Oktoberfest at Spuyten Duvyil and Mission Dolores

Oktoberfest is in full swing and their are plenty of opportunities to drink our German beers from traditional gravity kegs.

Where: Spuyten Duyvil, 359 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn
When: Saturday, 4 October

Dust off those lederhosen and shake out those dirndls because Spuyten Duyvil is hosting their annual Oktoberfest. From 12 pm onwards they'll be featuring all 8 of our Franconian gravity kegs along with some other German drafts. 

Gravities 

• Weissenohe Monk's Fest - traditional festbier
• Weissenohe Altfränkisch Klosterbier - märzen
• Weissenohe Bonator - doppelbock
• Weissenohe Bio Classic Export - organic export
• Weissenohe Bonifacius - dunkel
• Bayer Theinheim Landbier - zwickel
• Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lager - kellerbier
• Löwenbräu Buttenheim Kellerbier - landbier

On draft:  

• Freigeist Hoppeditz - doppel sticke alt brewed with smoked malt
• Freigeist Geisterzug Gose - brewed with spruce branches
• Monarchy Münchhausen - Münsterland-style altbier
• Monarchy Preussen Weisse - north German weissbier brewed with ginger and juniper

They will also have a selection of German bottles and wurst.  

Where: Mission Dolores, 244 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
When:  Saturday-Sunday, 4-5 October

From 2-8 pm on both Saturday and Sunday, Mission Dolores will be holding their annual Oktoberfest with sausages from Brooklyn Bangers. On each day they'll tap a gravity keg; one day it will be Weissenohe Monk's Fest and the next it will be Bayer Theinheim Landbier.

Gravity Kegs Pouring on Friday, 3 October

End the work week and ease on into the weekend with some Franconian goodness.

Where:   Beer Culture, 328 W. 45th Street, Manhattan

Head to midtown for a mug of Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lager, a smooth kellerbier from the tiny family-run Brauerei Zehendner in Burgebrach.


Where:  The Owl Farm, 297 9th Street, Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the place to be for some Altfränkisch Klosterbier, a traditional märzen from the Weissenohe Brewery.

It's German Gravity Keg Season!

Real Lager. That's what the Shelton Brothers are bringing to NYC this week and into October. We're talking 20 liter gravity kegs - unfiltered, unpasteurized traditional Franconian goodness, dispensed without artificial pressure or preservation of any kind. This is the way beer was enjoyed everywhere in the world until modernization/refrigeration/(insert curmudgeonly catchphrase here) made everything sterile and safe to consume! Just kidding. You're safe.
A few of our favorite serious beer joints will be featuring these beauties over the next three weeks or so. But kicking it off this weekend you can find some of these gravities at the following locations:
Saturday, 27 September - Bondurants
303 E. 85th Street

• Weissenohe Monk's Fest
• Weissenohe Bonifacius Dunkel
• Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lager

Saturday-Sunday, 27-28 September - Oktoberfest at Dirck the Norseman
17 N. 15th Street, Brooklyn

• Weissenohe Monk's Fest
• Weissenohe Altfränkisch Klosterbier
• Weissenohe Bio Classic Export
• Weissenohe Bonifacius Dunkel
• Bayer Theinheim Landbier
• Löwenbräu Buttenheim Kellerbier

Cantillon Zwanze Day is Upon Us!

Happy Zwanze Day!

Every year, Brasserie Cantillon in Brussels releases a special batch of beer, never to be rebrewed, called Zwanze. The word comes from the Flemish dialect spoken in Brussels and describes the humor of the city's inhabitants, characterized by a finely-balanced mix of self-deprecation and exaggeration. Brewer Jean Van Roy enjoyed the idea of calling his experimental batches Zwanze since the name suggests a light-hearted approach to the blends which he feels have a similar jovial and slightly derisive spirit as do the people of Brussels.

This year's Zwanze beer is Cuvée Florian, a hoppy lambic aged on a small amount of cherries and brewed in honor of Jean's son Florian. It will be release world-wide this Saturday, 20 September.

Jean selects bars around the world to pour this draft-only release and tapping takes place  at 3 pm (9 pm Brussels time), on Saturday. Two bars have been selected in New York City:  Alewife in Long Island City, Queens (opening at 11 am) and Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg (opening at 12 pm). Both bars will be selling tickets for a glass of Zwanze - first-come, first-served - but the event itself is free and there will be other Cantillon drafts at both bars, including Gueuze and Cuvée St-Gilloise, available on a pay-as-you go basis.

We hope that you can join us in toasting Flo with a glass of Cuvée Florian on Saturday. Below is a more detailed description of the beer from Jean Van Roy.

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Dear Zwanze enthusiasts,

Some of you have already had the opportunity to taste Iris Grand Cru aged 3 years in a 400-litre cask. This product was sold without having been blended with a younger beer and so there was no possibility of secondary fermentation. As a result, Iris Grand Cru is a non-sparkling beer and it is meant to be drunk like cereal wine. Without cold hopping, its fragrances tend more towards the characteristic acidity of a spontaneous fermentation product associated with a slight caramel taste.

In other news, my eldest son, Florian, turned 18 on 3 May. To duly celebrate his transition to adulthood, and as the worthy son of a lambic brewer, Flo received a rather original birthday gift: an entire cask filled with “Cuvée Florian”.

Admittedly, finding the name was easy, but it was another matter to come up with the actual beer we were going to produce on this occasion. When I first tasted the Iris Grand Cru, I immediately thought that adding a touch of fruitiness to the caramel accent could be very complementary. And since my son’s favourite beer is kriek, I based myself on a mix of these two products to create his birthday present.

As my goal was not to create some kind of kriek clone, I reduced the amount of fruit by 40% in this blend with the Iris Grand Cru. After all, the core idea was to contribute fruitiness and mellowness to the base beer, not recreate a beer that tasted like sour cherries. Although cold-hopping with the same quantities used for “traditional” Iris would probably have masked the blend’s very subtle fragrances, I still wanted to add a touch of bitterness to this birthday present and decided to opt for a small dose of superb and very delicate Bramling Cross hops. The linger on the palate is very complex while the fruity fragrances of the hops play a subtle role without throwing off balance the beer's range of flavours and bouquet.

For this Zwanze 2014 I had originally planned on using the spontaneous fermentation stout brewed at the beginning of 2013, but despite the fact that this beer is already very good I have the feeling that another year of maturing in a cask will give it more delicateness and character. In light of this we needed another beer to replace our “wild” stout so as to be able to organise our Zwanze Day, and as you will undoubtedly have understood by now, the success of “Cuvée Florian” meant that it did not take very long for us to make a decision.

I did ask the kid if he was OK with me making a new version of his birthday present, and since this was not a problem for him, it was only logical to call this Zwanze 2014 “Cuvée Florian”!

Happy birthday, son!

Jean Van Roy

Lambic Brewer and Blender

Beer, Brats, & Beer Floats at Hops & Hocks Saturday

Come on out to the inaugural "Beer Bazaar" at Hops and Hocks featuring Shelton Brothers lagers and ales*, DJ Bocky, brats from Brooklyn Bangers, and Beer Floats (mmm....) courtesy of Jeni's Ice Cream! Free samples! It's this Saturday, August 9, from 3–7 p.m. at 2 Morgan Ave. in Bushwick (Morgan L-train stop).
*Featured beers (mmmmmmm!!!!...):
- Trois Dames L'Amoureuse Blanche - a wild/sour saison
- Bourganel Miel de Châtaignier - a chestnut blossom honey lager
- To Øl By Udder Means - a Scandinavian milk stout
- Kyritzer Mord & Totschlag - a smoky German schwarzbier
- Monarchy Münchhausen - a sour altbier- Konrad 14º - a classic Czech lager

Pure decadence...

Celebrate the Tour de France with French Beers

Our celebration of French beer continues! Many people don't realize that France has a very long brewing tradition, notably in the northern part of the country where the climate is too cold to grow grapes. Nowadays, beer is brewed anywhere that raw ingredients can be shipped so breweries have popped up all over France. Join us on Thursday and Sunday as we explore some of these breweries.

What:  Bières Françaises and French Disco
Where:  Brouwerij Lane, 78 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn
When:  Thursday, 24 July, from 6pm onwards

DJ Jim "Bock Monsieur" Barnes will be spinning the disco tunes while the following beers will be on draft for your sipping pleasure:

• Page 24 Barrel-Aged Brune - unique roasty brown bière de garde from the north of France aged in Burgundy barrels
• Bretagne Celtika - earthy Belgian-style tripel from Brittany
• Bourganel Miel de Châtaigner - lager brewed with chestnut flower honey from the Ardèche

What:  Tour de France Finish Party

Where:  Mission Dolores, 249 4th Avenue, Brooklyn

When:  Sunday, 27 July, 2-6pm

Celebrate the winner of the Tour de France (care to make a bet on Nibali?) with French beers on Sunday. DJ Jim "Bock Monsieur" Barnes will also be dj'ing and we won't be taking any bets as to whether or not he'll play "Tour de France" by Kraftwerk.

• Page 24 Barrel-Aged Brune - unique roasty brown bière de garde from the north of France aged in Burgundy barrels
• Page 24 Réserve Hildegarde Blonde - modern blonde bière de garde with balancing hops in the finish
• Castelain Ch'ti Blonde - traditional, malt-forward bière de garde
• Bretagne Dremmwel Rousse - amber ale influenced by British brewing traditions as Brittany has a close affinity to the Celts

French Beer at Taproom 307

Now that you've recovered from storming the Bastille, why don't you join us at Taproom 307 (307 3rd Avenue) Wednesday evening, 16 July, for some fine French beer.

Les bières:

• Page 24 Barrel-Aged Brune - brown bière de garde aged in burgundy barrels (1 of 20 kegs in the US!)
• Page 24 Blonde - blonde bière de garde
• Castelain Maltesse - strong golden ale
• Bretagne Sant Erwann - 7 grain ale from Brittany
• Bourganel Nougat - the ever-popular nougat beer
• Bourganel Myrtilles - with wild blueberries

Super Shelton Brothers Tasting - Tuesday 15 July

Join Brother Joel for a Super Serious Shelton Brothers Tasting at Jimmy's No. 43 on Tuesday, 15 July.

Starting at 7pm, Joel will be leading you through a tasting of 10 of our beers. The beers will be serious; the stories - not so much. DJ Bocky will be spinning tunes to pair with the beers.

The beers:

• Thiriez Extra
• Cervesera del Montseny Malta Cuvée
• De la Senne Taras Boulba
• Het Nest Ace of Spades
• Naparbier Sai Saison
• The Monarchy Grodziskie
• Freigeist Geisterzug Gose
• Brouwerij West Tripel
• Trois Dames Grande Dame
• Amager Pride Imperial Stout

The host:

The tasting is starts at 7pm and costs $20 for the 10 beers. Jimmy's No. 43 is located at 43 E. 7th Street.

German Beers for Summer - Tasting at Hops & Hocks

Come by Hops & Hocks in Bushwick on Friday, 27 June from 6-9pm for a free tasting of some unusual German beers that are perfect for summer. We'll be sampling out the following unique brews:

• Ritterguts Gose - THE classic sour beer from Leipzig brewed with salt and coriander
• The Monarchy Münchhausen - an easy-drinking Münsterland-style sour altbier
• The Monarchy Grodziskie - based on the style once brewed in the Polish town of Grodzisk Weilkopolski, this authentic version is brewed with 100% oak-smoked wheat, Polish hops, willow bark, and the style's original yeast
• Freigeist Abraxxxas - smoked sour wheat beer based on the lost Lichtenhainer style
• Kyritzer Mord & Totschlag - for those who like their beers darker, a full-bodied yet not-too-heavy cross between a schwarzbier and Baltic porter. The name means "Murder & Manslaughter.

Hops & Hocks is located at 2 Morgan Avenue in Brooklyn, not far from the Morgan Ave. stop on the L train.

Tap Takeover & Meet the Brewers - Naparbier

If you missed our Naparbier event last week, there's still time to check out the beers and meet the brewers, this Saturday, 7 June, at Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg.

After charging up and down the east coast brewing collaborations with the likes of Pretty Things, Cambridge Brewing, Oxbow, and Weyerbacher, the boys from Naparbier are coming back to NYC for one last party before heading home to Pamplona.

Come and find out about the burgeoning craft beer scene in Spain.

Las cervesas:

• Janis Porter - balanced robust porter with notes of chocolate, nuts, and coffee 
• ZZ+ Amber - malty and well-hopped with Citra, Nelson Sauvin, Topaz, and Chinook  
• Undead - imperial ipa hopped with Columbus, Centennial, Citra, Topaz, Nelson Sauvin, and Motueka. Citrusy and resiny
• Sai Saison - refreshing saison with orange and lemon peels
• Hop Doom - a hop monster with tons of tropical fruit notes and a well-hidden abv, 11.5%
• Pumpkin Tzar - heck, yeah, we're gonna drink a pumpkin imperial stout in June! This is the only keg in NYC of this 11.6% Russian imperial stout brewed with pumpkin and habaneros  

The beers go on at noon and Juan, Alfredo, and Sven will be showing up around 2-3 pm.  Spuyten Duyvil is located at 359 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn. 

Meet the Brewer - Naparbier from Spain

Join us this Tuesday, 27 May, at Jimmy's No. 43 for an informal meet-and-greet with Brewmaster Juan Rodriguez and Sven Bosch from Naparbier. They're in town before heading up and down the east coast brewing collaborations with Pretty Things, Cambridge Brewing, Oxbow, and Weyerbacher.

Naparbier is a co-op brewery located near Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. The name is a combination of Napar, which means Navarra in the Basque language, and the German word for beer. Juan started brewing traditional German beers in 2009 but now brews all styles including pilsner, IPA and imperial IPA, Russian imperial stout, and barleywine. He's also brewed collaborations with a variety of European brewers including Mikkeller, Nøgne Ø, and Beavertown.

We'll be pouring 3 of their beers:

• ZZ+ Amber - malty and well-hopped amber ale
• Naparpils - an easy-drinking, food-friendly, unfiltered pilsner
• Sai Saison - refreshing saison with orange and lemon peels

There will also be a guided beer and cheese pairing using Naparbier beers led by cheesemonger Pamela  Brewer. Get tickets for the pairing here.

Jimmy's No. 43 is located at 43 E. 7th Street and the Napar fellows will be arriving around 7pm following their appearance on Beer Sessions Radio (along with guest Jason Perkins of Allagash). Tune into the Heritage Radio Network to listen live or listen later via iTunes.

Pivovar Kout - Traditional Czech Lager

Just in time for the spring drinking weather we've sent a limited amount of kegs to New York from Pivovar Kout na Sumave in Bohemia, Czech Republic. While written records date the brewery to 1736, it was probably founded in the 16th century. Like many small breweries, Kout was shut down during communism but was recently revived by Jan Skala who worked at the brewery as a young man.

Pivovar Kout brews classic, earthy lagers using local barley, noble hops, and water from their own well. The Kout beers (pronounced "coat") are made from 200 year old recipes and brewed using either double or triple decoction mash. They are also open-fermented and unpasteurized and are therefore meant to be drunk as fresh as possible.  No vintage beer here, please!

The pivo:

• Koutska 10º - a hoppy golden lager, 4%
• Koutska 12º - the flagship beer, a classic traditional Pilsner, 5%

The kegs are popping up at select places around the city. Look for them this weekend at Jimmy's No. 43 in Manhattan, and at Henry Street Ale House and Franny's in Brooklyn.

Amager Sinner Series

Amager Bryghus from Denmark is partially located in a fall-out shelter so we'll be getting beers from them no matter what.  They've just released their "Sinner Series", featuring a beer for each one of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Perhaps not the ideal beverage for Lent, but you could always pop one open and then reflect upon said sins.  As the brewery says, "We’re not proud to be sinners, but at least we’re open about it." 

Look for bottles in your favorite shops and, starting on Sunday, 13 April, drop by Tørst in Greenpoint for a Sin a Day on draft, starting with Greed. Each day a new Sin will be tapped. This is one of only 16 locations around the country to have the entire series on draft.

The beers/sins:

• Envy - West Coast IPA, 6.5%. "Cain is said to have murdered his brother out of envy. At Amager Bryghus we believe that murder is taking things a bit far. However, we admit to being envious because we weren’t the first brewer to come up with the beer style we admire the most: a crisp and hopped up West Coast IPA."
• Gluttony - Imperial IPA, 9.4%. "At the Amager brewery we are comfortably situated far away from small-town modesty; we are not afraid of excess, and the term “moderation” is simply not found in our vocabulary. To us, gluttony is considered a virtue rather than a sin - at least when it comes to one thing: hops! While making this beer we targeted the hops which shone brightest in our hop room, as if they were almost begging to be used in copious quantities. And that is what we did, as befits a Double IPA of the highest caliber. We have squandered to a sinful degree - and we love it."
• Greed - German-style Pilsner, 4.6%. "We asked our smartass marketing director what beer would be a good choice for the sin of Greed. He only pondered for a sec and then said: 'We should simply do as all the big players do: make a cheapass beer and sell it at a premium price – that’s greed for you alright'. Our marketing director is a smart guy, so of course we did what he said. We even put a picture of him on the label. The beer however turned out pretty badass. It’s a straight up German Pilsener without any fuss."
• Sloth - American Pale Ale, 6%. "We’re hardworking people here at Amager Bryghus. Only once in a while are we lazy bastards. But it happens. We have to admit that we were lazy when we designed this beer. One malt, one hop – albeit a good one – and then our house yeast. Well, how hard can it possibly be to create a sessionable American Pale Ale? And that’s what we’re offering you here. Sometimes brewing is hard work. Sometimes it’s a work of art. And then sometimes it’s a walk in the park. Take a stroll, sit and relax on a park bench in the sun and be lazy with us." 
• Wrath - Barrel-aged Saison, 6.5%.  "Saisons are in. Saisons are hip. It’s as simple as that. So far, no one has come up with a good explanation as to why this very traditional Belgian farmhouse style has suddenly skyrocketed in popularity amongst the in-crowd of the beer geek nation. Except, of course, for the fact it’s simply a very delicate drink in all of its refined simplicity. But we’ve committed a sin. We couldn’t resist. We poured our Amager Saison into a red wine barrel. We hope the soft tannins from the wood and the noble Pinot Noir grapes add a juicy extra twist. By doing so, we may bring the wrath of Saison fundamentalists upon ourselves. But frankly, we don’t give a damn!" 
• Pride - Imperial Stout, 10%. "We thought about this for a long time: what kind of beer would give us the utmost feeling of pride in The Sinner Series? Well, if you know Amager Bryghus you already know that Imperial Stouts have a special place in our hearts. So “Pride” simply had to be an Imperial Stout. What is special about this take on the style is that we boiled the h… out of it. Actually we boiled it for 6 hours, making for a richer and fuller version.  We would never dare calling this the perfect Imperial Stout - that would be taking pride way too close to hubris! But we hope you enjoy it nonetheless."
• Lust - Belgian Strong Ale, 9.2%. "This beer is so rich, so sweet and so luscious, that we wouldn’t hesitate calling it pure lust in a bottle. This beer is so lustful that we cannot vouch for the consequences if you serve this to your girlfriend over a candlelight dinner. This may very well result in a lifelong payment of child support. We have brewed a beer with the most sensual of sugars we could find at our local grocery store. We were tempted to spice it up with well-renowned aphrodisiacs like Spanish fly or oysters, but frankly we didn’t see the need for it."

Mikkelle Week at Adobe Blues

The annual Mikkeller Week starts on Monday, 7 April at Adobe Blues on Staten Island. They've squirreled away cases for a while now in anticipation of the event and will also have 3 beers on tap. In addition, they've got some vintage bottles that they'll bring out each day for one day only.

On tap:

• Black Hole - imperial stout
• Arh Hvad?! - a tribute to Orval. The name means "oh, what?!" in Danish and is also close to the Danish pronunciation of Orval.
• American Style - collaboration with Prairie Artisan Ales, a dry-hopped, west coast-style IPA fermented 100% with Brettanomyces 

In bottles:

• It’s Alive! White Wine Edition - wild ale aged in white wine barrels
• It’s Alive! Grand Marnier Edition - aged in Grand Marnier barrels
• AK Alive! - version of It's Alive brewed at Anchorage Brewing Company
• Big Worse Red Wine - barleywine aged in red wine barrels.
• Fresler - dopplebock
• Texas Ranger - chipotle porter
• Orange Yuzu Glad I Said Porter - porter brewed with yuzu
• Jackie Brown - hoppy brown ale
• Wheat is the New Hops Chardonnay Aged - IPA brewed wheat and fremented with brettanomyces yeast, in collaboration with Grassroots
• SpontanNoble - spontaneously-fermented SpontanAle, aged in Sauternes barrels

Adobe Blues is located at 63 Lafayette Avenue on Staten Island.

Nøgne Ø at Spuyten Duyvil

When:  Saturday, 5 April, 12pm onwards
Where:  Spuyten Duyvil, 359 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn

Also making their way to the Craft Brewers Conference next week are Tore and Tom from Norway's Nøgne Ø brewery. Let's hope for a sunny spring day when they drop by Spuyten Duyvil on Saturday afternoon so we can do some outdoor drinking. The taps start flowing at noon and Tore and Tom will get there around 2pm. Just to play it safe we've got some big beers in case it ends up cold and snowy and some lighter ones to hopefully usher in the warmer weather.

The list:

• Citrus Hystrix - IPA with kaffir lime and tangerine
• Premiant - imperial pils brewed with the new Premiant hop
• Porter - with flavors of coffee and dried fruit
• Imperial Stout - just the way the Tsar would have liked it - a dark, rich ale with generous sweetness and roasted malt bitterness
• Two Captains - double IPA with fruity and resiny hops
• India Saison - brewed with Australian hops, giving the beer tropical fruit notes.

and in bottles:

• Horizon Tokyo Black - 16% imperial stout
• Tindved - sour ale with sea buckthorn

Meet the Brewer - Trois Dames

When:  Wednesday, 2 April, 6 pm onwards

Where:  Tørst, 615 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn

Brewer Raphäel from Switzerland's Brasserie Trois Dames will be in town this week before heading to the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver. He's been making some unique twists on sour beers in his Swiss chalet paradise in the Jura for a while but has recently expanded the range. Come by Tørst to meet him and have a few of his fantastic sour beers.

• Grande Dame - oud bruin with apricots
• La Tentation - a saison fermented first with Dupont saison yeast, then refermented for one year in oak barrels with a witbier yeast. Final maturation with wild yeasts from local Reinette Blanche apples
• Saison Framboise - saison brewed with raspberries and aged in red wine barrels
• Fôret Noire (bottles) - saison aged on Morello cherries then blended with imperial stout and aged further in Kirsch barrels  

Curiouser and Curiouser. Unusual German Beers

We have nothing against the German Reinheitsgebot. Some of our favorite German beers are brewed in accordance with the Purity Law. But there are some traditional beers that have always used ingredients far outside the narrow confines of the Reinheitsgebot and brewers are reviving these lost and archaic styles.

Join us Thursday evening, 13 March, at The Sampler in Bushwick for a few of these unique biers. Traditional beers from Döllnitzer/Ritterguts (from Leipzig) and revivalist brewery The Monarchy (from Cologne).

• Ritterguts Gose - over 1000 years ago, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto praised Gose, the beer from the town of Goslar. Nearby Leipzig became the center of Gose production until its virtual disappearance in the 1960s. In the early 80s, this unique style was revived. The Ritterguts version, brewed with the traditional additions of salt and coriander, is a balanced and complex sour beer with solid lactic notes. Winner of World's Best Gose at the 2013 World Beer Awards.
• The Monarchy Grodziskie - based on a style from the Polish town of Grodzisk Wielkopolski. This authentic version is made with 100% oak-smoked wheat, local Polish hops, and the beer's original yeast. When it was discovered that the original brewery occasionally used willow bark in the recipe, the Monarchy decided to throw that in, too.
• The Monarchy Preussen Weisse - "Prussian White", brewed from an 1831 recipe, is a tart wheat beer that includes sugar beet syrup, ginger, and juniper.

The Sampler is located at 234 Starr Street in Brooklyn.

New York Beer Week Opening Bash

When:  Friday, 21 February, 7-10 pm 

Where:  Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Terminal

We love a party as much as the next person so we're happy to be participating in the New York City Brewers Guild Opening Night Bash at Grand Central.  For once, we'll be drinking beer in style there, instead of brown-bagging it.  Over 30 breweries will be pouring samples of rare and/or new releases and there will be light food from local restaurants and purveyors.  And you can still jump on the 10:20 to Scarsdale if need be.

Drop by the Shelton Brothers table, say hello, and try samples of Ritterguts Gose and the NYC premiere of the new Mikkeller/Prairie American-Style collaboration - a dry-hopped IPA fermented exclusively with Brettanomyces.


A limited amount of tickets are still available and can be purchased at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/nyc-beer-week-opening-night-bash-tickets-10156126247.  Use the code "Bash 10" for 10% off your ticket.

Kulmbacher Brauerei Events

Come meet Thomas Wölfel of Kulmbacher this Thursday, 20 February and Sunday, 23 February.

NYC Beer Week is coming up? Tell that to Kulmbacher, our venerable Franconian brewer. Just as Gotham prepares to confront the latest batch of super-amped Yank quadruple mint IPAs and Moccaccino Espresso Lemon Peanut Pale Porters, those lederhosen-loving Teutons are sending over worldwide export manager Thomas Wölfel to America to talk up pilsners, weizens, schwarzes, kellers, and eisbocks! Who says the Shelton Brothers are contrarian?

This Thursday, fresh off the plane, the globe-trotting Thomas will be whisked away to Jimmy’s No. 43 for a rare Kulmbacher Industry Tap Night, highlighting the extremeties of the brewery’s impressive range - including the  deliciously sessionable EKU Pils and Mönchshof Kellerbier, the classic “Kulmbacher-Style” Mönchshof Schwarz, and the wintery, warming Kulmbacher Eisbock - the original ice beer.  As an added bonus (and one to be more appreciated perhaps after an eisbock or two) various Shelton staff will/may appear in traditional Franconian garb!

If you absolutely can’t get to Jimmy’s on Thursday (or even if you can), Thomas and Brother Joel will also host an informal tasting session Sunday, 5:30-8, at UES bottle-shop/café City Swiggers.  Eisbock will be featured on the draft board and your hosts will pour free samples from the wide selection of Kulmbacher bottles on offer in the shop. Don’t miss this event if you want to see how a real live Franconian wears his lederhosen....Prost!

Jimmy's No. 43 is located at 43 E. 7th Street.

City Swiggers is at 320 E. 86th Street.

Scandinavian Beers at Breukelen Bier Merchants

Some people might be tired of the snow but we're not because it gives us the perfect excuse to drink hearty beers from Scandinavia, a place that knows a bit about cold and dark and snow.

Join us on Saturday, 8 February, at Breukelen Bier Merchants from 1pm-midnight for the following beers:

Denmark

• Mikkeller Beer Hop Breakfast - black IPA brewed with coffee 
• To Øl Sleep Over - imperial IPA brewed with espresso and fermented with wild yeast
• To Øl Mine is Bigger than Yours - barleywine

Norway

• Lervig Konrad's Stout - Russian imperial oatmeal stout
• Nøgne Ø Winter Ale - 8.5% dark winter warmer

Breuekelen Bier Merchants is located at 182 Grand Street, Williamsburg.

French Beer and Cassoulet

On Saturday, 11 January, from 1-4pm, why don't you drop on by Jimmy's No. 43 for 3 different varieties of cassoulet paired with different French and Quebecois beers and Norman ciders. Jim Barnes will be providing an informal guide to the beers.

Les bières:

• Thiriez Extra - Daniel Thiriez brews farmhouse ales in the small town of Esquelbecq, near the border with Belgium. Extra is an earthy, dry-hopped, 4.5% saison
• Au Baron Cuvée des Jonquilles - hybrid saison/bière de garde from a tiny farmhouse brewery in the north of France. Refreshing and effervescent
• Trou du Diable Grivoise de Noël - from our Francophone neighbors to the north, an award-winning subtly spiced strong Belgian dubbel with honey
• Trou du Diable Cholie Fraulein (draft) - malty dunkel from Shawinigan, Quebec
• Brasserie St. Germain Page 24 Brune - unique roasty, dark brown bière de garde from the North of France
• Bourganel Bière au Nougat - lager brewed with nougat from the Ardèche. Nutty, sweet aroma with dry finish
• Mont Blanc La Rousse - amber ale brewed with hibiscus and elderberry and water from the Mont Blanc glacier
• Pays Flamand/Nøgne Ø Prototype (draft) - Juniper porter. Kjetil from Nøgne Ø brought juniper berries with him from Norway to France to brew this collaboration.
• Cidrerie du Perche L'Hermetière Cidre Brut - Cidrerie du Perche makes traditional cider Normady from their own organically grown apples. Their ciders are unpasteurized, unfiltered, and naturally carbonated through bottle-conditioning.  The Brut is lively and complex with the delicate aroma of ripe apples, leather, and freshly mown hay.
• Cidrerie du Perche L'Hermetière Poiré - Perry made with pure pear juice. It has a fruity aroma with light lemon notes and a tart mouthfeel, like a dry white wine

Les cassoulets:

• Classic
• Kid - goat with merguez
• American - with kielbasa, chicken, pork, and bacon

Tickets are $45 and include the 3 different cassoulets and samples of the beers. They can be purchased here at Brown Paper Tickets or at the door.