We are huge fans of Almanac Beer Co. and we’re so excited they’re coming to NYC! Here are some launch events next week: Almanac Beer NYC Launch Tour Rattle & Hum 5pm, Tuesday September 16th . Blind Tiger 5pm, Wednesday, September 17th . Bar Great Harry 5pm Thursday, September 18th . TØRST 7pm Thursday, September 18th…
Westbrook Mr. Chipper Mount Pleasant, SC Flanders Red Ale – 6.80% ABV By: Eric Sturniolo This Flanders red ale (named from the Flanders region of Belgium) is aged in red wine barrels for 2.5 years. It pours a hazy dark red, with a fizzy head that dissipates quickly. The taste is sour and very tart…
Prairie Artisan Ales Prairie Ale By: Eric Sturniolo Prairie Artisan Ales Prairie Ale Tulsa, OK Saison/Farmhouse – 8.20% ABV As their self-proclaimed biggest fans in New York, we’ve tried most of Prairie’s beer that’s available in New York City. Birra, Puncheon, Bomb!, Bible Belt, and now Prairie Ale. And…surprise! It’s amazing. I had a glass…
If you like craft beer and live in New York City, the NYC Craft Beer Festival is a great way to try awesome beer from around the world. With about 150 craft beers to choose from, you’re bound to find a new favorite in the bunch. Last weekend’s “Summer International” event included a global sampling,…
We had a blast at Growler & Gill’s Lower Hudson Valley Craft Beer Festival this past weekend! How could you not have a great time on a gorgeous 80-degree Saturday in the beautiful suburbs of Rockland County, surrounded by more than 50 of the country’s top craft brewers? (Click here to check out our “NY Bottles”…
Beer Hero: Beer Dreamer By Eric Sturniolo Note: FREE SHIPPING FOR OUR READERS!! Use discount code WTBNY Beer goes with everything. Ramen. BBQ. Cheese. German. Pie. Chocolate… With this in mind, Jordan Elpern-Waxman started Beer Dreamer, a company that mails subscribers the best beer and food pairings available. Think of it as a beer club,…
If you like sour beer, last weekend’s Wild Beer Festival at One Mile House (Lower East Side) was the best place to drink them. Some of the highlights included Ithaca Brute, Allagash Avance, Peekskill The Aristocrats, and Crooked Stave Surette (see full list below). We spoke with One Mile House’s owner Gerard Leary…
By Andrew If Growler & Gill was around when Eric and I lived in our hometown, Rockland County, New York, we would have been drinking like kings (see Eric’s Beervolution post). But whenever we’re back in town to visit our parents, we always make time to stop by what we believe is the best…
What’s Brewing: Stillwater Artisanal Ales By: Eric Sturniolo Brewer/founder Brian Stillwater’s brewery Stillwater Artisanal Ales, a Ratebeer top 100 brewery in the world 4 years in a row, combines beer, art, and music into one exciting brand. I got a chance to speak with Brian about his beer, his plans, and his gypsy brewer…
NY Bottles: St. Gambrinus By: Eric Sturniolo St. Gambrinus is known as the patron saint of beer and an icon of brewing. The bar, on Atlantic Avenue between 3rd and 4th Avenues in Brooklyn, does his name proud. With 16 taps, over 200 bottles, lots of seating, and some delicious snacks, St. Gambrinus is a…
Beer Audit By Eric Sturniolo It’s Tax Day. Time to count your money. But more importantly, time to count your beer. A few months ago, I cleared out a closet of old paint cans and random junk. Now it’s my beer closet, NYC’s version of a beer cellar. It’s filled with stouts, sours, old ales,…
After the unfortunate circumstances of last year’s THE Festival in Portland, nobody was really sure if another organizer would tackle the mess of craziness that is Maine’s antiquated approach to beer regulation. But miracles happen, especially when beer is involved. Sierra Nevada just announced a 7-stop series of festivals they’re calling “The largest craft beer celebration…
Beer Hero: Ben Grace By: Eric Sturniolo I like beer. My friend Ben Grace really likes beer. He just had his 1,000th unique beer in a 2 year span. If you’re thinking “I can do that,” remember, it’s 1,000 unique beers. That’s 1.37 different beers every single day. 9.6 unique beers every single week. For…
What’s Brewing: Alan Sprints of Hair of the Dog By Eric Sturniolo On my trip to Portland (read about it here), I fell in love. Hard. With Hair of the Dog Brewery. Alan Sprints opened HotD in 1993, and quickly became a pioneer in the old world, barrel-aged process. The beer is amazing, and unlike…
Joe and Lauren Grimm brew the beers they want to drink. That might sound obvious for any brewer, but most big breweries are often forced to make the beers that everyone else wants in order to support their costs, to meet consumer demand, or to compete. “I wouldn’t want to make something that I wouldn’t…
This collab has been around for a while but I keep coming back to it because it’s just so darn succulent. Witness: It was gone before I could take a photo of it in the glass: Shaun Hill, the philosophizer genius behind Hill Farmstead – recently profiled in the New York Times – works as Grassroots…
Beer Hero – Greg Avola of Untappd By Eric Sturniolo If you drink craft beer, you’ve used the mobile app Untappd. If you haven’t, get it. From their site: “Untappd is a new way to socially share and explore the world of beer with your friends and the world. Curious what your friends are drinking…
A gorgeous Belgian Ale brewed with Chamomile flowers. When brewers add ingredients that might seem arbitrary – like chamomile flowers – the results can veer into novelty. That’s not the case with Saison de Lis. Perennial Artisan Ales crafted this delicately balanced Belgian saison with a slight French sensibility. Picture a field of chamomile stretching to the…
By: Eric Sturniolo As far as jobs go, Mike Lovullo is living a beer nerd’s dream. As the specialty brands manager at Union Beer Distributors, he gets to spend his day in New York City’s best bars and restaurants, talking about and selling beer. I caught up with him recently at Astoria Bier and…
By: Eric Sturniolo Here in New York City, we’re not so familiar with Prairie Artisan Ales (Tulsa, Oklahoma). I made sure to head to Torst for the release party of their collaboration beer with Evil Twin called Bible Belt, and luckily they had lots of other Prairie stuff on tap. Since Bible Belt is a…
Alchemist’s Beelzebub Imperial Stout is really nice—great coffee and chocolate character with lemony hops that cut right through.
The words on the neck say it all.
By Eric Sturniolo Navigating the world of craft beer can be a struggle. Stouts, India pale ales, pale ales, porters, lambics, guezes, wet hopped, dry hopped, bourbon barrel aged… it goes on and on. So let’s concentrate on a very important beer word: Imperial. You’ve probably noticed a lot of beers are called Imperial. Any…
By Eric Sturniolo Ramen has taken over NYC. But finding a place with traditional taste and a great craft beer lineup isn’t easy. Luckily, you can follow the red glow to Ganso in Downtown Brooklyn. Chef/owner Harris Salat knows what he’s doing. After working in restaurant kitchens in Japan, and writing four Japanese cookbooks, the…
By Andrew There are a lot of terms thrown around for gourmet food and beverages, like “artisan” or “craft”, but what they really mean is that what you’re eating or drinking is … good! And that’s the philosophy behind Good Beer, one of the most established craft-beer stores in New York City. “Good beer is…
I love the Bissell Brothers The Substance IPA! Another great Portland, Maine brewery.
Eric and I both agree that this is one of the best IPAs we’ve ever tasted. Thanks, Mike!
By Eric Sturniolo Evolution states that over generations, entire species, individual organisms, and tiny molecules all change. Beervolution happens much more quickly, and is much more important. This is my story. When I was about 16, my dad let me have my first beer, Becks. It was disgusting. But most adults seemed to like beer,…
You might remember those old Keystone Light “bitter beer face” commercials—some guy takes a sip of harsh (gross) beer that makes his face implode. Today many craft brewers are making beer known as wild or sour beers, with the goal of making you pucker up. The term “wild” comes from the wild yeasts that ferment…
A Tiny Beautiful Something Love this beer! Super easy drinking and great hoppiness with some mild malt. Maine Beer Co makes yet another amazing brew. In other news, we obviously love Lunch but can’t wait to try some Dinner! 🙂
By Andrew One of the best stouts around—Imperial Biscotti Break—is brewed by Evil Twin’s Brooklyn-based brewmaster Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, originally from Denmark. He’s been dubbed a “gypsy brewer,” because he doesn’t have a home-base brewery, but instead travels to different locations to brew his beers. Last year, Jarnit-Bjergsø opened the craft-beer bar Tørst and accompanying restaurant…
Imperial IPA (8.3%ABV) with strong citrus and pine, along with Bear Republic’s signature malty backbone.
Sold at the brewery only. Low ABV (4.5%) coupled with light and crisp hops and yeast make this easy to drink all day long.
Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout & Barleywine
Great bitterness from the cranberry. Perfect balance of funky tart fruit.
Andrew: Pretty much speechless (and very jealous of those who get to try this). http://instagram.com/p/j5BPTSiw2k/#
Last week we told you about The Alchemist’s plan to open a 2nd brewery and retail shop. Today John Kimmich announced that they will be canning Focal Banger IPA at the 2nd location. http://alchemistbeer.com/blog/ Greetings from John Posted on 1/26/14 Greetings People of Earth, I have been meaning to put out an update on…
Great news from The Alchemist: http://alchemistbeer.com/blog/#2765 New Retail Location Status Posted on 1/21/14 Wow, the last two months have been a bit crazy around here. The following is an update on where The Alchemist currently stands in regards to a new retail location. Be warned—this is very dull. You may want to skip through to…
Andrew: I decided to try a couple new Imperial IPAs this weekend. The first I had was Hi-Res from Sixpoint Brewery. (It’s so new that there aren’t any online reviews yet at BeerAdvocate or Rate a Beer yet). I’m a fan of their Resin Imperial IPA, but Hi-Res is an even more hopped-up version of…
By Eric Sturniolo Three heirloom tomatoes. One bushel of kale. Four amazing beers fresh from the tap. That was my day (minus the tomatoes and kale; I can’t cook) at the new Whole Foods in Gowanus, Brooklyn. In the huge, shiny store, I focused on the beer and the cafe. To start your beer…
Andrew: I love a good stout. I also love coffee. I think that I love stouts because I love coffee. But this stout has no coffee in it at all. This obvious connection between roasted malt flavors and coffee has led many brewers to brew stouts that include actual coffee in the beer. But this…
Andrew: Tonight I had my first beer from a relatively new brewery Prairie Artisan Ales called ‘Merica. They are based in Oklahoma, making this the first beer I’ve ever had from Oklahoma, too … I think. This is a farmhouse saison, and by farmhouse, I think they mean “entire farm,” because it is unbelievably funky.…
Eric: Lagunitas Sucks is back in NYC after what seems like a year-long wait. An imperial IPA, it’s extremely hoppy and bitter. This year’s batch actually tastes more bitter than before. Like most of my favorite IPAs, I taste grapefuit, citrus, and pine with a huge citrus smell. Open it and walk a few…
Eric: Can you guess which is which? Start with a good glass. Clean it so it will have nice lacing. Hold the glass at a 45 degree angle and pour. Halfway through, hold the glass upright and pour the rest right into the middle. This was Dog Fish Head My Antonia, an imperial lager. It…
Eric: Apparently, The Jeffrey is my new favorite bar. Good, cheap food, lots of space, and a consistently amazing draft list. Today’s list had a lot I wanted…. But I settled for two: Oxbow Beer Farmhouse Pale Ale (6.0% ABV): This was my first beer from Oxbow, located in Newcastle, Maine. Yet ANOTHER amazing Maine…
Eric: Shake Shack is on my block, but I try not to go all the time so I can live to at least 34. But I went last night, planning to do a story about their beer selection. Alas, it was crowded and there was nowhere to sit. So, I took it back home and…
Andrew: This will be a short post, because I don’t have much to say about actual beer yet. Last Friday, I braved a cold morning in NYC to stand on a line. No, it wasn’t to get a deal on a LCD TV or $1 Space Jam DVD … surprise! … it was for beer.…
Andrew: The first time I tried a beer by the Swedish brewery Omnipollo was at The Festival this past summer. I actually spoke with Henok, founder and brewer, and he told me about all of the beers they were pouring (while we waited in the long line to try Cantillon’s Zwanze). He was a really…
Andrew: Dear BrewBoyz Blog readers, The BBB has been going super strong for almost 6 months now. A new year approaches, and with new yearz, comes changez … for the better! I’d like to introduce Mike as the newest Brewboyz of the BBB. Mike is the person responsible for my insane obsession with drinking and…
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