NYC Tastes

It's New Brew Friday and Memorial Day weekend vibes are hitting in hard here at NYC Tastes.  It seemed like the work week was never going to end, but it's finally here and we're celebrating with a new collaboration IPA Shook Ones. This Double IPA was brewed by Equilibrium and Other Half with a trio of hop goodness using Mosaic, Citra and Amarillo.  It pours a bright hazy yellow with aromas of pineapple and lemon on the nose with a fruity, citrus candied orange flavor.  It's the perfect local beverage for cracking open this long weekend.  Cheers! Equilibrium Brewing 22 Henry Street Middletown, NY 10940

It's New Brew Friday and today we're drinking a delicious Double IPA from the new Belt Line Brewery in Buffalo, NY. This frothy orange DIPA give off delightful aromas of fresh mango and pineapple with more juicy citrus fruit flavors on the palate of orange, mango and lychee with a bitter  finish.  This is a fantastic summer beer; full of fruit goodness but low enough abv (6.7%) to crush all day long. In addition to beer, Belt Line has a full kitchen serving up a doughy  Breadhive Everything Pretzels with white beer queso, a hefty Diner Double Cheeseburger and a few great veggie options like the Beyond Meat Chicago Dog loaded with  Barrel + Brine  pickles,  Weber's Mustard , tomato and onion jam. If you're headed to the  Shelton Brothers Festival  this October, Belt-line is a great place to add to the beer weekend itinerary. Belt-line Brewery & Kitchen 545 Swan Street Buffalo, NY 14204

It's New Brew Friday and we're chilling in the neighborhood with an Other Half Green City at Blue Smoke .   This New England style IPA is brewed with Citra, Centennial and Simco hops giving it juicy, tropical flavors of orange and pineapple with a dry biscuit finish.  It clocks in at just 7% and is the perfect pairing with some of Blue Smoke's Alabama White Sauce Wings, which are half off during all March Madness games. Cheers to the weekend! Blue Smoke 116 East 27th Street at Lexington New York, NY 10016

It's New Brew Friday and we're heading across the river to New Jersey's Kane Brewing for one of my favorite local beers Sneakbox. Sneakbox is a pale ale made with 100% Citra hops giving off aromas of orange and mango with more citrus fruits, biscuit and malt on the finish.  It clocks in at just 5.2% making it an incredible sessionable beer, perfect for a long day of March Madness basketball watching.  Cheers to the weekend! Kane Brewing 1750 Bloomsbury Avenue Ocean Township, NJ 07712

It's mind blowing to think that five years have passed since Other Half opened up its doors in Brooklyn.  Mr. T and I had been lamenting the nonexistent beer scene in NYC; then that tiny little tasting room opened up and voila, IPA's for everyone!  Of course it wasn't perfect at first.  The tasting room was so small, only one table fit inside and a single fan spun slowly in the corner, almost mocking us with its false respite from the scorching hot weather.  But today the tap room is much bigger, release lines much more manageable and although I miss the single hop series that kicked off their fame, it's really great to have such an awesome brewery in the city.  Cheers to Other Half's Anniversary and New Brew Friday! Other Half Brewing 195 Centre Street Brooklyn, NY 11231

It's New Brew Friday and today we're coming from the wonderful Monk's Cafe in Philadelphia for this extra special bottle Cantillon 20 Ans d'Amite. 20 Ans d'Amite was created by Jean Van Roy of Cantillon to celebrate both the 20th anniversary of Monk's Cafe and the 20 years he has been friends with the owner Tom Peters.  This beautiful lambic is a blend of Cantillon Nath and Lou Pepe Framboise with Nath being the majority at 70%.  It's light and fruity with delicate flavors of rhubarb, vanilla, raspberry and funk with a refreshing finish.   This was a delightful bottle to both drink and to purchase, as the label is just perfect for the occasion.  This bottle is only available for on-site consumption at Monks Cafe in Philadelphia. We were lucky enough to drink it both on draft and in the bottle at the Monks/ Sierrea Nevada Camp Fire Relief charity event last Saturday.  An incredible beverage for an incredible cause.  Cheers!  Monks Ca...

It's New Brew Friday and today we're celebrating at the shores of North Carolina with a delightful beverage from Wisconsin's Funk Factory Geuzeria, the Kiwi Melon Meerts. This gueuze pours a bright yellow with lots of fizzy bubbles up top and aromas of fresh melon, lemon rind and funk. The flavor is tart kiwi up front with a strong acidity that softens into tones of melon to finish.  Clocking in at just 4.5 % this fruity, refreshing Meerts is the perfect beverage for sipping in the sun on a steamy summer day.  Cheers to New Brew Friday! Funk Factory Geuzeria   1602 Gilson Street Madison, WI 53715

All of this rainy weather has really been getting me down this week.  I need some serious sunshine and if the weather won't cooperate, I'll create my own with today's new brew, Map of the Sun from Rare Barrel out in Berkeley, California.  This beautiful beer is a blend of golden sour ales, aged in oak barrels with the addition of apricots.  It pours a bright, white foamy head that dissipates almost immediately leaving behind almost zero bubbles.   The smell is straight sour apricot with a sharp citrus and funk aroma, while the flavor is a more balanced blend of sour and juicy, almost like biting into a ripe, fleshy apricot with just a hint of vanilla and oak on the finish.  Every time I have this beer I'm blown away; definitely one of my all time favorites.  Cheers to Friday! The Rare Barrel 940 Parker Street Berkeley, CA 94710

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 to celebrate yet another snow storm in the books, we're opening up a Goose Island Bourbon County Reserve Stout 2017. The base for this beer is the original Bourbon County Stout which has been aged in eleven year old Knob Creek Bourbon Barrels.  This has all the wonderful qualities of a regular BCBS, loads of bourbon, chocolate, oak and vanilla, but with a slightly less sweet, more powerful barrel finish.  This beast of a beer clocks in at a 14.8% and is best enjoyed next to a crackling fireplace.  Cheers to the weekend! Goose Island Brewery Chicago, Illinois

Today's New Brew Friday comes directly from Side Project Brewing where Mr. T and I spent most of the past weekend.  This place was honestly one of the best breweries I've visited.  The beer list was loaded with some of their highest rated bottles, the staff were incredible friendly and knowledgeable and the space was so clean and comfortable I just wanted to spend the entire weekend relaxing in the tap room. Beer Barrel Time is Side Project's non-adjunct blend of Barrel Aged Stouts; which means there's no added flavors to this beer like vanilla or coffee beans.  It's just pure stout goodness that really showcases the Heaven Hills Bourbon Barrels they select for each batch.  This was rich and silky with a smooth oak and caramel finish that was incredibly drinkable for the 15% ABV.  I was almost ready to order another one when the new beer menu came out for the evening. Apparently we got one of the very last bottles!  So happy to have gotten to try ...

Staying local once again this New Brew Friday with an absolutely fantastic brew from Equilibrium Brewing in Middletown New York.   Equilibrium uses a Mass Brewing Balance system which researches how to balance and maximize the flavors in beer.  The DHop2 was an exploration into the symmetry of their ale strain with a strong dose of Mosaic and Citra hops.  The result is a hazy frothy Double IPA that tastes like fresh squeezed orange juice with a hint of pine bitterness. This was an incredible brew that I enjoyed at one of my favorite Brooklyn beer spots Gold Star Beer Counter .  Cheers to the weekend! Equilibrium Brewing 22 Henry Street Middletown, NY 10940

It's New Brew Friday and today we're checking out the brand new Fifth Hammer Brewing in Long Island City, Queens.  This enormous spot opened by former Gun Hill and 508 Gastorbrewer Chris Cuzme boasts 15 barrels and a huge tap room filled with picnic tables and Adirondack chairs perfect for lounging on a weekend afternoon. We tried out quite a few of their selections and our two favorites were the bright sour berliner weisse Cherry Giggle Gaggle and the crisp hoppy pale ale Tasty Feelings.  In addition to the awesome glassware all of the tap handles are made from actual hammers which makes for a fun unique atmosphere.  This area of LIC is becoming its own little beer hub with other great spots like LIC Beer Project and Transmitter just blocks away.  Cheers to New Brew Friday! Fifth Hammer Brewing 10-28 46th Avenue Long Island City, NY 11101

It's New Brew Friday and today we head east to Connecticut and a brewery making some of the coolest looking cans of beer around Kent Falls Brewing. This beer is called The Unicorns are Making Us Do This; a big hoppy Double IPA that clocks in at 8% abv.  The hops used in this beer rotate with each batch so every release brings a totally different flavor profile.  Luckily the can art stays the same with beautiful sparkling ribbons of color shooting out of an angry looking unicorn.  Kent Falls has a bunch of cool labels and the beer is fantastic as well.  Check out their website to see them all or head up to Connecticut and take a tour of the farm and brewery.  Cheers to the weekend!   Kent Falls Brewing 33 Camps Road Kents, CT 06757

Today's New Brew Friday we're heading just a few blocks north of Other Half to check out Folksbier in Carroll Gardens. This new little brewery is quite possibly the cutest little log cabin I've ever seen.  It's what I'll refer to as "Brooklyn Rustic" with an open window overlooking a garden out front with a view of brownstones in the distance. Wood panels and picnic tables fill the long tasting room with gorgeous detailing of animals etched onto the tops of the bar stools. The tasting room has a mix of ales, German style pilsners and some fruit forward Berliners on draft.   I tried out Recurring Dreams 6 & 7; both tasty Oat Pale Ales the first finished with Lemon Drop and Wakatu hops and the second with Citra & Mosaic.   Folksbier has a small list of cheese and pretzels just perfect for enjoying alongside some fresh beers. We came here after a particularity crazy release at Other Half and the quiet rustic ambiance wa...

It's New Brew Friday and time to crack open something wonderful, my favorite style of beer a delicious gueuze. Mr. T and I bought this bottle in Brussels back in February at  De Heeren Van Liedekercke .  It was brewed by Brouwerij Lindemans, a blend of one and two year old Lindemans lambic with a two year old Girardin lambic, to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of De Heeren restaurant. Opening this beer was a bit frightening.  As I cracked the cap the cork shot straight up and pushed itself over halfway out before I was able to stop it.  I held it for a minute slowly letting the cork rise and thankfully the bottle didn't gush; just a puff of smoke and everything settled. The aroma of this beer was big on barnyard funk; lots of hay, sour lemon and green apple.  The flavor was full on funkiness; tons of brett, wet hay, a bit of sour cherry with a tart acidic finish.  It was a great celebratory beer and the perfect start to the weekend. Cheers! Lin...

It's New Brew Friday and today I'm checking out NYC's newest beer spot Circa Brewing which just opened shop about 5 blocks from my office in Downtown Brooklyn. This massive brewery is located on Lawrence Street, directly across from my weekday dumpling spot Yaso Tangbao .  It has a small outdoor seating area up front... ...and a long wooden bar that snakes around the front room showcasing all of their steel brewing tanks.  Danny Bruckert, former head brewer for Sixpoint Brewing in Red Hook, is in charge of the beer operations and focused on creating easy drinking session beers.   When I stopped in the beer list included three different IPA's, a Pilsner, a Pale Ale and a Nitro Stout. All four I tried out were solid but the Double IPA really stood out for its wonderful tropical flavors and light body that hid the 8% abv.     In addition to house beers Circa has a small list of wines and cocktails and a food menu with various pizzas, veg...

It's New Brew Friday and if your in NYC you know it's been absolutely brutal outside this week.  I honestly thought my face might melt right off yesterday walking home from work. These 90 degree days are just too much for this lady so tonight it's all about rocking the AC and cracking open a couple of these awesome IPA's from Trillium. Regular Congress Street has always been my favorite beer from Trillium.  It's made with Galaxy hops which are loaded with bright tropical flavors.  The double dry hopping of this beer just means its much bigger with a thick milky body and tons of juicy peach and mango aroma.  The flavor follows suit with more mango, peach and pine and a smooth creamy finish that reminds me of a creamsicle.  It's just perfect for this hazy hot weather we are having- cheers to the weekend! Trillium Brewing 369 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210

It's New Brew Friday, the last day of June and I have a four day weekend coming up.  This is a serious time to celebrate with some local suds the Moon Roof from Hudson Valley Brewery. This hazy orange DIPA has been double dry hopped with Citra, Azacca and Idaho 7 hops giving it strong hints of melon on the nose with big flavors of melon, sweet mango and ripe pineapple with a bright juicy finish.  These guys brew up in Beacon, New York and have been taking over the taps in almost every bar I visited the last two weeks. Really great local brews perfect for this long holiday weekend.  Cheers! Hudson Valley Brewery 2 Churchill Street Beacon, NY 12508

It's New Brew Friday and time for a collaboration beer from two great breweries on the east coast Stillwater Artisanal in Maryland and Aslin Brewing in Virginia- Recess.   This beer pours a gorgeous deep pink color with tight little bubbles that cling to the sides and bottom of the glass.  The aroma is big fresh raspberries with a tart creamy raspberry flavor balanced with a hint of lime.  This beer is dry, sour and incredibly refreshing.  Perfect for crushing during this summer heat- Cheers to the weekend! Aslin Beer Company 257 Sunset Park Drive Herndon, VA 20170