Tuesday $10 Tastings - New Zealand Beer

This Tuesday, 17 July at 7:30 pm, join Joel Shelton and Mike Lovullo of Union Beer at Jimmy's No. 43 as they take a trip down under to explore the beers of the southern hemisphere.

Much like the US 20 years ago, there's been a big boom in craft brewing as a backlash against insipid light lager in New Zealand. Many of our Kiwi brewers started as homebrewers, intrigued by the range of flavors and styles not available commercially in their country.

The list:

• 8 Wired HopWired IPA - with NZ malts and NZ Southern Corss, Motueka, and Nelson Sauvin hops
• 8 Wired The Big Smoke Porter - brewed with Bamberg rauchmalt and NZ Pacific Jade, Southern Cross, and Willamette hops
• 8 Wired iStout - 10% modern Russian imperial stout
• Tuatara Bohemian Pilsner - with authentic Czech yeast and NZ Pacific Jade, Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, and Riwaka
• Yeastie Boys Digital IPA - it's all about the malt and hops
• Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin Brut - brewed with brettanomyces and Nelson Sauvin hops and aged in Austrian Sauvignon Blanc barrels

Learn what No, 8 Wire is, how long tuataras have been around, who was awarded the 2011 Champion Brewery by the Brewers Guild of NZ, and why the Yeastie Boys found the prevalence of growler shops in New York to be so amusing. The beers are brewed with New Zealand ingredients which give them a real sense of terroir. Hops, in particular, tend to provide tropical fruit notes which is why Mike has included the Mikkeller beer to showcase the Nelson Sauvin varietal.

$10 gets you a sample of 6 different beers.  Seating is limited so arrive early to guarantee your spot.  Jimmy's is located at 43 E. 7th St.

It's Bastille Day - Let Them Drink Beer!

Like we ever need an excuse to drink beer...


The 4th of July has passed which means that it's time to celebrate Bastille Day and all things French. And by all things French, we mean beer.


Many people, even many in France, don't realize that France - particularly in the north, along the border with Belgium - has a long-standing brewing tradition. Unfortunately, the brewing industry was almost completely decimated by the two World Wars while the tradition of farmhouse ales was also adversely affected by the rise in popularity of clean lagers. Fortunately, some of the brewers were able to hold out or returned after a hiatus while other new breweries have been popping up all around the country.

There are several opportunities to drink French beer this weekend. Come out to Café d'Alsace or Blind Tiger this weekend or pick up a few bottles at your local good beer shop.


Roast Pig Dinner
When:  Saturday, 14 July - Monday, 16 July, 6-10 pm
Where:  Café d'Alsace, 1695 2nd Avenue (at E. 88th St.)
What:  $49.95 for a 3-course dinner paired with French beers

All weekend long, Café d'Alsace will be celebrating Bastille Day with French beer. They're offering a 3-course roast suckling pig dinner available each night and paired with 3 different French beers. Come see why we think that the varied flavors and styles of beer can hold up to the robust character of the meal better than wine can. 

In addition to the beer dinner, Café d'Alsace will also be offering flights of 4 different French beers for $12.

The choice of breweries includes: 

• Au Baron - tiny family-run brewery near Belgium making refreshing saison/bière de garde hybrids 
• Bourganel - located in the Ardèche, in southeast France, they use local products like chestnuts and honey to flavor their beers 
• Bretagne - from Brittany, Brasserie de Bretagne takes inspiration from both Belgian and Anglo-Saxon styles but puts their own unique twist on them 
• Castelain - traditional bière de garde brewery in the north of France. Their Ch'ti line of beers are the ones you'll find in France and are named for the local dialect and nickname for the inhabitants of French Flanders. Hé, Biloute!  
• La Choulette - another bière de garde brewery. Monsieur Dhaussy comes from a long line of brewers and is an expert on French brewing history 
• Mont Blanc - their beers are brewed with pure glacier water from Mont Blanc in the Alps  
• St.Germain/Page 24 - new bière de garde brewery making modern versions that are hoppier than their traditional malty counterparts 
• Theillier - the Theillier brewery has been making 100% malt bière de garde at their small brewery in Bavay since the 1850s 
• Thiriez - Daniel Thiriez brews earthy farmhouse ales with a Belgian inspiration 

Liberty Leading the People (to a glass of good French beer)

Beer Brunch

When:  Sunday, 15 July, 11:30 am onwards
Where:  Blind Tiger Ale House, 281 Bleecker Street
What:  pay-as-you-go 

On Sunday, the Blind Tiger will be putting up 4 French drafts in honor of Bastille Day. Come for a special French-ified brunch menu created by Chef Tommy (crêpes!) and enjoy the following beers:

Brasserie de Bretagne Gwiniz Du - dark ale brewed with Brittany's famous buckwheat (known as "gwiniz du" in the Breton language).

Brasserie Castelain Ch'ti Ambrée - a malty amber bière de garde, conditioned - or "guarded" - for 6 weeks before being bottled. Full of roast and caramel flavors.

Brasserie Castelain Ch'ti Triple - a stronger version of their blonde bière de garde, hopped with French-grown hops:  Magnum, Strisselspalt, Spater Select, and Saaz.
Brasserie du Mont Blanc La Rousse - the low mineral content of the water from a glacial spring gives a clean taste to this amber ale brewed with hibiscus and elderberry.

The Festival - Worcester, MA

Surely, you've heard of The Festival!

When:  Saturday 23 June, 2 sessions:  12-4  pm and 5:30-9:30 pm and Sunday, 24 June 12-5 pm
Where:  Mechanics Hall, Worcester, MA
What:  $60 per session or $160 for all 3 sessions. Purchase tickets through Evenbrite at http://thefestival2012.eventbrite.com/

There are still tickets left for The Festival this weekend. 12% and Shelton Brothers have teamed up to showcase our small breweries, many of whom have brewed special beers for the fest or who are bringing beers never seen before on these shores. This isn't your typical beer fest with sales reps slinging samples of something you can buy at the corner store. Rather, we'll have every single brewer and cider and mead maker in attendance so that you can interact with them personally and ask them about their wares. You could spend thousands of dollars travelling to all of these breweries or you can meet them all in one convenient place. You're welcome!

You can find a list of the brewers and cider and mead makers who will be present here: http://www.the-festival.us/breweries/  There are too many to list but here's a sampling:  Anchorage Brewing, Baird, Cantillon, De Dochter van de Korenaar, De Ranke, De Molen,  Dieu du Ciel!, Emelisse, Evil Twin, Hill Farmstead, Jolly Pumpkin, Mikkeller, Nøgne Ø, Pretty Things, Stillwater, Thiriez, Yeastie Boys...  Thirsty yet?

In addition, the monks at the Abbey of Saint Sixtus have generously allowed us to pour limited samples of Westvleteren 12º at the Festival and festival attendees will have the chance to purchase one gift pack at Julio's Liquors in Westborough, MA (1 per attendee; quantities are limited) in advance of the official release in September.  100% of the profits will be donated to the Abbey to help with their renovations.

Transportation:  No car? Get Real has organized a bus to the Festival from NYC on Saturday. Tickets are $110 and include transportation and festival admission. The bus leaves from Alewife Queens at 8 am. http://thefestivalbustrip.eventbrite.com/

Mahr's Bräu Dinner

When:  Thursday, 21 June, 7 pm
Where:  Jimmy's No. 43, 43 E. 7th Street
What:  $45 (plus gratuity) for a family-style dinner paired with beers. Tickets are limited; purchase them at Brown Paper Tickets

The man from Mahr's, Stephan Michel, will be joining us at a dinner featuring his fantastic Franconian lagers from Bamberg, Germany.

 The beers: 

• Leicht - only 2.8% AND full of flavor  
• Pils  
• Hell  
• Ungespundet - the classic unfiltered lager 
• Weisse  
• Saphir Weisse - hoppy wheat beer with Saphir hops 
• Der Weissebock  
• ETA Hoffman - dunkel
• Unfiltered Pils - special gravity keg

Franconia, in Northern Bavaria, boasts more breweries per square mile than anywhere else in the world and 9 of these breweries are located within the city limits of Bamberg. The Mahr's Gasthaus has been around since 1670 and is one of the most picturesque places to have a beer in Bamberg and well as our favorite.  Mahr's Brau brews small batches of beers that are unpasteurized and full of flavor and character; most of them are unfiltered as well. Come to Jimmy's for a taste of Franconia! 

Tuesday $10 Tastings

Every Tuesday at 7:30 pm, Mike Lovullo of Union Beer hosts a $10 tasting at Jimmy's No. 43. $10 gets you tastings of 6 different beers.

This Tuesday, 12 June, I'll be joining him as he samples British and British-style beers including Adnams Southwold Bitter, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Coniston Old Man Ale, and De Molen Engels.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NEW ZEALAND TASTING HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL JULY
Next Tuesday, 19 June, join us as we sample beers from the Southern Hemisphere, including beers from some of our New Zealand breweries:  Epic Brewing, Tuatara, 8 Wired, and the Yeastie Boys (beer list tbd). Bring Your Own Sheep.

Sample Beers from France

Join us this Tuesday, 22 May at Bierkraft at 7 pm for a free sampling of some of our beers from France. France has a long brewing tradition but it tends to get overshadowed by the reputation of its neighbors in Belgium and Germany. Learn about the history of French beer, try samples from breweries both new and old, and taste why French beers deserve a place in your beer cooler.

Bierkraft is located at 191 5th Avenue in Brooklyn.

Thursday Tap - De la Senne Zinnebir

The selection for this week's Thursday Tap (May 17) at Jimmy's No. 43 is one of our favorite beers, Zinnebir from Brussel's Brasserie De la Senne.

De la Senne is one of only 2 breweries within the city limits of Brussels (perhaps you've heard of the other one? Cantillon?). Brewers Yvan De Baets and Bernard Leboucq are fiercely principled and are leading the charge to a return to the way things used to be, before big Belgian breweries started over-sugaring, over-spicing, and under-hopping their beers.

The Zinnebir, originally created by Bernard when he worked at the Sint Pieters brewery along the Zenne River (or Senne, in French), evolved from a strong, malt-focused, 8% beer to its current incarnation as a lighter, brighter 6% beer with the same yeasty complexity, malt backdrop, and refreshing hop bitterness.

The name comes from the Belgian slang word "zinneke" or "little bastards" which refers to the mixed-breed wild mutts that used to be found in the poorer sections of Brussels but now more often is used to refer to boys living in those same poor parts of town who have one Flemish-speaking and one French-speaking parent.

Zinnebir will be tapped at 5 pm. Jimmy's No. 43 is located at 43 E. 7th Street.