In less than a month, the New York City Brewers Guild will kick off New York City Beer Week, ten days of big beer events throughout the five boroughs. Last night, the guild announced some of the marquee events that have already been scheduled - with many more to come. And the best of all? Their opening night event will give you a chance to drink beer at Grand Central.

The annual Opening Night Bash on February 21st will be held at Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal - the large space along 42nd Street - this year. To kick off Beer Week, they’ll host all members of the guild, along with a select list of other great brewers like Founders, Allagash, and Peekskill. You’ll get three hours to sample dozens of beers and enjoy food from the likes of Beer Table and Whole Foods. Tickets are $75 through Eventbrite.

They’ll also hold their annual Closing Brunch this year at Houston Hall (222 W. Houston St., at Varick St., West Village), serving beer from select local brewers alongside a standout brunch. More details on that are forthcoming.

But that’s just scratching the surface. Here are some highlights of the events lined up so far:

Keep reading

Finback’s kegs are lined up in their brewery ahead of their launch this week (via Instagram)

It’s already been a big last few years for local breweries in New York. Surprisingly, though, after a big 2012, only two new breweries opened last year: Paulaner Brauhaus and Big Alice. But so many others are in the works for 2014 that it’ll put recent growth to shame. Here are the breweries to keep an eye on this year - with two already open.

Keep reading

We came across this amusing little article in the Brooklyn Medical Journal from 1888 thanks to the folks at Improbable Research. The study, entitled Beer Drinking in the United States has lots of interesting anecdotes from the late 19th century, a time when dozens of breweries were operating in Brooklyn. At the time, beer drinking was soaring at the expense of liquors at a time when immigration patterns favored the beer-drinking Germans. Beer spending was over $300 million a year ($7.5 billion in today’s dollars, and with a little over a tenth of the population), and consumption per capita was up 28 fold from 1840 figures. It was a boom time for the beer industry.

But the article goes well beyond the broad statistics of beer drinking; it discusses brewers themselves. A study cited by G. Thomann of the U.S. Brewers Assocation had analyzed 960 brewery workmen in New York-area breweries, and had some pretty amazing findings:

Keep reading

There are, as of press time, 29 events on our event calendar this week. While all are worthy, here are the ones we’re hoping to check out ourselves:

• Tuesday: Barrier Brewing Night at One Mile House (Lower East Side) has ten of the Long Island-based brewer’s kegs lined up, including some of the last of Daddy Warbucks, brewed exclusively for the bar, and the Rip Rap Baltic Porter that’ll warm you during the snowstorm. The bar is also hosting a Barrier Beer Dinner on Thursday.
  
  
• Wednesday: Finback Brewery’s debut at The Owl Farm (Park Slope) will be your very first chance to try this Glendale, Queens-based outfit’s brews on tap. They’ll have their Puffin Smoked Porter, Double Wit Sess, and IPA on tap for your enjoyment. If you miss this, they have two other parties in Manhattan and Queens on the calendar, too.
  
  
• Thursday: Maine Beer Co. Night at The Blind Tiger (West Village) is a rare Thursday night event for the bar, which will feature six of their impeccable beers on tap, and brewery founder David Kleban will be on hand, too.
  
  
• Friday: Bohemian Hall (Astoria) hasn’t ever had a beer dinner on their calendar in their modern history, so we’re pleased to see their first beer dinner will be with Founders. $79 gets you an open beer bar of their year-round offerings, and a four-course dinner paired with Imperial Stout, Backwoods Bastard, Doom and Rubaeus.
  
  
• Saturday: Into drinking for a good cause? Brew For Autism on Staten Island features four hours of beers from craft breweries and local homebrewers for your enjoyment - and to raise money for Autism Speaks. Tickets are $65.
  
  
• Sunday: Tickets to Brooklyn Brewery’s Wild Streak release are already sold out, but head north to Captain Lawrence (Elmsford) instead for their “Hop Bowl.” They’ll have twelve rare beers from their pilot system facing off in a battle of which is best.

Because the city can’t seem to go a week without a new beer spot opening, First Look is our roundup of the latest places to open that specialize in craft beer - bars, restaurants, and stores. This week, we take a look at new places in Greenpoint, Midtown, and the Upper East Side.

Keep reading

A rendering of the new student union at CIA, with the brewery on the right (Illustration credit: Steve Patricia/Noelker and Hull)

Brooklyn Brewery is teaming up with the Culinary Institute of America on a new brewery at their Hyde Park campus on the Hudson River in Dutchess County. The brewery, set to open in 2015, will be integrated into the school’s curriculum, and Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver and his brewing team will visit the campus regularly to assist faculty in creating recipes and lesson plans. The operation will be staffed by the school’s juniors and seniors in the Advanced Wine, Beverage, and Hospitality concentration.

Keep reading