I got my hands on one of the first pours of the latest beer in Brooklyn Brewery’s Brewmaster’s Reserve series last night at South 4th Bar’s Belgtoberfest. Meet Cuvée Noire, a delicious Belgian Black Ale that’s fruity on the nose as much as it’s roasty and malty on the palate. The brewery describes it as “a Belgian dark ale made with German two-row pilsner malt, British chocolate malt, British black malt, American black barley, and German Perle and Slovenian Aurora hops.” It’s a study in contrast, as the Belgian yeast gives off fruity tones while the variety of dark malts provide a toasty and nutty flavor. The beer is a big but drinkable 8.7% ABV… tame in comparison to the last Brewmaster’s Reserve beer, Detonation, which clocked in at 10.2% ABV.
The beer officially releases on October 25th at a private event, but in the meantime, you can spend your time hunting down their 2010 Black Chocolate Stout, which released last Monday at The Chocolate Room and will slowly start making its way around the city over the next couple of weeks as we gear up for colder weather and darker beers.
Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight:
Naturally, as you might have assumed, we’re headed to Barcade(388 Union Ave., at Ainslie St., Williamsburg) tonight to celebrate their 6th anniversary with an epic beer list and free food. We were, of course, burying the lede by not calling out Full Sail’s New York debut. The Oregon-based brewery will have their IPA on tap at the event tonight. But don’t miss the other beers, like the massive 16.2% ABV BEAST from Avery and the brand-new Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10.
Brooklyn Brewery will be in the house starting at 5pm at Spring Lounge(48 Spring St., at Mulberry St., Little Italy) as bar of the bar’s “I Love New York Beer” Week. Among the beers they’ll be pouring are Detonation Ale, Post Road Pumpkin, and the just-released 2010 edition of Black Chocolate Stout.
If you like American-brewed Belgian-style beers, check out “Belgtoberfest” at South 4th Bar & Grill(90 S. 4th St., at Berry St., Williamsburg) tonight starting at 7pm. They’ll have an assortment of Belgian-style ales from Allagash, Green Flash, Sly Fox, and the debut of Brooklyn Brewery’s new Cuvée Noire - part of their Brewmasters Reserve series. And why not throw in something German? They’ll have free bratwursts and sausages from 7-9pm.
Dive 75(101 W. 75th St., at Columbus Ave., Upper West Side) will pay homage to Lakewood, New York’s Southern Tier Brewing Co. tonight at 7pm with a tasting of the brewery’s beers and complementary cheeses.
For a taste of Vermont, head to Hop Devil Grill(129 St. Marks Pl., at Ave. A, East Village) for Long Trail night, where they’ll have Double Bag, Harvest Ale, plus the Imperial IPA and Imperial Porter from their Brewmaster Series. With the giveaways they’re expecting, freeloaders could grab some free brewery schwag; I can tell you that I’ve had a Long Trail bottle opener on my keychain since 2004 and it’s still going strong.
Lest we forget Staten Island, where The Wild Goose(530 Forest Ave., at Davis Ave., Staten Island) will host some special visitors from Long Island to serve up a selection of Blue Point beers tonight starting at 7pm, including Oktoberfest, Pumpkin Ale, and Hoptical Illusion.
Just days before leaving New York in November of 2004, my roommate told me of a bar that had just opened just a few blocks south of our apartment.
He described it as accurately as he could: “it’s a huge space with an amazing beer list, a pool table, and - oh, get this - a ton of video games from the 80s that you can play for a quarter a piece. You have to check it out!”
I flat-out didn’t believe him. No bar could have all that. But on my very last weekend in New York City before what would be a brief move to the craft beer mecca of Vermont, I saw for myself that he wasn’t kidding. It was real. It was amazing. And its name was Barcade.
At the time, most of what I knew about good beer I learned from Brooklyn Brewery and Mugs Alehouse - certainly good sources, but I had a lot to learn. I was still a craft beer greenhorn. But upon my first visit, I knew I had finally found a place that would satisfy the needs of beer geeks like me yet also open the eyes of video game geeks to craft beer.
That was then. This is now. Today, more mature and respected than ever, Barcade(388 Union Ave., at Ainslie St., Williamsburg) celebrates its sixth anniversary with an epic tap list that encompasses some big beers and the great breweries that have occupied their tap lines since 2004:
Allagash Hugh Malone - 8.5% ABV - Belgian style IPA Avery the BEAST - 16.2% - Watch out for the BEAST! Ballast Point Rocktoberfest - 5.7% - German style Oktoberfest Brooklyn “Oak Aged” Black Ops - 11.6% - Imperial Stout, aged in oak at the brewery, served on cask Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious - 10.0% - Belgian Tripel aged in apple brandy barrels Coney Island Geektoberfest - ???% - barrel aged blend of 3 strong beers by Shmaltz Brewing Dogfish Head Bitches Brew - 9.0% - limited release Imperial Stout Fisherman’s Imperial Pumpkin Stout - 11.0% - double the pumpkin Founders Old Curmudgeon - 9.8% - English style Old Ale Full Sail IPA - 6.0% - the long awaited NYC debut Great Divide 16th Anniversary - 10.0% - Imperial IPA aged in French and American oak Harpoon Triticus - 11.5% - dark Wheat Wine Hill Farmstead Ephraim - 10.5% - Imperial IPA from Vermont Ithaca Twelve - 10.0% - Belgian style Quadrupel Rogue John John Dead Guy - 7.0% - Dead Guy Ale aged in Dead Guy whiskey barrels Schlafly Heavy Toast - 10.2% - oak aged Barleywine Sixpoint Sweet Re-action - 6.9% - it’s back… again! Smuttynose Rouge D'Shire - 5.0% - Sour Ale brewed with wild yeast Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 - ???% - Version 10.10.10 Victory Moonglow - 8.7% - German style Weizenbock Victory Saison Du BUFF - 6.8% - Saison, special release, brewed in collaboration with Dogfish Head and Stone
If you get there when they open at 3pm (get a job, you bum), they’ll have free burgers and hot dogs from the grill. They’re also debuting new Barcade merchandise tonight that you can carry around in style to say yes, Virginia, there is a Barcade. And it’s awesome.
Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight:
It’s Oktoberfest at Standings(43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village), where they’ll be pouring three American fall seasonals starting at 6pm, including Greenport Harbor Leaf Pile and Two Brothers Atom Smasher. Naturally, they’ll be serving free bratwursts from Wechsler’s, too.
It’s Smuttynose night at The Double Windsor(210 Prospect Park West, at 16th St., Windsor Terrace), where they’ll serve up a selection of beers from the New Hampshire-based brewery… all for five bucks!
Peak Organic takes over some of the taps at Idle Hands(25 Avenue B, at 2nd St., East Village) from 7-9pm tonight, serving up Maple Oat, the new Fall Summit seasonal, and one of my all-time favorite coffee-flavored beers, Espresso Amber Ale. Again, five bucks are the magic words… pints of all of ‘em are $5 till 9pm.
Tonight at Destination(210 Avenue A, at 13th St., East Village), I’ll be hosting a trivia night called Smart Questions for Stupid People, sponsored by S.K.I. Beer. We’ll have giveaways from Harpoon and Radeberger for the winners. And we’re not talking cheesy prizes, folks. Last month, the winning team took home four 12-packs of Harpoon’s variety pack.
Pizza for Brunch: it’s not just for hangovers anymore! Sixpoint Craft Ales is hosting a beer brunch at Co.(230 9th Ave., at 24th St., Chelsea) this Saturday, October 16th, from noon to 4pm. The brunch will pair each pizza with a delicious Sixpoint brew, and if you must, it might help to soak up whatever beer you might have had the night before.
The full menu:
Bibb Lettuce Salad with Pumpkin Brewster
Charcuterie Pie with Sehr Crisp Pilsner
Mushroom & Jalapeno Pie with Re-Action Belgian Golden Ale
Meanwhile, Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Westchester County is hosting a catered Oktoberfest Dinner next Monday, October 18th, at 7pm at their brewery in Pleasantville. Hannah Hopkins of Dish Bistro & Wine Bar in Mahopac will serve up traditional German favorites and demonstrate how she makes spaetzle.
On the menu:
Bratwurst on a roll
Sweet and sour cabbage
German potato salad
Spaetzle
German chocolate cake
Obviously, there will be plenty of beer, too. There are limited seats left, and it’s $45 for dinner and drinks. Tickets are available online here.
