Good news for folks in North Brooklyn who don’t want to schlep to Gowanus (and endure the horrors of the G Train) to visit Threes Brewing: the brewery opened a pop-up bar in Greenpoint this week.
Threes @ Franklin & Kent(113 Franklin St, Greenpoint) features beers fresh from the brewery on draft and in cans and bottles, wine and liquor, and snacks from their in-house kitchen purveyors at their brewpub, The Meat Hook.
The pop-up will run at least through the end of this month. It’s worth noting it’s conveniently just three blocks from the Brooklyn Expo Center, which will host the NYC Beer Week Opening Bash Invitational on February 25th.
Hours are Wednesday and Thursday 5pm-midnight, Friday 5pm-2am, Saturday 2pm-2am, and Sunday 2pm-midnight.
It’s Valentine’s Day, and in case you didn’t make plans weeks in advance for a fancy dinner, you could at least take your date out for a fancy craft beer. And while you might associate beer with rowdy bars blasting pop music and playing sports on TV, we’ve got three bars that make beer drinking a much more low-key, romantic activity.
Bridge & Tunnel Brewery brewer Rich Castagna poses before a pour at 2015’s Brewers Choice. This year’s event will continue the tradition, now in its seventh year. (Photo: Chris O’Leary)
Hot Off the Presses and Onto the Calendar
As New York City Beer Week (February 24th - March 5th, for those not in the know) inches ever closer, some pretty awesome events are getting added to the schedule. NYC Brewers Choice will be held on Wednesday, March 1st, featuring beers from close to 40 breweries and food from nearly a dozen food purveyors, this year at LIU-Brooklyn in downtown Brooklyn. Writer Josh Bernstein wrangles 16 homebrewers for the annual Jimmy’s Homebrew Jamboree at Jimmy’s No. 43 on Sunday, February 26th. Blind Tiger will host a Threes, Industrial Arts, and Other Half tap takeover on Tuesday, the 28th. LIC Beer Project, Finback Brewery, and Sand City all come together on Thursday, March 2nd at Haymaker. And that’s barely scratching the surface.
Our latest New York State Brewery Map counts well over 300 breweries and brewpubs open across the state (orange breweries on the map have pending licenses)
The beer industry in New York continues its rapid growth, as the New York State Brewers Association announced this week that there are now 326 breweries across the state, from Community Beer Works in Buffalo to Montauk Brewing Company on Long Island. The state hit the 200-brewery mark just over two years ago, and was under the 100-brewery mark less than five years ago. It’s a rapid clip that’s attributed to a nationwide trend, but also a better environment for the state’s brewers through improvements under the Cuomo administration that allowed breweries to open more easily, like the Farm Brewery law, the state’s faster turnaround time on licensing, and tax credits for small brewers.
Interestingly, while the US presently has the most breweries in its history, that’s not the case in New York. As NYSBA Executive Director Paul Leone points out, “before Prohibition, New York State had 350 breweries with a population of 5 million people.” He believes the state is on a pace to surpass that 350 mark this year, though matching that per-capita figure is far off; there are 1.7 breweries per 100,000 people in New York today, versus 7 breweries before Prohibition. By our own count, at least 30 breweries have licenses pending with the state today, and many others are in planning with the intention of opening in 2017.
Within New York City, there are 28 licensed breweries and brewpubs, and another 6 with pending licenses with the state that are expected to open this year.
The Pony Bar Hell’s Kitchen, a mainstay on the West Side for craft beer for the past eight years, will close its doors for the final time on Super Bowl Sunday night. The bar has hosted beer dignitaries and poured thousands of different beers over its life, and will wind down service this week as it passes to new ownership. The other Pony Bar location – on the Upper East Side – will remain open.
Owner Dan McLaughlin sold his interest in his three bars on this stretch of 10th Avenue (Lansdowne Road and Kiabacca were the others), but continues to own the Upper East Side Pony Bar and its marks. The existing Hell’s Kitchen bar will reopen later this month as a new concept under its new owners.
The Pony Bar opened in 2009 and was one of the earliest craft beer bars in Hell’s Kitchen.
Four weeks from tonight, the New York City Brewers Guild will kick off New York City Beer Week, ten days of big beer events throughout the five boroughs. The guild has announced some of the marquee events that have already been scheduled - with many more to come. It’ll be a lineup chock full of stuff far beyond your typical beer promo nights… think festivals and beer dinners and lots of never-before-seen beers.
First up, on Friday, February 24th, bars across the city will come together for the annual NYC Beer Week SimulTap. Bars will feature a unique NYC-brewed S.M.A.S.H. beer (brewed with State Malt and State Hops from New York malt houses and hop farms) tapped at designated venues at the same time. Breweries from around the city used the same ingredients to make a wide variety of beers. A full list of venues and beers will be posted on the Beer Week Website soon.
The annual Opening Bash on Saturday, February 25th is a little bit different and a little bit bigger this year. It’ll be held at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint, and in addition to featuring brewers from across the city, they’re inviting a whole bunch of brewers from outside the city and state to pour beer. Among the highlights: Hudson Valley Brewery, Sand City Brewing, Suarez Family Brewery, and Industrial Arts from New York State, and Civil Society, Proclamation Ale Company, J. Wakefield, and RaR Brewing from around the country. The event runs 6:30-9:30pm, with a 5:30 entry for VIPs. Tickets are $55-70 and are on sale now.
Earlier in the day on Saturday, the same space will play host to the NYC Fermentation Festival, for those who nerd out about all things fermented. The event will include a Fermentation Expo, Fermentation Guidance Help Desks, Educational Programming, and – of course – Adult fermented beverages from the likes of NYC’s homebrewers. This event runs 11am-3:30pm on February 25th, and more info about it can be found on the festival web site.
The official closing event of beer week will be the return of the Ruppert’s Cup Awards on the week’s final day. The celebration will be held this year at Barcade Brooklyn(388 Union Ave, Williamsburg) on Saturday, March 4th at noon.
The Ruppert’s Cup is the competition between the city’s brewers for best Brewery, with your vote determining the winner. Last year’s winner, Transmitter Brewing, will be defending their title, and you’ll get to choose who wins during Beer Week. The pay-as-you-go event at Barcade will have free admission and feature special collaboration beers, food trucks and a collection of beers from brewers around the region.
But, of course, that’s just scratching the surface. The NYC Beer Week website will list every event planned for the week, from tap takeovers and beer dinners to special beer releases and tastings. As it gets closer, we’ll be culling through the list soon to give you some of the highlights, so stay tuned here as the calendar is finalized.
