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...

This is the magical creation of Dogfish Head and Woolrich, two independent family owned companies.  Woolrich is America's oldest outdoor clothing company, dating back before the Civil War as a family run business specializing in the Buffalo Plaid print shirts and gear.    The teams started out trying to find a unique mid Atlantic hook to the recipe, since that there is nothing comparable to northwest hops in the northeast.  They decided to use fresh harvested spruce tips to give this ale an earthly aroma and tasting notes to the intense hoppiness.    The "Tuxedo" name comes from the colloquial term used for backwoods locals dressed in their black and red outdoor gear.  Founder John Rich of Woolrich references spruce beer in his journal entries back in the 1840's which was one of the inspirations for this new brew.  Dogfish Head and Woolrich harvested spruce tips from the woods in north-central Pennsylvania and near Georgetown, Delaware.  This...

We discovered this one at our local Westside Market on the Upper West Side of NYC.   At first it seemed like a novelty beer, but we soon found out that this this was a craft beer powerhouse.   The brewmasters from the Baltimore area based Duclaw have a reputation for experimental wild beer styles, and commissioned an annual H.E.RO. campaign to reward home brewing recipes from their fans.  Sweet Baby Jesus has now become their most successful and popular offering available all over the northeast and beyond. 6.2% ABV 10/10 Chocolate Peanut Butter Perfection that should make Reese's and AB very nervous Duclaw History https://duclaw.com/history/ Sweet Baby Jesus Story with Video https://duclaw.com/beers/sweet-baby-jesus-2/

I first experienced this Belgian delight in London at a nice little Belgian bistro near Soho.  I asked what rare beers they had available and sifted through about 30 pages of options.   When I asked for the Duchesse, the waitress actually asked is I was sure, and said that it was intense and it tasted a little like vinegar.  I understood the waitress' caution, but decided to take a gamble and let her know that I like intense beers and that I would try it.  I was delightfully surprised and when she came by to check on me, I gave the thumbs up and cheered with the glass in the air.  Brewery Verhaeghe was founded by Paul Verhaeghe around 1885.  During the German occupation of Belgium, they were forced by the government to halt production and in response the German soldiers dismantled the operations.   Back in full swing since the end of the war, this successful family-owned brewery is located in the southwest of the province of West Flanders about an hour...

Allagash just celebrated their 20th anniversary last year of their mission to bring traditional Belgian Ales to the masses.  Located in Portland, Maine and founded by Rod Tod back in 1995, they now distribute in 17 states including Washington DC.  Their iconic White is their top selling year round offering.   Using a varieties of grains, with the subtle spice of coriander and orange peels, they bring this famous flavor to their Belgian white wheat ale.   Everyone must go with this over the cheap imitators in the market.  That unfiltered appearance floats well in a Belgian style oval goblet to fully aerate the fermentation. 5.1% ABV 8/10 Lobster Buoys http://www.allagash.com/beer/white/ Info on Coriander https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander#Uses Visit Portland Maine https://www.visitportland.com

Let the march of the pumpkins begin for the year! This year's pumpkin offering from Captain Lawrence has a whole new design and name.  I'm not sure how much of the recipe was altered this year but it is still a strong fall entry from the local New York State region. The brewers at Captain Lawrence use a blend of Columbus and Crystal hops made with real pumpkin puree added before primary fermentation.  Nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice are added late in the boil to pump up this amber ale to the same levels of quality as last year. 5.0% ABV 7.5/10 Van Cortlandt "Blaze" Pumpkins Here's a link to one of my first postings back in 2013 with some of the Captain Lawrence history and the review of Freshchester  http://afordnyc.blogspot.com/2013/02/captain-lawrence-freshchester-pale-ale.html http://www.captainlawrencebrewing.com/pumpkin-ale/