issue 21 - september / october 2006

NEW YORK CITY’S AWARD-WINNING FREE INDEPENDENT BEER MAGAZINE
The Gotham
IMBIBER
Issue 21
September – October 2006
Fraoch Heather Ale flowing at The Levee, Brooklyn (see pages 16-19). Photo: Denis ‘Dwarbi’ Hurley
IN THIS ISSUE
Beer Calendar
4
Belgium Comes to Cooperstown
6
Beerman & Firkin
9
Beer Advocates Invade Williamsburg 12
Message in a (U.K.) Bottle
My Path to Beer Geekiness
City Beer Happenings
Fun Anagrams
16
21
23
25
www.gotham-imbiber.com & www.cask-ale.co.uk
for
The Gotham Imbiber (including all back issues),
New York City Cask Ale & Good Beer Guides,
NYC Craft Brewery Directory, and much more!
The Gotham Imbiber
Is published every two months at the
beginning of January, March, May,
July, September, and November.
Editor/Publisher:
Alex Hall
The Gotham Imbiber
1107 Manhattan Avenue #3
Brooklyn
NY11222-6147
U.S.A.
Tel. +1 917 957 7623
Email:
or use BeerAdvocate.com’s
Beermail: message ‘Imbiber’.
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. The Gotham Imbiber magazine
originated as a sister publication to the U.K. beer
magazine ‘The Independent Imbiber’. Be aware
that British spellings may crop up within these
pages!
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 in articles on these pages
(sorry!), as that would be 'preaching to the
converted' as such - and would reduce the space
available for microbrewery-related 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.
Deadline for issue 22 is Monday 23rd October
2006 for publication in early November 2006.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Felice Wechsler,
Chuck Cook, Mary Izetelny, Tony Lazaar, and all
who actively support craft beer and our efforts to
promote it over mass-produced tasteless swill.
****** UPDATE ****** UPDATE ****** UPDATE ****** UPDATE ******
THE ‘SUDSBUDDY’ CASKERATOR
A kegerator designed specifically for cask-conditioned beer is
now available to U.S. bars and restaurants, also homebrewers!
To help achieve our goal of making cask-conditioned ale easier to keep at cellar
temperature (and therefore enjoying wider availability), a collaboration between
Alex Hall, Paul Pendyck of U.K. Brewing Supplies, and Neil Wicker of
BeerCooler.com brings you what we believe to
be the World's first 'caskerator' - a kegerator
designed specifically to keep firkins* and pins
at the perfect serving temperature for cask ale
(i.e. cellar temperature').
*Note: Plastic firkins may not be compatible as
they are made to a broader dimension.
Cooled by a thermoelectric cooler, the
adjustable temperature range of the unit is
approximately 44-56 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dimensions: Width 33.5", Depth 23.5", Height
30" with lid closed, including stand.
Weight: Approximately 55lbs.
Energy consumption: About 80 watts.
Body and door material: Dent-resistant durable, rotational-molded plastic, with
thick insulation to keep casks cool - even on a baking hot summer's day or in a hot
cellar. The units are mounted on casters to ease installation and movement.
The caskerator can be used with a
conventional cask breather device or a
Race Cask Ventilator, or simply with
traditional hard and soft spile pegs.
The units can be situated anywhere
that has mains electric supply, and
should be connected to a standard
beer engine (which can be supplied).
The caskerator unit is a modified
version of BeerCooler's 'Sudsbuddy'
design of kegerator. We have modified
the basic shell to get a unit that can
be top-loading, and we have calibrated the thermoelectric cooler to achieve
constant cellar temperature.
For only $795 (plus a small shipping fee) you could be
enjoying delicious cask-conditioned beer cooled to proper
cellar temperature in the Caskerator. Interested parties should
contact Alex Hall at The Gotham Imbiber - details opposite.
YOU… Beer
Calendar
Recommended craft beer events over the next two months…
LOCAL EVENTS IN NEW YORK CITY
Friday 8th September 2006, 5pm: I Love New York Brewfest. South Street Seaport. $40,
full details from http://nybrewfest.com.
Wednesday 13th September 2006,
7.30pm: Malted Barley Appreciation
Society of NYC. Monthly meeting,
Mugs Ale House, 125 Bedford
Avenue,
Williamsburg,
Brooklyn.
Further details: http://hbd.org/mbas.
Monday 18th September 2006, 5pm:
Chelsea Brewery vintage keg night.
Spuyten Duyvil, 359 Metropolitan
Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Wednesday 20th September 2006,
7pm: Graze Catering’s Oktoberfest Beer & Food Pairing. $35. Downtown Bar & Grill, 160 Court
Street, Brooklyn. http://www.grazecatering.com
Saturday 7th October 2006, 12 noon & 6.00pm: Beer on the Pier 3. Pier 94 (West 55th
Street at the West Side Highway) $43.50 plus tax, full details from
http://www.beeronthepier.com.
Wednesday 11th October 2006, 7.30pm: Malted Barley Appreciation Society of NYC.
Monthly meeting, Mugs Ale House, 125 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
http://hbd.org/mbas.
Wednesday 18th October 2006, 7pm: Graze Catering’s Legends Ltd. Celtic Autumn Beer &
Food Pairing. Featuring beers from Moorhouses, Orkney, and Williams Brothers. $35.
Downtown Bar & Grill, 160 Court Street, Brooklyn, full details nearer the time from
http://www.grazecatering.com.
Friday 20th – Saturday 21st October 2006: Brewtopia World Beer Festival. Sample hundreds
of beers from 150 brewers at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. $50/55/60, full details
from http://www.brewtopiafest.com. Ticket hotline: 1 877 772 5425.
Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th November 2006: 10th Tri-Annual ‘Cask Head’ Real Ale Festival.
Featuring about 20 unusual casks through the weekend, free entrance & very reasonable
prices. The Brazen Head, 228 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn. Tel. 1 718 488 0430.
http://www.brazenheadbrooklyn.com.
EVERY SATURDAY, 1pm-4pm hourly: Brooklyn Brewery, 79 North 11th Street, Williamsburg,
Brooklyn. Brewery tours on the hour, tap room open 12 to 6. Details: 1 718 486 7422;
http://www.brooklynbrewery.com.
EVERY SATURDAY, 1pm: Sixpoint Craft Ales, 40 Van Dyke Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Brewery tour and tasting. Details: 1 917 687 1725; http://www.sixpointcraftales.com.
EVERY TUESDAY, 7pm: 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 NEW YORK CITY
Thursday 28th – Saturday 30th September 2006: Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO.
Details: http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf/index.htm
Friday 13th October 2006, 12 noon: Friday the Firkinteenth. The mad firkin festival returns!
The Grey Lodge, 6235 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA. Tel 1 215 624 2969.
See http://beeradvocate.com/events/calendar.php for other beer events worldwide.
NEW YORK CITY HAS FOUR
CRAFT BEER BREWERIES.
SUPPORT THEM OVER GLOBAL
MASS-PRODUCING
CORPORATIONS WHO PUT PROFIT
BEFORE QUALITY!
Belgium Comes to Cooperstown 2006
by Chuck Cook
Every July, a festival is held on the Grand
Place in Brussels. Called Ommegang, it
celebrates the visit in 1549 of Holy
Roman Emperor
Charles V to that
fair city. This is
said to be one of
the
grandest
events ever to
occur
in
Brussels, and it
has long been
remembered.
It
seemed
a
fitting name for a
brewery built to
craft
Belgianstyle
ales,
located
near
Cooperstown, New York. While Brewery
Ommegang has only been producing
such fine brews since
1997,
they
are
building a legacy with
lovers of fine beers in
the U.S. and further
afield.
The
brewery,
now
owned by Belgium's
Duvel-Moortgat,
has
been holding a beer
festival on its grounds
for several years. I
made my first trip to
the brewery and fest
this year. I was not
disappointed!
When I arrived late in the afternoon the
Friday before the fest, July 14, I was
surprised to see hundreds of campers
already firmly ensconced, and others
setting up tents and campsites all over
the 140 acre field where the brewery is
located. Breweries were setting up bases
with
vans,
trucks,
and
RVs. I knew this
was going to be
a serious beer
event.
After a fine tour
of the brewery
by one of the
attractive and
energetic
female guides,
it was time for
a tasting of all
the Ommegang
beers. What a
fine way to start the weekend! The Witte
really hit the spot on this hot day. Rare
Vos,
Hennepin,
Ommegang
Abbey
and
Three
Philosophers were no
slouches
either,
offered both on tap
and in bottles in the
brewery
tasting
room.
Our hosts offered
visiting
brewery
representatives and
media a filling buffet
dinner, replete with
several
of
the
aforementioned
brews. After this, numerous private
tastings broke out throughout the many
camps dotting the site. Breweries had
kegs tapped. Special bottles were being
opened at a rapid rate. One can only
imagine the number and quality of beers
enjoyed that night from all over the world!
The festivities lasted late into the night.
There were bonfires and more. The next
morning, the crows exacted their revenge
at about 6 am. Such a loud cawing I have
never heard!
Saturday, July 15 opened cloudy and
misty. Things were not looking good. It
rained in the
morning,
and
remained
cloudy.
However,
the
beer selection
at this fest, also
called "Planet
of the Ales",
could inspire a
lover of Belgian
and
Belgianstyle ales to
brave virtually
any
weather.
The final count
was
204
different beers, from 40 different
breweries
and
ten
Belgian
beer
importers. There were about 1,500 beer
lovers in attendance, not counting
brewery and importer reps. Fortunately, it
only rained for about an hour, and the
clouds kept the temperatures relatively
tolerable. A real improvement from the
previous year, I'm told!
Hometown brewery Ommegang had a
special Saison called Ommegeddon on
draft, as well as a fine Bier de Mars.
Standout brews and breweries included
American Flatbread of Vermont, with a
delicious Gruit ale and Tripel. Allagash of
Maine was showcasing their Curieux and
Four, and Baltimore's Brewer's Art, their
fine dark Proletary Ale, and Peppercorn
Tripel. Boulevard brewing of Kansas City,
Missouri, had a stellar Belgian-style
lineup, with a Dubbel,Saison, Saison with
brettanomyces, and Tripel. The Bullfrog
brewery, of Pennsylvania, had a similarly
strong lineup, with Saison, Super Saison
with honey, and Atomique dark strong
ale. Also from PA, Iron Hill was serving up
a wonderfully tart Lambic-style brew, as
well as a good sour Flemish style beer.
Weyerbacher brought their Prophecy,
Tripel and Quad. Cambridge Brewing of
Massachusetts had a superb Gruit and a
brew called L'Amour de Jour. Truly, this
was one to be loved! The Tap in Haverhill
had a White beer and Abbey brown.
California was represented by a trio of
breweries: North Coast Brewing was
wowing fest-goers with their Brother
Thelonius Dubbel, as was Russian River
with their spectacular Temptation, and
Stone with their ‘05 and ‘06 Vertical Epic
beers, in the
Belgian style.
The
Shed
Brewery,
from
Vermont,
was
another
real
discovery. Their
Substance
D
Saison
with
brett,
Silent
Illumination
Black
Saison,
and Biere de
Miel were very
worthy.
Southampton
Publick House was no slouch either, with
the excellent Abbot 12, Tripel, and Grand
Cru. Stewart's Brewing of Bear, Delaware,
had its tasty Dubbel and Tripel on offer.
From Canada, Unibroue had a great
lineup of eight brews on, including their
Fifteen ale. The variety and scope of real
Belgian brews was equally as impressive.
Duvel USA brought Duvel and several
Rodenbach beers. B.United International
showcased
a
variety of beers
from their always
spectacular
lineup, such as
Houblon Chouffe
Tripel
IPA,
De
Dolle Oerbier, and
La Rulles Tripel.
D&V International
showcased
a
dozen
different
brews,
from
breweries such as
Brasserie de Rocs,
La Binchoise, ValDieu, Verhaeghe,
and St. Bernardus.
Belakus
and
Global
Brewers
Guild
brought
brews
from
Chimay
and
Maredsous,
and
Global Beer Network poured Wittekerke
and Piraat.
Merchant du Vin had their usual strong
lineup of Trappist brews, with Orval,
Rochefort and Westmalle represented, as
well as Lindeman's Cuvee Renee. Shelton
Brothers brought 22 different beers, with
classics like Cantillon Gueuze and Iris, as
well as Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek, to wow
sour beer lovers (I'm one of 'em!). There
was also Achel's superb Trappist Extra,
Blaugies La Moneuse, De Ranke XX and
Pere Noel, Fantome Bris BonBons,
Kerkom Bink Blond, St. Pieters Zinnebir,
and Thiriez Blonde, among others.
Wetten Importers had beers from Het
Anker (such as the superb Grand Cru of
the Emperor), Van Honsebrouck, Huyghe
(Delirium Tremens); and the powerful
Samichlaus from Eggenberg of Austria.
Many of the breweries and importers had
reps on hand to discuss their brews. It
was
a
good
opportunity
to
talk about all
these great beers
with
the
craftsmen
and
entrepreneurs
who provide we
Belgian
and
Belgian-style
beer lovers with a
wide variety of
such brews in the
U.S.
Laurent
Demuynck
of
Duvel USA and
Larry Bennett of
Brewery
Ommegang did a
fine
job
of
organizing
the
fest,
with
the
help of numerous
brewery workers and volunteers.
I highly recommend a visit to Brewery
Ommegang and the impressive ‘Belgium
Comes to Cooperstown’ beer festival!
Photos Page 6, top: The festival site outside
Brewery Ommegang. Middle: The brewery
frontage. Bottom: Ryan from Southampton
Publick House with the author. Page 7, top:
Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver preparing to
brew a rauchbier, maybe? Bottom: Some of the
NYC crowd who trekked up to Cooperstown. This
page: Sarah Lescravwaet (marketing assistant
for Duvel & Rodenbach) enjoys Rodenbach
Redbach with festival bartender Emily Kowzan.
[Credits: Chuck Cook (first two) and Michael Lovullo]
FOR SALE: Cask beer engines and all related cask equipment
including firkins and pins, taps, spiles etc. Also now on offer is
the revolutionary new Caskerator cooling unit. Plus, pub and
restaurant furnishings and items suited to traditional-style bars
can be supplied. Contact Alex Hall at The Gotham Imbiber for
further information (see details on page 2).
Beerman and Firkin
by Felice Wechsler
We are online at www.gotham-imbiber.com
including all Gotham Imbiber back issues
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Beer Advocates Invade Williamsburg
by Tony Lazaar
The sky was gray and menacing on the
afternoon of August 26th. An unusual
chill conspired to drive macro beer
drinkers into the safety of their homes.
But a small yet determined band of Beer
Advocate
warriors
would
remain
undaunted. Our quest; to invade four of
Williamsburg’s most outstanding beer
bars, and live to tell the tale.
Mugs Ale House (125 Bedford Avenue at
North 10th Street)
was the target of
our opening salvo.
Their 28 taps and
wallet-friendly
prices soon proved
to be no match for
this brave group.
Woody Chandler (a
Beer Pest never
shirks
from
a
challenge),
John
Margetanski
(an
Upper East-Sider
with
an
unquenchable
thirst
for
good
beer), and yours
truly tackled beers
from Blue Point,
Sierra
Nevada,
Smuttynose
and
He’Brew – Rest In
Peace,
Lenny
Bruce. Our bartender, John, was friendly
and professional, and gave us an
unexpected but appreciated half-pint
each of Smuttynose IPA to strengthen us
for our travails to come.
We were joined for a while by Woody’s
friend, Dave, but he had to leave us after
Mugs. Our first casualty. No one said
this would be easy…
Braving
the
elements,
the
three
emboldened travelers strode to the next
obstacle – The Levee (212 Berry Street at
North 3rd Street). This turned out to be a
sterner test, as there was much to
distract us from our beer. Video games,
board games, pool, a TV, Lucinda the cat,
friendly service, the food – so much to do.
But we were fortunate at this time to be
bolstered
by
reinforcements;
the
Imbiber himself, Alex Hall, joined our
quest in this hour of need. And though
there were only 6 taps to peruse, The
Levee’s ample and well-chosen selection
of bottles allowed our group to drink our
way to success.
Our third task forced us to travel all the
way to Belgium, or so it seemed.
Spuyten Duyvil (359 Metropolitan Avenue
at Havemeyer Street) boasts an amazing
array of excellent
and rare Belgian
beers, as well as
some very good
non-Belgians.
Though the prices
can be daunting,
our group was
aided
by
the
generosity of one
of Spuyten’s beer
gurus, Joe, who
provided us with a
complimentary
bottle of Captain
Lawrence’s
St.
Vincent’s Dubbel.
Delicious.
As if that weren’t
enough,
Woody
unearthed
a
hidden treasure –
Madrugada
Obscura by Jolly Pumpkin. The Beer
Pest was so moved he composed a
sonnet - or maybe he was just jotting
down tasting notes.
Our morale, already soaring, was given a
further boost by another addition to our
ranks – Mr. NutBrown, Alan Rice from
Brew York City. Yet as we welcomed Alan
into the fold, we had to deal with the loss
of Imbiber; Alex had to end his journey.
Naturally, tears were shed – or maybe
Woody was still weeping with joy over the
Madrugada Obscura…
There was one more hill to climb, the
treacherous mountain that is Barcade
(388 Union Avenue at Ainslie Street). 24
taps of quality American micros,
certainly, but how about 25-cent vintage
80s video games?
Donkey Kong,
Tapper, Berzerk, oh my! Though we were
battle-hardened and bottle-heartened, the
lure of the games seemed to call out to
us like a siren song, threatening us from
completing our mission.
Chicago. And when Alan brought out the
heavy artillery – bomber bottles of
Sprecher Imperial Stout and Two
Brothers Cane and Ebel – our victory was
secured.
Just when all seemed lost, our brigade
was enhanced by Mike Kopera, a Beer
Advocate who had traveled all the way
from Chicago to join our quest. Ok, he
was in town to visit his friend Angela, but
he still had to travel all the way from
Mission accomplished.
Beer Advocate
http://beeradvocate.com
finely crafted
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free tastings every Tuesday 7PM
free local delivery
191 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn
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Mass-produced lagers, padded out with nontraditional adjuncts such as rice and corn,
are produced for the lowest common
denominator and the highest profit margin.
Have some self-respect.
Drink craft beer, reject common swill.
BE PART OF THE CRAFT BEER REVOLUTION…
YOU’LL ENJOY IT!
Message in a (U.K.) Bottle
by Alex Hall
Have you enjoyed a bottle
of British microbrewed
beer recently? I don’t
mean regional brewers
such as Fuller, Wells &
Youngs, Samuel Smith,
Harvey & Son, Adnams,
J.W. Lees, or Greene King and their
subsiduary Belhaven (plus their alter ego
of Morland). That said though, most of
the above brew quality beers such as
Lees’ Vintage Harvest Ale and Harvey’s
Imperial Extra Double Stout, a rich,
wonderfully complex ale which has the
viscousness of crude oil concentrate (if
there is such a thing) and is brewed
under the guidance of A. Le Coq Brewery
of Estonia.
As for the ubiquitous Bass and
Boddingtons, these are macro brands
from InBev – the world’s biggest global
brewing corporation. Boddingtons Pub
Ale is no longer brewed in Manchester
(some Boddingtons beer is now not even
brewed in England) since the historic
Strangeways Brewery was ruthlessly axed
in an all-too-frequent
InBev rationalisation.
Anyway, lets move on to
the purpose if this article
– the tasty products of
Britain’s
small
craft
brewing
movement,
many of which have interesting stories
behind
them.
Moving
roughly
geographically and commencing in the
extreme south, Pride of Romsey from
Hampshire Brewery (5.0%) is a wellbalanced ESB with some citrus fruit
notes.
In West Sussex, one county eastward, lies
the town of Horsham. This is where
Ridgeway’s bottle range is brewed,
though Ridgeway’s registered office is in
Oxfordshire. Ridgeway Bitter, Ivanhoe, and
IPA are the regulars, while no less than
six festive brews are brought to these
shores by Shelton Brothers importers.
Lump of Coal (an 8.0% stout), Santa’s Butt
(a 6.0% porter), Warm Welcome (a brown
ale with a hilarious label depicting a
bumbling Santa Claus landing rear-first
down a chimney onto a roaring fire), Bad
Elf, Very Bad Elf, and Seriously Bad Elf
make up the jovial holiday sextet.
Apparently the New York State Liquor
Authority doesn’t see the funny side of
the names and labels, so they may be
hard to find locally…
In East Anglia, St. Peter’s Brewery
produces distinctive beers in distinctive
old-fashioned
green
medicine-style
bottles. Old Style Porter, Golden Ale, and
Cream Stout are all highly drinkable
brews. Of note, St. Peter’s Brewery is
located in part of a country estate.
Heading west, Gem (4.8%) from Bath
Ales is a nice, easy-drinking best bitter,
while Herefordshire’s Wye Valley Brewery
sends us Dorothy Goodbody’s Wholesome
Stout (4.6%) – a bottle-conditioned
beauty.
In
nearby
Gloucestershire,
the
picturesque Forest of Dean is home to
sheep, deer, birds of prey and, more
importantly, Freeminer Brewery. Though
hard to find in NYC, Shakemantle Ginger
Ale, Deep Shaft Stout, and Trafalgar IPA (a
true English IPA at 6.0% ABV) are all very
worthy of seeking out. Freeminer’s
founder and master brewer, Don Burgess,
was jointly responsible for the UK cask
ale tent at Miami’s FabFest a couple of
years ago – 37 British cask ales that are
not normally exported sitting on a stillage
on the sand of Miami Beach was truly an
unbelievable sight!
Derbyshire
farmer
Giles
Litchfield
founded Whim Ales in 1993 amid
predictions that a brewery started ‘on a
whim’ may not last. Well over a decade
later, Giles owns a second brewery
(Broughton, in Scotland) and exports
bottles of Whim’s Old Izaak (a 5.0% ESB)
to the States. So much for the predictions
of doom.
Halloween always puts Lancashire’s
Moorhouse’s Brewery on the radar with
their Black Cat (3.4%), a tasty dark mild
ale, and Pendle Witches Brew (5.1%), a
full-bodied ESB. Black Cat was voted
Supreme Champion Beer of Britain in
2000, a prestigious award indeed for
Moorhouse’s. Mild ales, though ‘mild’ in
hopping rates, can be exceptionally tasty
– a fact often overlooked both sides of
the Atlantic. Moorhouses’ theme of beer
names relates to local folklore of the
Lancashire Witches of Pendle Hill, close
to the site of the brewery in the mill town
of Burnley. Nine people were executed
there in 1612 for practicing the so-called
‘black arts’, and the area has since then
been associated with magic spells and
demonic potions. Regarding food, pair
your Pendle Witches Brew with Eye of
Newt (alright, maybe I’m getting a little
carried away now…).
Over the Pennines in North Yorkshire,
Black Sheep Brewery of Masham
produce some fine ales, including Black
Sheep Ale (4.4%), Monty Python’s Holy
Grail Ale (4.7%, “tempered over burning
witches” – this time fictional ones), and
Riggwelter (5.7%). The word ‘Riggwelter’
is local Yorkshire dialect for a top-heavy,
usually elderly sheep that has fallen down
and is unable to stand up again. Black
Sheep’s
beers
are
fermented
in
traditional ‘Yorkshire Squares’.
From
the
same
county,
the
aforementioned Shelton Brothers bring
over Monkman’s Slaughter (6.0%) and, in
winter, Rudolph’s Revenge (also 6.0%)
from Cropton Brewery. Both are full
bodied ales, a strong ESB and a tasty
Winter Warmer respectively.
Also a Shelton Brothers import is
Strongarm, a malty best bitter from
Camerons Brewery, who now brew in the
former Castle Eden site in Hartlepool
once owned by Whitbread.
Darwin Brewery is associated with
Brewlab at the University of Sunderland,
who propagated a strain of yeast
obtained from undamaged bottles of beer
recovered from an 1825 shipwreck on the
bottom of the English Channel. Original
Flag Porter (5.0%) is brewed with this
amazing yeast, and for authenticity is
based on a Victorian recipe. I did say that
some of these beers have interesting
stories behind them! Original Flag Porter
is now brewed under contract for Darwin
by Williams Brothers Brewing (previously
it was from Elgood’s Brewery), whose
own quirky brews are reviewed later on in
this article.
Over in the Lake District is the awardwinning Coniston Brewery which, like
Moorhouse’s, also has a Supreme
Champion Beer of Britain award (from
1998) under its belt for Bluebird Bitter
(4.2%). Bluebird is what is known as a
‘quaffing beer’, one that is medium to
full-bodied and tasty but low enough in
alcohol to ‘quaff’ copiously without falling
over or feeling worse-for-wear. The British
are well-versed in sessions involving a
number of rounds of quaffing beers over
an afternoon or evening – or both.
The most recent British brewery to burst
onto the New York City market is
Daleside, from the Yorkshire spa town of
Harrogate. Old Legover (4.1%) is a
medium-dark, well-balanced best bitter
with a nutty taste and a herbal aroma. It
takes its name from the sport of fellrunning, where participants regularly
have to climb over stiles. Monkey Wrench
(5.3%) is a multiple award winning ruby
red ale with a smooth, malty taste. It won
a gold medal three years running at
CAMRA’s Winter Ales Festival. The name
is attributed to Charles Moncky, who
patented the ‘monkey wrench’ design of
adjustable spanner. Ripon Jewel (5.8%), a
complex and hearty amber ale, was
commissioned by Ripon Cathedral in
1999 – so it’s not just Belgian monks who
mix craft beer and religion. With a touch
of citrus and toffee on the tongue, Ripon
Jewel is an ideal match for just about any
type of food.
A fourth beer from Daleside will shortly
be added to the trio already here, the
spicy
Morocco
Ale
(5.5%).
This
mysterious brew is richly copper hued,
brewed to a 300 year old recipe from
Levens Hall, Westmoreland (now part of
Cumbria). The name to this recipe was
coined by Col. James Grahme, courtier to
King Charles II. Morocco Ale is ideal to
pair with spicy foods.
Over the Scottish border, we find
Harviestoun Brewery in Alva in the
historic county of Clackmannanshire.
Look out for Bitter and Twisted, a tasty
Scottish Pale Ale, and Old Engine Oil
(6.0%), logically a dark and viscous brew.
If you’re lucky, you may even come
across limited bottles of Old Engine Oil
Special Reserve, which is the latter beer
aged in wooden casks before bottling.
Harviestoun is now owned by Edinburghbased Caledonian Brewery, whose softtasting organic Golden Promise is highly
sought after.
Traquair House, like St. Peter’s, comes
from a stately home of the same name –
this time in the Scottish Lowlands. Keep
your eyes peeled for the tasty Traquair
House Ale and the powerful Jacobite Ale.
Inveralmond Brewery of Perth produces
bottles of the full-bodied Blackfriar, which
is very drinkable for its strength and
features a distinctive label design.
Inveralmond is no stranger for winning
awards for the quality of their beers.
Way up off the north coast of Scotland lie
the Orkney Islands. In the remote village
of Quoyloo is Orkney Brewery, founded in
1988 and which has recently changed
ownership. Four tasty beers of theirs wing
their way over the Atlantic thanks to
Legends Limited importers. Dark Island
(4.6%) is a typical Scottish craft brew,
ruby red with a fruity nose and a little
peaty smoke character in the taste –
finishing up a little nutty with some
dextrin making this a complex beer that
isn’t too strong. The Red MacGregor
(5.0%) unsurprisingly is a red ale, midstrength with a hoppy aroma and smooth
hop and malt balance on the tongue.
Dragonhead Stout (4.0%), dark and
roasty, is a classic black stout, smooth
but complexly hoppy with a wonderful
roast malt finish. It is great to pair with
many types of food, but especially
recommended with a mature Cheddar
cheese. SkullSplitter (8.5%) is the best
known of Orkney’s beers. Named after
the violent-natured Thorfin Hausakliuuf
(call him ‘Thor’ if you can’t mentally
pronounce that!), the 7th Viking Earl of
Orkney, this strong reddish-brown potion
is exceptionally smooth-tasting with rich
vine fruit notes – dangerously drinkable.
Thorfin lived and ruled around 950 AD,
and beer was apparently very popular
with both the Vikings and the native
Orcadians they ruled.
Certainly the most eclectic range of
bottles from a single brewery that exports
to the USA would be that from Williams
Brothers – Heather Ale Limited. Bruce
Williams originally ran a homebrew shop
in Glasgow, later opening a brewpub in
the late 1980s literally on the platform at
Taynuilt railway station on the remote
and very scenic branch line between
Crianlarich and Oban. After the brewpub,
Bruce moved to a full scale brewery at
Craigmill, and now (with his brother
Scott) operates out of the former
MacLay’s Brewery in Alloa, central
Scotland.
Williams’ flagship brand is Fraoch Heather
Ale (5.0%), often annoyingly misspelled
on pub blackboards and beer menus as
“Froach”. Fraoch (pronounced ‘FRAYOCK’) is Gaelic for Heather, the flowers of
which are infused in the mash to impart a
delicate
flowery
spiciness
to
the
mouthfeel of this historic recipe. At 5.0%
ABV, it’s just about right for either a
session on its own or to pair with a spicy
meal.
Alba (7.5%) is an ale brewed with spruce
and pine shoots, traditionally brewed
centuries ago by ‘alewives’ in the area.
Billed as a ‘medieval triple’, this unique
brew is tawny-brown and has a spruce
aroma and rich malt texture, with a
complex woodiness and lingering finish.
Spruce and pine ales are a legacy of the
Vikings, and were popular in the
Highlands until as recently as the late
19th century. Many early explorers,
including Captain Cook, took ale brewed
with spruce aboard long sea voyages as a
prevention for scurvy and other ailments.
‘Alba’ is the Gaelic word for Scotland.
The common assumption thet Kelpie
(4.4%),
organic
ale
brewed
with
bladderwrack seaweed, is salty or fishy
on the palate is completely wrong. It’s
actually deliciously smooth with distinct
chocolate overtones prominent, no salt or
fish by any means. This beer recreates
the times when barley for brewing was
grown in fields fertilised with seaweed,
imparting a distinctive taste. Pair this
beer with a good quality dark chocolate
for a great culinary experience. This is
another classic recipe from Bruce
Williams and his dedicated team of ecowarriors.
Celtic Druids considered the elder tree to
have
mystical
and
even
magical
properties, so consequently the fruit (the
elderberry) was widely used for remedies
and potions. And this fruit was also a
main part of a medieval dark fermented
beverage brewed from cereals and spiced
with herbs, known to have been popular
as far back as the 9th century AD. Ebulum
(6.5%) is a rich black ale with a fruity
aroma, and a soft-as-silk mildly roasty
texture. Roasted barley, oats, and wheat
are included in the mash, which is boiled
up with a selection of Scottish herbs;
fermentation
is
assisted
by
ripe
elderberries to create this wonderful brew
steeped in history.
The gooseberry is the native Scottish
‘hairy grape’, utilised in the 17th and 18th
centuries in brewing fruit beers in
Scotland. Unmalted wheat, herbs, and
gooseberries were popular for creating a
wine-like recipe, especially by ‘ale wives’
or, in local dialect, ‘luckies’. Williams
Brothers’ Grozet (5.0%) recreates this
piece of history, employing lager malt,
wheat,
hops,
bog
myrtle,
and
meadowsweet in the brew, which is
finished off with ripe gooseberries in the
fermentation process. Grozet is great for
pairing with pasta dishes and salads, and
should be chilled to a little below cellar
temperature before imbibing.
Here’s to the upkeep of tradition – cheers!
My Path to Beer Geekiness
by Mary Izetelny
I’ve become a beer
geek.
No, wait,
maybe beer geekess
is better (I am a
female, after all).
I’ve toyed with beer
enthusiast (apt, but a
bit
boring),
beer
aficionado
(a
bit
pretentious and way
too hard to spell),
beer nut (this just
makes me think of
cans of peanuts),
beer buff (images of
beer drinking at a
nudist camp come to
mind), beer zealot
(me in a black robe
worshipping at the
alter of the goddess Ninkasi), beer
optimist (cheerleaders’ costumes with
hops and barley embroidered on the
front), and beer fanatic (waiting all night
in lawn chairs to be first in line for the
brewery tour). But beer geek (or geekess
as it is) feels best. Although the origin of
the word is a bit frightening – it comes
from the circus sideshow, where a geek
was the performer whose show consisted
of bizarre acts, like biting the head off of
a live chicken - the current definition fits.
I prefer definition #2 from the Compact
Oxford English Dictionary: an obsessive
enthusiast.
I’ve only recently come to terms with my
geekiness. It snuck up on me, quite
frankly, kind of like a cheese gone bad.
One day you have this lovely little brie in
your fridge which you haven’t quite
finished, the next day (or maybe 5), you
open the door to be assaulted by this
terrifically pungent stench that makes
you want to slam the door and flee for
your life (or better yet, hire someone to
tote the whole thing to the sidewalk and
have a new one delivered). I used to be a
regular craft beer drinking person – a few
interesting beers in the fridge, ordering
the sampler at brewpubs, knowing a few
different beers on the menu. Then, bam,
beer obsessiveness hit. I think it all
started about 9 months ago. I held a
small beer tasting for my birthday (OK,
so it was eighteen
beers, ending with the
18%
ABV
Dogfish
Head
World
Wide
Stout, and I prepared
a 3-page handout that
included style and
brewery histories and
tasting notes - but,
really, you only turn
33
once!).
And
everyone had a great
time (my friends are
all used to my, shall
we
say,
thorough
approach to things.)
So I started going to
the beer & cheese
tastings at Bierkraft
every Tuesday, brewed
my first batch of beer in February, and
attended my first meeting of the Malted
Barley Appreciation Society shortly
thereafter.
Then I started classes in
preparation for the Beer Judging
Certification Exam (given by the New York
City Homebrewers Guild), which spurred
me to seek out every article and book on
beer I could get my little paws on
(bidding wars for out-of-print beer books
on Ebay are worse than fighting for a cab
in Midtown at 5pm on a Friday in a
pouring rain). I now pick up and read
every beer magazine I can find, haunting
the newsstand on a weekly basis until the
new issues come out (to do list this week:
subscribe
to
all
these
freaking
magazines). I studied for the BJCP exam
with an intensity that should probably
only be reserved for solving the worlds’
greatest problems – world hunger, the
cure for the common cold, the search for
a public bathroom in Manhattan. I began
taking detailed tasting notes of every beer
that passed through my lips – in a
notebook
dedicated
to
the
task,
alphabetized by brewery, of course. I
bring my digital recorder to beer festivals
– it has many benefits over the notebook:
It only requires one hand, so I can easily
hold my beer with the other while
standing; it can record others’ views once
I’ve had too many to coherently make
observations; and finally, I can wait to
type up the notes until after my hangover
has receded.
I think the true turning point into beer
geekiness was when I started to dream
about beer. I dreamt that my father
(another craft beer lover) and I were on a
pub crawl on the strip in Las Vegas –
yeah, I know, you can’t really do a pub
crawl on the strip, but it was a dream
after all. Last night I dreamt I was in the
backyard of Spuyten Duyvil drinking a
beer as rare as a weekend M train in
Brooklyn. Then there’s the need to share
my enthusiasm.
I was browsing the
selection at my local beer store recently
and overheard a woman tell the store
employee she was looking for a wheat
beer she had tasted recently.
The
employee directed her to an American
style wheat and asked, “Is this what you
had?” “Yes”, she said, and reached for a
few bottles. Well, this was a beer I find a
bit boring and a poor representation of
the style, besides. And I just could not
keep my mouth shut. “Oh, do you mind
if I make a recommendation – wheat
beers are wonderful summer ales and
there is a lot of variety – one of my
favorites is ____. You get a lot of banana,
some clove; it’s really a bright, beautiful
beer.” “Uh, banana?” she asked, looking
at me strangely, but coming over to the
case anyway. “Yes, the flavors actually
come from the yeast that is used…” The
woman grabbed the beer, eyes wildly
looking for an escape, thanked me, and
practically ran around the corner to the
register. Well, at least she bought it – I
hope she enjoyed it. And then there’s the
wait staff who incorrectly identify a beer’s
style or can tell me the style but can’t
remember the brewery’s proper name, or
just get the name wrong. I have to take a
big breath and repeat the mantra: Don’t
say anything, don’t say anything, don’t
say anything, mouth shut, mouth shut,
mouth shut. Or the poor folks who find
out I’m interested in beer and ask me a
seemingly innocent question such as
“What’s your favorite beer?” or “Have you
had this beer?” And I feel the need to
give them an extremely detailed response
which involves the history and notable
characteristics of the style, my favorite
current representations, the ingredients
that give this style its uniqueness, and so
on. I’ve learned to stop once their eyes
glaze over (or at least slow down a bit).
And then there’s the custom beer-wear
that I’ve started making for myself – hop
earrings and t-shirt, beer glassware
necklace - I’ve got to get some of those
fuzzy letters for my beer geekess tee
soon! And, last but not least, the need to
cram as many bottles of beer as I can
(not
to
mention
the
homebrew
equipment) into my tiny Brooklyn
apartment.
Oh, yeah, and the beer events I’ve begun
planning the rest of my life around. And
the three beer message boards I read at
least three times every day. And the beer
and food pairing study group I started.
And the guide to NYC restaurants with
good food and quality beer I’ve started
compiling. And the collection of beer
glassware… And labels… And coasters.
And the future vacations to Belgium,
Germany, England… Wait, have I
surpassed geekiness and gone straight to
beer lunacy? No, no, nothing a good
Trappist dark strong ale brewed since the
late 1900s can’t fix.
Mary’s NYC Beer & Food Pairing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NYCBFP
APPRENTICE BEER GEEKS AND GEEKESSES WANTED!
APPLY AT YOUR NEAREST CRAFT BEER BAR…
Bass – Beck's – Belle Vue – Boddingtons – Bohemia – Brahma –
Diebels – Dinkel Acker – Franziskaner – Hoegaarden – Labatt – Leffe
– Löwenbräu – Mackeson – Rolling Rock – St. Pauli Girl – Skol –
Spaten – Staropramen – Stella Artois – Tennent's – Whitbread.
When you buy any of the above brands, you are funding the world’s biggest
brewing corporation - InBev (formerly Interbrew). Think: “Tasty local microbrew –
or the same old boring globally-available stuff?” Your choice…
City Beer Happenings
Compiled by Alex Hall
The Williamsburg section of Brooklyn has
a concentration of great beer bars within
walking distance from one another; see
Tony Lazaar’s article earlier in this issue
for details of four of them. The next time
Tony tries to ‘conquer’ the area, he may
have to try a little harder as the
proliferation of worthy bars is forecast to
almost double in the next few months –
no exaggeration! Fette Sau (354
Metropolitan Avenue) is expected to open
during the currency of this magazine, and
will have 10 taps – four of them exclusive.
Joe Carroll and Kim Barbour of Spuyten
Duyvil fame are behind this exciting new
project
located
just over the road
from their original
venue; the bar will
have
a
full
barbecue
menu
(hence the name,
German for ‘Fat
Pig’). When open,
look out for the
slightly
smoky
Heavyweight
‘Gotlandsbier’,
brewed
with
juniper, bog bean,
sweet gale, and
aged in oak on
birch bark. Also
from Heavyweight
will be a rye beer
with
caraway
seeds, and a wild
rice
ale.
Heavyweight is of
course no longer in operation, but these
beers were brewed earlier this year and
are now maturing away nicely. Another
exclusive Fette Sau beer will be a very
unusual
IPA
from
Greenpoint
Beerworks/Kelso of Brooklyn – brewed
with Pioneer hops and fermented with
Sauvignon Blanc yeast. Future exclusives
there are promised from Sixpoint Craft
Ales, Defiance Brewing, Sly Fox, and
Captain Lawrence. There will also be
dedicated lines for a German rauchbier
and a beer from Cantillon of Brussels.
Thirsty yet?
Around the same time a promising new
beer bar will be opening at 90 South 4th
Street (on Berry Street), hidden behind a
wall with a stunning graffiti-style mural.
The provisional name for the licence is
‘Dirty Laundry’, but The Gotham Imbiber
is unsure if that is to be the official bar
name. Whatever it’s called, good beers
are promised.
Later this year (or maybe early next),
former Global Brewers Guild sales
manager Jeff Wells will open Wells Ales
& Lagers, a traditional British-styled pub
at 303 Bedford Avenue, followed
probably early next year by another
exciting new beer
bar
near
the
WilliamsburgGreenpoint border.
The former has no
connection with the
Wells (now Wells &
Youngs) Brewery in
Bedford, England –
the names are pure
coincidence.
While
the
three
aforementioned
Heavyweight brews
are not yet available,
The
Levee
(212
Berry
Street,
Williamsburg) has, at
the time of writing,
what is thought to be
the last ever keg
anywhere
of
Heavyweight ‘Black
Ocean’ on tap – brewing genius Tom
Baker’s delicious schwarzbier. In the
above photo, your thirsty scribe gets
served a pint of it shortly after the keg
was tapped; note the handle is actually a
real hammer. Also, good news for
lunchtime imbibers is that The Levee now
opens at 12 noon daily.
While the spotlight is on Williamsburg,
microbrewed beer in on the increase in
the other boroughs too. The Gotham
Imbiber welcomes The Essex Ale House
(179 Essex Street, Lower East Side) to
the mushrooming New York City craft
beer scene. This small bar is somewhat
unique in the city by pretty much only
serving beer – there are no spirits of any
kind and the only wines on view are a
couple of bottles hidden over the fridge.
Prices are very reasonable for the area
($7 for a full glass of St. Bernardus
Abt.12 for example), and the bar is within
handy walking distance of other craft
brew hotspots such as d.b.a. and The
Hop Devil Grill. Oh, and just one stop on
the subway via the J/M/Z train from
Williamsburg…
Also, a new craft beer and burger barrestaurant is set to open on or near
University Place, more details are
awaited.
Much rarer than a new bar is a new beer
distributor specialising in craft beer.
Niche Brands Inc. started trading a few
weeks ago, and already has Kelso of
Brooklyn and Sly Fox on board, with
other craft breweries following soon. The
team comprises of Phil Richman and
Manny
Calderon
Jr.,
former
Oak
Beverages’ Brooklyn Business Manager.
Manny is pictured below (left) with Sly
Fox’s
Brewmaster
Brian
O’Reilly.
Welcome to NYC, Niche Brands!
Dive 75 (101 West 75th Street,
Manhattan) is introducing monthly beer
tastings, the first one is scheduled for
Wednesday 4th October (time TBA).
The popular cask festival at The Brazen
Head (228 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn) is
set to return with a vengeance on the
weekend of 3rd – 5th November. Expect
the usual 20 or so rare and delicious
casks through the weekend, about 10 at a
time. On the subject of festivals, The
Gotham Imbiber has a table reserved at
the Brewtopia World Beer Festival –
this time set in the sprawling Jacob Javits
Center (20th – 21st October). New York
City’s biggest and most spacious beer
festival is now expanded to three sessions
over two days. Volunteers should email
[email protected]
the
reward is a staff t-shirt and free entry to
another session.
Beer on the Pier (7th October) also
returns in a new venue uptown, now
offerering better protection against the
elements that conspired to dampen their
first two events.
While not a multi-tap beer bar, you can
enjoy Heather at Heather’s! Williams
Brothers’ Fraoch Heather Ale (mentioned
in an earlier article and depicted on this
issue’s cover) can be enjoyed at
Heather’s (506 East 13th Street, East
Village), a friendly bar just around the
corner from Drop Off Service (211
Avenue A) – who will shortly be tossing
out their fake beer engine for a real one.
Note Heather’s is not open until 6pm
daily.
Interest in the Caskerator (see page 3) has
been high, and the first outlet in the city
to get one should be
Drop Off Service,
probably followed by
The Draft Barn (317
Avenue X, Brooklyn),
and The Waterfront
Ale
House
(155
Atlantic
Avenue,
Brooklyn) who will
replace their glycol
cask cooler with one
– and the Manhattan
location will hopefully
get one too soon
after.
Fraoch Heather Ale is one of the
promised matches for the second of
Graze Catering’s new monthly beer and
food pairings at The Downtown Bar &
Grill (160 Court Street, Brooklyn) on 18th
October.
Moorhouse’s
Black
Cat,
Williams Brothers’ Ebulum, Orkney Red
MacGregor and SkullSplitter are also
promised for the event, billed as
‘Legends Limited Celtic Autumn’. The
first pairing event, on 20th September,
will have an Oktoberfest theme. See
http://www.grazecatering.com for more
details.
Like a bloodhound sniffing out a fugitive,
The Gotham Imbiber has recently been
discovering oases in some of New York
City’s bleakest craft beer deserts. Long
thought to be a wasteland of only
Guinness, Harp, Budweiser, and Stella
Artois, the multiple Irish pubs of
Sunnyside, Queens, have never catered
for anyone seeking craft beer. That was
until The Courtyard Bar (4018 Queens
Boulevard) started stocking bottleconditioned Cooper’s Pale Ale, an
extremely unlikely Aussie-brewed find in
this predominately Irish area. Catch the 7
train to 40th Street, the bar is directly
opposite the exit.
And similarly, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn,
there is Bullshots (8121 5th Avenue),
which has a couple of changing craft taps
and over a dozen imported and domestic
craft
bottles,
including
Ayinger
Jahrhundert Bier, Ommegang Abbey Ale,
Victory Prima Pils and V Lager, Lagunitas
Sirius and Censored Ale, Allagash White,
and Abita Purple Haze.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Fun Anagrams
The following are all names of beers mentioned in the article on pages 16-19, including
the name of the brewery. The answers can be found on page 26.
1: CORN ENEMY WADDLES, HIKE?
6: AL DELIVERED ELGOOD’S?
2: ALIEN ARMPIT GAFFE RARER?
7: HOSTILE ONION VINEGAR DUEL?
3: CONGRESSMAN MORTAR?
8: BUSY RATS GNAWED AT IT?
4: I WEDGED ARAB FLY?
9: NIL JAWS OILED DEEPER?
5: KINKY LETTER PULLS ROS?
10: BREWER GETS PHALLIC KEG?
finely crafted
Beer Cheese Chocolate
Sandwiches & More
free tastings every Tuesday 7PM
free local delivery
191 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn
between Berkeley & Union
(718) 230230- 7600
www.bierkraft.com
THE GOTHAM IMBIBER RELIES ON ADVERT REVENUE,
OUR UNBELIEVABLY LOW PRICES START AT $45.
CONTACT DETAILS ARE ON PAGE 2. HELP US HELP YOU…
REAL CASK ALE – T H E F U L L N Y C L I S T
This is The Gotham Imbiber’s free listing of all NYC bars that serve cask-conditioned ale.
Barcade, 388 Union Avenue, Brooklyn.
The Blind Tiger Ale House, 281 Bleecker Street, Manhattan (soon, hopefully…)
The Brazen Head, 228 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
David Copperfield’s, 1394 York Avenue, Manhattan.
d.b.a., 41 First Avenue, Manhattan.
The Draft Barn, 317 Avenue X, Brooklyn (soon).
Drop Off Service, 211 Avenue A, Manhattan (soon – replacing a fake engine with a real one).
George Keeley, 485 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan.
The Ginger Man, 11 East 36th Street, Manhattan.
Hop Devil Grill, 129 St. Marks Place, Manhattan.
House of Brews, 363 West 46th Street, Manhattan.
The Lighthouse Tavern,243 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn
Mugs Ale House, 125 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn.
The Savoy Restaurant, 70 Prince Street, Manhattan.
The Spotted Pig, 314 West 11th Street, Manhattan.
Spuyten Duyvil, 359 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn.
Stout, 127-135 West 33rd Street, Manhattan.
The Waterfront Ale House, 155 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
The ‘Caskerator’ purpose-built kegerator unit for caskconditioned ales is going into full production from
September 2006. This will make it easy for just about anyone
to stock cask beer at the correct cellar temperature.
See page 3 for details.
FAKE CASK WARNING: There are a few bars in New York City dispensing keg beer from fake
handpumps. If a bar you visit in NYC appears to have working handpumps and is not on the
above list, it is either very new to selling cask ale or it is filtered keg beer on a dispense method
that has been causing confusion. We suggest taking CAMRA’s initiative to “ask if it’s cask”…
CORRUPT EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE THREATENS
BROOKLYN COMMUNITY BAR
Freddy’s Bar in Prospect Heights is up against the corrupt and taxpayer-money-wasting schemes
of property development juggernaught Forest City Ratner, who want to raze the entire
community to build a corporate concrete jungle – a small part of which is planned to be an arena
for the New Jersey Nets basketball team. Don’t believe the lies, this scheme is unjust & corrupt!
Directions to Freddy’s: 2 or 3 train to Bergen Street station, then walk round the corner to 485
Dean Street to enjoy a fine pint of Harpoon UFO wheat beer or Blue Point Toasted Lager in
friendly surroundings. Links to websites detailing the current situation:
http://www.gotard.com/badd/
http://www.fansforfairplay.com
http://www.nostadium.homestead.com
Freddy’s own website can be seen at http://www.freddysbackroom.com
DO YOU REALLY NEED CHEAP FIZZY WATERY YELLOW STUFF?
DO YOU REALLY NEED TO FOLLOW MARKETING HYPE?
DO YOU REALLY NEED TO FUND GLOBAL BEER EMPIRES?
GO FOR TRADITION AND QUALITY INSTEAD.
SUPPORT THE MICROBREWING MOVEMENT – YOU’LL ENJOY IT!
ANAGRAM ANSWERS FROM PAGE 25
1. Daleside ‘Monkey Wrench’; 2. Freeminer ‘Trafalgar IPA’; 3. Cameron’s ‘Strongarm’;
4. Ridgeway ‘Bad Elf’; 5. Orkney ‘SkullSplitter’; 6. Daleside ‘Old Legover’;
7. Harviestoun ‘Old Engine Oil’; 8. Ridgeway ‘Santa’s Butt’; 9. Daleside ‘Ripon Jewel’;
10. Black Sheep ‘Riggwelter’.
Stop Press - City Beer Non-Happenings
At the time of writing,
there was no word as
to when The Blind
Tiger Ale House would
be able to serve craft
beer in their new
Bleecker
Street
location
(maybe
it
should now be called
Bleaker Street?). Lack
of liquor license is the problem.
impression
Ms.
Glick hasn’t even
visited the Blind
Tiger, now open for
food, coffee, and,
umm… lemonade.
Where
is
the
dividing
line
between a bar that
serves food and a
restaurant that serves alcohol anyway?
Allegedly rubbing a pile of salt into the
wound
is
Deborah
Glick,
the
assemblywoman who represents the
district where the new Blind Tiger is
located, who is said to have written a
letter to the State Liquor Authority saying
the Blind Tiger’s license should be
rejected. Her reasoning is apparently
because they're a bar that primarily
serves beer rather than a restaurant,
going on to say “[The Blind Tiger] isn't
what Bleecker Street needs”.
Ms. Glick supposedly prides herself on
protecting
local
small
businesses,
according to her website. Maybe she
should change the wording…
So that leaves me wondering how Ms.
Glick, who is supposedly pro-small
business over large chains, would come
to such an anti craft beer bar stance. Why
should yet another restaurant get the
green light while the chance to pair
gourmet food with gourmet beer at the
‘Tiger be batted away with one strike of
the political pen? I am under the
If you wish to write her a note outlining
that they're actually a top quality café-bar
which will have one of the best range of
craft brews in the whole of America – and
one that certainly shouldn’t be lumped
into the generic ‘bar’ category – and also
which would cater to a lot of her
constituents in addition to bringing
outside revenue to her area, you can
email her at [email protected]
The Gotham Imbiber has started an online
petition to show support when the matter
is next looked into by The New York State
Liquor Authority. Note this is addressed
to the NYSLA, not the aforementioned
assemblywoman. You can sign it here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/newtiger/petition.html
Hot on the heels of the Blind Tiger farce
is another potential blow to any new New
York City bars set to open this year. The
New York State Liquor Authority
announced in early September that no
new licenses will be issued until next
January for all bars and nightclubs within
500 feet of three or more existing
premises; restaurants are also affected
but apparently may be able to get around
the decision – which may possibly be
ruled to be unlawful according to certain
sources. Again, I notice an anti-bar trend
– one which may possibly delay or even
thwart the opening of some of the upand-coming beer bars mentioned on page
23.
If bureaucratic strangling of small
businesses important to the community
continues like this, maybe we should all
pack up our things and move to Belgium…
Diary reminder: 3 rd -5 th November 2006
The 10th ‘Cask Head’ Cask Ale Festival at the Brazen Head.
20+ rare and obscure casks will pour through the weekend.
Brought to you jointly by The Brazen Head & The Gotham Imbiber.
228 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, noon-late daily.