AKA: A Shameless Listicle of Why I Love the Brooklyn Pour (With Pictures!)
The Village Voice Brooklyn Pour will be celebrated for the fifth consecutive year on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. This year, the craft beer tasting event will make its Brooklyn Expo Center debut in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, taking place from to 3pm to 6pm for general admission, 2:30pm to 6pm for early admission, and 2pm to 6pm for Very Important Persons.
Here’s why you should love the Brooklyn Pour:
- Local beer—and beyond.*
Ithaca isn’t Brooklyn, but we love them like they are.
The craft breweries represented at the Brooklyn Pour (of which there are more than 100) comprise a well-balanced cross section of New York City (many), New York State (several), regional (some) and international (a few) breweries. For a festival that’s positioned as much toward casual beer consumers as it is to the hardcore drinks dorks among us, the list of exhibitors here never disappoints.
- Good vibes.
Look how happy these guys are!
A friendly atmosphere does wonders when you’re sent upstream in a room crowded enough to get lost in. At the Brooklyn Pour, at the same time that you’re probably getting separated from your friends, you’re making new ones, and for the most part, people don’t get pushy at the tasting tables, either.
- Consistency—with surprises.
She was so surprised to see new beer dudes from Brooklyn, Braven Brewing Company!
I’ve been attending the Brooklyn Pour since 2010, and every year, I see the same faces behind many of the coolers, but I see lots of new ones, too. Though it would be difficult to get bored in a room that has hundreds of beers to taste, the variety of old and new faces keeps things familiar and exciting at the same time.
- Decent food.
Food trucks (and porter potties) aplenty.
This is Brooklyn, so you can’t really fux with the food choices, because we will notice and we will not be pleased. Brooklyn Pour offerings this year include Keste Pizza, Zum Schneider, Nuchas, Papaya King and Coney Shack.
- Finally, the swag.
You could be rolling in swag shades.
So yeah, I’m a sucker for stickers, coasters and keychains that scream “I like beer way too much” (who isn’t?). At the Brooklyn Pour, swaggery is not only plentiful, it’s encouraged. You don’t have to get all weird about swiping the free stuff—there’s plenty of it—and generally the brewers, reps and volunteers pouring your beer are super into decking you out, too. Sometimes, there are even games to play to win prizes! (But you don’t have to play them. You can also just have the prizes, if you ask nicely.)
*Did I mention great beer? In case you forgot, here are some reminders.
Brooklyn will be represented by the likes of Braven Brewing Company, Brooklyn Brew Shop, Coney Island Brewing Company (pictured above) and Sixpoint Brewery.
Queens breweries will include Big Alice Brewing Co. (VIP only), Rockaway Brewing Co., SingleCut Beersmiths (above) and Queens Brewery.
Staten Island newcomer, Flagship Brewery will be at the 2015 Brooklyn Pour.
This guy LOVED Two Roads Brewing Company of Stratford, Conn. Brooklyn Pour attendees also enjoyed out-of-state beer makers like Victory Brewing Company of Downing, Penn., and Harpoon Brewery of Boston.
For more of my favorite moments of people loving the Brooklyn Pour, check out my 2014 coverage for the Village Voice here. To skip that and buy tickets, go here.
Beer Affair 