I discovered craft beer about a decade ago when a local bottle shop opened near my apartment. During those formative years, I had no idea which beer I liked, so I would just indiscriminately pluck random bottles of all different styles from the shelves to create a random mixed six. One of the first beers…
As the craft beer industry grows larger, more breweries have focused on serving their local community and fans, rather than looking to distribute far and wide. That presents a problem for craft beer nerds … cough, cough … enthusiasts who have an insatiable appetite and are always looking to try the newest and tastiest brews…
Ever since I first tried a beer from Toppling Goliath Brewing Co., from Decorah, Iowa, I’ve been hoping for the day when their beers would become available in New York. And that day has finally arrived! Thanks to Sarene Craft Beer distributors, I got to try some super fresh cans and bottles of some of…
It’s hard to believe that five years have passed. I’ll always remember the first Other Half beer I ever had the pleasure of drinking. It was at Pony Bar, in the Upper East Side. I walked up to the bar and saw “Other Half – Green Diamonds” illuminated on the digital menu board. I asked…
It’s not often that a brewer in New York City releases a barleywine. So when I heard that Long Island City’s Big Alice Brewing released a bourbon barrel-aged barleywine, called Valley of Ashes, I knew I had to try it—and I’m really glad I did! This 12.8 percent beast was aged for one year in…
This year’s Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout release is the biggest ever with eight (!!!) different variants. Other notable differences include a hiatus for the hugely popular coffee stout and barleywine. Subbing in are a new coffee barleywine and wheatwine. This is also the second time that there’s a “Reserve” variant—this year’s version is…
One of the coolest and most positive parts of the craft beer community is how beer lovers give back to society through amazing charity events. We were fortunate to attend a fantastic event a few weeks ago in Beacon, New York, at Hudson Valley Brewery: Melesa’s Wings, benefiting cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The fundraiser was organized…
