The Great World Beer Festival is back again for another go round. The 8th annual makes GWBF the grand-daddy of beer celebrations in NYC. Do not be fooled by imitators.
This year, the grand happening is going on in a whole new venue: Center548 which happens to be on West 22nd Street in Chelsea. It is a great venue. Big, beautiful and ready for beer. More later!
The Diablo Lounge at 125 St. Marks Place
Well, I was happily surprised at how good the Pretty Things Baby Tree quadruple Belgian style ale came about. Not too strong for the style, but very complex, malty and with lots of fruity notes as the beer warms. A pretty good offering.
The Southern Tier Mokah was the flavor bomb. Bam! Coffee and Chocolate like nobody’s business providing for a virtual, blackening assault on the palate. If you like big, roasty, chocolatey stouts, come on down and drink the dredges before its gone.
No surprises that Dogfish Head’s 18% ABV 120 Minute IPA was the most popular beer of the group. Peeps just love Dogfish and all it stands for, even if I find this brew a bit cloying. Nevertheless, only DFH makes beers of this strength, and like the Worldwide Stout, surprisingly drinkable. Runner up, of course, is Stone Double Bastard. I don’t know if its the name or the beer, but people really go for those bastards!
Strong ales and Lagers at this Daze of the Devil event. It promises to be a doozy. Remember that old word? Here is the lineup:
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Boulder Obovoid Empirical Stout
Delirium Nocturnum
Dick’s Barley Wine
Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Russian Stout
Lagunitas a Little Sumpin’ Extra Imperial IPA
Pretty Things Baby Tree
Ramstein Double Platinum
Speakeasy Double Daddy Imperial IPA
Speaky Old Godfather Barley Wine
Southern Tier Mokah
I have some friends who don’t like baseball. “It’s boring’, they say. If you watched last night’s matchup with the Angels, it was anything but boring. We were all on the edge of our seats during that last inning, and I think I downed a pint of Captain Lawrence Pumpkin in less than 5 minutes I was so nervous. Its what makes baseball great. You never really do know how it is going to work out in the end. After the first few innings, it looked as if LA was gliding to a win, and when Lackey got into a little trouble, I thought it was nuts to pull him out. They guy, despite the trouble, was clearly in the zone.
Next thing you know, the Yanks are slamming hits, and you would have guessed that was demoralizing and nerve wracking for the Angels. They came back, and tomorrow, we’ll meet them in the Bronx. Everyone says also that Philadelphia has the edge since they will be getting a nice long break, but the World Series against the Yankees, yes, I said it, there is no way the Angles are going to beat the Yanks in a best of seven, is going to be really, really tough for Philadelphia. That Yankee lineup is unbeatable when they are on. All we need is for Jeter, A-rod and Jorge to be hitting well, and its all over.
Lagunitas has a new brew, and its pouring at Hop Devil Grill. Get it while you can. Its a beautifully crafted strong Imperial India Pale Ale. Pale and hazy, this brew exudes a floral aroma and a soft, buttery mouthfeel. Hops hit you pretty hard, but in a nice way. Watch out, its 8.74% alcohol by volume, which is really strong.
We are gearing up for the Daze of the Devil when Hop Devil Grill will be pouring an eclectic grouping of extra strong ales. The hardest part is getting the great beers.
I’d say that last night, the Yankees had all the luck. It was cold, they were playing at home, Angels were unusually prone to errors last night and their ace on the mound was, well, Aces. I am glad the Yankees won, after all, I am a New Yorker involved with bars that have TVs in them, and we serve beers, but I think last night’s was a boring game. I am hoping for more action tonight. I guess its Pettite for New York, and man, has he been pitching for the Yankees a long time. Him and Rivera.
Its early, but I am having a beer. A Trappist at that. This is a La Trappe Isid’or. Dark honey murkiness with a fluffy, billowing head of off white, its redolent of figs and a hint of spiciness I can’t quite determine. Its not refreshing like a Pilsner or a pale ale; its got that yeasty heaviness and cloying sweetness common among Belgian ales which aren’t golden like a Duvel, for example. So, its slow going. I would guess that this brew is pretty strong, so that is a good thing. I had a salad for lunch, so anything stronger would go straight to my head. I am resting up for tonight’s game, despite the pretty high probability that it will be rained out.
I am not going to the game, I will be watching on all the screens at the Hop Devil Grill. Come hang with me!
Pumpkin beer is really popular. Nobody who makes a good one seems to be able to brew enough to meet the demand. A good example is Southern Tier, who’s Pumpking is nowhere to be found right now. I want a keg. I really do. Captain Lawrence has a good one, as does Southampton, and Smuttynose has a very spicy, strong one that is a little much for me. You can find the ones available at Hop Devil Grill if you like this seasonal specialty.
Another popular style of brew this time of year is Marzen, or Octoberfest. This strong, malty beer goes down easy, and pairs nicely with spicy cuisine. I enjoyed one brewed by the Thomas Hooker Brewing Co., out of Connecticut. Tawny and traditional, it packs a wallop you won’t discern until after the quaffing. On the lighter side of these is the Hofbrau Oktoberfest from Munich, Germany. Its what is going on in Germany now, but since most of the German brewers sell made for export beer to the USA, Hofbrau is the only lighter colored and softer bodied version here in the states. Lownbrau? Where are you?
That’d be me. Getting off my arse is admittedly hard at times, and we have only to thank all those emails griping about the lack of blogging. I used to read a lot more blogs than I do now too. So, back to the wonders or reading and writing.
There is a lot more beer around now than there ever was. Craft is hot, is what it is. I’ve been doing this stuff for twelve years now, but this past year is really the pinnacle from what I have seen. Such public interest, and such a response from breweries. Everything is Imperial now. Things that should never be imperial are now imperial! Take the most popular and refreshing style of them all: pilsners. A pilsner should be brisk, clean and with or without a good hop bite depending on what you feel like drinking now. It could be earthy, and maybe even a little tangy, but should it be really sweet and strong? Never! I don’t care who makes it, even as a novelty I don’t like it. I’ve never tried a good one, be it Rogue, Dogfish Head or anyone else’s.
What I do like is a tasty Marzen or Oktoberfest style beer. Those Germans know how to brew. We are in the right season for my first love, so I say take advantage of it. A little sweet, a little strong, but a very refreshing and delicious style when done right. Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner, they are all good! Go for it.
Everyone in brewing has “one-offs” now. Those are experimental beers. Brooklyn has their Brewmaster’s Reserves, Rogue the John’s Locker Box and Troegs the Scratch Series. Magic Hat calls theirs “Odd-Notions”. These one offs are not necessarily good beers. They are experimental, so lets just say they are “fun beers” which can be good if we are lucky. Tonight, there will be some odd notions at David Copperfield’s. Now, they are attempting Belgian Blonde Ale. As I know them, Magic Hat is an English style brewer, with big, open air fermenting tanks. I don’t have a lot of hope, but lets give it a go. We’ll have fun, because Magic Hat makes the best hats, ironically, and some damn decent shirts too. Among fashionistas, at least in the beer world, MH is king of the hill.
There is a bicycle to consider as well. If you can get your grubby hands on that little two-wheeler, you’ve copped for yourself a decent bike. And, it says Magic Hat, which is almost as good as New Belgium. Heck Vermont, Colorado, what’s the difference save the quality of their fluff. Whether its a Number 9 or a Fat Tire doesn’t mean much to me. There all about the hype. And the fun. Don’t forget the fun hanging out with Franny and the gang at the bar.
So, this summer has been strange. This is the first day I have needed to run my air conditioner at all. All that rain, and then the cool, dry and beautiful days. . When is the heat and humidity going to hit? Lets hope not. That is what Miami is for. Eh, I am rambling. I’m tired. I’ll try you again tomorrow.
Last night Hop Devil Grill enjoyed the good fortune of David Myers’ company, as well as his mead. If you are unfamiliar with this fermented honey nectar, now is a good time to try it. There are actually three draught meads on tap at Hop Devil Grill.
By the way, I have been compelled to blog by stumbling upon an old acquaintance’s blog. Not really a friend, as he lives across the river in Williamsburg and I am here in Manhattan. We other borough-ers don’t often befriend one another, I think its the inconvenience issue. Nevertheless, I was impressed with the frequency with which he shares his thoughts with the world, and even more so with the steady improvement of his prose. For those of you who don’t know, I am a wanna-be writer, even a novelist. A dreamer too, never forget. I also promised to plug a piece of software. Its called smarthide and I am a fan. With smarthide, nobody can track your browsing or zero in on your isp.
So, the mead was very, very interesting. There is one called Nectar of the Hops. And, it tastes of hops. Columbus and, eh, err, well, I forgot. Some other hop variety. Americans are nuts for hops, and this is the only keg of the nectar in NYC except one that made it to a place in Brooklyn called the “Beer Table”. I have to get to that place. Apparently its run by a cute couple that are bonkers for beers. Mead is wine, so be advised: Hop Devil Grill is serving 5 ounce pours (that is a standard wine pour) for $5 and $6, depending on the price of the meads. Its a good deal. There is also the Sunshine Nectar and Black Raspberry, which tends to lie on the lighter side of things. Its really, really good, and I will post some pics later once my camera recharges, but for now, take my word for it: mead fest was a good time. Screw the vikings.
More good news: Redstone Meadery will be representin’ at Brewtopia a/k/a the GWBF. 