While 2020 might be … unusual, to say the least, there’s one thing that’s just as reliable and awesome as always: Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout. I think I say this every year, but this is one of the best BCBS lineups yet. I had two main takeaways from this year’s variants: First, I’m really…
The plan for EBBS was to open a tasting room and bottle shop right off the L train’s Bedford stop, in Williamsburg. Like so many things, the global Covid-19 pandemic put New York City’s newest brewery’s plans on hold. But that didn’t stop them from making great beer. The team, including co-founders Tomas Larsson and…
Bell’s Two Hearted India Pale Ale is one of those beers that almost everyone has tried and almost everyone still loves, year after year. It’s also one of the beers that triggers the ol’ nostalgia nerve whenever it’s brought up. Can you remember the first time you tried one? I can! And just like all…
If you’re looking for a new type of beer experience in NYC, look no further than Izakaya Juraku! This Japanese restaurant and bar in the Lower East Side has the largest selection of Japanese beer in New York State. And let me tell you, they all pair amazingly with their delicious and fun food menu,…
Zwanze Day at Spuyten Duyvil NYC is always a blast! This year was the best yet.
NYC Beer Week 2018 started off with a huge, sold out bash last Saturday night at the Brooklyn EXPO Center. With so many new and growing local breweries, it seemed like there was a never-ending list of must-try beers to sample. Add that to an amazing group of guest brewers from around NY State and…
Black Friday is almost upon us and for beer nerds that means Bourbon County Brand Stout time. We got a chance to try this year’s lineup and we’re excited to share our reviews. Spoiler Alert: These beers are awesome! 2017 Bourbon County Brand Stout, 14.1-14.7% BCBS is back and once again it’s as incredible as…
Goose Island Migration Week 2017 is upon us! That means if you attend any one of these events, you’ll get a chance to try some of the rarest and tastiest offerings that Goose has to offer. We can’t wait to check out as many of these amazing events as possible and we hope to see…
Michigan’s Perrin Brewing Company will start distribution in NYC next week! I’ve heard a lot of good things about their beer—especially their No Rules bourbon barrel-aged imperial porter, brewed with coconut and turbinado sugar. I can’t wait to try their stuff! Check out a list of their launch beers below. We’ll be posting some reviews…
The Wilky in Bed Stuy is turning one! The Wilkyversary festivities are this weekend, Saturday-Sunday January 14-15, starting a 2PM. Their 18 taps will be filled with rarities, awesomeness, and one-offs- including KCBC Wilkyversary #1, a pomegranate sour brewed with The Wilky team. There will also be free bottle pours and free presents given out hourly…
Best of the Homebrew Takedown By Eric Sturniolo Remember the local craft beer scene in New York City five years ago? Brooklyn Brewery, Sixpoint… it’s a pretty short list. Today, craft beer and local breweries are exploding in the city, and much of it is thanks to homebrewers. Some of my favorite new breweries (Grimm…
Best of the Bottle Share By Eric Sturniolo We recently hosted a bottle share at The Wilky, a new (and great) craft beer spot in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. We were lucky to have a lot of cool people bring a lot of amazing bottles. The standouts, whether for pure quality or uniqueness, are below.. happy…
Jack’s Abby Coming To NYC! By: Eric Sturniolo We are thrilled to announce that Jack’s Abby will soon start distributing both keg and package in New York City. Launch events are currently being set up for Mid-April at the best beer bars in the city. We’ll keep you posted on the wheres and whens! Jack’s…
Goose Island Barrel Aging Lecture & Tasting at Bitter & Esters By Eric Sturniolo and Isabelle Rojo Goose Island’s Bourbon County series, one of the original and most prolific barrel-aging programs, has influenced brewers worldwide. But like most things, nothing can quite match the progenitor; hence, why we were so excited to attend Goose Island’s…
Not Your Father’s Root Beer… Floats! By: Eric Sturniolo We never thought it possible, but Not Your Father’s Root Beer by Small Town Brewery is now available in New York City! It’s still hard to get, but if you put some work in, you’ll be able to snag a bottle or two at the better…
Our meetup.com group is having our next event at Threes Brewing on Friday July 10th, starting at 7pm. Please join our group and RSVP here: http://www.meetup.com/Downtown-Brooklyn-Craft-Beer-Meetup/events/223139229/ Threes is an actual working brewery and bar, and although less than a year old, they’re already making some of the best beer in NYC. They always have a…
Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek By Eric Sturniolo Ah, spontaneous fermentation. The trademark of Brussels-area breweries like Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen. Drie Fonteinen produces their own wort (about 70% of their total production) and buys the rest from different breweries in Belgium. After the wort is cooled in a…coolship, it’s left exposed to the air, allowing…
Three Floyds – Space Station Middle Finger By Eric Sturniolo Hard to find in New York City (ok, maybe a bit impossible), I was lucky to get my hands on Three Floyds Space Station Middle Finger, one of the best pale ales I’ve ever had. It’s what every good pale ale should be. Hoppy (but…
This may be hard to believe, but after 2 years of aging, Hill Farmstead Clara is still… amazing! The brewery describes this beer as a grissette, which is a French style extremely similar to a saison: crisp, low-alcohol, summery, wheaty. Clara hits all the marks and more. Tastes of wheat, lemon, and yeast, with a…
Our meetup group is having our next hangout on Friday May 1st, at Top Hops Beer Shop, starting at 7pm. Please join and RSVP here: http://www.meetup.com/Downtown-Brooklyn-Craft-Beer-Meetup/events/221537750/ Top Hops is both a bar and store, with 20 taps and a great selection of bottles to buy (http://tophops.com/). It’s located on 94 Orchard Street (between Broome…
Our second beer share somehow surpassed the first one. We featured some great bonuses too, including a 4 course meal provided by http://www.relevanteventsnyc.com, and a mid-beer vermouth break provided by http://uncouthvermouth.com As for the beer, here’s the final list! Please let us know if you’d like to be included in the next one! Logsdon Peche…
We’ve been hoping for a long time that Boulevard Brewing Co. from Kansas City, Missouri, would come to NYC … and, finally, our wish has come true! And they’re making a big splash with a ton of awesome events this week starting TODAY! There are a ton of opportunities all over the city to…
With the holidays fast approaching, we’ve found the perfect gift for the craft beer lover in your life (or for yourself!): The Case For Beer. Each box comes with 12 beers in custom packaging, with selections hand-picked by 9 different craft beer locations/bars throughout the United States. In New York City, the selection is curated…
It’s that time of year again—Bourbon County time! And this year’s 2014 Bourbon County line-up does not disappoint. Before we get to the reviews, we’d like to thank Goose Island and their great media team for sending us samples to taste and review ahead of the release. After a painstaking and scientific tasting…
Threes Brewing: Smite the Brite By: Eric Sturniolo You’re a new brewery in Gowanus with a sparkly new brewpub. You aren’t quite open to the public but have a lot of freshly-made beer ready to go. It’s a problem we’ve all had. What do to? For Threes Brewing… Smite the Brite! On Saturday, there was…
Made Of Beer Bakery By Eric Sturniolo I try not to just drink beer, but eat it too. I’ve had chocolate made with beer, beer made with dougnuts, and crackers made with beer and beer ingredients. An interesting new take on this concept is Long Island’s Made of Beer Bakery. This homegrown bakery uses spent…
We’re excited for another NYC Craft Beer Festival! What could be better than having it on Halloween?!? More details below. Experience Top-Shelf American Craft Brewing GRAND TASTING: From the established craft brewers to the mid-majors and up-and comers, the diversity and creativity of the Craft Brewing Community has proven to be limitless. For our Grand…
Almanac Comes To NYC By: Eric Sturniolo After loving them from afar, we are so excited to have San Francisco’s Almanac Beer available in New York City for the first time ever. The week of September 15th was a busy one, with release parties at Rattle N’ Hum, Blind Tiger, Bar Great Harry, Torst, Bondurants,…
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,…
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,…
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…
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…
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