Craft Beer NYC

I was walking down Amsterdam Avenue this past weekend and noticed an interesting little market called Hudson & Charles.  Local, Sustainable, Grass-Fed Meats was enough of a hook on their window for me to try them out, but when I got closer I realized they had craft beer on draft with take home growlers! Their name actually comes from the intersection of their downtown location (corner of Hudson and Charles Street in the West Village).  I wound up taking home a nice fresh cut of London Broil and a 32oz Growler of Lawson Session IPA to pair with it.  Lawson's Finest is a Vermont craft brewery that has a partnership with Two Road Brewing in Stratford, CT to brew a few of their session ales  (#2, #8 and Sip of Sunshine)   It was a very enjoyable ale with a nice citrus finish, which was served super fresh out of the growler.   I think this could becomes a neighborhood staple for those high protein dinners that need to be washed down with craft beer from regi...

Gritty's is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year.   The original brewpub in Portland was the first established brewery and pub since prohibition in the state, starting a great trend in the northern "Vacationland" wonder of Maine.  Situated near the historic old port district in Portland, this location is now in the heart of Main culinary and brewing culture.  They now have 3 brewpub locations in Maine, Auburn, Freeport and the original Portland location, and ship their product all over New England. The Summer Ale, which shares the same name of the State of Maine's tourism slogan, is available April-August.  Vacationland is a great well balanced summer pale ale from a mixture of pale and wheat malt with special Cascade leaf hops for the finish.  Gritty's is known for a more traditional technique for their ales, reminiscent of British pub styles.  The hop profile for this one is rounded out with Saaz and regular Cascade hops.   For all the offsit...