Stillwater Collaboration With Pretty Things

WFMU's Beer Hear! with Bob W. and B.R. from 9/13/2011

Who knew that the first ever collaboration between PRETTY THINGS and STILLWATER would be a freestyle rap with Brian of Stillwater and Jim of Pretty Things! And we thought that Sam at Dogfish Head was the only rapping brewer!

Stillwater Artisanal Ales

WFMU's Beer Hear! with Bob W. and B.R. from 9/13/2011

Lucky for us, Brian of STILLWATER ARTISANAL ALES decided to come to NYC to meet up with his pal and fellow "gypsy brewer" Mikkel of MIKKELLER, during the Mikkeller event at The Gutter! B.R. sat down with Brian to hear about another gypsy brewer's experience brewing exceptional beer, without having his own brewery.

Also, you can check out the bonus podcast of a tasting of two Stillwater beers, one of which, the Débutante, was paired with homemade strawberry shortcake that B.R. made!

Review of Débutante

Strawberry Shortcake and Débutante

And if that's not enough for you, how about another bonus podcast! Who knew that the first ever collaboration between PRETTY THINGS and STILLWATER would be a freestyle rap with Brian of Stillwater and Jim of Pretty Things! And we thought that Sam at Dogfish Head was the only rapping brewer!

Mikkeller At The Gutter

WFMU's Beer Hear! with Bob W. and B.R. from 9/7/2011

The GUTTER, on the border of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, is a bowling alley. No -- it's a craft BEER BAR! Bowling Alley! Beer bar! Bowling! Beer! OK Jack -- it's both.

Beer. Cheers.

The Gutter could be considered a relative of BARCADE of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and their first ever beer event featured Danish brewing rockstar Mikkel of MIKKELLER BREWING.

We've never seen the Gutter so jam packed on a Thursday night. On tap: Beer Geek Breakfast, Drink'in the Sun and American Dream, as well as large bottles of Mikkeller Black Hole (coffee imperial stout aged in Cognac barrels) and Mikkeller Black Hole (aged in Tequila barrels), Mikkeller Black (17.5% imperial stout), and Mikkeller Draft Bear imperial pilsner. INsane. Just insane.

One of these people has jetlag... any guess which one?

Mikkel seemed a bit jet lagged and visibly fatigued from jumping in both feet first into a three-day visit to the USA to conduct some business, have some fun, and brew a batch of beer in Vermont at HILL FARMSTEAD BREWERY. Seriously? In three days?!? Great Dane, indeed.

And what do you think Mikkel sampled while rolling some strikes and spares? Hill Farmstead 
Simcoe, HF Double Galaxy, Green Flash West Coast IPA, and Cigar City Marshal Zhukov

Despite the fatigue of the breakneck speed of his trip, he was a generous, entertaining and informational interview subject, willing to share some great insight into a Danish gypsy brewery. To entice you to check it out, here are a few nuggets from the interview.

Beer Geek Breakfast and Drink'in the Sun - the sun and the dark side of the moon.

Mikkel: "In 1998 we had nine breweries in Denmark, and five years later we had 110."

Mikkel: "The Mikkeller brand is brewed in four different countries right now."

BH: "Do you think you'd ever want to have your own [physical] brewery?"

Mikkel: "No. Hell no... Never."

BH: "Why?"

Mikkel: "[because as a gypsy brewer] I don't have to do all the boring stuff...."

What's on tap at the bowling alley?

Mikkel: "Last year I think we released 76 new beers." [ !!! ]

Mikkel: "If I could, I would brew every beer once, and then do a new one."

Bob: "Am I famous in Denmark?"

Mikkel: "You're very famous, actually!"

Everyone: [incredulous laughter]

Mikkel: "I probably knew you many years before you knew me!"

[you think this is joke, but... well, more clues in the podcast.]

BH: "You actually have a twin brother who is also a brewer?" [with his own brewing company.]

Mikkel: "Yep. An identical twin brother."

Mikkel: "My recipes are mostly done in the shower, in the morning." [beer geek breakfast?]

Paul, beer bar baron, and Mikkel, bachelor brewer.

BH: "List your favorite three Mikkeller beers."

Mikkel: "We have one on tonight, the Drink'in The Sun. This year it's 2.4%. We make it less alcohol each year. I like it because it has a lot of flavor, but you can drink it like it's water."

BH: "How many breweries do you think you've brewed at in your career so far?"

Mikkel: "About 20."

[The man has brewed beer in 20 different breweries around the globe!!!]

BH: "Do you have a fantasy brew situation? Someplace where you'd love to brew that is unlikely, or a type of beer that you'd love to brew that wouldn't be easy to do?

Milkkel: [he does -- check the BONUS podcast to find out what it is!]

Thanks to Mikkel and to the Gutter for a wonderful experience!

Though Mikkel doesn't follow hockey, he knows who LARS ELLER is!!!

New Beer Distributors And Retail

WFMU's Beer Hear! with Bob W. and B.R. from 9/1/2011

When I moved into the neighborhood in which NEW BEER DISTRIBUTORS is located, there was open drug dealing (hard drugs), rat infested filth, and palpable danger. A woman was murdered half a block away from my building on the street in an attempted mugging. And that was when the block was on the upswing in gentrification, horridly.

And when I was told that a few avenues west of me was a "great beer store", I just couldn't believe it. But -- OK -- I'll go look. The awning in front of the garage-like space of "New Beer Distributors", which could have been a truck repair shop, a lumber yard, a Chinatown rice distributor, read "Guiness - Heinekin" and whatever else. Great. Good tip, friend. Now I know where I can get a case of Amstel Light real cheap!

Search for your beers by region.

I entered. Whoa. Unreal. Impossible. I'm dreaming. It was like seeing Cantillon on tap at the ESPN bar in Times Square. It was like finding an empty bottle of Rosé De Gabrinus on the tracks at the Bowery/Delancey J-Train station. Which, I guess, is actually now possible, since New Beer is just a block away.

The fact is, New Beer is one of the BEST places in NYC to find esoteric, limited edition, impossible to find brews, even if their roots are in moving kegs and cases of Bud and Coors. You would have a hard time finding a greater variety of craft beer and finding it any cheaper anywhere in NYC.

New Beer is a true NYC family operation. Brothers, sisters, a mom, loads of kids running around. This is the real New York that is now, sadly, rare and declining and will probably disappear before too long.

Harry.

Harry took over for his dad, who founded the business in 1968. Imagine the lower east side in 1968. You'd have to be pretty tough to run a beer wholesaler in that neighborhood then, and really up until the early 90s. But Harry has a U.S. Marine Corps tattoo on his left forearm, so I'm guessing that he's tough enough!

This stuff is kept WAY in the back, appropriately.

New Beer is a kind of "one-stop" distributor. There are loads of them in NYC. They're unhampered by exclusive contracts that major distributors have, so they can carry anything they like. Most of their business is from neighborhood restaurants, clubs, delis, bodegas and the like, and most allow "cash-and-carry" sales to individuals as well as businesses. Most of these one-stops only carry mega-brew beers -- very few of them deal with anything more esoteric than Dos Equis. And unlike most other one-stops, New Beer sells single bottles in addition to six- and four-packs, cases, kegs and growlers.

Harry picked up on the craft beer revolution at its outset, noticing Sam Adams and Brooklyn Brewery, and he began to augment his Bud, Corona and Amstel Light with whatever interesting beers that he could get his hands on. He noticed the growing number of beer drinkers who were bored and dissatisfied with standard American light lager -- a group to which he himself belonged.

Need a special glass for that special beer?

When B.R. and I discovered New Beer sometime in the early to mid-90s, we were not only blown away by the selection, but by the prices. Because they were mainly selling to other businesses, there was no tax or deposit. That changed as they attracted a larger client base of individual consumers, but despite that, the prices are still amazing.

 

Harry said that this is the company's policy -- not to jack the prices, even when he knows that he can. It doesn't matter if a beer is in super short supply and crazy high demand, he applies the same reasonable mark up across the boards.

In addition to constantly updating and improving on the quality and variety of his inventory, five years ago the store put in draft lines to sell growlers to customers. A few times each month they have beer events highlighting a particular brewery or style. Often times reps from the breweries are on hand to talk to customers about the beers.

Where have you seen more Mikkeller beers in one place? Probably not even in Copenhagen!

Harry conservatively estimates that he's got over 800 different beers on offer in the store. I'd guess more like 1000. But Harry is a modest man. I've been there 1000 times, but, still, every time that I walk the aisles I'm filled with "Christmas morning" exhilaration. And despite the fact that I think that I know a lot about beer and breweries, I can always find a number of beers at New Beer that I've either never tried before or never even heard of.

True beer geeks and connoisseurs MUST make at least one pilgrimage in their lifetime to this shrine! And if you do end up taking our advice and go check out New Beer, mention that you heard about the store from BEER HEAR and they'll give you a customer card -- after you make 10 purchases of $10 or more, they'll give you a free growler of beer! (You provide the empty growler, they provide the beer, and the card can only be stamped once a day.) Mentioning BEER HEAR will get you your first stamp for FREE -- no purchase necessary!

                       

This Labor Day weekend, New Beer is slated to have the following on tap for growler customers:

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous
Founders Centennial IPA
Founders KBS
Founders Cerise
Duvel Single
Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

As a bonus, listen to what Harry's rep from Union Beer Distributors has to say about New Beer.

You're getting verrrry thirsty... verrrry thirsty....

The future of New Beer?

Apparently the recent earthquake spared these shelves!

Funky Belgian 7

WFMU's Beer Hear! with Bob W. and B.R. from 8/24/2011

Warren offers up one from his personal collection

Over the last seven years our pal Warren Becker has organized an invitation-only beer tasting/fundraiser at BARCADE, and in that time it has raised thousands of dollars for The Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition (BARC). The event is kind of an organized pot-luck tasting, for which everyone brings a big bottle of something special, and everyone helps themselves, and each other, to samples of whatever looks interesting.

Bill's Otto and Sophie are alums of BARC

But it's not  just any beer -- it's specifically Belgian style beer brewed in America. The idea behind it was to showcase the fact that American craft brewers not only can brew the sometimes esoteric and unique (and wonderful!) Belgian Grand Cru, Kreik, Pale Ale, Wit, etc. -- but many kick ass at it!

The invitees let Warren know weeks and days in advance of what they are planning to bring. Warren creates a list and circulates it to the invitees every few days, so that 10 different people don't bring the same exact beer. This year there were about 50 people at the start and about 135 different bottles of various styles from possibly 100 different breweries. A full list of the beers is listed at the bottom.

 

Additionally, Warren reaches into his own pocket to buy a stack of pizzas from LA NONNAS for everyone, and other participants bring various delicacies (cheeses, mustards, cakes, salads, etc.). But one of the biggest attractions are the mouthwatering Belgian waffles that Mary Izett makes every year -- cooking them on the spot!

Mary waffles as Teddy hopes she drops one

Starting at about 1pm, people begin to gather around the tables, loaded with all manner of Belgian style beers. It's like a gathering of "Warren's Beer Pals", many of whom work in the craft beer business.
 The bottles are loosely arranged alphabetically. Many partakers refer to the list to hunt down a favorite brewery or a rare beer that they've been wanting to try. For many, bringing the most rare, hard-to-come-by bottle is a goal. Beers show up from as far away as Alaska. Some folks bust out prized possessions from their personal beer cellars. Cave-aged Hennepin? Capt. Lawrence Cuvee de Castleton Batch 4? Anchorage Brewing Whiteout Wit? Yes, yes and yes! And how about SEVEN different bottles from New Belgium?

When someone discovers something special on the table, rather than hogging it, they insist that the person next to them try it, and they excitedly search for their pals to make sure that they get a splash, so that they don't miss out. If someone brings something very special, they may open it themselves and then walk around the room with the bottle, trying to find folks who they know will appreciate it.

Over the course of the afternoon, thousands of sips of dozens of styles of beer slowly but steadily empty out the forest of large bottles. And hundreds of dollars are collected for BARC -- $500 this year. And if someone were to get the deposit back on all of the bottles, that in itself could pay for a few bowls of dog chow and meow mix!

The Corkmen get the party poppin'

So, a dachshund walks into a bar(cade)... so why the long face?