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Posts Tagged ‘craft beer’
NYC Visit: Part 1- Rattle N Hum, 14 E.33rd St, Manhattan
August 30th, 2011
I travel around the upper east coast quite a bit for work, and I try to hit up the local beer bars in each city as much as possible. This past week I spent 3 days in NYC. This is part one of two (maybe three). I solicited two bar recommendations from former New Yorker Stevie Caldarola, Ladiesofcraftbeer CEO and recent Colorado transplant, plus one totally new discovery. Unfortunately I didn’t get to venture out of Manhattan due to time constraints, as I’d love to get over to haunt Brooklyn for a few days.
So I roll into town Wednesday afternoon, settle into my hotel and then jump the train to Rattle N Hum on East 33rd St. In Manhattan. As I approach, there’s a couple sitting in the window just enjoying the hell out of each other, which totally set the tone for my visit. I love seeing happy couples having fun, it’s the hopeless romantic in me.
The place is full but not packed. I get a seat right at the corner of the bar, which we all know is the best. I’ve also got a TV right in front of me with the Yankees game on. Perfect. Get this: The bartender comes over right away, and she’s friendly! Way to go against type, NY. So I order a Lagunitas Pils to start things off and take a look around a little bit. The layout is pretty decent, the din of chatter was minimal and the lighting was just right. The clientele was a mix of everyday Joe, including some older gentlemen, with a healthy dose of young and hip. Typical for the area, I think. The Talking Heads were on the house speakers as I walked in the door too, always a good sign. Matter of fact, the playlist we were listening to was fantastic. I heard good tunes the whole time I was there.
So I finish my Lagunitas-which was in great shape, by the way- and order some food. I opted for the ‘Rattle N Hum’ burger, because…..well, if there is a burger named after the place, you automatically have to get it, right? Finishing my Lagunitas, I wanted something I’d never had before, so I order a Cigar City Jai Alai IPA. I was pretty psyched to try a new IPA, and apparently had good reason. This is a great example of the style, straightforward and well-balanced. Citrusy, slightly resiny, clean finish, all the good stuff you expect out of a quality IPA. Wait, they’re from Tampa!? Florida!? Wow, at least there’s one good thing coming out of that city. No seriously, check em’ out.
Unexpected treat
Food comes. It’s a juicy, fresh ground, hand-formed burger and hand-cut fries. Not much else to say, except that it was excellent. As I’m chowing down and tweeting away, I notice this guy sit a few seats down from me. He proceeds to open a jug with a swing-top on it (yep, a swing top), so naturally I ask him what it is. Turns out his name is Patrick, and he’s the owner of the place. The brew in question is Hill Farmstead’s Simcoe IPA (not sure if that is the actual name), a beer that he just returned from VT with. Being from New England, I’m a little embarrassed to not have heard of this brewery. He asks me if I’d like a glass, and I answer in the affirmative. It’s a light hazy yellow and absolutely amazing. So different from any IPA I’ve had. The simcoe is mild and refreshing, totally not the hop monster that I thought it was going to be. A little thin, but overall a welcome departure. Very ‘against the grain’, which is awesome. A nice treat. Patrick was a gracious host, but he was deep into the new BeerAdvocate issue, so I didn’t pepper him with too many questions.
Bocker Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge- Good beer, long-ass name.
I was in the mood for something different as an aperitif, and I noticed that there were sours on the menu. Sticking with the ‘beers I haven’t had yet’ theme, I opted for the Bockor Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge, a low alcohol Flanders Red. Holy flavor profile, Batman! Just puckery enough to get the point across, and then settles into a nice dark fruit flavor on the back end, with some cherry notes in there as well. Color me impressed. A fitting finish to the visit.
I wasnt there very long-had to bring my A game in the morning-but I really dug my first real NYC beer bar. Great selection, attentive staff, good food and a nice cross-section of folks. What else could you ask for? If I lived in the area, I’d definitely frequent the joint. Oh, and the front windows completely open to the street. Every bar should do that.
Info: rattlenhumbarnyc.com
Beer Review- Highland Kashmir IPA. AKA, A Love Letter to NC.
August 22nd, 2011
I’ve had this six pack in my fridge for the past month. It hurts to look at it. The story of how I came by it is one fraught with heartache and disappointment that is still lingering. This blog isn’t the place for me to launch into a sob story, but suffice to say that it was some of the highest highs, followed by some of the lowest lows that I’ve experienced in a long, long time.
For those that don’t know me very well, I’ll give you a little history. I moved to North Carolina in 2004 to roar out my twenties and see what kind of adventures I could get myself into. I had lived in MA all my life up to that point, and it was high-time to get out and experience a different area and culture. Due to a good friend already being down there, the decision was easy. So here I am in downtown Raleigh, running my own business and learning how to be a man. Said business just happened to be a block away from a great beer bar called The Flying Saucer. I had never experienced anything like it before. They had 81 drafts and a whole bunch more in a bottle (over 200). My craft beer knowledge was pretty limited at that point, relegated mostly to Sierra Pale and Allagash White. I liked beer, I just hadn’t had an opportunity to try a lot of it. The Saucer changed that. I was there so much I became like a piece of furniture. When my business venture started to shit the bed, I pestered one of the managers for a bartending gig (Hi Erik). He finally relented, and I worked there for the back half of my four year stint in NC. This was where I gained a lot of my beer knowledge and became friends with many wonderful people, one of those being the young lady who brought me this beer. I’ll be honest, I really miss NC. They have an excellent craft beer scene and quality people that are involved in it. It’s really accessible, and I count those years as some of my best, especially from a life-education standpoint.
Highland Kashmir was one of the first new beers that I tried when I first started going to the Saucer in 2004. Highland is a great brewery in Ashville NC, about four hours from Raleigh. They’ve got a pretty good bead on quality beer-making, having been in the business since 1994. My friend Mark had talked the Kashmir up so much that I finally relented to try it-I was not an IPA drinker then-and was summarily blown away by its complexity and deliciousness. “Holy shit, this is what I’ve been missing?” “Yup”, Mark said. Apparently this is the beer that turns me into a hophead.
I know it's not a Highland glass, but it's the best I had to rep NC
Kashmir is 5.6% and 60 IBUS. It pours a very light wheaty hue, but slightly hazy as well. The barest of heads is complemented by a super aromatic malty sweetness, not a lot of bitterness in the nose at all. The first sip gives you a good hop wallop on the ol’ tastebuds, which is unsurprising as it has five varietals in it. Medium bodied, with a wonderful mouthfeel and a clean finish that is difficult to find with a lot of IPAs, west coast stuff in particular. Kashmir gives you good feelings in the lower depths. It’s refreshing and quaffable (I freaking love that word), and there is some awesome lacing going down the glass as I drink its bittersweet goodness. Warming up, more of the malty nose takes over and it becomes a little more balanced, further cementing its place in the heart as one of my favorite beers.
To be blunt, I had a lot of trouble writing this review. Playing the four years over in my head-plus recent developments-had me stopping, starting over, revising, freaking out and generally just being a wreck for a few days. Simply put, I owe my love of craft beer and the community that surrounds it to that state, and I’m thankful that I was able to have that knowledge with me as I moved back to MA. It’s very easy to take things for granted. I mean let’s face it: Life is difficult, sometimes overwhelmingly so. But most of the time, all you need is a good friend to raise a glass with and the universe rights itself again for awhile. So I’ll take this time to say cheers and thank you North Carolina, my life wouldn’t be what it is today without you having been in it.
10.0. Nuff said.
Check out Highland Brewing here: http://www.highlandbrewing.com/beerstyles.htm
Note to the reader: If you made it this far, thank you as well.