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