NYC Tastes

It's been such a crazy summer it's hard to believe August is here and I haven't even talked about July!  Here's a quick recap of some great moments over the Independence Day weekend in Vermont. The first stop of the trip was Prohibition Pig Brewery for beers and some of the best Peel N' Eat Shrimp we've had in years. These were plump, juicy and dusted with the perfect amount of seasoning. I would expect shrimp like this on the coast somewhere, but certainly not in Waterbury, VT.  The following day we drove out to Hill Farmstead and spent the day drinking some wonderful beers on their patio including 2014 Flora and Juicy Batch 3.  Then we made the obligatory pit stop at Parker Pie for a surprisingly great Steak Sandwich, that was so good I forgot to even snap a pic. Saturday we checked out the new  Lawson's Brewery  in Waitsfield.  We've been enjoying their beer for years at can sales, but to see the new facility was really amazing.  ...

Ahhhh Hill Farmstead Brewery...one of my many "happy places" in life.  This brewery makes some of the best beers in the world and our last visit was filled with new bottles to try. Works of Love 2013, a collaboration beer brewed with Sante Adairius.  This was my favorite beer of the day, so crisp and clean with soft notes of white wine and lemon. I don't know what Shaun Hill does to make his saison's so perfect, but he is the saison master. Flora Cherry, another saison, this one aged in wine barrels with fresh, hand picked Montmorency cherries. Genealogy of Morals a thick, delicious bourbon barrel aged stout brewed with Kieni coffee beans roasted by the amazing Coffee Collective in Denmark.  All of these enjoyed with this beautiful view that always takes my breath away.  Hill Farmstead 403 Hill Road Greensboro Bend, VT 05842

It's New Brew Friday!  And I'm shooting back two weeks to Vermont where I spent Friday afternoon getting to know the lovely Arthur Puncheon. Puncheon is Hill Farmstead's regular saison Arthur, a funky, grassy beer with big notes of tart lemon and hay, that's been aged for a few months in their barrels (puncheons). The result is a bright, golden beer with lots of wine barrel funk on the nose but with softer, more delicate lemon and oak flavors than Arthur with a creamy, bubbly structure and a crisp, dry finish.   This was an absolutely delightful beer.  Full Vermont food recap next week but for now- cheers to the weekend! Hill Farmstead 403 Hill Road Greensboro Bend, VT  05842

2016 was another fantastic year for craft beer especially in New York City.  New breweries have been popping up at an amazing pace and the demand for local beer is at an all time high.  Of course with such quick, rapid growth comes growing pains which can be witnessed at a Saturday morning Other Half can release where lines start as early as 1:00 AM or the crazy race for Grimm cans that fly off the shelf in minutes.  Hopefully things in 2017 will bring a bit more calm to the beer chase but it's wonderful to have so many great brews in our own backyard along with these five fabulous beauties.  Cheers to  the New Year! Hill Farmstead - Clover I probably could have written a"Best of List" for 2016 with just Hill Farmstead beers and there would be little to argue about.  Shaun Hill is a master at brewing and his recent bottle of Clover was one of my favorites to date.  A blend of three different saison's Ann, Art & Flora, aged for 12-22 mont...

I love Vermont.  Mr. T and I go about 4 times a year and something about those rolling green hills, the fresh crisp air and all that great beer, cheese and maple syrup just make for a fantastic trip.  Neither of us did much traveling this year so an end of season trip with friends seemed like the perfect way to close out summer.  Of course nothing ever seems to go as planned for us.  The night before Mr. T starting feeling sick and by the next morning it was painfully obvious he wouldn't be coming with me to Vermont (or even leaving the apartment for the next few days).  I felt absolutely terrible leaving him home in this state but he insisted I go on with the trip as we already had friends to meet, beer fest tickets purchased, hotel rooms etc. Now I don't cry very often but when I do I have a lot of trouble stopping once I start. I felt so bad for Mr. T being stuck at home I pretty much cried my entire cab ride to Penn Station onto the LIRR and AirTrain all ...

Today's New Brew Friday comes from Grassroots Brewing in Vermont; the precursor to Shaun Hill's current brewery Hill Farmstead.  Convivial Suarez is a saison/farmhouse ale brewed with hibiscus and lemon that clocks in at 6% abv.  The first thing you notice about this beer is the color.  It has a shockingly gorgeous deep pink body with a frothy ring of bubbles that create nice lacing around the glass. The aroma has big notes of lemon zest, hibiscus and lime with some of the classic barnyard funk from most Grassroots/Hill Farmstead saisons. The taste follows suit with lots of lemon and berry flavors; it's tart but creamy with a nice refreshing finish.  I was lucky enough to have this on tap at one of my favorite bars Hops Hill.  This beer just screams spring and it was wonderful to usher in the season with such a delight.  Cheers to the weekend! Hill Farmstead/Grassroots Brewing

Ahhh Vermont...There's something so wonderful about that state.  The rolling green hills in the summer, the crisp snowy mountains in the winter and the three things I consume the most bacon, blue cheese and beer.  I'll get to all the bacon and blue cheese next week (I love you Bayley Hazen Blue) but it's Friday so let's talk beer; Hill Farmstead's Society & Solitude #5. This Imperial IPA pours a hazy gold color with a fluffy white cap that slowly laces the glass. The big hoppy aroma of grapefruit dominates the nose with lighter citrus notes and maybe a bit of pine.  The flavor...good lord the flavor is AMAZING!  Massive grapefruit, kiwi and melon; tons of tropical fruit flavors without any bitterness.  This is a great example of New Zealand hops at their finest.  Society & Solitude clocks in at heavy 8.1% but the gorgeous body of the beer and dry crisp finish make this so drinkable.  It just may be my favorite DIPA of all time- Cheers to F...

It's time to check out another great beer from Vermont...Anna from Hill Farmstead. This is a Biere de Miel (honey beer) made with raw wildflower Vermont honey and their house Saison yeast.  It's got a thick foamy white head that slowly dissipates leaving a lovely lacing on the glass.  There are soft flavors of lemon, honey and citrus with such a dry refreshing finish I could seriously see myself drinking this all day.  Hill Farmstead has this on tap around the city right now so try and find yourself a glass while you can. Hill Farmstead

I mentioned that we've been busy lately and that didn't even include our trip to Vermont.  It's was Mr. T's birthday and the day started out at the crack of dawn with a trip to the Warren Store for breakfast.  Their bacon, egg and cheese was incredible...crisp, salty bacon on top of fresh Cabot cheddar cheese on a buttered English muffin... ...the Triple Chocolate Chip cookie was also amazing and when you get there early it's still nice and warm from the oven. Then it was off to Hill Farmstead to pick up as much delicious beer as we could possibly fit in the car. It was a gorgeous day outside so standing in line a few hours didn't seem bad at all. But we were starving by the time we finished so we walked over to the little stand out front and ordered up some tacos.                    The pork ones were incredible and she really took her time making a tasty cilantro free version just for Mr. T. Then we drov...

This was a fabulous weekend to be in the city.  The sun was shining bright, the flowers were in bloom on Park Avenue and Hill Farmstead kept popping up at various bars around the city.   It's such a rare treat to have this glorious beer from Shaun Hill in town we basically spent the weekend hopping from bar to bar to get our fill of George, Edward and Everett.  Saturday lead us out to the Double Windsor located right on the edge of Prospect Park.  The windows were wide open letting all the bright sunshine and cool spring breeze inside...and with Hill Farmstead Florence on tap there was really no reason to do anything else with our afternoon! Florence is a Saison Wheat beer that's tart and tangy with a strong  carbonated mouthfeel and a crisp finish. The hazy yellow color and sharp lemony smell seemed to fit in perfectly with the glorious Spring day.  We ended up staying so long at Double Windsor that a few beers turned into dinner. Char-grille...

This weeks beer is exciting for two reasons...one it's virtually impossible to get anywhere outside Vermont and two it was part of some special beers purchased just to celebrate Mr. T's birthday. Hill Farmstead is a tiny place way up in the backwoods of Vermont that has taken the brewery world by storm in the last two years; clocking in beer after beer on the Top 100 list.  This double IPA was actually a collaboration between Hill Farmstead and Amager Bryghus of Denmark. It's called Grassroots Brewing Shadow Pictures of a Journey, but don't worry the taste isn't as crazy as the name.  It's got lots of orange citrus and pine with a little bit of fizzy carbonation on the end.  It's incredibly well balanced and very drinkable.  Cheers to the weekend! Hill Farmstead

And Mr. T and I got off to an early start last night with a trip down to One Mile House for a special keg of Hill Farmstead Everett. Hill Farmstead is a small brewery up in Vermont that consistently churns out wonderful, elegant beers that are almost impossible to find here in NYC due to their small production and high demand.  The Everett was a real treat....malty flavors of chocolate, coffee and vanilla dominated this incredibly smooth Porter, just perfect for sipping on a cold blustery day. One Mile House is hosting a special Local Beer event tonight where some great NY breweries will be taking over the taps. You can stop in and try a flight of some great locals like Captain Lawrence, Barrier and Kelso to name a few. But don't stop there...the city is filled with a ton of beer events this week at some of my favorite bar and restaurants in the city like Gramercy Tavern, Mugs Ale House and Birreria.  You can check out all th...