Craft Beer NYC

Here's another fall seasonal that inspires year round creativity and freshness.   Mixing a stout and a pumpkin ale, the Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout is a medium bodied hybrid that slides in at 7% ABV.   Brewed with real pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, and extra spices it delivers a unique fall seasonal craft beer.  Their line of Fisherman's ales embody the spirit of the North Atlantic fisherman fleet that embarks out of Gloucester along the Northern shore of Boston every morning.  Proceeds help benefit the Northeastern Seafood Coalition. 7% ABV 7 out of 10 Pumpkin Chowders Pumpkin Seafood Chowder http://fearlesseating.net/pumpkin-seafood-chowder/ Cape Ann Brewing http://www.capeannbrewing.com

The fall series of Pumpkin Ales continues with this Imperial Stout Brewed with Pumpkins from the Southern Tier of New York State.   Distributed in 22 oz bottles just like their Pumking Ale all over Whole Foods, The Warlock is brewed with enchanting spirits on the darker side of the ale family.   Darkness and mystery are the trademarks of the Blackwater Series at Southern Tier, which spawns this black stout just for the Halloween season.   Enjoy the roasted malts with hints of spicy pumpkin pie and get ready for Thanksgiving with the family.  Serve in a nice cinnamon sugar coated goblet for the ultimate experience, which will unleash the dark black color and full body with medium bitter tasting notes. 8.6% ABV 9 out of 10 Little Nicky's

Are you afraid of the dark?   This toasted porter from Iceland is a powerhouse of dark flavor for the fall and winter season.   Chocolate and toasted malts provide a very dark, jet black color and intense clarity but remains medium on flavor and alcohol strength.   Located only 60 miles south of the Arctic circle in the fishing port of Akureyri, the Einstok Brewery uses some of the purest water sources in the world to brew its craft ales.  This American style porter from Iceland proves that dark intensity, toffee, and dark roasted chocolate coffee doesn't always mean a high ABV but creates an enjoyable flavor explosion suitable of a Viking hunting party! 6.0% ABV 9.5 out of 10 Black Iced Coffee's http://einstokbeer.com/home.html

It's that time of year again to discover and enjoy strong dark ales, stouts, and porters.   Saloon Boss Brown from New Buffalo Brewing hits the market with a bold intense taste that is more in line with porters or stouts.   This pours with a nice dark brown color and dense clarity for a hearty meal pairing with smoked meats or BBQ chicken.   Personally I can enjoy a nice dark brown ale year round, but enjoy this seasonal while it last!   Founded by William Campbell, after a career in the Air Force ROTC he wanted to bring back real American manufacturing to his hometown of Buffalo.   One of the things that makes this Brown Ale unique and tasty are the chocolate and nutty notes.   Stay warm Buffalo! 5.0% ABV 7.5 out of 10 Buffalo Bills http://www.newbuffalobrewing.com/our-brew/

Burton Baton is an oak-aged Imperial Pale Ale from the team at Dogfish Head.   This one is another great entry in a long line of unique crafted and off centered inspired ales from Delaware and the braintrust of Sam Calagione.   They start with two separate ales in stainless steel, an English style ale and an Imperial IPA and then transfer everything to one of their custom 10,000 gallon oak tanks where it stays for over a month to settle and soak in all the wood charm.   The oak brings great tasting notes, and also softens the alcohol and takes the bite out of the 10%ABV.    A nice blend of subtle citrus notes from Northwestern hops and vanilla that pairs well with the oak-aged flavor.  Started a few years back as a seasonal ale, this one is now available year round! 10% ABV 9.5 out of 10 Oak Hybrids http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/burton-baton.htm

Another great entry from the Flying Dog brew masters.   Germany is still the center of the beer universe, including the popular south German style of wheat beer "Hefeweizen".  Hopefully the mention of Germany multiple times in this post- will propel this past my current most popular post featuring the German Radeberger Pilsner.   Nice medium tone, very light and fruity with hints of vanilla and coriander.  Recommended for a nice cold night in NYC, where we wait for more snow.   Lock up your puppies-  the ladies are on the prowl! 4.7% ABV 7.5 out of 10 Wheat Berry Salads

Another entry from the dark beer specialists, this Amber Ale is a lot more intense and savory than the name implies.   Definitely riding on the darker side of Amber but on the lightest side of all their dark ales.  Duck-Rabbit proclaims this the gateway beer for their full flavored beer line.  A nice bronze color with several complex layers of malted caramel tones, this medium full bodied ale performs very well.   I recently noticed a six pack of Duck-Rabbit placed in the background of an episode of Big Bang Theory, don't blink or you might miss seeing Sheldon debating seeing a Duck or a Rabbit! 5.5% ABV 9 out of 10 Duck Thumps Learn about the masters of dark ales http://www.duckrabbitbrewery.com Here's my other Duck-Rabbit post http://afordnyc.blogspot.com/2014/10/duck-rabbit-brewery-milk-stout.html

This bold self described Quadruple Ale is an intense beer drinking experience.   Measuring in at 9.7% ABV, the dark, mysterious, and powerful ale keeps entertaining the craft beer connoisseur to the last drop.  This unique blend of a Belgian ale is amped up with a little added flare of Liefmans Kriek cherry ale to delivery a very impressive dark ale.  Three Philosophers is recommended to be served in a European goblet in order to optimize the taste and flavor while sipping over dinner or a plate of strong cheese and meats.  Ommegang calls Cooperstown, NY home, which is located in central New York and was the hub of all hop production back in the 19th century.   Cooperstown is also part of the historic Leatherstocking region of New York State and full of a superior water table which is an important part of brewing quality beer in this country.   New York water, including the Catskill water aqueduct, is some of the greatest public water supply in the cou...

Here's another pumpkin ale from New York State.   The Blue Point pumpkin has nice touches of nutmeg and cinnamon, but seems a little to filtered when it pours into the glass.   Some of the other pumpkin beers are more cloudy and seem to have been filtered less based on the color and clarity.   It has a medium body and mild hoppyness to balance the spices and pumpkin flavor.   Blue Point recently announced that is has been sold to Anheuser Busch.  Time will tell if they can continue to keep their craft brewing in Long Island with the same quality control as before the acquisition. 6.0% ABV 6.5 out of 10 Supreme Pumpkins http://bluepointbrewing.com/bpbc/microbrews/pumpkin-ale/

Another entry from the boys in the Jersey Swamp.   This is a good entry in the Pumpkin Beer category but not in my top 5.   The Imperial Ale gives the pumpkin a little kick coming in at over 8%, mixing pumpkin puree and molasses to create a strong, sweet, and medium bodied Pumpkin Ale.  Available August through October in 4 packs and on draft. 8.1% ABV 6 out of 10 Jersey Pumpkins http://www.riverhorse.com/html/liquid_details_seasonal.php?Hipp-O-Lantern-Imperial-Pumpkin-Ale-3

The Stevens Point Brewery was founded back in 1857 by Frank Wahle and George Ruder in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.    Their first brew was called Point Beer.   They didn't distribute beer outside of Wisconsin until 1990, but they get the crown as being the 5th oldest continuous brewery in the country.   They also are now completely independent and locally owned.  In 2009, the Stevens Point Brewery team started the Whole Hog limited and seasonal line, including it's award winning Pumpkin Ale.    A delightful mixture including cinnamon and nutmeg spices,  the sweet and spice flavor overpowers the mild hops.  It's almost a bottled pumpkin pie experience wrapped up in one.   They use Perle hops mixed with Munich, Caramel, and Roasted Malted barley to balance the pumpkin and fall seasonal spices. Great American Beer Festival, Pumpkin Beer Category- Gold Medal 2012 World Beer Championships- Gold Medal 2013 7.5% ABV 8 out of 10 Purple Pink ...