Im Füchschen Altbier Launch at Spuyten Duyvil

Where:  Spuyten Duyvil, 359 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn
When:  6pm onwards

At long last, after many years of trying, we're extremely pleased to be bringing in the classic Düsseldorf Altbier from Im Füchschen. 

Please join Alex Foschi from the brewery and us on Wednesday for their NYC launch.

Brewing in the same location since 1640, Brauerei Im Füshschen is one of 5 remaining traditional altbier brewpubs in the old town of Düsseldorf.

Altbier ("old-style beer") is an historic, top-fermented dark ale which survived the 19th century Pilsner revolution and is thought to be the world's oldest continuously-brewed local style.

Brewed from the same recipe since 1848, Füchschen Alt is recognized as a world-classic.  It's copper colored with a rounded but not overpowering bready, nutty, and toasty maltiness balanced perfectly by its delicate but lasting spicy hop bitterness.  Cool fermentation and cold lagering give it a characterfully restrained yeasty fruitiness.

De Struise Tap Takeover at The Jeffrey

Join us on Tuesday, 17 March, at The Jeffrey for the second installment of our Tuesday residency. They'll be pouring 12 drafts from Belgium's De Struise Brouwers. Enjoy these sturdy brews:

• Elliot - imperial IPA
• Roste Jeanne - amber
• Rosse - amber 
• Witte
• XXX Rye Triple
• Rye Triple Reserva - Bourbon barrel
• Motuecha - blonde ale with Motueka hops
• Riporter - porter, collaboration with Rio, Japan
• Yairo Eight Colors - wheat beer, collaboration with Rio)
• Hopverdomme - double IPA
• Imperialist Lager - hopped with Galaxy
• Pannepeut - dark ale

The Jeffrey is located at 311 E. 60th St.

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...