All photos by Patrick Phillips, director of photography at Team Biscuit Films, LLC.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, Connecticut craft brewers and out of town favorites filled Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Ballpark at Harbor Yard for the fourth annual Harbor Brew Fest. The high-spirited beer affair brought brew-loving locals the the latest craft concoctions from area favorites like Two Roads Brewing Co., Back East Brewing and Half Full Brewery, along with a impressive selection of food truck fare and live entertainment.
With local breweries joined by a selection of widely known Northeast, West Coast and international brands, the fest provided an impressively diverse selection—and proved that Connecticut brewers are standing up to the challenge of creating unique, experimental and well executed ales and lagers. Continue reading
I, admittedly, am very “gotten” by brewery swag. Over the years, I’ve accumulated a hulking collection of beer shirts; I own not one, but two pairs of beer socks, neither of which fit me; and on cold, lonely nights, I often find myself admiring the beautiful beer-branded hoodies digitally hanging in brewery e-comm sites.
Basically, I love all of these things, not only because wearing them allows me to share my pride and support for my favorite breweries, but because I’m pretty much clueless about fashion and “beer” is the closest thing I have to caring about a brand. The trouble is, there’s something even more addictive and exhilarating to collect when it comes to beer merch—coasters.
I collect everything from bottle caps to tap handles for various unforeseen projects, and among of all of my obsessions, beermats might be the biggest. I pick them up everywhere, and though I haven’t counted how many I own (probably because I’d be embarrassed of the answer), I can safely say there’s an overstuffed shoebox full of them, and by shoe I mean boot, and by boot I mean they’re also all over my desk, bedroom, boyfriend’s car and kitchen, and that’s after I made everyone Christmas coaster ornaments last year, or several collages for my room, like this one:
That being said, it should come as no surprise that I have a soft spot for Swag Brewery, a company that makes beer-inspired gifts like scented candles, soap and hop candy for beer nerds with spending problems. (I am totally not one of them.) Anyway, today I was checking up on their site to order my next round of scented beer candles (they don’t even have beer in them) and I came across an interesting factoid on the company blog:
Tegestology, a name for my sickness. There’s even a title for its afflicted, “tegestologists.” I checked it out with some expert research (around the Internet), and although there isn’t much literature on the subject, aside from its free dictionary definition (tegestology: the collecting of cardboard beer coasters. — tegestologist, n.) and Wikipedia article (tracing it back to the Latin, though Swag says it’s Greek), I cannot recall a time I’ve felt more redeemed.
Here’s an inexplicable video touting testology from 1960s English comedians, Morecambe And Wise:
I’ll let you enjoy these British brethren on your own.
Your trusty tegestologist,
BeerAffair
Can you tell which one of these is a beer cocktail? Bill Baker’s, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Back in the dog days of summer, there was a drinks concept barking up my FOMO tree that I couldn’t seem to shake: beer cocktails. I’d heard of them, seen them, been intrigued by them and even told other people about them, but when it came time to belly up at the bar, I never ordered them. That is, until I decided to write an article about them for Brokelyn, and after some investigative reporting, learned the truth—beer cocktails can be delicious, intricate, interesting and most of all, fun.
My favorite response had to be from Heather Rush, the owner of Pine Box Rock Shop in Bushwick. Continue reading
This year’s BCTC festival, held August 7-9 at Brewery Ommegang, proved, in my opinion, to be the best yet. Read on to find out why the festival remains so successful, year after year, in “Belgium Comes to Cooperstown Boasts Successful Twelfth Year Turnout,” written for the Ale Street News October/November 2015 issue.
Christine Celis (center) at Pintley’s “(Very) Rare Beer Night,” Clinton Hall, New York, Jan. 2014
In January 2014, I had the pleasure of meeting the legendary Christine Celis at a (Very) Rare Beer Night organized by Pintley at Lower Manhattan’s Clinton Hall. Celis was rambunctious, well spoken and outwardly excited about her recent exploits into gypsy brewing, her beer company in Austin, Texas, the rare Belgian beers she had curated for the event that night, and of course, the legacy of her father, Pierre Celis.
As heiress to one of the world’s most popular beer brands, Hoegarden, Celis had a hand in bringing the Witbier style back to the United States in the 1990’s. Since then, she’s taken over the family brewery, imported an impressive portfolio of Belgian beers, joined up with a brewpub in Austin and sent her amazingly positive vibes into the craft beer and brewing community across the country.
“The thing about success is, sometimes we don’t know how we got there. With failure, you learn a lot. You learn why you failed, how you failed, and how you can prevent the same failures. Then, success just comes.” — Christine Celis – Brewmaster’s daughter, businesswoman and balance seeker, Coffee With a Stranger, melissalombard.com
Cheers to that, Christine!
– BeerAffair
I recently worked on two fall beer guides for craft beer novices and not-obsessed-but-interested drinkers. The first, published in Rally by Eventbrite, is a guide to popular beer styles that show up this time of year, along with specific suggestions of easy-to-find beers that also happen to be a few of my (approachable) favorites. The other, published in The Mash by Brooklyn Brew Shop, is a quick list for homebrew hopefuls who are looking to get their feet wet (or their brew boots wet, if they’re so experienced) with a few small batches this season.
In “Your Fall Beer Flavor Guide: Sip, Drink, Chug (No One’s Here to Judge)” AKA “Why You’re a Sucker if You Don’t Drink Spice Beer,” I walk through five craft beer styles that tend to hit the shelves as the summer transitions into leaf-falling, apple picking, hanging-out-in-bars-without-feeling-your-face-melt-off season:
And since they’re psyched to spice up the season DIY-style, this Brooklyn Brew Shop list of “5 Fall Beers to Make Now” includes beer making kits and mixes that are perfect for fall imbibing:
Of course, these are all great beers to drink or brew any time, but it’s always fun to get festive when the options are as vast as they are!
After a recent bike ride to Alewife in Long Island City, Queens, I spotted a magazine on the table of promotional papers and publications that I’d never seen before: Upstater. As a lifelong lover of Upstate New York (a history that starts with an annual trip to Lake George with my family since the age of one, and ends, as of a week ago, with a sixth trip upstate this summer alone), I snatched it up excitedly and stuffed it into my bag, along with Boro Magazine and a few postcards, to devour later that evening. (The only appropriate things to devour at that moment were my Hill Farmstead beer, fig and brie grilled cheese, and Pat’s undivided attention.)
The magazine’s mission statement struck me as soon as I turned to it later that night:
“This magazine is dedicated to living a connected life.
Connected to nature. Connected to where our food comes from. Connected to our families. Connected to our work.
Connected to our community.
We like making: Building with our hands. Growing our own food.
Making cocktails. Making plans with friends. Making dinner. Making love. Making time to live our wildest dreams.
That’s what living local means to us.Live like a local.“
I liked the message so much, I immediately tore it from the book, folded its edges and taped it to the small bulletin board I finally have hanging on my brand new (15-year-old hand me down) desk. Yes, it’s a little cheesy. Yes, it’s easy to say these things when you live the “simple life” of an upstater, or live in the country, or live on a farm. Yet, I thought, if there’s any safe space for me to share something meaningful, it’s here. Since I have the chance, I’m passing this along in hopes of inspiring a few of my urban comrades to start thinking local, even when that means (as it often does) putting in a little extra effort—and probably a few extra cents.
How to Live Like a Local in Three Easy Steps
Upstater’s mission statement is posted in the website’s “About” section as an attractive infographic identical to the page in print. Take a look and pass it along to the makers, dreamers, and—most importantly—the doubters in your life.
At the fifth annual Village Voice Brooklyn Pour Craft Beer Festival, held this year at the new Brooklyn Expo Center on the afternoon of Sept. 26, 2015, three things were clear: 1) New York City’s craft beer appreciating community continues to grow; 2) local and regional breweries are matching that growth with innovative and on-trend beer styles; and 3) Skylight One Hanson will be deeply missed.
A mug-holding contest at the Sam Adams booth put Brooklyn Pour goers’ stein hosting strength to the test.
The Brooklyn Expo Center on Greenpoint’s Franklin Avenue is everything you want in an event space: vast, well lit and high ceilinged, the venue has plenty of room to accommodate a growing list of brewers, attendees and sponsors, with photo ops aplenty, back patio space with skyline views and well-managed bathrooms to boot. However, those who have attended the Brooklyn Pour in the past know that this venue is no match to the art-deco masterpiece that is Skylight One Hanson in Fort Greene.
Plenty of distractions bordered the expansive space, inside and out: a photo booth for friends to pose and hashtag (complete with sponsored backdrop) hung in the front; tables touting contests and giveaways mirrored brewers’ coolers along the sides of the room; a mug holding contest sponsored by Sam Adams brought brawny bros to the rear; and a personal favorite, a Whole Foods-sponsored “Mix Six” pack photo op floated in the back of the room, beckoning grown men and women to slip into its shoddy cardboard hug (Halloween costume, anyone?).
Build your own custom six-pack of friends. This makes a great Halloween costume for beer buds!
Cold brewed coffee (Califa Farms, Grady’s) and scotch liquor tables (Aberlour, Jameson Caskmates) beckoned bean and booze hounds to the back of the room, providing a fairly welcome, albeit unnecessary alternative to the 125+ beer options available.
Aberlour single malt whiskey (above) and Jameson Caskmates tastings were also available at the Brooklyn Pour.
Other than liquid libations, the Brooklyn Pour offered attendees food options on the outside patio — Nuchas, Papaya King and Coney Shack stood in front of the neighboring building, while Keste grilled cheeses and Zum Schneider brats and pretzels stood in tents closer to the building — but the options and seating seemed oddly limited in the massive amount of space. A few more tables and trucks would have transformed the area into a welcome respite from imbibing and bumping elbows.
Nearly 70 breweries were in attendance at this year’s Brooklyn Pour (a total of 67 were confirmed at press time), with 25 making their Brooklyn Pour debut. These included: Allagash Brewing Company, Anchor Brewing Company, Angry Orchard, Aspall, Austin Eastciders, Barrier Brewing Co., Big Alice Brewery (VIP only), Downeast Cider House, Fentimans, Fire Island Beer Company, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., Iron Maiden, Kronenbourg Brewery, Lost Nation Brewing, Newburgh Brewing Company, North Coast Brewing Company, Oskar Blues Brewery, Samuel Adams, Sixpoint Brewery, Speakeasey Ales and Lager, St. Feuilliens, SweetWater Brewing Company (VIP only), War Flag Brewing Company, and Weihenstephan.
Breweries represented last year who did not return in 2015 included a total of 35: 508 Gastrobrewery (now closed), Ayinger, Bayou Teche, Bear Republic, Boulder, Brewery Ommegang, Broken Bow, Bronx Brewery, Crispin Cider, Dyckman, Founders, Goose Island, Grimm Artisanal Ales, Gun Hill, Harlem Blue, Harlem Brewing Company, Ithaca, Lagunitas Brewing Co., Lake Placid Brewery, Lindemans Brewery, Magic Hat Brewing Company, MOA Brewing Company, Original Sin, Radeberger Brewery, Radiant Pig Craft Beers, Rekorderling, Samuel Smith, Saranac, Shipyard Brewing Company, Sly Fox Brewery, Steadfast Beer Co., Stevens Point Brewery, Transmitter Brewing, Wolffer Estate Vineyard and Yonkers Brewing Co.
Disclaimer: we were not able to make it to every booth. That being said, we have an eye for interesting brews, and these were some of our new and noteworthy favorites.
Barrier Brewing Co. Red Button Imperial Red Ale
Birreria Eataly Strawberry Blonde Cask Ale
Rockaway Brewng Company NY Pharm
Lost Nation Mosaic Single Hop IPA
Weihenstephaner
Comet Weisse
Weihenstephaner Comet Weisse
Third Rail Beer Skyland IPA
Oskar Blues IPA
Finback Brewery Close of Day
Wendy Littlefield. Photo via LinkedIn.com
In honor of Brewery Ommegang’s 18th birthday next month and my departure for Belgium today, this week’s #WomanCrushWednesday goes to Wendy Littlefield. Along with her husband, Ed, Littlefield’s accolades go far beyond a bulleted list. From a romantic start of eloping in college, moving to Belgium and falling in love—with the tradition and taste of Belgian beer, that is—she became the first American woman inducted into the Belgian Brewers Guild and was nominated for the Mercurius Award, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the Belgian government.
Back stateside, in addition to starting two beer businesses, she started several community-driven food and drink events and associations in her now-hometown of Cooperstown, N.Y. (Belgian Comes to Cooperstown among them). You can learn more about the Littlefields in the self-told “Very Long and Boring Story” of her career in beer—a lengthy one, yes, but there’s nothing boring about it.
“We have been at this business for 31 years and still adore it, and we are still married and capable of working together. How very fortunate we are. We think of ourselves as cultural anthropologists explaining culture through beer.” – “Why We Do What We Do— An Interview With Our New York Distributor,” March 2012, BelgianBeerExperts.com
Beer Affair 