Less than a month ago, I mentioned that the Financial District was always lacking some good craft beer options. Now, it has two.

There’s a small chain of bars in the British Isles under The Porterhouse Brewing Co. umbrella, based in Dublin with a brewery that brews beer exclusively for their locations that include one in Covent Garden in London and a handful of bars around Dublin. Now, they’ve made their first foray into the US market with a beautiful location inside the newly-renovated Fraunces Tavern, calling it The Porterhouse Brewing Company at Fraunces Tavern (54 Pearl St., at Broad St., Financial District). While the tavern itself won’t be in full operation until the 17th, we got to check out the place this week.

What stands out the most is the space. The building is one of the oldest structures in Manhattan, and the renovation did a great job to make the place look as rustic and colonial as possible while giving everything a glossy finish. The lighting is dim, but not painfully so. The furniture has old-school touches without falling apart. And the only odd-looking touch is in the bench seating, which is coating in some sort of animal skin pattern that looks like it belongs in an Old West barbeque joint. There’s plenty of seating, though, and two full bars with plenty of tap lines for thirsty beer drinkers.

So far, those taps aren’t pouring out a lot of the Porterhouse’s house beers, but the Oyster Stout and Porterhouse Red - both poured on nitro - were good, solid Irish-style beers. Beyond their own beers, however, is where the Porterhouse shows it quickly adapted to American tastes. On tap, they’re pouring European imports alongside American craft beers from Sixpoint, Victory, and Dogfish Head, and their huge craft bottle list includes dozens of options from breweries like Lagunitas, Heavy Seas, Hitachino, and Troegs.

We’re sure there’s plenty more to see here once the space is fully open and they’re serving food, but it’s worth checking out for the beer alone in the meantime. And if you’re trying to cut back on beer in the New Year, just stare at this cabinet in the hallway connecting the two bars:

Is it time for another one of these already? Cask beer expert Alex Hall of Gotham Imbiber has curated another festival this weekend at d.b.a. Brooklyn (113 N. 7th St., at Berry St., Williamsburg). It’ll feature 15 casks from various breweries both American and imported. All are poured at a low price and can be order by the pint or half-pint.

Among the selections Alex previewed for me earlier this week on his list scribbled on scratch paper: local casks Greenport Harbor Antifreeze and Barrier Brewing Cairn, Quebec’s own Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel, and the Stillwater/Mikkeller Our Side. The full list is posted on his site.

The casks get tapped today at 1pm and they’re on until they’re gone on Sunday. It’s first come, first served, obviously, so come early for the best selection. You don’t want them to run out.

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

• Brouwerij Lane (78 Greenpoint Ave., at Franklin St., Greenpoint) hosts Greenport Harbor Brewing tonight starting at 7pm. They’ll have some tasty winter beers on tap like Antifreeze (an Old Ale) and their Duck Porter, plus a cask of their Disorient IPA and a special beer that they say “no one has ever tasted” - including them.
• For those feeling lost without a new episode of Brewmasters, Bronx Ale House (216 W. 238th St., at Broadway, Kingsbridge) will be pouring plenty of rare beers from Dogfish Head tonight starting at 6pm. Among the six kegs they’ll tap: Bitches Brew, Olde School Barleywine, and Red & White, a Belgian wit brewed with Pinot Noir juice.
• The Half-Pint (76 W. 3rd St., at Thompson St., Greenwich Village) honors their first featured brewery of 2011: Lagunitas. They’ll host a promotion at 6pm tonight, pouring brews like Czech Pils, Brown Shugga, and their IPA.
• Whole Foods Bowery Beer Room (95 E. Houston St., at Chrystie St., Lower East Side) hosts a Jever and Gaffel tasting tonight from 5-8pm, and they’ll throw in some free glassware on a first-come, first-serve basis. Then, come back tomorrow when they say they’ll have bottles of Goose Island Rare Bourbon County Stout in stock. (Did I bury the lead there? Yes. Did I do it intentionally? Maybe.)

It may seem like blasphemy to native New Yorkers, but “the official beer of the clam” is coming to the city starting later this month. Narragansett Beer, based in Rhode Island but brewed in Rochester, will begin distribution through Union Beer in late January.

Since I am a native of Rhode Island, this is probably much bigger news to me than anyone else, but Narragansett provides another option for the budget-conscious drinker that still wants a good-tasting beer. While I’m not one to judge a beer by other people’s reviews, their Lager is one of the highest-rated American Adjunct Lagers on Beer Advocate with more than 100 reviews (B-). They’ve also got a Light version of their lager that’s easy-drinking. They both come in classy, old-fashioned 16-ounce tallboy cans.

In addition, Narragansett has been rolling out seasonals recently, including a big, roasty Porter that clocks in at 7% ABV, a spring Bock based on a 1930s-era recipe, and an Oktoberfest lager called Fest that took home a silver at the World Beer Championship last year.

A bit of history on Narragansett: the brand went under in the early 1980s after being purchased by Falstaff, and wasn’t brewed for nearly 25 years until a group of Rhode Island-based investors purchased the brand and brought it back from the dead. Since then, they’ve experienced some pretty robust success up in New England, and now distribute as far south as North Carolina and Florida.

I know New Yorkers scoff at most things from New England, but when it shows up on store shelves later this winter, this beer might be worth giving a try… even if it was The Official Beer of the Boston Red Sox.

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

• Head to Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) to get your first taste of the new Mikkeller/Stillwater Artisinal Ales collaboration: Our Side, a hybrid of Mikkeller’s Stateside IPA and Stillwater’s Stateside Saison. They’ll be tapping one of only three firkins in the nation tonight at 6pm.
• Up in Peekskill, it’s Westchester’s first chance to try out New Hampshire’s White Birch Brewing at Birdsall House (970 Main St., at Division St., Peekskill). Starting at 6pm, they’ll be pouring their Oak-Aged Tripel, Hooksett Ale, and Belgian Pale Ale. They will also tap a cask of Captain Lawrence Imperial IPA, and they’ll have a charcuterie pairing with each beer.
• Across the Hudson, head to Cloverleaf Tavern (395 Bloomfield Ave., at Hanford Pl, Caldwell) for an event featuring Jersey’s own River Horse Brewing Company. They’ll have three taps, including their Tripel and Special Ale, plus a firkin of Hop Hazard. The fun gets underway at 5:30.
• Back in town, Ulysses’ Folk House (58 Stone St., at Pearl St., Financial District) Smuttynose as part of their Tuesday tasting series tonight from 5-7pm, featuring their Winter Ale, Baltic Porter, S'muttonator, and several others.

It was early in 2006 when Captain Lawrence Brewing Company got its Federal approval for its first beer. Now, five years later, it presents 5 Years Later, a “deep dark and hoppy” beer we don’t yet know much about, but we can share brewer Scott Vaccaro’s description on the label that got Federal approval last week:

Five years later, I look back at all we have gone through to get where we are today and I smile. It has been an amazing journey in one of the greatest industries in the world. We have met a ton of new friends, all in the name of great beer! This beer was brewed to celebrate all the great times we have had and plan on having in the future. Brewed with five different malts and five hop varieties this deep, dark and hoppy ale is meant to be enjoyed with friends. Straight from the captain’s cellar to yours, we hope you enjoy!

When we know more about the release of this beer, which we’ll see in 750mL bottles and on draft, we’ll be sure to let you know!