Barcade Visits WFMU

WFMU's Beer Hear! with Bob W. and B.R. from 1/27/2012

I was asked to fill in for Thursday afternoon d.j. Diane, as she embarked on a "metal cruise", and it seemed like a good opportunity to have some beer-guests on and do a live Beer Hear! segment on WFMU! Beer Hear! co-host B.R. was on hand, too!

Fuzzy photography courtesy of Bob.

Since the guys from Barcade have been so supportive of WFMU, holding two WFMU Meet-Ups/fundraisers in the last six months, Barcade Jersey City is one PATH station away, and we were at one such fundraiser this past Monday, we decided to invite them on to talk about beer, music and to sample a little of each! [Note: this Bob's idea, not WFMU's idea -- and the Barcade guys neither asked for nor expected any "favors" for anything that they've done for the station. They're a cool, unique local business, making J.C. a more interesting, better place -- that's why they were invited on to the radio.]

Michael, fuzzy Bob effect.

Paul, one of the founders of the Barcade "franchise", and Michael, the key man at Barcade Jersey City, dropped by to share some local beers, talk about music, play some selections, and answer questions about their fairly unique bar. 

Paul

We started out trying to guess the identity of an unlabeled 24 oz. bottle from Dieu Du Ciel, which was given to us by the brewer a few weeks ago. It turned out to be the Peché Mortal 10th anniversary! 

Dieu Du Ciel's Peché Mortal 10e.

Next it was the Hoffmann Doppel Bock from Climax the the Jersey-boys brought, which we found to be a bit "off" -- it was kinda sour. But, honestly, I liked it! In the podcast you'll hear a story about another "off" beer that I had at a bar which turned out to be much better than the "not-off" version.

Climax Brewing's Hoffmann Doppel Bock.

Then a "rum barrel aged imperial sweet potato ale" brewed by Bob Olson of Bolero Snort, a new NJ brewery set to open soon.

Bolaro Snort in the foreground.

Then we gave Port Brewing's Santa's Little Helper a taste.

Santa's Little Helper.

Did you know that Paul-Barcade directed a Sam (Dogfish Head) Calagione's music video?

Why can't Bob take a clear photo?!

There was a lot of entertaining banter (and some not-that-interesting banter) on the podcast. But can you pinpoint the moment when Bob earned himself a six-month suspension from the radio station? The photo below lends a cue.

This is how you get suspended from a radio station for 6 months (provided that you're clumsy enough to spill your beer into the board). (Which I was.)

Barcade Empire Moves Westward

WFMU's Beer Hear! Barcade J.C.
 

If it looks like Brooklyn, but it's not... it's Barcade! (Jersey City.)

The 2nd beer stop on our pub crawl of Jersey City on Saturday May 28, 2011 was the recently opened Barcade Jersey City, which started pouring beers in April.  Those familiar with the original bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn would recognize the vintage 80s arcade video games, some familiar faces of the staff, and the vast list of American craft beer, but to completely psyche you out, the bar itself looks like a twin of the microbrew mecca on Union Ave. Though unlike the original, the Jersey bar offers some light fare, and more light thought some windows.


You can clearly see what was on offer that day in the picture above. I started out with the Walt Wit, a wit beer from the Phil. Brewing Co. It was a the right one to start with at 4.2% abv -- murky pale yellow in color, a bit of a cereal aroma, tangy, slightly tart & citrusy, and completely refreshing. B.R. went for the similarly low in alcohol Anderson Valley Wee Geech, their American Pale Ale session beer (about 4% abv). Then I noticed one of those familiar faces from Brooklyn -- Kevin, one of the co-owners of Barcade. I spoke with him about how Barcade J.C. came about. You can hear the interview on the Beer Hear! podcast on WFMU.

Kevin said that they plan on opening up a Barcade Philly over the summer. He also told me that he ends up playing up to 50 games of Defender each time he's at B.J.C.  He might want to start playing 51, because I don't see his name on high scores hall of fame. And, yes, that "BOB" at 23,700 is yours truly -- "Today's Greatest!" (And only 10x lower than the #1 All Time Greatest... yeah, I'm not that good.)

After the interview Kevin treated me to a Climax Hefeweizen on cask. I love hefeweizens. I love cask beers. But not all beers benefit from being put in a cask and served at a higher temperature and lower carbonation. Wheat beers generally fit into that category. And hefeweizens, in particular. I suppose that it's a matter of personal taste, but I'm happier with a weizen that has tartness and fizz to offset the sometimes cloying phenolics. Without some acidic carbonation, this beer was kind of muddy, muddled and sat very heavy. I guess it's worthwhile to experiment, though.


Like its original version, Barcade J.C. is a great place to spend a few hours relaxing with friends on a lazy summer weekend day. We can't wait to check out the Philly version, too!