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.

deacon's feelgood pick of the week

The good people of Southern Tier, who make one of the most blessed lists of IPAs on the planet, and no seriously don't let me get distracted but if you've never had the Oak Aged Unearthly Imperial IPA, or the Gemini or Hoppe Imperial or the Iniquity or the...where was I...right, Southern Tier: on Sunday, they'll be putting on a benefit (OktoBENEfest) for the St. Susan Center. St. Susan is a soup kitchen in upstate New York that last year served 135,761 nutritional meals to the people with the hardest lots in life on this planet. They do good work, and they'll continue to do it with the support and generosity of people who like YOU who like to go to beerfests and pay $3 for awesome craft brews. And generous organizations like Southern Tier, providing beers, and NY partner Farm Fresh Foods, providing the $3 brats.

Lakewood, unfortunately for ME, is just about as far from Brooklyn as any part of New York State. I'd love to go to this though. If I were a gambling man, and ave maria but 'tis one of my sins, my money's on Southern Tier as the best craft brewery in the great state of New York.

Southern Tier highlights:

Oak Aged Unearthly Imperial IPA (9.5% ABV): Woodsy, powerfully hopped and deliciously dark DIPA. "To underestimate Oak Aged Unearthly is to trifle with the mysteries of the universe, so please consume wisely," reads the label. the deacon will condone a bit of sacrilegious for this divine brew.

Pumking Imperial Pumpkin (9.0% ABV): Definitely a brew hop pumpkin candidate

Gemini Imperial Blended Ale (10.5%): A straight blend of the Hoppe and the Unearthly, two Pales on opposite ends of the ingredient spectrum. Experimentation for experimentation's sake? the deacon's down.

And this one's breakin' the rules a bit since I've never had it...but since it's only weeks from its November release, will consider this a down payment:

Old Man Winter (7.2%): "A liquid wonderland" Old/Strong ale. What I'll be drinking next upstate ski trip.

the deacon's pick of the week*

*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."

In the dull drudgery of another slow Thursday, a hungover Thursday, I'd rather not outthink this week's obvious pick: I forgot about it until the Hairy Beer Monk passed along the tip, but Chelsea Brewing Co.'s annual Cask Ale Festival starts Friday at 12PM and continues til 11PM Sunday. The full details are up on their facebook page, including this wonderful list of sweet sudsy goodness, all available ON CASK:

Blue Point Brewing Company, Patchogue, New York
Oatmeal Stout

BrewDog Brewing Company, UK
Hardcore IPA

Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
Blast

Bull Falls Brewery, Wausau, Wisconsin
Bull Falls Nut Brown Ale
Bull Falls White Water Ale

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, Pleasantville New York
TBA

Chelsea Brewing Company, New York, New York
Rye’s Up
Catskill Hop Harvest
1000 Gyle Imperial Mild
Hop Angel IPA
Creme Stout
Sunset Red Ale

Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, Maryland
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale
Heavy Seas Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Corner Brewery, Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jackhammer Old Ale

Dark Horse Brewing Company - Marshall, Michigan
Crooked Tree IPA
One Oatmeal Stout

Highpoint Brewing Company, Butler, New Jersey
Ramstein Octoberfest Lager
Ramstein Classic Hefe-Weizen

Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, Colorado
Imperial Stout
Black Jack Porter

Magic Hat Brewing Company, South Burlington, Vermont
Big Stout

Michigan Brewing Company, Webberville, Michigan
High Seas India Pale Ale
Bavarian Dark

Moylan’s Brewery & Restaurant, Novato, California
Dragon

Oskar Blues Grill & Brew, Lyons, Colorado
Dale’s
Old Chub
Pearl Street Grille & Brewery, Buffalo, New York
Saber’s Edge
Flamande Rouge (Flemish Sour Red Ale)

Saint Somewhere Brewing Company, Tarpon Springs, Florida
Saison Du Chene
Pays Du Soleil

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, California
ESB

The Livery, Benton Harbor, Michigan
Anniversary Ale (Imperial Brown Rye Ale)

Three Floyds Brewing Company, Munster, Indiana
Alpha King Pale Ale

Troegs Brewing Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Javahead

Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Easton, Pennsylvania
Imperial Pumpkin


It's easy to forget that Chelsea's the last independent brewery operating in Manhattan (I'll forgive their stretch to "New York City," because obviously we got Brooklyn and Six Point operating on my side of the river. Last I checked Brooklyn is part of New York City.).

As for the list itself: devilish, Clipper City and Weyerbacher...those Imperial Pumpkin Ales sound dangerous. What's Brooklyn's Blast? Haven't heard of that before. Similarly, have never tried Magic Hat's Big Stout, and I'll have to get to the Troegs Javahead...whoever first combined good coffee beans with delicious dark stouty goodness deserves a medal, if not Sainthood. Chime in, any beer disciples out there. The Good Lord intends me to man up and find some excuse to skip work Friday. 50/50 I hit this 12PM then, or 12 PM Sunday. About, oh, 35ish I hit both days, 22ish I don't make it into work Monday, and 99% certainty I'll be rubbing my tummy and raising nonsensical toasts to strangers on one or all days.

the deacon's pick of the week*

*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 week's pick: The New Belgium Brewery

The History
New Belgium was founded in Ft Collins, CO eighteen years ago by electrical-engineer-turned-homebrewer Jeff Lebesch and wife Kim Jordan, and is now home to 20+ styles of belgian ales. The first Fat Tire, the delightfully drinkable Amber that quickly became their flagship product, was brewed in Jeff's homemade kit (pieced together from old dairy farming equipment). And they've got a great vibe outside the brewery: fierce advocates of biking and transportation alternatives, you can find their brews on tap (if you're lucky enough to live west of the Rockies) at any number of bike races, city clean-up initiatives, and good ol' fashioned festivals and fundraisers. Check their blog to find where they're headed next (hint: San Francisco).

The Beer
Beer-soaked as we are in the great 5 boroughs, we often miss the best of the west, and no exception here. Fat Tire is almost all you'll find in the city (they're unlisted on Great Brewers finder) but I have been lucky enough to catch three bottled beauties from the criminally underrated American Beer Distro:

Mothership Wit: Belgian-style white ale, to Hoegaarden what Blue Smoke is to KFC. Heavily malted, not too sweet (A good belgian wit balances fruit/citrus with sour flavors), this blessed beverage is brewed all-organic with fresh Rocky water (no cold train jokes, please).

Hoptober Golden Ale: Heavily hopped pale ale. Homebrewers will know what I mean: lots of relatively low-bitterness hops (Centennial, Cascade, Sterling, Willamette, and Glacier, all American local breeds) give it a flowery citrus bite and hoppy aftertaste without the sky high bitterness (40 IBUs). Wheat malts lend it a hefe-esque balance. The deacon loves me a high hopped, low bitter Pale Ale. A heavenly paradox.

Dunkelweiss 30*: This was a true find. Something like an Aventinus, a chocolaty sour wheat with a banana and clove finish. A unique bite, which I'll guess comes from the Belgian-ey range of diverse ingredients added to this traditionally german style. Good to stockpile for the next big storm or power outage. Don't expect to wake up when the neighbors knock, though.

And that's the deacon's pick of the week. I'll go ahead and bless myself fully recovered from NYC Craft Beer Week, and hope you too will get into some good cheer and libations this weekend. Speaking of biking, still plenty of time to sign up for the "Escape From New York" race on Saturday! Look for the deacon riding in the raddest beer jersey on the road.