In November 2008 the Littleun and I set off to the “Big Apple” in search of America's finest brews and were not disappointed. In my opinion the USA is at the forefront of the Craft Brewing scene at the moment. They brew more styles than any other country and are not afraid to experiment or use Hops!
To get a real, full bodied, IPA you need to visit America! They have taken the style, kept to the original recipe and managed to improve on it as well. Some of the best examples are from the Stone Brewery, Dogfish Head and Russian River. As we were there in November, not only did we sample the hoppy delights of IPA, but most of the breweries were brewing my favourite styles of ale, need I say more, the dark stuff, Stouts and Porters were on offer, mmmm!!!
The state of New York has over 50 breweries and brewpubs. We were based in Brooklyn which is home to Greenpoint Beers Works Inc, Sixpoint Craft Ales and not forgetting the famous Brooklyn Brewery. Then as you cross over the Brooklyn Bridge into the Big Apple its self, there are 5 Heartland Brewpubs (although all beers are now brewed at Greenpoint), Westside Brewing Co, Artichoke Basilles Pizza & Brewery, Highlander Brewery, Soho Brewery and not forgetting the Chelsea brewery were they brew some of the best stouts, and porters we have ever tried! We first sampled their beers 5 years ago now and they just get better.
Our luck was in as there was a “cask” beer festival at the Brazen Head at 228 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn. They usually have, 2 cask ales and 15 taps all with craft beers on. The festival was set up by Alex Hall; check out his web www.cask-ale.co.uk/us/, for a hoard of useful information on a trip to the USA. There were 30 beers on over the weekend. Needless to say an excellent time was had and further visits were on the cards.
Here is the low down on a few of the best bars in Brooklyn, then off to NYC itself. At 155 Atlantic Avenue there is the Waterfront Ale House, A terrific neighbourhood bar, with excellent food and 18 taps offering a good range of micro brewed ales, also do Beer and food parings on the menu.
Next is Mugs Ales House @ 125 Bedfors Ave, they take beer seriously here with over 30 taps and 2 cask pumps, quite close to the Brooklyn Brewery which has tours every hour from 1-4pm on Saturday’s, with the full range available in their “tap” so if you do the Brewery tour first you can finish the day off here supping ale and eating some descent snap.
Also in the area is “dba” Williamsburg. But you are better going to the original at 41 1st Avenue New York NY. We visited the original on a weekday afternoon. It was just us and a few scruffy regulars. A Good selection of quality beers on the 15 or so taps. We had the Stone IPA and Victory Hop Wallop which were on draft. Pretty cool place.
As we are now in the Big Apple, why not stay there for a while, so off to one of the worlds must do beer bars, The Blind Tiger Ale House @ 281 Bleeker St. This place is a Mecca for beer lovers. It is a very unassuming corner pub from the outside. It has an old time tavern kind of feel, dark wood walls, small tables, very cosy. There are more beers than you can count. The staff are friendly and helpful. If I lived in New York City, I would be a regular. On our visit they were having a Goose Island sampling with over 38 offerings on tap from the one brewery!
One you just have to do for the name alone is “Burp Castle” 41 E. 7th St. This is a very strange and very cool-looking place. High-ceilinged smallish bar with lots of tiny, small tables throughout the room. The dominant features are the large murals on the walls. A decent selection of fairly common Belgians beers. Next door is Standings, an excellent sports bar with 16 micros on offer, and under that is Jimmy’s 45, what a place gothic vaulted ceilings, excellent home made food and cask ales, it does not get better than this.
Off we go to the Chelsea Brewing Co, Bar at Pier 59, Chelsea Piers, This has a great ambiance overlooking the Hudson River. Very high ceilings and plenty of sunlight. All of Chelsea’s beers are on offer; however we tend to enjoy their IPA products and the excellent dark ales. A great place to visit for scenic aesthetics!
Another long awaited visit was our next port of call The Ginger Man @ 11 E. 36th St. A fantastic beer bar just south of Midtown with about 70 taps. The largest number in NYC, will dazzle you and if you go in the middle of the afternoon, it is a quiet oasis after your shopping and sightseeing. A few beers on cask, and they are happy to give you advice. OK snack food and the beers were on top form. How I wish I had a pub like this in my town!
You can’t visit NYC without going to one of the Heartland brewery outlets. We first visited their Times Square location in 2003 The five locations are; 1. Union Square/14th St. 2. Times Square/43rd St. 3. 6th Ave/51st St. 4. South Street Seaport,5. Empire State Building/34th St.
Heartland’s beers run a tad toward the hoppy side, which we find very refreshing. Heartland continues to pour forth six beloved classic house beers: Indian River Light: With accents of orange blossoms, this refreshing, light pale ale is clean and smooth. A subtle hint of coriander enhances the crisp finish. Cornhusker Lager: a crisp, light lager made from 2-row malt and flaked maize. A sweet malt flavour with a mild hop finish. Harvest Wheat: a pine-wood colored ale made from 65% 2-row pale malt and 35% malted wheat. Relatively low bittering and aromatic qualities leaving a smooth finish of malt flavour on the palate. Indiana Pale Ale: a copper colored ale of good strength. Effervescent bitterness, smooth malt flavour and a flowery hop aroma. Red Rooster Ale: a flavourful red ale with the addition of American Munich and crystal malts. Medium bitterness with a balanced aroma of malt. Farmer Jon's Oatmeal Stout: a hearty roasted stout with the hints of Java and a rich dark chocolate sweetness. Gold Medal Winner 1997 Great American Beer Festival. Bronze Winner 1995. Silver Medal Winner 1999. They also brew seasonal beers when we last went this was the Pumpkin ale and it was one of the best pumpkin ales we have had. A dark cloudy orange colour full of pumpkin spice around 4-5%abv.
Heartland is an excellent choice for a drink and a bite to eat when in New York City and good value as well. Their locations are all clean and spacious, and the Union Square Heartland is considered by some to have the most charm. The Seaport location is generally the least crowded, as they say Real Beer Here. Note once you’ve been to one of the Heartlands, you’ve been to ’em all.
The Hop Devil Grill 129 St. Marks Pl. We got here for happy hour after going to d.b.a. Quality, 20 or so on tap and a reasonable bottle selection and there’s a separate Belgian focused bar. There’s a variety of places to sit, from up front and visible to some lost corners. Only had some fries - so can’t really speak to the food. Cool enough place though.
Just by chance we happened along; wait for it; a bar with old German heritage serving nothing but classic German brews. Zum Schneider on the Lower East Side @ 107 Avenue C. The selection is small, only 15! But consists of tasty traditional German beers: Allgauer Buble and Weltenburger Anno, anyone? This pace has charm and lots of history.
Zum Schneider’s less-packed archrival German bar, Loreleys, located at 7 Rivington, has another good selection of German beers with traditional robust German food, the sausage platter comfortably feeds two for $15; it's a classic composition of three kinds of wurst, mashed potatoes and shreds of red cabbage simmered in vinegar, makes a perfect meal with a tall, cloudy Weiss bier, what more could Otto want? Even a bowl of oniony potato soup comes with a sausage perched on the side!
As we head home over the river to Brooklyn our last stop is Spuyten Duyvil. Voted No.2 Best U.S. Beer Bar for 2007, in both New York Magazine’s and Time Out. This unmarked, cosy and quirky bar with an antique gramophone and an ashtray collection on display, offers a stunning selection of obscure Belgian beers along with the crème de la crème of U.S. micros from Sixpoint Craft Ales and Southampton, among others. Better still, the food wonderfully compliments the beer. A beer garden out back only adds to the enjoyment but not in November. The cheese and meat plate is to die for.
Obviously there are more bars to try, so I will endeavor to provide a more in-depth review of NYC soon.
Remember Otto says drink now and avoid the Christmas rush!
Prosit Otto.
