Craft Beer NYC

The Kasteel Rouge is very unique Belgian beer that I first found at the B Cafe, an authentic Belgian culinary hot spot on the Upper West Side.   They have a diverse menu of draft and bottled Belgian and other western European ales.   The Kasteel rouge is a traditional Belgian ale flavored with cherries and added cherry juice.   They actual use the base of their Kasteel Donker and then add the infused cherry liquor.   This entry offers a very unique sweet fruit flavor and is traditionally served in a Belgian style stout glass.  Food pairing are challenging, but I would advocate anyone to try with an order of mussels or light chicken. The brewing story in Belgian dates back to the early 1800's and their current CEO is the 5th generation representative from the same family- Xavier Van Honsebrouck.  In the 1980's the family purchased the Ingelmunster Castle, which served as a icon and brand identity for their current Castle line starting with Donker, and then...

The story of Keegan Ales began in 2003 in Kingston, New York.  Their Mother's Milk has been a staple since.   It's a full bodied milk stout, but comes off a bit chalky.   A sweet mixture of sugar, milk, and an oatmeal, but is not one of my favorites.  The flavor and nose come off very bitter, and not as smooth as others in the milk stout category.  In 2010 it was declared one of the stronger North American stouts coming out of the northeast by the NY Times.   Keegan's is on the verge of becoming an impressive brewery in the Hudson Valley (just north of NYC), but we need to see some more diversity of flavors and lines before they can start to compete with the the top craft beers in the market right now. 6 out of 10 Stew Leonard's Happy Cows! http://www.keeganales.com/the-beers/

Milk Stouts are starting to fill up my queue- especially coming out of the winter season.   Although I'm starting to wonder why some of the better offerings are not pushed to year round production.  Listed as a limited release for the 2013/14 winter season, the milk stout coming out of Seattle is a great entry.   Using some of Seattle's signature Stumptown coffee, they combine magnum hops with northwest pale, Franco-belges kiln coffee, black, roasted and chocolate malts to create a solid and one of the best Milk Stouts to come to the Northeast. 5.6 ABV 10 out of 10 Black Hole Sun's http://www.elysianbrewing.com

The Black Lager is the second selection from Uinta that I have posted about recently.   This great brewer from Utah, is now offering a fully organic beer line in their arsenal.   This black lager is available in 12 oz cans or bottles, and pours with a true pitch black color.  Surprising bold and robust will only a 4% ABV, this complements a nice meal well.   The nose feels like a stout, but it doesn't overpower the taste and is very drinkable compared to a heavy flavored dark, milk, or coffee stout.   Uinta is committed to wind and solar powered plants and facilities for all their beer lines, and is passionate about their environmental stewardship as well as their focus on renewable energy efforts.   Since their 20th Anniversary they have divided up their beer lines into 3 distinct categories (Classic, Organic, and Crooked)  Their crooked line contains their version of Insanity- a 11% bourbon barrel aged barley wine ale. Available at Whole Foods in N...