakeasy Midnight Run, and others yet to be determined. Is there free food? You bet there is… burgers from Paul’s will be served at 7:30.
• Brewery Ommegang hosts a tasting tonight from 6-9pm at The Stag’s Head (252 E. 51st St., at 2nd Ave., Turtle Bay). On tap, they’ll have their winter seasonal Adoration, the sour Zuur, the Belgian-style Scotch Ale Cup O Kyndness, and others, along with tasty treats.
  

Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight:

• Boulder Beer takes over all 20 taps and 2 casks at The Pony Bar (637 10th Ave. at 45th St., Hell’s Kitchen) tonight with an impressive selection, including Bourbon-Barrel Vanilla Porter, Obovoid Stout on nitro, and the Bourbon Barrel Coffee Flashback.
• Across the Hudson in Jersey, it’s Blue Point night at The Shepherd & The Knucklehead (529 Belmont Ave., at Buschmann Ave., Haledon, NJ), with Hoptical Illusion, 10th Anniversary IPA, Toxic Sludge, and more on tap. The fun and giveaways start at 8pm.

In an unsuspecting facade on a quiet Brooklyn street, 61 Local is an understated spot with huge potential.

“Local” has become a buzz word lately. In some cases, it’s been overused. Yes, the locavore movement has certainly made us more aware of the source of our food, but when it comes to craft beer, many bars are far too tempted to bring in far-off, rare beers for the sake of attention. 61 Local (61 Bergen St., at Smith St., Carroll Gardens), on the other hand, may be one spot to live up to its moniker.

You’ll notice the local focus from the second you walk in. A huge map on the wall behind the bar puts Brooklyn in the forefront, and only spans as far north as Vermont and as far south as Pennsylvania. All of the beer they serve comes from our region, and most of it stays even more local than that.

You might notice that Sixpoint Craft Ales is front-and-center on the beer menu, and that’s with good reason: bar owner Dave Liatti did engineering work with Sixpoint, and during the opening week, Sixpoint brewer Ian McConnell was behind the bar serving up the beers he had a hand in.

While still in its soft opening and not yet complete (a full grand opening will take place in mid-February), our first impression of the space is that it’ll live up to the “public house” atmosphere that its creator intended. There’s exposed brick, reclaimed wood floors, big picnic tables made with scrap metal, and glass carboys used as light fixtures (a nice touch that beer geeks and homebrewers will appreciate). The high ceilings make the space feel a bit empty, but it’ll also keep it from feeling too crowded when it is. In the bar area, two big communal tables will be great for congregating and socializing, and the long wood bar leaves plenty of space for ordering a drink. In the more cozy-looking back, a now-empty space with lower ceilings will soon house some couches.

With its communal vibe, curated beer selection, and a focus on celebrating the region’s great beverages, 61 Local has the potential to become one of Brooklyn’s great beer bars. It’s great to know where the beers you’re consuming come from. It’s even better knowing they’ve come from right down the street.

Another quiet Monday night, but here’s a beer-related going-on after work:

• In Brooklyn, The Double Windsor (210 Prospect Park West, at 16th St., Windsor Terrace) will team up with Pretty Things tonight at 8pm for a St. Botolph’s Town Pint Night. It’s simple: buy a pint of St. Botolph’s Town, and keep the glass. In the spirit of all things rustic and vintage, it’s also Vinyl Night at The Double Windsor, where you can play your own vinyl in five-song sets.