2012 in Review

2012 was an exciting year for New York city’s craft beer community. The city saw three new breweries: Rockaway, Singlecut (below), and Bridge and Tunnel open in Queens while the city’s breweries came together to create the New York City Brewer’s Guild. From beyond the city limits, Newburgh Brewing opened and Long Island’s Spider Bite, Port Jeff, and Long Ireland have started to appear in and around the city. Definitely an exciting time for expanding beer options. For the first time since 2007 there was no NYC Craft Beer Week in September, it has been taken over by the Brewer’s Guild and was moved to February. The Good Beer…

New Year’s Eve at the Brooklyn Brewery

There are several New Year’s Eve parties throughout the city, at places like Alewife, Standings, and Beer Authority. The most mouth-watering option is probably the Brooklyn Brewery’s “Smokehouse Soiree” as the brewery will be serving food from Mable’s Smokehouse (just down the block) with a beer lineup that features many brews from the Worshipful Company of Brewers series. The list features some great roasty beers perfect for cold weather like Winter is Coming (an oatmeal stout), Dial “M” for Mild, and There Will be Black, the most recent Brewmaster’s Reserve beer. Tickets are $100 and includes open bar and food from 9 p.m. to…

One Mile House’s Armageddon Party

If you buy into the whole Mayan end of the world thing, this Friday One Mile House at 10 Delancey St. will start serving craft beer starting at 3 p.m. in honor of the last day. The bar is promising an “apocalyptic beer list” and a “doomsday food menu” (including the now endangered Twinkies).  If you don’t believe in the world’s imminent demise, it might just be a nice way to wind down before the holidays.

Bronx Brewery to Launch New Beer

This week, The Bronx Brewery will launch a new beer, the Bronx Brewery Black Pale Ale. It will be pouring in select bars and restaurants in the Bronx, Manhattan and Westchester starting December 19 and will be available through February. “The intent behind the Black PA was to create a complex and unique beer from the dichotomy of dark malts and bright hops,” says Head Brewer Damian Brown. According to a press release from the brewery, the Bronx Black Pale Ale offers a smooth and complex contrast of dark chocolate and roasted malt flavors with bright and tropical guava, mango…

NYC Craft Beer Festival Spring Seasonals: March 30

On March 30, the Hand Crafted Tasting Company will be bringing you another beer festival – this time with a Spring Seasonal theme. The event will be held at the Lexington Avenue Armory (68 Lexington Ave between 25th and 26th sts). The first session will start for general admission at 1:30 p.m. and go until 4 p.m. (connoisseur and VIP level ticket holders will be able to attend at 12:30), the second session will begin for general admission at 7 p.m. and end at 9:30 p.m. (starting at 6 p.m. for connoisseur and VIP ticket holders). Tickets are on sale…

Game of Thrones Beer?!

UPDATE: Check out a photo of the beer below Yes, that’s right. HBO and Brewery Ommegang will team up to release a line of beers inspired by “Game of Thrones.” The first beer, the Iron Throne Blonde Ale, will be released in late March, just in time for the Season 3 premiere of the show. Read more here, at the New York Times ArtsBeat blog. As fans of the series (and the books), we’re pretty excited for this new beer. Are you? And here’s what the beer will look like.

Bacon and Belgians at Jimmy’s No. 43

Saturday December 15 Jimmy’s No. 43 will host a Bacon and Belgians event from 2 to 5 p.m. Need we say more? For $20, guests will be guided through a tasting that includes three types of bacon paired with six of the Belgian beers that were featured at the bar’s Battle of the Belgians. Possible breweries include: Ommegang, Jolly Pumpkin, De Dolle, Duvel, and Chimay.

SingleCut Beersmiths Opens in Astoria

On Saturday New York City’s newest brewery, SingleCut Beersmiths, opened to widespread praise. Astoria locals, politicians, and beer geeks gathered in the tap room for a ribbon cutting and the first taste of SingleCut’s beers. Owner Rich Buceta and Queens Councilman Peter Vallone cut the ribbon together while the crowd sampled the 19-33 Lagrrr, an easy-drinking Bohemian Style Lager, and “Dean” PNW Mahogany Ale, a hoppy homage to the Pacific Northwest. The beers were well-liked by the crowd, which seemed evenly split over which beer was their favorite. In addition to the bar, where you can order samples or get…

Brewing Outdoors

A homebrewer’s journal, by John Kleinchester It’s hard for me to believe, but I’ve been homebrewing for over five years now. It seems like just yesterday my friends and I got our first kit and had to follow every direction to a T. It’s even harder for me to believe that in those five years, I brewed every single batch indoors on a kitchen stove. Never once did I have the pleasure of brewing outdoors or even being witness to an outdoor brew session. This all changed when I moved just a few weeks ago to an apartment with an…

100 Beers to Try Before You Die!

Complex City Guide has a list of 100 beers to try before you die. Read the full list here. We were happy to see so much New York representation on the list! Here are the beers you just have to try from NY: Barrier Bulkhead, Dunegrass and Greenroom Bronx Pale Ale Blind Bat Long Island Potato Stout Brooklyn Sorachi Ace Greenport Harbor Black Duck Porter and Summer Ale Ommegang Abby Ale Sixpoint Resin Southern Tier Pumpking Have you had them all?