issue 6 - march / april 2004

New York City’s Free Independent Beer Magazine
The Gotham
IMBIBER
Issue 6
March – April 2004
Bar Matchless, 557 Manhattan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Photo: Alex Hall
In This Issue:
City Beer Happenings
5
Beer Calendar
6
Hophead Hops Over The Atlantic!
8
Beerman & Firkin
9
House Beers – Good or Evil?
10
Fun Anagrams
11
FAB Fest
12
Write a Caption
14
News Extra
15
SUPPORT THE CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY!
Independent Imbiber’. Be aware that English
spellings may crop up within these pages!
The Gotham Imbiber
Is published every two months at the
beginning of January, March, May,
July, September, and November.
To advertise at
stupidly low rates,
please contact:
Alex Hall
The Gotham Imbiber
43 St. Marks Avenue
Brooklyn
NY11217-2403
U.S.A.
This is a magazine, unlike others, where lovers of
microbrewed beers can submit articles for
publication.
Intending writers please note that this magazine
is about commercially-available beers, the
microbreweries that produce them, and even the
people who drink them. It is not intended to
promote home-brewing (sorry!), as that would be
'preaching to the converted' as such - and would
reduce the space available for microbreweryrelated material.
Disclaimer: Although accuracy is checked as far
as possible, no responsibility can be taken by
The Gotham Imbiber for false, misleading, or
inaccurate information. This magazine is entirely
independent, and is not associated in any way
with any organisation, brewery, or bar. All
opinions expressed are those of the individual
contributor concerned, and not those of The
Gotham Imbiber. Any resemblance between real
life characters and those appearing in fictional
stories or cartoons in this magazine are purely
coincidental.
Tel. +1 917 957 7623
Email:
[email protected]
Mission: The aim of The Gotham Imbiber is to
promote awareness of microbrewed beers and
where to obtain them in and around New York
City, especially cask-conditioned ales which are
sadly only available in a handful of outlets
citywide.
Deadline for issue 7 is Monday 19th April 2004
for publication in May.
Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Felice
Wechsler, Murray and Florence Reiser and
everyone who keeps this magazine going by
taking out advertisements.
The Gotham Imbiber magazine originated as a
sister publication to the U.K. beer magazine ‘The
DON’T SUPPORT
MONOPOLISING
GLOBAL BREWING
CORPORATIONS…
SUPPORT THE CRAFT
BEER INDUSTRY!
DID YOU MISS ANY
PREVIOUS ISSUES?
You can read them on-line at
http://www.cask-ale.co.uk/us/tgi.html
The Gotham Imbiber relies on
advertising revenue to go to print.
Supporting
this
publication
is
supporting quality, freedom and
choice over the corporate nightmare.
Advertisement
Self-confessed ‘beer geek’ will be seeking employment later this year in a quality
beer bar or brewery, preferably in or close to NYC. Has extensive knowledge of
beer and microbreweries, gained from 6 years experience in an award-winning
brewpub – and also organising and setting up a successful cask ale festival each
year. Will work with beer nuts, but not for peanuts.
Please contact via The Gotham Imbiber for a resume.
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City Beer Happenings
The Gotham Imbiber keeps you informed of the current scene
New bars, also bars now serving quality
beers that were previously not known to:
and spacious, it is conveniently next to
the Times Square subway stop.
Counter Vegetarian Restaurant & Wine Bar
105 First Avenue (between East 6th and
East 7th Streets), New York NY 10003.
Phone: 1 212 982 5870.
This is a modern, clean, friendly wine bar
and restaurant which opened last year;
all beers here are microbrews and quality
imports that are brewed with organic
ingredients. There is no meat or fish on
the food menu.
The lone tap on the bar dispenses Otter
Creek Wolaver’s IPA, while the delectable
bottle list consists of Brauerei Pinkus
Mueller Organic Ur Pils and Hefe-Weizen
from Münster, Germany; Foret from
Brasserie Dupont, Belgium; Dogfish Head
Raison d’Etre from Delaware; Sam
Smith’s Organic Ale and Lager from
England; St. Peter’s English Ale;
Lakefront Organic ESB from Wisconsin,
and a rotating offering from California’s
Butte Creeke.
The wine selection is exceptional too, and
I hear their burgers are made from
scratch on the premises – but I won’t go
into those aspects as this is a beer
publication.
Counter is the perfect antidote to
rubbishy fast food outlets and tasteless,
mass-produced, mass-advertised beers;
these people certainly know the way
forward.
_______________________________________
Times Square Brewery
210 West 42nd Street (near Broadway
and 7th Avenue), New York, NY 10036.
Phone: 1 212 398 1234.
This brewpub reopened in its new
location on Valentine’s Day; five of their
beers are available on tap. Multi-levelled
The brewer is Tim Yarrington, formerly of
the
highly-acclaimed
Long
Valley
Brewpub in New Jersey; I recommend his
Robust Porter when visiting Times
Square.
Established beer bars:
The Waterfront Ale House (136 Atlantic
Avenue, Brooklyn) commenced selling
cask-conditioned ale in late January.
Southampton Oyster Stout, and beers
from England’s well-repected Adnams
Brewery have featured so far.
_______________________________________
The popularity of cask-conditioned ale
continues to spread in the city.
Bar Matchless (557 Manhattan Avenue,
Williamsburg, Brooklyn), The Lighthouse
Tavern, (243 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope,
Brooklyn), Brewsky’s (47 East 7th Street,
Manhattan), and The Waterfront Ale
House (540 Second Avenue, Manhattan)
all hope to be equipped with beer engines
for dispensing cask ale very soon. Also,
The Henry Street Ale House (62 Henry
Street, Brooklyn) is another good bar
where cask beer hopefully may appear.
MICROBREWS = DIVERSITY AND QUALITY.
GLOBAL BRANDS = LACK OF CHOICE AND
STANDARD CORPORATE BLANDNESS!
Beer Calendar
Recommended beer events to put in your diary…
LOCAL EVENTS WITHIN THE CITY:
Wednesday 3th March 2004, 6.00pm: Dogfish Head Promo. The Blind Tiger, 518 Hudson
Street, Manhattan. The New York City launch of ‘Aprihop’ and the city debut of ‘Randall
the Enamel Animal’ organoleptic hop transducer module which will be unleashed on a
keg of 90-Minute IPA…
Thursday 4th – Sunday 7th March 2004: Third Manhattan Real Ale Festival.
David Copperfield’s, 1394 York Avenue, Manhattan (at East 74th Street). Here is the
provisional beer list. From England: Dark Star Hophead and Espresso Stout, Freeminer
Tormentor, Adnams Broadside. Domestic: North Coast Acme Pale Ale, Cisco Moors
Porter, High Point Ramstein Maibock, Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale, Southampton
Imperial Baltic Porter, Stone Ruination IPA, and Victory Old Horizontal. Also unconfirmed
brews from Rogue and McNeil’s. Further details: 1 212 517 2733 or see
http://www.davidcopperfields.com
Saturday 6th March 2004, 2.00pm: Split Thy Brooklyn Skull. Mugs Ale House, 125 Bedford
Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Featuring the following rare barleywines, trippelbocks,
and imperial stouts: Kulmbacher Eisbock (9.2%), Gale's Prize Old Ale 1998 (9%), J.W.
Lees Harvest Ale 2002 (11.5%), N'Ice Chouffe 2003 (10%), Brooklyn Monster Ale 2001
(11.8%), Heavyweight Cold Salty 2003 (11+%), Dogfish Head Midas Touch 2003 (9%),
Dogfish Head Immort Ale 2003 (11%), De Dolle Dulle Teve (Mad Bitch) 2003 (10%), De
Dolle Still Nacht 2003 (10%), Greenpoint Full Moon Barleywine 2003 (10%), McKenzie
Brewhouse Iced Super Wit 2003 (?%), Middle Ages Druid Fluid 2003 (9.5%), North Coast
Old Rasputin 2003 (8.9%), North Coast Old Stock Ale 2003 (11.4%), Ramstein Winter
Wheat Eisbock 2003 (11.5%), Sierra Bigfoot 2001 (9.6%), Smuttynose Barleywine 2003
(10%), Southampton Old Herb Barleywine 2002 (11%), Victory St. Victorious Doppelbock
2003 (8.5%) , Wagner Valley Sled Dog Tripel Bock 2003 (10%). Details:
http://hbd.org/mbas/calendar.html
Wednesday 10th March 2004, 7.30pm: Malted Barley Appreciation Society of NYC.
Monthly meeting, Mugs Ale House, 125 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Guest speaker will be George de Piro from C.H.Evans’ Albany Pump Station who will have
a selection of his beers to sample. Details: http://hbd.org/mbas/
Tuesday 16th March 2004, 7.30pm: N.Y.C.H.G. Monthly meeting, Brewsky’s, 41 East 7th
Street, Manhattan. Guest speakers will be David Yarrington and Kevin Love of
Smuttynose Brewing Company, who will have a selection of beers to sample.
http://www.homebrewersguild.org
Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th April 2004, Noon – late evening (daily): Third ‘Cask Head’ Real Ale
Festival. The Brazen Head, 228 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn. Your editor is helping with the
beer order, so plenty of rare, delicious brews are promised. The range should include
Ommegang Three Philosophers, Greenpoint Honey Porter, Stoudt’s Fat Dog Stout, and
new/rare beers from Dark Star, Heavyweight, North Coast, Wagner Valley, and Blue Point
among others. See: http://www.brazenheadbrooklyn.com or ring 1 718 488 0430.
Wednesday 14th April 2004, 7.30pm: Malted Barley Appreciation Society of NYC.
Monthly meeting, Mugs Ale House, 125 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Details: http://hbd.org/mbas/ nearer the time.
Tuesday 20th April 2004, 7.30pm: N.Y.C.H.G. Monthly meeting, Brewsky’s, 41 East 7th
Street, Manhattan. Guest speaker will be Greg Zaccardi of High Point Brewing Company,
who will have a selection of his beers to sample. http://www.homebrewersguild.org
EVERY TUESDAY, 7.00pm: Bierkraft, 191 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn
(at Union Street). Weekly beer tasting and cheese pairing, sometimes featuring a
guest speaker from the trade. Details: 1 718 230 7600; http://www.bierkraft.com.
EVENTS OUTSIDE NYC:
Friday 26th – Sunday 28th March 2004: Beer Advocate’s 2004 Philadelphia Rally. Friday
night will see a Philadelphia pub crawl; visits to Victory Brewery, McKenzie’s Brewpub,
and the Sly Fox Brewpub are planned for the Saturday. Now expanded into a whole
weekend! Details: http://www.beeradvocate.com/events/calendar.php?show=2079
Saturday 24th – Sunday 25th April 2004: Tap New York at Hunter Mountain. Over 75 beers
and gourmet foods. Details: http://www.tapnewyork.com or phone 1 800 486 8376.
Wednesday 28th – Saturday 1st May 2004: New England Real Ale Exhibition (‘NERAX’),
George Dilboy Post, Davis Square, Somerville, MA. Featuring a large number of delicious
cask-conditioned beers from the U.S. and the U.K. Details: http://www.nerax.org or
email [email protected].
Friday 28th – Sunday 30th May 2004: ‘Glastonwick 2004’, Shoreham Airport, Shoreham-bySea, West Sussex, England. Your editor’s annual U.K. cask ale and music festival, now in
its 9th year. About 55 casks from British microbreweries, mainly rare and obscure.
Farmhouse ciders and perries too. Probably the only beer festival in the world where the
beer tent is on an airport taxi-way! 75 minutes on the train from London Victoria Station
to Shoreham-by-Sea station. Full details: http://www.cask–ale.co.uk/beerfestival.html
ADVERTISE IN THE GOTHAM IMBIBER, AND
SUPPORT THE CRAFT BREWING INDUSTRY.
Hophead Hops Over The Atlantic!
Alex Hall announces the imminent arrival of Dark Star casks.
Beer
from
Britain's
award-winning Dark Star
Brewery
has
finally
made it over to these
shores, albeit in very
limited
quantities.
Importer Dan Shelton
has shipped over two
firkins each of four
different
caskconditioned beers as an
introduction to the NYC
market.
Hophead is a very
flavoursome, 3.8% ABV
pale straw-coloured 'quaffing' bitter with
a noticeable hop bite; this beer has won
many awards at British beer festivals
from its hoppy aroma and clean-tasting,
crisp Cascade hop bitterness.
Espresso Stout is a rich, dark beer with
plenty of roast malt character; specially
blended and ground coffee beans are
added to the copper to produce a unique
flavour. At 4.2% ABV, it isn't strong on
alcohol but is certainly strong on taste.
American Pale Ale is a 4.7% ABV
seasonal brew which is similar to (but not
as strong as) an I.P.A. as it has an
intense hop character through liberal dryhopping with the wonderfully bittering
Chinook variety. This beer is very new,
having only been brewed for the first time
this year – so, with only two firkins in the
country, it is surely a candidate for the
rarest commercially-available beer ever.
Last but not least, Dark Star is the
classic beer that the brewery derives its
name from. A 5.0% dark ale, Dark Star is
well-balanced with hints of rich malt
flavour from the use of Cara malt; this is
the recipe that won CAMRA's Supreme
Champion Beer of Britain award in the
1980s when Dark Star was in its original
incarnation at London's Pitfield Brewery.
Brewer Rob Jones took the name and
recipe with him when he left Pitfield, and
subsequently formed the Dark Star
Brewing Company in the tiny cellar of
Brighton's Evening Star pub in the mid
'90s. Brewing capacity was very limited –
seven firkins was all
that each brew would
create.
Expansion
later came in the form
of a redundant dairy
building on a farm in
the village of Ansty,
about ten miles inland
from
The
Evening
Star. Brewing capacity
immediately jumped
about 600% in the
new,
gleaming
brewery; the small
plant in the pub cellar
was made redundant and was ultimately
purchased by a brewpub in the village of
Melvich in the Scottish Highlands.
Dark Star Brewery's beers can be found
at The Evening Star, which remains as
the celebrated 'Brewery Tap', and as
'guest' ales around the U.K. – and now for
the first time in selected New York City
bars. Look out for their beers in The
Brazen Head, Waterfront Ale House,
David Copperfield's, Spuyten Duyvil, and
other enterprising bars that serve cask.
One thing I haven't mentioned is that one
thing often leads to another in good beer
circles - there probably would have been
no such magazine as The Gotham
Imbiber if it wasn't for the Dark Star
Brewery. Your editor used to work as
cellarman at The Evening Star, which
involved keeping Dark Star's beers in
perfect condition for the pub's customers.
One day there, I was fortunate enough to
meet an attractive American lady with a
love of good quality beer who was touring
around Britain. Little did I realise then
that the lady in question would later
become my wife and that I would
ultimately move over to the Big Apple.
Now the very same microbrews that I
used to work with have followed in my
footsteps. It's a small world...
Imported by The Shelton Brothers,
P.O. Box 486, Belchertown, MA 01007.
Phone: 1 413 253 0500
Fax: 1 413 253 0600
Email: [email protected]
Beerman and Firkin
By Felice Wechsler
House Beers - Good or Evil?
by Alex Hall
At risk of annoying those who rename
common (or otherwise) brews to
insinuate they have something specially
brewed for them, I examine here the
different situations and question whether
bars having 'house beer' brands is good
or not for promoting the cause of quality
beer over cheap mass-produced swill. I
define the term 'house beer' as a brand of
beer permanently or seasonally on tap or
handpump which is considered to be
exclusively available at one specific venue
or chain of venues.
There are three distinct categories which
these beers fall under, although it is often
hard to tell which category correctly
sums up the ale concerned.
Category 1: Legitimate as a brand of its
own, exclusive to one bar or chain of
bars. The bars where such beers can be
found are sometimes referred to as
brewpubs even though the beers are
physically brewed off-premises. The
recipes will have been worked out
between
the
management
of
the
establishments concerned and the
brewery which supplies the beers, and
the two factions will normally have a
close business relationship with each
other. Nothing wrong here. Note: if the
brewer 'tweaks' kegs or casks by the
addition of extra ingredients such as dry
hops or priming sugar (where it would
not normally be done), I consider that to
be legitimate for making something
unique. However, I prefer the formulas of
beers created in that manner to be made
common knowledge at the point of
dispense so we know exactly what we are
drinking.
Category 2: Not legitimate as a brand of
its own, and not exclusive - but this is
unbeknown to the bar's management.
This can occur where a bar or chain
contacts a brewery asking for an
exclusive house beer brand, and the
brewery says yes. Then, all the brewer
does is slap a new label on a keg of a
standard brew and pass it off as
something unique. Fortunately, this is
uncommon as most brewers have good
scruples, but it does happen from time to
time. 'Tweaked' beers don't come under
this category as they have become
marginally different from the base beer
(see above, category 1).
Category 3: Not legitimate as a brand of
its own, and not exclusive - deceptively
created by the bar's management to
intentially pass off a common, generally
cheap-to-buy beer as something it is not.
The brewery will often be unaware of their
product being rebadged. This is an
appallingly bad practice, especially when
the imbibing public think they're ordering
some exclusive microbrew and end up
with a pint of common macro ricewater.
There is no respect here for the products
that are dressed up, or the drinking
public that is hoodwinked.
Whenever I find a bar with house beers
(that does not have brewing plant on the
premises), I make a point of asking of
their origin. I recommend that readers of
The Gotham Imbiber do the same as it is
so hit and miss whether you'll get a
quality, microbrewed pint or not.
NYC bars known to have house beers
(mentioning where these are confirmed
as unique) are listed here – read between
the lines for potential authenticity where
it is not stated, especially where global
brewing corporations are said to be the
supplier:
• Chumley's, 86 Bedford Street,
Manhattan. The several house beers
are from Chelsea Brewery and
Widmer Brothers. At least one
seasonal beer is confirmed as
unique.
• Greenwich Brewing Company, 418
6th Avenue, Manhattan. Several
house beers from Chelsea Brewery
are to be found in this former
brewpub which misleadingly retains
its old name.
• Heartland Brewery (4 locations in
Manhattan). Totally legitimate as
unique brands, the beers are
brewed
under
contract
to
Heartland's recipes at Greenpoint
Beerworks in Brooklyn. Three of the
can also brew on the
• McSorley's Old Ale House, 15 East
"Dark" are thought to come from
Rega
brewing corporations, these companies
something different on a very small scale
you
know
of
any
other
though this needs confirmation.
Third Avenue, Manhatta
Stallion Oatmeal Stout, Pioneer
Lager are all brewed by Greenpoint
clearly deceiptful, please inform The
On the other hand, I do have a bit of
Chumley’s and McSorley’s
unique.
Brooklyn. This bar offers "Sweet
Pabst or Anh
Red Ale", said to be brewed by
said to be brewed by Interbrew at
bars not
e beers,
who fervently
by
local
neighbourhood brewer, as was
even so, I would like them to declare
times have changed.
The tap handles are fancy affairs
c
bad, unprofessional thing to do by the
genuine microbrews.
positive
Pig, 314 West 11th
from Brooklyn Brewery and tastes
Pennant Pale Ale).
only confusion and distrust. Ok,
get a temporary kick out of asking for, as
sy Cat Lager" instead of
reputation
with
non puerile,
beer
knowledgeable imbibers?
Manhattan. The one house beer is
ADVERTISEMENTS FOR MASSSEXY WOMAN OR SOME GIMMICK RATHER THAN FOCISING O
QUALITIES IMPLY THAT THERE AREN’T ACTUALLY ANY ADVERTISABLE
REDEEMING QUALITIES.
Fun Anagrams
All these are anagrams of microbrewed beers which are or
have been available locally. Answers are on page 15.
1. CLINKER BREASTS FLOP?
2. ZERO HAVE BIG HAZY WIT?
3. DRUNK TRY BOY'S LOOT?
4. DOWNLOADING TALE, RUBBISH PLOT?
5. PRIVACY POLL TO WHO?
6. WARREN WIN HER TAPROOM?
7. GRUESOME MUTANTS TRY HOPS, LOT?
8. PROSTITUTE HEN ERROR?
9. MERMAIDS DODGE US, CALL?
10. LOCUSTS OPEN DOG GROWLER?
Dog Growler? Huh???
FAB Fest
Microbrews take over Miami Beach!
by Alex Hall
Foods, Arts, Beverages. That's what the
'FAB' in Fab Fest, formerly The World of
Beer Festival, means now that this
Floridian extravaganza now encompasses
food and talent from various countries
equally as much as beer.
Held at the beginning of February on
Miami Beach, the sandy venue was
blessed with perfect weather hovering
around the upper 70s. The various
marquees showcased many brewers, beer
marketers, and advocates for quality beer
such as Ale Street News. Adding the food
stalls and the artists means you get one
great festival. The southern end featured
a full-size stage and professional PA
system, this accounted for much of the
‘art’ factor. The $25 entrance fee
generously included all beer samples,
which came in eccentric J.P. Chenet
tasting glasses with curved stems which
rendered the bowl of the glass off
balance.
Casks
For me (and probably the majority of
festival-goers), the highlight was the tent
housing the traditional British pub; here
an astounding array of no less that 37
different cask-conditioned microbrews
could be found - many from breweries
never previously seen over here. Of those
37, all but three were in excellent
condition. All casks were from the SouthWest of England, as it was arranged by
that region's chapter of The Society of
Independent Brewers. Don Burgess and
Peter Thomas of Freeminer Brewery and
Tim Webster of Barum Brewery were on
hand there throughout the weekend;
there was also a separate stall where
Freeminer's bottled beers could be
sampled.
Other highlights included the Bagel Beer
stand; California-based Lotsolox Brewery
uses a number of real bagels in each
mash which impart their flavours into the
beer – a very novel idea!
Look for
'Blueberry Ale', 'Plain Pilsner', 'Whole
Wheat Hefeweizen', 'Poppy Seed Pale Ale,
'Pumpernickel Porter', 'Chocolate Chip
Stout', and 'Everything IPA' in New York
City later this year as they are currently
trying to set up a distribution system
here. Lotsolox Brewery is also generous
and animal-friendly - a portion of their
income is donated to animal rescue
organisations. Check out their website at
www.bagelbeer.com
for
more
information.
Unanimous
Saturday lunchtime, prior to opening to
the public, was the official cask ale blind
tasting panel. I was honoured to be asked
to participate on the panel - as was
Felice, my wife; Brooklyn Brewery
Brewmaster Garrett Oliver and Ale Street
News editor/partner Tony Forder, were
among others doing the tasting. We
pitched the 37 cask ales against each
other in small groups, the most favoured
beer out of each group being put through
to the second round. We whittled them
down to the top nine, and then discussed
and compared each one's merit. The first
choice was virtually unanimous: a 3.8%
hoppy, clean-tasting bitter called 'Mystery
Tor' from the fairly new Glastonbury Ales
Brewery, based in the Somerset village
better known for its annual music festival.
A close second was 'Peat Porter' brewed
by The Moor Beer Company, this was a
delicious 4.5% dark ale with plenty of
flavour. Third was Barum 'Barnstablasta',
a 6.6% old ale from Barnstaple, Devon.
Cheese
Sunday lunchtime saw Garrett Oliver's
beer and cheese pairing event; a good
crowd of eager people partook in this
mouth-watering
experience.
The
cheeses
were
supplied
by
Australian cheese
expert
David
Doepel of Abel
Gower Enterprises,
and all originated
from
the
land
down
under.
Garrett's pairings
were as follows.
Jindi
'Triple
Cream' and Barum Brewery's 'Original';
Ashgrove
'Wasabi'
and
Freeminer
Brewery's 'Trafalgar IPA';
Ashgrove 'Cloth Matured Cheddar' and
Glastonbury Ales' 'Mystery Tor';
Tarago River 'Jensen's Red' and Barum
Brewery's 'Firing Squad';
Tarago River 'Shadows of Blue' and Moor
Beer Co.'s 'Peat Porter';
Tarago River 'Blue Orchid' and Barum
Brewery's 'Barnstablasta'.
See http://www.sinfullyaustralian.com for
more information on these cheeses.
The good news for
New Yorkers is that
the organiser of this
wonderful
event,
Melissa Frantz and
Associates,
is
interested in holding a
similar festival in the
NYC Metropolitan area
around
October.
Watch this space...
Photos: Alex Hall
Write a Caption
After a short break, the infamous caption
feature is back! This month’s ‘victim’ is the
well-known canine imbiber Ludwig, ward of
Salty Dog cartoonist Bill Coleman (who is
pictured proffering the pint to the
enthusiastic canine). Ludwig is depicted
here licking his lips at the prospect of a pint
of a tasty microbrewed beer. Our own feline
rival, Maudling, was not impressed at my
choice of photo and is currently sharpening
her claws on a six pack of Brooklyn Black
Chocolate Stout (and probably drinking
them too when my back is turned; those
claws are remarkably like bottle openers).
Behave yourself Maudling, or I’ll put some
O’Doul’s in your dish (Disclaimer: I wouldn’t
be that cruel to a quality beer loving cat!)…
Anyway, please send your best wit to us – no
vulgarities please; such quotes may give me
a brief laugh but will certainly get tossed
into ‘trash’ and not end up in print. The
winner wins a branded glass from Bierkraft
(Park Slope, Brooklyn). The winner is
responsible for collecting their prize. Email
and ‘snail mail’ addresses can be found on
page 2. Cheers…
Website of the Month
Don’t know what ‘scooping’ is? Check out this British site to a fascinating
and opinionated insight on one aspect of beer enthusiasm:
http://www.scoopergen.co.uk/
DRINK THE WORK OF SKILLED LOCAL
CRAFTSPEOPLE… NOT THE MASSMARKETED, MASS-PRODUCED PRODUCTS
OF EVER-MERGING GLOBAL CORPORATIONS!
News Extra
On
Monday
23rd
February, a merry party
of 18 beer lovers visited
Greenpoint
Beerworks.
Head Brewer Kelly Taylor
was an excellent host,
and talked about the
brewing process and the
beers he brews. The visit
was organised by The
Gotham Imbiber jointly
for members and guests
of The Malted Barley
Apprecition Society, The
New
York
City
Homebrewers’ Guild, and
Beer
Advocate
(www.beeradvocate.com)
Photos: Alex Hall
Anagram answers (from page 11):
1.Black Forest ‘Pilsner’, 2.Heavyweight ‘Bizzaro’, 3.Brooklyn ‘Dry Stout’, 4.Blue Point
‘Old Howling Bastard’, 5.Victory ‘Hop Wallop’, 6.Harpoon ‘Winter Warmer’, 7.Smuttynose
‘Portsmouth Lager’, 8. Southern Tier ‘Porter’, 9.Middle Ages ‘Old Marcus’,
10.Cooperstown ‘Old Slugger’.
The Brazen Head and The Gotham Imbiber present…
The 3rd
CASK HEAD
CASK ALE FESTIVAL
Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th April 2004
at
The Brazen Head,
228 Atlantic Avenue,
Brooklyn
(at Court Street, 5 minutes
walk from Borough Hall)
Tel. 1 718 488 0430
Email: [email protected]
“I ain’t warm
and I ain’t flat”
Featuring ten rare and delicious
microbrews, all cask-conditioned!
Beers available while stocks
last, first come first served.
Over 21s only, please bring ID
to avoid disappointment.
No entry fee!
Planned beers include:
Ommegang Three Philosophers
(first time in cask),
Wagner Valley Sugar House Maple
Porter, Greenpoint Honey Porter
(first time in cask), North Coast Acme
California Pale Ale, Stoudt’s Fat Dog
Stout, Blue Point Organic Gold &
Double Blonde, plus beers from
Victory, Dark Star, and Heavyweight and possibly another rarity.
To get to the Brazen Head…
Subway: F, G to Bergen Street, or 2, 3, 4, 5*, M*, R to Borough Hall – Court Street,
or A, C to Jay Street – Borough Hall (* Friday only).
Bus: B61 & B63 stop outside, B65 & B75 stop one block away.
Please drink responsibly, and never drink and drive