Tiger Turns 20

 Interview with Dave Brodrick and Catherine Kyle of Blind Tiger 

 Non-Flash version of the podcast

New York-born Dave Brodrick grew up in Fairfield County, CT and moved back to NYC over 20 years ago to make a go of working in journalism. He worked for a few different outlets, including Geraldo Rivera's "Now It Can Be Told", while bartending at Tribeca's Riverrun. But after finding journalism not entirely to his liking, and wanting to do more than just bartend, Dave decided to open his own joint somewhere in Manhattan -- a cosy neighborhood bar with good beer.

Bob, Dave, Catherine and B.R.

In 1994 there weren't many places focusing on good beer in NYC. Two years earlier Eddie Berestecki established Mug's in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, thought of by many as the first real "beer bar" in New York. Dave and his business partners were looking to open a beer bar in Manhattan. At the same time Ray Deiter and Dennis Zentek (both sadly lost to tragic circumstances in 2011 and 2014 respectively) were also looking to do the same thing and, in fact, both sets of partners bumped into each other at 41 1st Ave. while scouting locations. Ray and Dennis took that space and opened D.B.A., and Dave kept searching, finally settling on a West Village space at Hudson and W. 10th St. Thus was born The Blind Tiger. A few months later, The Gingerman would open, bringing the number of good beer bars in New York City in 1996 to four!

In 1996 New York, "good beer" meant imports like Guinness, Hoegaarden, Newcastle, Boddingtons, and Paulaner Hefeweizen, and domestics such as Brooklyn Lager, Sierra Nevada, Pete's Wicked Ale, and Wild Goose IPA. And those were some of the best sellers, Dave recalls, when he first opened. About 10 years later when the Tiger lost their lease (to a Starbucks!) in in Dec. 2005, they relocated a block east of 7th Ave, on Bleecker at Jones St., in March 2007. With the move, the bar left all the imported beer behind. The 28 regular draught lines are almost exclusively American craft. Though they do make an exception for the occasional treat from, say, Cantillon or Dieu du Ciel.

The Blind Tiger has been recognized not only as a pioneer for craft beer bars in New York, but appreciated by locals as just a damn good bar with damn good beer. It's a must-visit pub on any beer lover's trip to NYC. In addition to the exalted Tiger, Dave has opened up two beer-centric bistros in Vermont, Worthy Burger and Worthy Kitchen, and is behind Beanery Brewing, a beer company that focuses on making coffee beer, and will be brewing at a new contract brewery located just outside of Boston and run by former Smuttynose Head Brewer Dave Yarrington. Here's to another 20 years of the Tiger!

21 Years Of Mugs

  Interview with Eddie of Mugs (Flash version)
  Non-Flash podcast

Mugs Alehouse is a true pioneer of the craft beer scene in New York City. Owner and founder Eddie Berestecki spoke to us about the then and now in Williamsburg on the 21st anniversary of his wonderful neighborhood bistro, which also happens to be one of the oldest fixtures of the modern NYC craft beer scene.

L-R: Bill Coleman of MBAS, Eddie, Warren Becker of MBAS.

As B.R. notes in the podcast, Mugs is a great neighborhood bar -- which also happens to have a great beer list. That's one of the things that sets Mugs apart from the newer breed of beer bars. The place has that warm, authentic feel of the, sadly, vanishing local pub. You can get a solid and reasonably priced meal, excellent and friendly service, along with a great selection of craft beers at a fair price. How many places in NYC, let alone trendy Williamsburg, can you say that about?

Bob, Eddie and B.R. enjoy some Beer Geek Mus.

Eddie has been a staunch supporter and patron of the local beer beer scene as well, hosting the Malted Barley Appreciation Society since its founding, giving up his entire backroom dining area to the club every 2nd Wednesday of each month. He's helped establish and has been host to numerous beer events that bring the beer community together, from the annual Split Thy Skull fest to the yearly Belgium 2 Brooklyn event, and scores of others.

Photo credit: Kristopher Medina of pinballnyc.com.

We congratulate Eddie and Mugs on reaching the age of majority, and we look forward to many more years of friendship and beers!

Maine Beer Co. At Blind Tiger

Maine Beer Company at Blind Tiger podcast on WFMU

  Non-Flash podcast

Brothers David and Daniel Kleban made the jump from homebrewers to commercial brewers in 2009 in Portland, Maine. The first beer of their Maine Beer Company, Spring Peeper, was inspired by hoppy West Coast craft beers, and it was their only product at the start. This past April they moved into a new 15-barrel brewery in Freeport, Maine, which is quite a leap from their original 1-barrel system. On the smaller system they would brew three batches on Saturday and on Sunday to fill their 7-barrel fermenter. Now they'll be able to fill two 7-barrel fermenters in one brew!

Katherine of Blind Tiger, Dave, B.R. and Bob.

Dave was in town recently for an event at the Blind Tiger, which had a number of this beers on tap and in the bottle. We were able to sample a few "pilot" beers, both 5.2% ABV, that were on draught: Pilot 1, a hoppy American Pale Ale with some citrus notes, and Pilot 2, an American Saison with a hint of bitter orange peel mixing with hop bitterness. We also got a taste of the Mean Old Tom stout and Zoe, a 7% ABV amber ale, all on tap. We shared a medium sized bottle of the King Titus with our pal Josh (who gets the photo credit above), a delicious 7.5% ABV robust porter, which was very smooth, malty and well rounded, with some mildy chocolate notes.

Pilot 2

Check out the podcast to find out why they changed the name of Spring Peeper to simply Peeper, and also to find out what the heck a peeper is!

Pilot 1 and Zoe

King Titus robust porter.

The new brewery, with tasting room.

Slightly more than one barrel.

Queens Kickshaw

  [link to podcast page]
Interview with Ben and Jen of Queens Kickshaw podcast
We were drawn to this quirky little Astoria bistro for their second anniversary party a few months back, and, having been thoroughly impressed, we knew that a repeat visit was inevitable. Looking through the tiny storefront window at the entrance to the Queens Kickshaw, you'd expect to find a narrow rail-car sized joint, like Proletariat in the East Village, but instead, it expands into a high-ceilinged, long, open, inviting space, with a cozy warmth enhanced by exposed brick, worn wood and a rusty, rustic, archaic industrial decor.

This will extinguish your thirst!

Soon after wife and husband team Jen and Ben moved to Astoria, they wanted to add to the tantalizing, diverse culinary landscape that Queens has become known for. They were contemplating a coffee bar, but if they couldn't set up a brick-and-mortar business then they planned on launching a coffee truck mounted on an auto-rickshaw. Right away they had a name in mind -- Kickshaw, which conveniently means a small delicacy, aside from being a cute play on "rickshaw".

But they did find a space, and so quickly expanded their concept beyond gourmet java. Regardless, their coffee is top notch, supplied by Coffee Labs of Tarrytown, offering a variety of brews, including some very smooth cold-brewed coffees. But they also have a full dining menu which is simple & solid and yet quirky & creative. "Comfort food with a twist," as Ben describes it. Almost immediately, they became reputed for their decadent grilled cheese sandwiches.

Bob, B.R., Jen and Ben.

And more importantly, at least for us, is Kickshaw's central concept: a well thought out beverage program, centered around the best craft beer and cider that they can find. Granted, they're open very early every day, peddling tasty caffeinated cups to the morning set. But it's at evening time when you'll want to visit QK to take full advantage of the carefully crafted beverage menu.

Gruyère grilled cheese with caramelized onions, and endive salad.

Ben told us that he puts a lot of time and effort into curating their beer offerings. Typically, they have four beers on tap, with cider, kombucha and brewed coffee taking up the other three lines, complimented by an extensive bottle list. Jen says that she's more into the cider, and with about 30 craft ciders on the menu, there's a lot to be into!

You didn't just pour the strongest espresso on the sweetest ice cream? Oh yes you did...

One thing which sets them apart from almost all other craft beer and cider dispensaries is their ability to sell large format bottled beer by the glass. They utilize a system developed for champagne which re-fills the head space of opened bottles with carbon-dioxide, and then re-pressurizes them when resealed, so that a patron need not buy an entire 750ml. Ben says that they can open and re-seal a bottle three times without diminishing the quality of the beer. Their device was custom made to accommodate the proper carbonation for beer, which is about half that of champagne.

The kitchen.

Queens Kickshaw gets their kombucha -- which is a low-alcohol, fermented, carbonated tea beverage -- down the block, from Beyond Kombucha. In addition to the barely alcoholic (≈3%) healthy, fizzy, somewhat tart/sour teas, they also produce a very unique ale. The 6.5% a.b.v. Mava Roka kombucha ale is frequently found on tap at Kickshaw. I think that we need to look into this a bit further!

Located conveniently one block from the Steinway stop on the R-train, at 40-17 Broadway, in Astoria, directly across from a Queens Library branch, there's really no good reason not to add Queens Kickshaw to your list of regular haunts. And if you actually live in Astoria... well, you'd be a masochist if you didn't frequent this joint on a weekly basis, at the least!

Bricky.

The backroom.

Maibock At Zum Schneider

[link to podcast page]
  The JaJaJas at Zum Schneider podcast

The first of May means a number of different things: ancient pagan festivals, the transition from cold to warm weather, International Workers' Day, the maypole, etc.  It also means Maibock! There are all kinds of Bockbier: Winterbock, Doppelbock, Eisbock. All of them are typically stronger (6.5% abv and up), somewhat maltier versions of amber German lager, though Maibock or Hellesbock are paler amber in color, but still darker than a standard Pils or Helles.

Ein proooosit! Ein prooooosit!

The city of Einbeck, Germany in Lower Saxony, home of the Einbecker Brewery, and situated just south of Hanover, boasts having brewed Bock first, with proof being a receipt for the sale of Einbecker beer to the city of Celle dated April 28, 1378.

Hofbrau claims to have brewed the first Maibock in Munich in 1614. That roughly matches up with the claim that in 1612 a brewer from Einbeck traveled to Munich to make the reputed “Ainpöckische Bier” for the southerners. Thanks to the regional dialect, "Ainpöckische" became “Oanpock”, and then eventually simply “Bock”. So, it seems that name Bock derives from the name of the town which first brewed it.

The Ja Ja Jas!

Both the Einbecker and Hofbrau Maibocks were pouring quite continuously this May 1 at the East Village's reconstituted Kleine Deutschland known as Zum Schneider. Both beers have that full bodied, super rich, malty profile that Bock is known for. Hofbrau's is a 7.2% Maibock with a light-medium amber color, a malty sweet aroma, and a kick of hop bitterness in the finish to compliment the hefty maltiness, quite similar to Einbecker's delicious 6.5% brew.

Mosel Franzi in action!

And no German fest is complete without lederhosen and um-pah music! Zum Schneider's Hausband the JaJaJas! were on hand to get the crowd singing, swaying and swigging with some Bavarian classics. Just the thing to get us ready for Oktoberfest!

The classic roast pig on a spit.