Craft Beer NYC

This power punch is straight from the golden gate.  The packaging caught my eye at the westside market, who continues to impress with their curated selection of crafts.  Has Film Noir faded from our cultural top of mind?  I'm hoping by the time anyone reading this has seen the gripping season 2 finale of Boardwalk Empire- where did all the whiskey and rye go?  Big Daddy took it all back to Atlantic City 7.5 out of 10 Fidora's

I discoverer this new brew at the outdoor cafe at Pier 1 in the new Riverside Park South near the Trump development.  This refreshing light summer ale is a perfect fit for baking in the sun on the Hudson River pier!  ABCB is located down on Ave C and offers growlers to go from their east village local.  It was also a good pairing to the old bay fries and chicken fingers.   FYI- you can refill free water from coolers to help wash down your beer.   7 out 10 Waiting for the Suns

Lagunitas is a great diverse brewery located in northern California.  It was hard to decide which Ale to cover first, but the back story of the "Censored" Rich Copper Ale was a good place to start.  The original plan was to call this ale "Kronik", which depending on your speed has a double meaning.  I don't think anyone would have thought that there was "Kronik" in a bottle of beer, but the BATF (the federal agency who approved labels for food and beverages) was not going to let it fly.  Instead there's a censored block over the old label preventing it from being read.   It's an interesting ploy to have a unique bottle design.  Similar in taste to an IPA this brew goes down smooth.  Once you pour down a tall pint glass, you can see right away that it's not an IPA by the copper tint.  It's a good alternative when having spicy chicken or beef sliders to a standard IPA. 7 out of 10 Lenny Bruce's ABV: 6.70% http://lagunitas.com ...

I've been seeing tv spots for the last couple of months, and had never heard of this brewery or knew what was in a summer shady.   Thanks to the new DiCicco's in Armonk we were stocked up for the summer.  By the label you're not sure if it's some sort of hard lemonade from Mike's or some malt beverage in a bottle.  Jacob Leinenkugel started brewing in Wisconsin in 1867, specifically in Chippewa Falls.  He immigrated from Germany in 1845.   The story is quite extensive of the 5 generations of descendants of Jacob that have run the company since.  The lemon taste is refreshing, and from a taste palate usually on the spicier, darker side I actually enjoyed this citrus flavored summer shandy. 6.5 out of 10 Lemon Trees. https://leinie.com/Heritage.aspx#

I guess The Bronx was feeling left out of the craft brew resurgence that has flooded Manhattan and Brooklyn.  One of the first times I had this American Pale Ale was at the Hard Rock Cafe at Yankee Stadium, and I was immediately a fan.   Remarkably you can't find this actually within the stadium in the home of the Bronx Bombers, but you can at Barclay's Center in Brooklyn.  I guess the Brooklyn brew folks were asleep at the wheel when the contract was being negotiated on their home turf.  This has a subtle hop aroma, but is quite bold in flavor.  Any IPA fan will find this a delight.  There's been quite a bit of mixed feelings about the pour out of the can or from draft.   I vote for draught pour which has a slightly less metallic taste and opens up the palate of hops a bit more with the amber caramel sweetness in a nice tall pint glass. 8 out of 10 "Da Bronx"- Go Yankees!! Served at multiple establishments in Manhattan, such as The Ellington (revi...