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…
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…
Wow, this has got to be the best American gueuze I’ve ever had. It’s a perfect balance of tart, funk, and citrus. So delicious—I could drink it forever. Cheers!
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!
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.
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…
By Eric Sturniolo Photography by Annie Shustrin (http://travelshus.com) Sometimes life needs a little Brooklyn magic. After unknowingly growing up 5 miles apart in the Black Forest region of Germany, Ayana and Tobias Holler met here, in Fort Greene, and married. This is lucky for us, since together they opened Black Forest Brooklyn. The interior is…
Andrew and Eric: When a bar has 15 taps of Founders, you go. When one of those taps is pouring Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, you put your life on hold and drink it. That’s what happened at Founders Brewery Night at The Jeffrey. The Jeffrey, a new-ish bar on the lower Upper East Side (on…
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…
Eric: The Jack’s Abby frenzy continued with two more new (for me) beers. First was Lashes Hopbock Lager and I totally loved it. Bocks are usually not hoppy at all, and this one didn’t have the extreme hops like the IPAs we love, but it had just enough. The bit of hops combined perfectly with…
Eric: Ah. The Friday after Thanksgiving. When you eat leftovers for dinner, then go stand outside in a dark field in 20 degree weather while your dog runs around, then come inside and realize you forgot to bring home any leftover dessert! So, I had a beer instead. As we’ve written before, Jack’s Abby started…
Eric: Approximately once a year, I have a birthday. This year, my BrewParentz got me two sets of beer glasses. My beer glasses used to suck, but they don’t anymore! The set is made by Libbey (you can get them at Bed Bath and Beyond for $19.99 here), and includes 6 different glasses: 15 1/4-ounce…
http://m.nydailynews.com/1.1522304 More women getting into craft beer, not just as drinkers but also as brewers Long Islander Lauri Spitz co-founded Moustache Brewing Co. with her husband Matthew.Beer-loving ladies are rallying for a woman’s right to brews. A feminist movement is bubbling up in the beer industry, as more women lean in to the bar to…
Eric: Pie and Beer. A classic pairing. They go together like goat cheese and crack. Lucky for me, a great Brooklyn beer bar, Mission Dolores, had a Pie Beer Night! There were six different pies, made locally by Four and Twenty Blackbirds, with recommended beer pairings. The bar is in Park Slope/Gowanus on 4th Ave…
Eric: I finally got to have a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, and it lived up to the hype. Bell’s is in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and never distributed anything around here before. On October 1st, they started shipping to certain areas in western and upstate New York. You can read about it here. Unfortunately for us, not…
Eric: Last night I was lucky enough to have some really rare and incredible Hair of the Dog beers. But first, some other stuff I’ve had recently: Friday night was IPA night (with a sour break)- Stone 17th Anniversary Götterdämmerung IPA is made with German and German-inspired hops and malts. Maybe because of that, it…
Eric: You like beer, live in NYC, and have a Hyundai Elantra. What to do? Drive 6 hours to Vermont on a random Thursday, of course! That’s what we did, leaving early Thursday morning, making some epic anti-traffic maneuvers, and arriving at 3pm. Our trip included stops at: 1. tasting and purchases at Hill Farmstead…
Andrew: I’ve definitely said a lot of these
Andrew: Yesterday I picked up two bottles of the new Widmer/Cigar City collaboration, Gentlemen’s Club. I bought the Bourbon and Rye Whiskey aged variations. These are very special beers (i.e., cost a lot), so I decided to save them for a special occasion. I was especially excited to get Cigar City beers, because everything they…
Andrew and Eric. Two friends who love craft beer and kind of love each other (platonically). Andrew has a wife and a baby on the way. Eric has a dog and a food baby on the way. Andrew talks about beer using words like “hops, matliness, drinkability and flavor profile.” Eric talks about beer using…
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