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.