I'm obviously not a good enough person to make the 7 hour trek cross state to The Southern Tier/St. Susan OktoBENEfest, so for selfish reasons I'm doubling up on this week's pick: Brooklyn Bowl, the (somewhat) new bowling in Williamsberg that aims to compete with the always jampacked Gutter, where the deacon will watch righteous jersey rock band Gaslight Anthem tonight. Apart from being a bowling alley and rock venue, Brooklyn Bowl's restaurant is a venture from the ridiculously tasty Blue Ribbon, and like any self-respecting hipster venue their beer list is hardcore local: three Sixpoint taps (Sweet Action, Righteous Rye, Bengali Tiger IPA), five Brooklyn taps (Lager, Pennant Pale Ale, Weisse, Oktoberfest, and and the recently debuted and totally punkrock awesome DIPA Brooklyn Blast), and two Kelso taps (Nut Brown Lager, Pilsner). I also appreciate the small touch on the menu in describing their localness:
Six Point: "just down the way in Red Hook"
Brooklyn: "right through the wall on n. 11th"
Kelso: "a stones throw away in Clinton Hill"
Totally subjective points for not having Sixpoint's fabulous Brownstoner on tap. Ave maria, mate, it's fall, why's no one carrying this brew anymore!? Hopefully it'll be back in the winter...
Anyhow, I've been delinquent in throwing on my skinny jeans and pretending to like PBR for too many months now, I'm psyched to get back to Billyberg for a cool show and some fresh local brews.
Finally, weather alert: the last (and largest) free ride of the NYC cycling season, Transporation Alternatives "Tour de Bronx" on Sunday, is still open to registration...though Weather.com is calling for rain and a high of 47. Hmm. That should help me shake my hangover?
Showing posts with label biking and beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biking and beer. Show all posts
Friday, October 16, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Bike? Check. Attached Radio? Check. Pizza Rack? Check. 2 Kegs? Check.
For the past 2 weeks, I've been exploring the world of bikes in the hopes of getting myself a nice cruiser for upcoming weekends. The search has come second to enjoying beer whenever possible and is moving slowly, but it picked up quickly this afternoon when I discovered a bike that carries two kegs with taps. Wired, thank you for shedding light on such a glorious combination of fabulous things.
Humans can't produce much better inventions, but as MisterCharlie aptly pointed out, 400 lbs of beer could be a tough pedal on your own. I guess it's good that the more of it you drink, the lighter it gets.
Would it work in NYC? Seems like a Brooklyn treat.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
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.
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.
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