Craft Beer NYC

I always find interesting the ways that cities like Baltimore or New York try to draw an affinity to the famous works of Edgar Allan Poe.  There is a portion of West 84th Street in Manhattan named for him, since the farmhouse where he wrote part of The Raven used to be near there.  Mind you, nothing from that era still stands on the Upper West Side but the neighborhood felt obliged to pay honor in some way.   Baltimore has more of a reason to embrace the true father of the macabre, especially with beer.  The Peabody Heights Brewery has three co-op beer brands that get bottled and distributed from their facility on East 30th Street in Baltimore, including The Raven line. Who knows if Poe stumbled by there during his mysterious night that led to his death in the streets in Oct, 1849.   In 2012 The Raven beer line was founded using classic European brewing traditions and the mysteries of Edgar Allen Poe to develop their brand and flavors. Is there any better way to...

Union Craft Brewing is a new brewery located in the Woodberry neighborhood of Baltimore, MD. Founded in 2011, they shipped their first batch of ale in spring of 2012.  Their Blackwing lager has its origins as a new "Schwarzbier", which is German for "black beer".  Using hints of roasted coffee, and chocolate as a companion to its medium hop character from Noble German hops, they manage to create a very solid craft ale that dark beer fans can enjoy all year round.  I especially recommend this one for fans of coffee stouts or strong porters, even though technically this is a lager.  I discovered Blackwing while visiting family in Baltimore, you forget how many regional breweries are up and running and don't get distribution into every city.   This makes you feel excited about local beer again, and the fact that you can travel and experience new great regional selections across the northeast corridor between Boston and Washington on every road trip. Movie Pairing...

Another one of the Broken Bow ales available in 12 oz cans.  This American Pale Ale is a nice even balanced brew, with medium hop character and a nice citrus nose.  Family owned and literally family run, this Tuckahoe located brewery is making a splash on the Westchester craft beer scene.   They are often doing tastings at the Growlers craft beer bistro in Tuckahoe and are part of their Oktoberfest celebration this year as well.  Marbledale's namesake is based on the avenue where the brewery opened its doors just about one year ago. 6.3% ABV 7 out of 10 Silver Bows Introduction Video http://www.brokenbowbrewery.com/AboutUs.html

What do you get when you take a fruit beer and combine it with an IPA?  You get a hophead delight called Aprihop!   Brewed in March and usually available through May, this seasonal offering has become one of the most popular spring entries from Sam Calagione and the gang at Dogfish Head over the last couple of years.   The addition of Apricot juice offers a unique variation on the hoppy ale, making a mild sweetness using the undertones of the fruit to balance the massive amount amarillo hops added in the continuous stylized fashion that Dogfish Head does best. Scoring an 86 on the Beer Advocate scale, this one is something worth tasting at least once for beer fans that might not love fruit beers or sweet ales. 7.0% ABV 7 out of 10 Red-eyed Bunnies Sam's Quick Sip Clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXzxbEtfwP0

Sprecher Brewery Co. was founded in the Walker's Point section of Milwaukee in 1985 by Randal Sprecher.  Wisconsin was home to hundreds of breweries dating back to the late 1800's.  Almost every community had their own, slowly to be phased out by the 1960's.  Sprecher helped launch the craft and "Micro-Brewery" movement which brought local beer back to the midwest by the 80's and Mid 90's.  Their wheat ale is brewed with German yeast culture, and has touches of citrus and spices to its nose.  The Sprecher Hefe Weiss is European brewing from Bavaria meets midwest American craftsmanship at its finest.  Although Hefeweizen's are not one of my favorite styles, Sprecher is a decent performer for wheat ale fans. 4.2% ABV 6 out 10 Hoppy Wheats http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/beer.php?cat=1

Firestone's Union Jack is like a nice younger brother to the powerful Wookey Jack and Double Jack concoctions.  Weighing in at 7.5%ABV, it allows for a more session approach to indulge in the citrus notes and west coast dry hop character.   The ale embodies the full spirit of a west coast IPA, with a deep, dark hopped intensity.   Highly recommend, but if you have the time and energy stick with the Double and Wookey dust.   7.5% ABV 8 out of 10 Shouts of Anarchy in the UK! http://www.firestonebeer.com/home.php

2014- It's almost Turkey Day and we must drink all the Pumpkin Ale before it goes stale!   I actually wish every craft brewery would make this year-round.   Seasonal beer has always had a great stage in the new order of merry hops and barley.  This very strong entry is a great performer, with nice touches of cinnamon and pumpkin spices.   Cascade and Liberty hops, along with nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin puree round out the base.  Colonial brew masters were making ales from squash and pumpkins as far back at 17th century New England, as a way to make the water safe to drink. 5.84% ABV https://smuttynose.com/beer/pumpkin-ale/ 8 out of 10 Soleil Moon Frye "Pumpkin Heads"

This chocolate flavored stout was another rare find from Halftime in Mamaroneck when I went on a coffee and chocolate stout binge a few months ago.  There's a gap of information on Rhinelander and how it is being distributed by the Minhas Brewing Company out of Monroe, Wisconsin and Calgary.  Rhinelander was an original brewing success story dating back to the late 1880's founded in Rhinelander, Wisconsin but was run out of business in the late 60's with national competition.   The name was brought back in 2009 and in 2011 they launched a new craft line focusing on a rabbit theme (Thumper, Mystical Jack, and Imperial Jack) The chocolate stout delivered a nice taste and had a nice balanced tone of chocolate and malts but fails on delivering anything special.  Not sure this one will survive. 5.5% ABV 6 out 10 Lepus *Be on the lookout for Deforest Kelley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yww2x3bm9k http://rhinelanderbrewery.com http://minhas...

One of the staples from the Great Divide arsenal is the Yeti.   This powerful Imperial Stout starts with roasted malts and then follows with hints of caramel and toffee filled with a deep hop character.  This pairs nicely with spicy chicken and dark smoked meats (Chef Cuts "Turkey Jerky" anyone?).  The pack at Animal Planet is hot on the trail of Bigfoot or is it a nice 6 pack of Yeti that keeps evading their night vision cams?   Enjoy responsibly and remember to have your iPhone ready if you witness a Yeti sighting or else you might have a hard time convincing the world that you weren't just enjoying a Great Divide Imperial Stout. ABV 9.5% 10 out of 10 Sasquatch Patches More on Great Divide http://greatdivide.com/beer/year-round/yeti-imperial-stout/ Finding Bigfoot http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot Night Vision Gear http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=night+vision&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=31...

I discovered the insanity while wandering at Halftime craft beer market in Mamaroneck.  The interesting label caught my eye, and I was immediately thinking it was another cheap gimmick to get the attention of a passerby.   This beer, however is no marketing gimmick, this one is a beast, a powerhouse of "insanity".   I had to research what exactly was the brewing process of an English style barleywine, after I had this last night and nearly fell over.   The is aged in oak bourbon casks, to create a complex dark, and intense flavor, best made for a brandy snifter.    Based on the Blithering Idiot from the Weyerbacker year round brews, this seasonal selection takes the deep cooper ale with hints of dates and figs, and amps it up to a crazy, insane mixture of bourbon barrel aged barleywine not for the faint of heart.   Wonder what 11.1% does to you?  It's best to taste this one while indulging in some heavy meats and cheeses, and not on an empty stoma...

I applaud the team at Dogfish Head for innovation again!  This time creating a unique ale for our beer drinking friends that suffer from Celiac disease.  This brew experiment is uniquely flavored with buckwheat honey, strawberry puree, and sorghum syrup replacing the barley base to allow for a gluten-free craft experience.  The namesake comes from being initially produced on the cusp between spring and summer in 2012.  It's a sweet fruit beer with a honey twist that feels like a light chilled champagne for a hot summer night. 6% ABV 8 out of 10 Tweason berries Check out this cool cinema-graph showing the process http://cinemagraphs.com/dogfish/ Sam's demo video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Nw2n5Zyq8