The other day I got this email from Spuyten Duyvil:

This Thursday, June 10th at 6pm, some old friends are stopping by for a hang. Jean Van Roy of Cantillon, Armand Debelder of Drie Fonteinen and Kjetil Jikiun of Nøgne Ø will all be at Spuyten Duyvil to meet some people and drink some beer. Jean and Armand are rarely on this side of the Atlantic so take this opportunity to come by and tell them that they are Gods among brewers. We are not 100% sure what we will be pouring but below is the probable list of draft. There will also be some rare bottles on hand that these guys brought over from Europe.

I’m not sure if these names or breweries mean anything to most people, but to beer dorks the word Cantillon is the holy grail of lambics.  While most American’s think of Lindeman’s sweet almost soda like interpretation of the style Cantillon bring the true tradition of wild lambics and sour flavors who’s brewing process hasn’t changed since 1900 useing spontaneous fermentation and barrel aging.  It’s a very special occasion when Jean Van Roy, Cantillon’s brewer, will be in house to enjoy a drink with the patrons.

Spuyten Duyvil will have two beers from this amazing brewery on tap.  Cantillon Iris which is brewed with all pale barley malt and has three hop additions: one of dried hops and two of fresh hops(the second only two weeks before the bottling/keging).  This is not a traditional lambic because it lacks wheat as well as the use of fresh hops, and was brewed for the first time to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Brussels Museum of the Gueuze.   The second beer on tap will be the  Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus which is their classic take on the raspberry lambic.  Two amazing beers that are rarely seen on tap, available…possibly for only one night.  I imagine they will go fast.

In addition to Cantillon’s Jean Van Roy, Spuyten Duyvil will host brewmaster Kjetil Jikiun of Nøgne Ø.   Nøgne Ø is a craft brewery based in Grimstad, Norway.  Jikium developed his passion for craft beer, specifically American styles, while visiting the US on his many cross Atlantic flights as a pilot.  In the beginning, and maybe even currently, Nøgne Ø didn’t have a pilot system and every beer brewed by the brewery was released for commercial consumption making it essential that every brew be top notch.  In the beer world  Nøgne Ø is now one of those breweries beer geeks watch closely, and their beers while available in the bottle at fine beer establishments are rarely seen pouring from taps. Following Jikium will be four very special kegs from Nøgne Ø:  their IPA, Saison, Sunturnbrew (their new smoked barleywine…why didn’t we think of that?), and an Imperial Brown Ale (details about all of these can be found here).  Nøgne Ø’s beers are typically very expensive, and this might be your chance to do a side by side tasting of these wonderful brews.

Armand Debelder of Drie Fonteinen will be in attendance tonight as well, and he is also a brewer of fine traditional Belgian lambics.  While no beers from Drie Fronteinen will be on tap, Spuyten Duyvil did say that the three brewers will be bringing bottles with them.  I can’t even guess what that means, so it is probably best to make it over to Spuyten Duyvil to try some of these very rare beers…because the next time you see lambics like this might not be til this wonderful bar does their yearly lambic festival.

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Get over there, talk with some world class brewers, and drink some beers you may never see again.  The event starts tonight, Thursday June 10th at 6pm:

Spuyten Duyvil is located at
359 Metropolitan Ave
(at Havemeyer St)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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• Photo of Nøgne Ø taps at Spuyten Duyvil via Beertography
• more on Spuyten Duyvil here.
• more What Ales You here.

I guess we can call this week the second installment of This Week In Sandwiches.

Last Saturday I was in Manhattan, and finally got to go to the Blind Tiger Ale House for lunch.  People have been raving about the food at this well known pillar in the New York City beer scene, but if you have ever been you know that it is typically packed from happy hour til late night everyday.  The secret is to go for lunch.  My friend Leah works fairly close to this bar, and it is one of her frequent stops and she recommended the Bloody Beast…so that is what I ordered.

The Bloody Beast is said to be a rare roast beef sandwich (according to the menu), but in actuality it was fairly well cooked for roast beef.  Not bloody, or red, but extremely tender to the point that it almost melted in your mouth.  As far as I was concerned the lack of blood, or redness wasn’t a bad thing.  The roast beef was topped with cheddar cheese, onion, and served on a soft roll.  Think of it as a classed up Arby’s sandwich…but served with a side of bloody mary sauce for dipping.  The sauce is just be the Tiger’s house bloody mary mix…maybe a hint of vodka, but it was a nice addition to an already delicious sandwich…actually the bloody mary sauce is way better than a tomato ever could be.

The sandwich itself wasn’t huge yet still very filling.  I skipped breakfast that morning and the Bloody Beast kept me going until dinner.  Thinking about it this might be a perfect work day lunch…it’s filling enough to get you through the day, but it won’t induce a food coma.  The Bloody Beast is definitely a sandwich I would order again, but it seems like with the Blind Tiger’s sandwiches you can’t go wrong (my buddy Jerry ordered the rubin, and that was also delicious).

Make sure to try one of the many amazing beers on tap while eating at the Tiger.  I had Victory Brewing Company‘s foray into the Czech style pilsner (unlike their amazing German style Prima Pils or Harvest Pils) called the Braumeister Pils which was perfect for the heat that last Saturday brought to New York.  The brewers in Pennsylvania make the best pilsners in the world, and yes you can quote me on that.

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The Bloody Beast is a great deal at only $5.50, and make sure to enjoy a delicious beer while you are there:

The Blind Tiger Ale House
is located at
281 Bleecker Street
(between 7th Ave and Jones St.)
New York, NY

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• This is part of my new series This Week In Sandwiches.
  • read about more sandwiches here.

The other night while I was at Brooklyn Bowl with Leah, I noticed that they now had a house beer.

The house beer is called Brooklyn Bowl Pale Ale, and it’s brewed by Kelso of Brooklyn.

So as far as pale ale’s go it’s a pretty standard style…American Pale’s are hop forward, English Pales are on the malty side…all are in the 4.5%-6% alcohol range. But the Brooklyn Bowl Pale ale is a bit more unique than your average pale.

It was dark inside Brooklyn Bowl, but the beer appeared to be a pale amber color. As expected it was medium bodied, but the unique part about this beer was the hops. In pale ales you typically get citrus or pine notes from the hops, but the Brooklyn Bowl Pale Ale has something much more herbal going on.

At first I thought it was all dank herbs…things like mint, basil, and other savory things (when I say this I mean not added into the beer, but rather natural flavors from the hops)…but as the beer warmed it started to show a very unique licorice scent and flavor.  It’s possible that this licorice like flavor was drawn from the combination of hops and malts, but it was a bit reminiscent of root beer except not sweet at all. According to Brooklyn Bowls’ menu this particular brew is made with NY state hops (varietal was not specified).

While I’m not sure this pale ale is for everyone I did enjoy two pints while I was there, and would drink another two next time I go.  I like seeing breweries do interesting things with session beers, and that is exactly what Kelso did with this one,  and I hope beer lovers seek out.

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Kelso’s Brooklyn Bowl Pale Ale only available at Brooklyn Bowl, and costs $6 a pint.

Brooklyn Bowl is located at
61 Wythe Ave
(between 12th St & 13th St)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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• this is part of my series called What Ales You.
  • read more of these posts here.
• more on Brooklyn Bowl here.
• more on Kelso of Brooklyn here.

Harpoon Brewery is well known for their UFO Hefezeizen and IPA, but during events like this one at Barcade the rarities are brought out.

Harpoon has been doing a limited release series called 100 Barrels for quite some time now. In this series the brewery brews “one-of-a-kind limited batch creations fashioned by a Harpoon brewer. Every couple of months a different Harpoon brewer will choose a style, develop a recipe, and brew the beer—from selecting the ingredients to the final filtration.”  In the past they have done Bohemian Pilsners, Oyster Stouts, Ginger Ales, Rye beers, and many others. The most recent beer in the 100 Barrel series is a Single Hop ESB made exclusively with Delta hops.  The ESB itself is a session beer that originated in England, and has a slightly more malty character than the American Pale.  It’s a style that American brewers tend to skip over in, but a great ESB can’t be matched.  The Delta hop is a new American varietal that is the hybrid of Fuggle (a traditionally English hop) and the Cascade hop (the hop that gives Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that signature flavor).  Harpoon’s 100 Barrel ESB pours a dark amber, almost red in color, and with a huge malt backbone and less of a hop bitterness than a Pale Ale, but the unique part about the Delta hop is that it gives it a unique slightly savory flavor, almost of mint.  It’s a unique beer and the first commercially brewed beer to use Delta hops…it’s worth having a pint or two.  It’s the newest in Harpoon’s arsenal, and it will be on tap…and so will the Oyster Stout!

Harpoon in the past year or so launched their Leviathan series to showcase what American brewers have become known for…extreme beers with high alcohol.  Harpoon’s Leviathan series has produced wonderful beers like an Imperial IPA, a Baltic Porter, the Big Bohemian Pilsner ( a high alcohol version of the lager we love), and they are about to release an Imperial Red Ale.  These beers are delicious and strong, and there are bound to be one or two all of the ones I mentioned will be on tap at Barcade’s event.  Keep an eye out, and if you are drinking them please be careful…these catch up with you fast.

Harpoon is a well known brewery, and one that you can find almost everywhere…but come out to Barcade tomorrow and try some of their obscure hard to find treats. You won’t be disappointed.

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The tap list will include:

• Baltic Porter – 9.5% ABV – Big, dark Imperial Porter
• Belgian Pale Ale – 5.8% – Easy drinking Belgian Pale
• Big Bohemian Pils – 9.0% – Hoppy, Imperial Pilsner
• Imperial IPA – 10.0% – Even hoppier still
• Imperial Red – 9.2% – Big, malty Red Ale
• Munich Dark – 5.6% – Classic dark lager
• Oyster Stout – 5.5% – Oysters!
• Quad 2009 – 11.8% – Last year’s Belgian release
• Saison Royale – 9.0% – Belgian Farmhouse Ale
• Single Hop ESB – 5.8% – Bitter, brewed with one type of hop
• UFO – 5.1% – German style Hefeweizen

thanks to drinker for commenting, and linking to the Facebook event.  Cheers,

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Barcade is located
388 Union Ave.
between Powers and Ainslie
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

The Harpoon Brewery Night at Barcade is
Tomorrow, Thursday May 13th, 2010
starts at 6pm

If by chance you can’t make it tomorrow try to hit up Barcade this Friday or Saturday there are occasionally beers that linger on the taps for the next couple days…the dregs aren’t bad when you are talking about great beer.
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Additional Notes:

I’ve emailed Barcade for a tap list, and will update the remote when I get a response.

Dudes at Harpoon are super nice and looking into this too.  They said there will at least be two beers from the Leviathan Series on tap at the event, and are trying to get more details (follow them @Harpoon_Brewery)!

Not sure if the same artist did it, but this poster for the event looks suspiciously (when I say suspiciously I mean exactly) like Mastodon’s album art for Leviathan.

Brouwerij Lane currently has the 100 Barrel Single Hop DELTA ESB on tap.

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• more on Barcade here.
• more What Ales you here.
• more on Brouwerij Lane here.

So it’s getting to be nice out…and my favorite bar has noticed!

The Diamond is bringing back their summer hours as of MAY 1st!

Starting off this wonderful season of early afternoon drinking at one of New York’s finest beer establishments is

Fun-Raiser 12
East New York Farms
Saturday, 5/1, Noon-6pm

• Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Sierra Nevada Brewing with a homebrew demo out back.
• Bring your own grillables…the Weber will be lit!
• All sales of Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam products donated to East New York Farms between 2-4pm

The Diamond will feature the classics: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Anchor Steam Beer.  These are two beers that have set the stage for American brewers, as well as created two truly American styles of beer: the American Pale Ale and the Steam Beer.  They will also have the very special Fritz and Ken Ale which is a collaboration between these two pioneering brewmasters.  Fritz and Ken’s Ale is a stout with a hint of smoke malt and a great deal of alcohol.  A special treat that will only be brewed once…get it while it’s here.  Additional details about the event:

In 1980, Ken Grossman opened Sierra Nevada brewing Company in Chico, CA brewing bold creations on used dairy equipment. Although his brewhouse has grown, he celebrates his 30-year anniversary with the same passion, making several collaborative one-time brews with other early West Coast craft beer pioneers. The first is a strong stout co-brewed with Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing. Ken and Fritz will donate their proceeds from sales of this beer to the local library system and community college in the Chico area.

These guys started from humble beginnings on whatever equipment they could find. So, in honor of this anniversary, we’re having a demo with the NYC Homebrewers Guild out back. Watch and learn about the beauty of brewing on the smallest scale.

Also, we will be answering the brewers’ charitable call at this event. Between 2-4p, all sales of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Anchor Steam, and Fritz & Ken’s Stout will be donated by the Diamond to East New York Farms.

and then the following weekend….

The real kicker is….Starting on May 2nd EVERY SATURDAY & SUNDAY the DIAMOND will OPEN at 2PM!!!

Who knows maybe we will get some of those awesome Caddy Shack Happy Hours again?

Weekend afternoon drinking…it doesn’t get much better than that!

Lots of excitement going on at this little bar, and they are all signs that summer is almost here!

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The Diamond is located at
43 Franklin St
(between Quay St & Calyer St)
Brooklyn, NY 11222

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• more on the Diamond can be found here.
• check out The Diamond’s website for up to date tap lists!
• These photos were taken at The Diamond, and are from the White Lodge. If you would like to use these photos please link back to the flickr page, and credit the White Lodge. More posts featuring photos from the White Lodge can be found here.

Over the past couple weeks, and months, I’ve found myself a return customer of The Habitat.  By now I think most people have heard of this Greenpoint establishment known for it’s comfort food and boozy delicacies, but as far as I’m concerned it hasn’t been getting enough praise.

I’ll start at the top of the day with Brunch.  Habitat has a menu of about ten brunch items that are available from 11-4pm on Saturday and Sunday.  For $15 you get one of the brunch specials, coffee or tea, and a mimosa or a trip to the make your own bloody mary bar. The first time I went for brunch I thought $15 was a little much, but that was until I got my food…the plates of food are so big that it can pretty much cure any hangover (the bloody marys help with that too).  My personal favorites so far have been the BLT Club (one of the most enormous sandwiches I have eaten in recent months), and the always classic Huevos Rancheros.

As far as dinner goes they have specials pretty much every week night, and just like brunch you really can’t go wrong. klk and I have pretty much been obsessed with their Butter, Bacon, and Blue Cheese salad composed of butter lettuce, crispy bacon, dried cranberries, roasted pistachios, and a blue cheese dressing.  This salad might be my favorite thing on the menu, and it is definitely the food item that keeps us coming back so often.  Other notables are their Reuben and, one thing I can’t resist, multiple types of fries.

As far as the bar goes they have 12 taps, and organize their beer list vaguely by style.  While a couple of their beers are part of the happy hour special do yourself a favor and order what you really want.  Beers that have been on tap recently that have been phenomenal are Heavy Seas Loose Cannon (Clipper City’s fabulous high abv IPA), Founders Centennial  (my personal favorite IPA), Ithaca Ground Break Saison (a delicious American take on a Saison), and the Allagash Odyssey (a dark strong bourbon barrel aged Belgian style ale) just to name a few.  All of them totally worth paying full price…and if you are having trouble deciding the bar staff is happy to help (especially the gentleman who works on Saturday, Sunday, and Mondays…he is an excellent bar keep) !  Their tap list is always changing, and it is pretty much a given that you won’t be disappointed.

It seems like the Habitat has become a weekly stop for us, and is consistently delicious.  I’m happy to have this place in my hood.

Details on the specials:

• Monday: $5 Mac N’ Cheese (all night)
• Tuesday: 25 cent wings (6-midnight)
• Wednesday is Quiz Night: Winners drink for Free.
• Thursday: $8 Burgers (6-10:30)
• Saturday and Sunday: BRUNCH

Happy Hour:

• 4pm-7pm (4pm-6pm on Tuesday)
  • $3 Select Drafts
  • $3 off well drinks
  • $9 glass of sangria and empanada plate
  • $5 Mac n Cheese

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• more on the Habitat can be found here.
• photo via NYmag by Konstantin Sergeyev

A beer tradition that has been going on in Williamsburg for many years is happening again this weekend.  March 6th & 7th welcomes the annual Split Thy Skull strong ale festival back to Mugs Ale House.

Mugs Ale House is a long running beer establishment, and an establishment that champions craft beer.  If you want a good brew,  great bar food, an incredible draft selection, and some of the most reasonable prices in town this is where you want to be.

With that said you can find the full list of beers for Split Thy Skull 2010 here, but I’m going to give you my personal picks by style too. Please note that each day has a different tap list (yes, I know that sounds crazy…but it’s true).

Saturday March 6th:

• Brown Ale
  • Goose Island Brown Goose 9%
• Double IPA
  • Two Brothers Hop Juice 9.9%
• Dark Belgian Ale
  • Sixpoint Express 2008  11.3%
• Barley Wine
  • Nogne O #100 Barleywine 10.0%
• Belgian Pale Ale
  • St. Somewhere Lectio Divina  8.00%
• My number one recommendations is….
  • Cask Ale// Barley Wine double fermented with Champagne yeast
    • Otter Creek Quercus Vitis Humulus
      • If you go you must try this.  Like nothing else.

Sunday March 7th:

• Barley Wine Cask:
  • Heavy Seas Below Decks
• Double IPA
  • Greenflash Palate Wrecker 9.0%
• Old Ale
  • Kuhnenns 4th Dementia 9.5%
    • these beers don’t make it here that often, and everything I’ve had has been amazing.
• Imperial Stout
  • Heavy Seas Siren Noire  8.0%
• Dark Belgian Style Ale
  • 21st Amendment Monks Blood  8.3%
• Intergalactic Oak Aged Stout (self proclaimed)
  • Brewdog Tokyo 18.2%
• Aged Barley Wine
  • Sierra Bigfoot 2005  9.6%
    • fucking classic.

Check out the full tap list here!

Those are my short lists…and I won’t even get to try all of those…and there are so many that I’ve never even had.  This is a beer event not to be missed.  Get to Mugs, grab a table, order a beer, and chow down on some good and cheap bar food.

If you can’t make it this weekend stop in next week…you will get the dregs of the fest, but when we are talking about strong ales that isn’t bad at all…I plan on doing that myself.

• More What Ales You can be found here.
• More on Mugs Ale House can be found here.

Raging Bitch.  Not something I would normally title a post, but this is a special occasion…I have to be honest and say that I haven’t been all that interested in Flying Dog Brewery over the past couple years.  When I was first getting into beer their mixed 12 packs at $11.99 were a great price to experience a whole bunch of different styles, but these days I don’t really reach for it…until the other day…

klk went up to Brouwerij Lane and picked up a growler of Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch.  Raging Bitch is a Belgian IPA that weighs in at 8.3% abv.  While it claims to be a Belgian IPA there is very little that is Belgian about this beer when you first get it in your hands.  It caters to the IPA fan.  The scent and taste  are of deep resiney aggressive hops… a truly American take on the Belgian triple, and when I say American I mean that the hops are the star of the show, and the sweet malt profile and the fruity yeast are just a faint backbone.  Only after the beer warms a bit does the fruity aspects of the Belgian start to show.  The best beer I have had from Flying Dog in years…I guess that is why it is their 20th Anniversary Ale.

It’s hard to believe that Flying Dog Ales is 20 years old.  A brewery that started in Colorado that now has an equally large brewery in Maryland (where they contract brew for Highland, Terrapin, Blue Point and others).  A craft brewer that I don’t think about too often, but this beer just might bring them to mind all the time.

The Raging Bitch Belgian IPA was tapped at Brouwerij Lane just a day or two ago, and is $16 a growler (you can also get a pint in the store). Honestly I’m a sucker for this style, but if you are in the area I highly recommend trying it.

Brouwerij Lane is located at:
78 Greenpoint Avenue
(at the corner of Franklin Ave.)
Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Links:

• this is part of my series called What Ales You.
  • read more of these posts here.
• more on Brouwerij Lane here.
• more on Flying Dog here.