BeerUnion Good Beer Seal #beeradventure: Update

We’ve made some progress hitting all forty(-one) Good Beer Seal bars. We mapped out a schedule of when we’re going to visit all of them, and because there are so many bars and only so many days, we improvised and went to Swift Hibernian Lounge this past Wednesday. So far, we’ve been to eight: Sunswick 35/35, Brouwerij Lane, Spuyten Duyvil, Blind Tiger, 124 Rabbit Club, Swift, George Keeley and Dive Bar. Here’s where we’re going next week (it’s ambitious, we know): Monday, 7/2: Jimmy’s No. 43, Burp Castle and Standings (East Village). This is convenient because we can pick up…

Pick of the Weekend: Midnight Tapping of Devil Dancer at The Gate

This Sunday night at midnight (we know, it is technically Monday) The Gate will be tapping its first keg of the 2012 Devil Dancer triple IPA from Founders. To accompany the 12% beer, The Gate will be playing heavy metal music and anyone who wears a heavy metal t-shirt will be entered to win a bottle of the new Founders Backstage series beer Frangelic Mountain Brown Ale.  Devil Dancer itself is a highly regarded beer for its intense bitterness – the brewery clocks it in at 112 IBUs (International Bittering Units) – and its surprising balance. It should be a…

Blue Point Tasting at the ‘Beer Here’ Exhibit

Continuing its series of tastings, the New-York Historical Society’s “Beer Here” exhibit will host Mark Burford, founder and brewmaster of Blue Point Brewing Company this Saturday, June 30, at 2 and 4 p.m. in the beer hall at the end of the exhibit. Purchase tickets ($35) here. Read a blog post about the brewery on the historical society’s website. Burford and co-founder Pete Cotter met through homebrewing, saw a lack of craft beer on Long Island, so started their brewery, at first delivering the beer in a van with their dog.

Gypsy Brewer Dinners at Perilla

Perilla‘s second month of Monday gypsy brewers will feature a five course dinner with three Stillwater Artisinal Ales pairings. Stillwater has become well-known for its creativity and for crafting great beers to have with food (like Beer Table’s Table Beer). Stillwater brewer Brian Strumke also gained attention for giving up a life of international DJing for gypsy brewing in 2010 when 12% Imports decided to support his venture into professional brewing. The dinner at Perilla will pair dishes like seared scallops and braised brisket with Stillwater beers. The dinners will be every Monday in July, each cost $60 per person.

Alewife, Long Island City

We understand, we really do. When you see “Queens,” and you live in Manhattan or Brooklyn, you think it’s too far. And some places in Queens are just too far. But Alewife is less than a five minute walk from the first stop in Queens (after Grand Central) on the 7 train. So it could easily take you only 15 minutes to get there from Manhattan. The space is cavernous with high ceilings downstairs, a sizeable upstairs and patio. The menu is comprised of gastro-pub fare: burgers, pizza salad, and garlicky fries that don’t need any ketchup to be  delicious.…

BeerUnion Takes on the Good Beer Seal Bars

One of the best ways to get to know the beer scene in NYC is to visit the Good Beer Seal bars. As we’ve previously mentioned, the seal recognizes independently owned bars that have a focus on bringing craft beer and quality imports to the community. Since starting four years ago, the bars have organized July as Good Beer Month to promote each other and to hold special events. We’ve decided to take on the challenge of going to each of the bars (there are now 40) by the end of July. We will use the next couple of weeks…

The Three Best Local Beers to Have This Summer

Now that summer has officially arrived (in all its hot, humid glory) we thought we would put together a list of three beers we think are best to have this season. Greenport Harbor Brewing – Summer Ale 5.3% ABV Super refreshing but still full of flavor, Greenport Summer Ale is brewed with some orange blossom honey and nicely hopped (lending a bright lemony flavor). Crisp and dry, it should be great with fresh summer dishes. Brooklyn Brewery – Summer Ale (cans) 5% ABV Brooklyn’s Summer Ale made the jump to cans last year and has been one of our summer…

Pick of the Weekend: Get Real Bus Trip to The Festival

Shelton Brothers and 12% Imports are holding The Festival this Saturday, June 23 in Worcester MA and Get Real is making it easy for New Yorkers to head north away from the heat and attend the event with a bus trip. The Festival will feature some of the best breweries available, like Cantillon, Evil Twin, De Dolle, De Ranke, and Mikkeller. Tickets include admission to The Festival from 12 to 4 p.m. (normally $60) and food and craft beer on the bus. The bus leaves at 8 a.m. from midtown and will return to Alewife NYC in Queens for an…

Harlem Brewing Company Tasting at ‘Beer Here’ Exhibit

This Saturday, continuing its series of tastings, the New-York Historical Society’s “Beer Here” exhibit will host Celeste Beatty, founder of Harlem Brewing Company. She will be offering her inaugural beer, Sugar Hill Golden Ale, in the beer hall at the end of the exhibit, at 2 and 4 p.m. Purchase tickets ($35) here. Read about the origins of Harlem Brewing Company in a blog on the historical society’s website here. Beatty was inspired to begin homebrewing because of how food tasted when cooked with beer. Her website even has a list of recipes to use Sugar Hill Golden Ale with.

Rodenbach Oak Series Vertical Tasting

Two of the most popular trends right now, oak aging and sour beer, combine in Rodenbach’s Vintage Oak Aged series. We picked up the 2007 and 2008 versions of the limited release for a mini vertical tasting (meaning we tried multiple vintages of the same beer side-by-side) this week and were surprised by what we found. Both beers had a delicious funkiness mingled with oak. The 2007 was more tart with layered fruity flavors like cherry and plum. The fruitiness of the 2007 was followed up by strong oak flavors in the aftertaste. The 2008 tartness was focused into more…