Do not adjust your screen! As we told you in November, beloved Michigan outfit Bell’s Brewery is finally sending their beer to New York City and Long Island starting next month. And as we’ve updated our calendar page, if you scroll down long enough, you’ll start to see event that celebrate their launch here.

For a while, we were peppered with questions about whether the annual Bell’s release Hopslam would be coming to New York City. After all, it’s being released elsewhere over the next two weeks. Welp, turns out that YES, our city WILL get some kegs of the beloved Imperial IPA. Keep tuned to our event listings to see tap lists as they’re unveiled.

To give you as much time as possible to clear your own calendar, below are the events we’ve been able to confirm so far… and don’t worry, there are even more to come!

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New distributor Sarene Craft Beer announced a deal with Astoria’s Singlecut Beersmiths yesterday to expand the brewery’s distribution footprint north into Westchester County and the lower Hudson Valley. It’s the brewery’s first distribution deal; they’ve been self-distributing their beer in New York City since their launch in December of 2012. Their recent expansion - increasing capacity less than a year after opening - allowed them to grow their footprint.

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I went to a relatively new beer establishment tonight in Manhattan. It’s been open about a month, and it’s operated by people who own another beer place in town, so I was hoping for a positive experience. But what I got instead - within a minute of walking through the door - was an experience that left me frustrated and disappointed. Yet my whole issue could’ve been easily addressed with a simple change in how they present their beers. I’ve talked about this a lot before, but it’s remarkable how many bars screw up something as simple as a beer menu.

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NYC Brewer’s Choice, the annual event that celebrates brewers and the beer drinkers who love them, moves across the river to Brooklyn in 2014 for its fourth year. The event features brewers from across New York pouring their own beers, allowing you to interact with them, ask them questions about their beers, and see one of them - a keynote speaker - speak to the crowds.

This year’s Brewer’s Choice will be held on Wednesday, February 26th at the Wythe Hotel (80 Wythe Ave., at N. 11th St., Williamsburg), and it’ll be a little different: this year, it will focus mainly on breweries in New York State. With over 125 in operation, there’s a lot to choose from.

This year’s keynote speaker is Jeff O'Neil of Peekskill Brewery. On top of the New York State focus, the brewers have partnered Grow NYC and Valley Malt to brew beers with locally-grown and roasted malt… some of which have never been seen before.

Details on the breweries pouring, food vendors, and tickets are after the jump.

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Learn about beer at this spot in the East Village tonight (Photo: Chris O'Leary)

Sometimes, simply drinking beer is not enough. Perhaps your curiosity has you wondering where your beer came from, how it’s made, and what you’re tasting. Or maybe you’re a self-proclaimed beer geek who has a thirst for even more knowledge - you seek to become an expert in beer styles, hop varietals, and off flavors. No matter what experience level you’ve unlocked in beer, there’s a New York City venue offering a lesson in beer that’s right for you.

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Brooklyn’s got a Wild Streak (Source: Brooklyn Brewery on Facebook)

Brooklyn Brewery always has something up their sleeve, it seems. For example, their recent Worshipful Company of Brewers Series and assorted other one-off beers at their taproom have shown that there’s a heck of a lot more to them than just the Lager and the Pennant Ale. Now, they’re rolling out the new “Brooklyn Quarterly Experiment” series, or BQE. Each quarter, the brewery will roll out a new limited-edition bottled beer. And to celebrate the first in this series, Wild Streak, they’re leaking it early. Like, 11:00 in the morning early.

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