No Love for the Outer Boroughs?

It's not that we don't love you Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. You think that we beer lovers favor Manhattan. Not true. But biking to Blind Tiger? Piece of cake. Walk to Jimmy's No. 43? No problem. Even a sunny-day jaunt or bike ride over the Williamsburg Bridge isn't too painful (although the return can be problematic). But those late night N/R/F/7 trains (let's not even mention the Staten Island Ferry) can be harsh. But we love what you do and we encourage others to be adventurous every now and then. And locals: support your bars.

Good Beer Seal bar Sunswick is turning 6 tomorrow! They're located at 35-02 35th Street in Astoria and, given the time of the year, will have a draft list heavy on the holiday beers including:

• Géants Noël des Géants
• Kulmbacher Eisbock
• Ridgeway Seriously Bad Elf
• Ridgeway Reindeer Droppings
• Ridgeway Santa's Butt Porter
• Jenlain Noël

If you're not headed to the Blind Tiger for the Toys for Tots event, why not head to Sunswick? Or do both? It's a quick trip on the N/Q train. Happy birthday, Sunswick!

Naughty & Nice with Ridgeway and Pretty Things

When:  Tuesday, 13 December, 7pm
Where:  Sunswick, 35-02 35th Street, Astoria
What:  pay-as-you-go

Holiday beer madness continues!  Our pals over at Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project came up with the idea of doing an event with 3 Christmas beers from the Ridgeway Brewery in England alongside 3 Pretty Things beers. Apparently, we're the "naughty" ones in this equation. That might be debatable but all of the beers tonight are "nice" so unless you indulge in one too many, you'll be dreaming of sugarplums.

The Ridgeway Christmas series famously started in the days of yore with Bad Elf, a hoppy winter warmer conjured up on a bar napkin over a few pints at the White Horse in London. Every year, the beers got stronger, the elves became worse (ok, so they're a bit naughty), and then we ran out of elf adjectives so we moved on to Santa and then to his reindeer. There will be one from each phase of the series.

little bombs of flavor, falling from the sky

The Ridgeway Beers:
Seriously Bad Elf - English interpretation of a Belgian tripel
Santa's Butt - winter porter
Reindeer Droppings - strong, hoppy amber ale

Mr. Jack D'Or himself

The Pretty Things Beers:
Jack D'Or - saison
Babayaga - export stout
Our Finest Regards - barleywine for the winter

Celebrate International Stout Day with a Mikkeller Black Hole Stout

We've been told that Thursday, 3 November is International Stout Day. And to celebrate, Sunswick will be featuring 4 drafts of the Mikkeller Barrel-Aged Black Hole Imperial Stout series. If you missed the Black Hole event last week at the Ginger Man, this is your chance to try different versions of this beer side by side. Sunswick will be pouring the bourbon, peat whiskey, tequila, and cognac versions. All were aged for 6 months in their respective barrels.

Sunswick 35/35 is located at 35-02 35th Street in Astoria.