Hitachino round-up

BGH had Hitachino Nest ale in the hub last night, the products of the Kiuchi Brewery in Naka, Japan. According to wiki, Kiuchi "products combine European beer-making technology with traditional Japanese brewing techniques; for example, its XH Hitachino Nest Beer is matured in shochu [rice liquor, not to be confused with sake] casks."

I was psyched for this because not only are these beers almost completely unavailable in the states (you won't see any but the White and maybe the Ginger on tap, certainly not on the east coast) but I <3 spicy beers like a 13 year old <3s Edward, and who uses Ginger like the Japanese? So needless to say: excitement

Unfortunately the promised XH ale did not make the trip, but the bar did have these five on tap:

Hitachino Commemorative Ale / Japan / 9% / 12oz / $6

[Relevant BGH notes: "Rare as eff"]

Hitachino Espresso Stout / Japan / 7.5% / 12oz / $6

[Relevant BGH notes: "A near perfect, dark warming beer."]

Hitachino Real Ginger Ale / Japan / 7% / 12oz / $6

Hitachino White Ale / Japan / 5% / 12oz / $6

Hitachino Red Rice Ale / Japan / 7% / 12oz / $6

I had three beers: the Commemorative, the Espresso Stout, and the Real Ginger, with my favorite a toss-up between the first two. The Commemorative was a rich, strong winter ale, not to dark, well-spiced with fruit and earthy notes, something quite different and delicious. I want to say there was something of a Belgian beer to it, but that could just be my experience of "otherness": a classic American winter ale it was not, but it was rich, light, tasty as all get out and surprisingly and un-noticeably strong (9%). The Espresso Stout was a deep, rich dark ale with balanced notes of chocolate and burnt coffee bean, with (again) a subtle pleasant spicy kick that I couldn't attribute to anything. It wasn't as thick as I'd peg a 7.5% stout or porter to be. If you're curious, the snobs at BA give the first a B+ and the second an A-.

The ginger was an odd thing, but I enjoyed it. I've often said if you love ginger in beer you can't use too much of it, and this puts it to the taste. It was almost soda tasting, like a 7up or sparkling iced tea, and I can guarantee Sam wouldn't like it. But it went down ea-zy. Waaaaay too easy for a 7% alcohol beer.

All in all, a fantastic, well-attended event, with the usual plates of free cheese and prosciutto. I've been reading a lot about Japanese beer culture recently, and I mean to make a post of it soon.

One last thought: As rare as these are, it was pretty cool of BGH to make them available for $6. What a church of beer.

Mission Dolores to open soon

Thanks Brownstoner, never would've found it

The Deacon's roomie tips off that the long-awaited opening of Mission Dolores (which my co-blogger will recall: we unsuccessfully tried to attend during NYC craft beer week) will occur in late January or early February. Mission Dolares is the second bar to be opened by BGH brothers Mike and Ben Wiley, who led the Six Point brewery tour through freezing snow and are therefore heroes. It'll be at Carroll St and 4th Ave.

Mike describes the space as "bizarre" and as "a huge Vol de Nuit," the excellent partially covered Belgian beer garden in the west village, which makes me hum with happiness. The list will be Bar Great Harry + more Belgian/German beers on tap. Oh and meet pies. Field trip soon, get excited.

Brewery Tour: Sixpoint's Craft Ales

Vacation is over and it's time to play catch up and so here is the long overdue recap of Sixpoints!

The Deacon and I started with a glass of Gorilla Ale at the steadfast Bar Great Harry in Carroll Gardens. Enjoying our favorite blend of coffee and beer, we met Ben and Mike (brothers and owners of BGH) playing pinball with Andrew, a co-founder of Sixpoint's Craft Ales.

With just a few minutes to drink while they rallied the troops, we polished our beers and got into minivans for the short drive to Red Hook where the Six Point Brewery sits behind an unsuspecting garage door. Once there, we gathered in the company's headquarters for a quick QA with our guide Andrew and a big plastic cup full of Bengali Tiger.

The "headquarters" is a small studio apartment space with two desks, a kitchenette, two dining room tables, a piano and a custom built kegerator. It was recently renovated and a big change from the office/garage below which they moved out of to make more room for grain. While standing in the office (which felt more like a living room) we learned about the founder's (Shane Welch) market testing via parties at the University of Wisconsin and his trip to NYC to start a brewery out of his car. Like many good things, Shane got connected with our guide for the evening (Andrew) over a glass of homebrew and the rest is history. Check out BaseNow for a colorful interview with Shane on the origins of Sixpoints.

The garage below the living-room-turned-office now houses several 2-ton bags of grain, a motorcycle, a cat's litter box and the Sixpoint Enterprise (a homebrewer's dream machine for creating new beers). Adjacent to the garage is the actual brewery (I use the term loosely while smiling), which consists of one boiler, a mash tun, 5 fermenting tanks and a keg cleaner. Grain is fed into the process from a small chicken-coup-like space built on the roof and the whole brewing process happens in this one cozy space. Because of storage constraints, all the beer is packaged into kegs and shipped out as quickly as possible. To say the least, the operations are modest for such a well known and highly respected New York beer.

Keeping things casual, Andrew richly explained where different beer flavors come from and proved himself to be far from a beer snob providing us several memorable quotes such as: "People ask what type of beer Righteous Ale is. They say, 'Is it a pale ale or something else,' and I just tell them it's a really good beer that people like to drink a lot."

The tour ended with a full cup of double IPA (11% ABV straight from the fermenting tank) and a leisurely, yet frigid, walk back to the comfort of BGH. Several beers deeper than we had left, we made friends with our fellow tourists learning of breweries they had visited and how to get there. It was a night full of learning about how to make good beer, the growth of a small brewery, entrepreneurship driven by passion versus money and how many people love this stuff.

Pics-

Your 12/17 deacon pick of the wick

*the beer deacon's pick of the week can be a new brewery, beer, bar, or any saint-blessed thing he wants it to be, so long as it pertains to beer culture in the city. Look for his pick on thursdays, what college kids call "thirsty thursdays," or to cite from the brew hop bible, "and on the fourth day the disciples drinketh...early and often."

This isn't technically a "weekend" pick, unless you consider between now and New Years one long extended holiday which I do. Next Tuesday, 12/22, Bar Great Harry is leading a Six Point Brewery tour and after party, taking a lucky 25 of first RSVPs for an exclusive tour of the guerrilla indy brooklyn brewer located in the heart of Red Hook:

BGH and Sixpoint are teaming up for a special holiday event. The evening starts with everyone who signs up meeting at BGH at 6PM. We will take vans down to the Sixpoint Brewery. There we will hang with the Sixpoint folks, get a little tour, and drink fresh Sixpoint beer right from the tanks!

At this point the plan gets a little weird. If it is snowing, we are going to get to-go cups from Sixpoint and walk up to BGH. Sounds like fun in the snow, no? However, if it is not snowing, or if it turns silly cold, then we will just get vans back. At BGH we will have a few cool Sixpoint beers on draft. And they will be cheap.

You can RSVP after the jump. I've already RSVPd with a friend and fellow Six Point fan, and having been to their keg night at BGH i can personally vouch for the quality of their extremely fresh, extremely local brews. They offer a slate of A range graded beers on BA, including their popular Bengali Tiger IPA, Belgian IPA, Abigale Belgian, Brownstoner (my personal favorite), Grand Crue (a mega strong Belgian dark ale) and the amazingly unique Sixpoint Gorilla Warfare Coffee Porter, which is brewed with extremely expensive fresh microroasted coffee grains from Gorilla coffee (the only microroastery in NYC). If you find that baby on tap, you win.

Next outing?

Oof, brutal 12th place finish at BGH's trivia last night...need to rest up for tomorrow's trivia night (at Boerum Hill's Black Sheep Pub). They may not have BGH's selection but we usually do better there. Coincidence that "better" = "at bar w/out 10%+ cask ales"? You tell me, friends. I also have to rack the Cherry Stout into the secondary fermenter after work. But that doesn't mean we can't plan for some brew hopping down the road.

So...upcoming NYC beer events via BA:

10.15
Barcade 5th Anniversary Party

10.15
Coney Island Freaktoberfest Party @ Ellis Bar

10.17
Roll Out The (Wooden) Barrel of Schneider Edel-Weisse (4th Avenue Pub)

10.20
Ramstein Brewery Night @ Bar Great Harry

10.20
Beer & Bacon Tasting @ Jimmy's No. 43

10.21
Captain Lawrence /Henry's Beer Dinner

10.23
Craft Beer & American Artisanal Cheese

10.25
Lela Bar Beer & Food (small plate) pairing

10.28
Shmaltz Brewery Freaktoberfest

10.29
Victory Night @ Barcade

10.29
Honey Swap- Mead & Beer Event

It's been forever since the deacon's slated his thirst w/some old school Mario at Barcade. The Jimmy's 43 Mead and Beer event (w/Sixpoint) sounds awesome, as do the Shmaltz/Coney Island Freaktoberfests. And I'll definitely be at BGH for the Ramstein event with some of the deaconettes. 4th Ave Pub is that new bar in Park Slope we opened during craft beer week...the one just down the road from Pacific Standard. Sounds like they're making a concerted effort to grab a crowd.

Thoughts?

Sri Lanka huh???

At least according to Bar Great Harry's daily tap list, that's the origin of Lion Stout (Ceylon/Lion Brewery). BA confirms, with a pleasant A- rating and heady comparisons to Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout and Young's Double Chocolate, two excellent dark, creamy, tasty sweet stouts. Also: BGH trivia tonight! A deacon's life is lived for the simple things.

Speak and ye shall see thy reward

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled"

--Matthew 5:6

Perhaps this interpretation is wee out of context, but just yesterday I inquired into the existence and nature of the Brooklyn Blast, an American style double IPA or Strong Pale (BA grades it an A-) from Brooklyn's Brewmaster's Special Reserve line. And lo and behold, I stop by BGH on my way home and there it is on tap. Ummmmm: strong, hoppy, fruity. Divine intervention? Maybe not...BGH is just one fine beer bar.

Speaking of BGH: Speed dating next Tuesday, 10/13 for all you single hopheads out there. Details here (all proceeds go to benefit the East Africa Center, who put on the event)