Chill place. Great bartenders. At Allen and Delancey. I think we got there in time so to avoid the crowd, but my guess is that it can get packed.
Author Archives: beerblog
Jacob’s Pickles Upper West Side
So, this is an amazing place for craft beer and cocktails. They also pickle all kinds of veggies and, of course, pickles. This is the sausage plate, or should I say the french fry plate with a sausage.
I started with an Avery Joe Pils on draught. Usually a canned beer, but it opened up with some nice floral flavors and slight hops as it warmed. My next was a Brooklyn Sorachi-Ace on draught. An awesome beer. You have to taste it on draught if you haven’t. For the summer, the lemon zest taste is a winner. I finished off with the Maine Peeper which I can never resist on draught. It pours a hazy yellow golden color and has some hints of orange. Another all time winner for the summer.
BTW, great service, trendy crowd and fantastic atmosphere. We had 8 people and they didn’t automatically add a gratuity. That is class. And, we overtipped because of it.
McSorley’s NYC
If you haven’t been, it’s a must when you’re in New York. We were with 2 guys on the Pub Crawl who had never been so we had to make the stopover. They still have the potbelly stove, the “cash” drawer as their register and the two for one beers. Dark or Light. The beer itself is pretty horrible, but the joint is one for the ages.
Ed’s Lobster Bar-NYC
As a semi pro when it comes to Pub Crawls, we always mix in food so we can keep it going for 12 hours or so. At Ed’s we arrived right at 5pm and all six of us got seats at the bar. The oysters, all East Coast were incredibly delicious as were those Jumbo shrimps ( as my friend would say). We also split a Lobster Roll which had just enough mayo and herbs. I also had a nice 16 oz Six Point Crisp which is another one of those lagers that hits you with Grass and Hay and then soothes into some lovely floral and fruity flavors. Poured a golden yellow. It was the first time I had this beer, although I have had the Begali tiger which was a little too hoppy for me. Really liked the Crisp and how it went with the Seafood. So this was stop #5 and we went eight more. I’ll be back later this week to post about those.
Houston Hall-Stop #4
I can’t say enough about this place. One of favorites, I already posted about this before. Had the Pale Ale special which was special. My business partner had the Red Ale and thought it was delicious. Also got the GIANT pretzal which was amazing especially the two types of mustard. We were there at 3:30 and it was all to ourselves and about 10 other people. One of the guys we were with is from Brooklyn and he says it gets packed at night. Just a beautiful place to hang out and sample a bunch of beers.
Upright Coffee and Beer
What a concept. They serve light breakfast and lunch along with many different coffees. They also have a fine selection of drafts and about 40 bottles and cans. I Had the Firestone Walker Pivo Pils. It’s a Czech Pils but much more hoppy, earthy and even floral. It went down too smooth ( for # 4 on the Crawl) So, we had to split a Maine Beer Co. MO (Sitting atop the bar in pic #2) golden, Hoppy and floral deliciousness. I am partial to the Maine Brewing Co. beers. The bartender down at the very end of the bar was exceptionally friendly, but was really the coffee guy so he had no knowledge of the beers. And when one of the guys wanted an espresso, he gave it to him on the house. Fortunately, the female bartender was extremely knowledgable and beautiful to boot. Just a great place to hang out for a few hours, if we had the time. Oh, and check out those giant croissants…looked amazing.
Corner Bistro NYC
So we began the 13th annual NYC pub Crawl as we always do at the Corner Bistro. It sounds like a Hoity Toity place, but it’s actually a great little dive bar with FANTASTIC burgers. We always begin the day with a Bistro Burger and fries which has gone up to $9.00 from the original price 13 years ago of $4.95. Inflation. we also always begin the day with two McSorleys, I chose the light to stay on track. A couple of the guys went dark, which is the better beer. Anyway, the flavor really is like a Bass and fine for the burger. And so it began.
Jack’s Abby Mass Rising and Thunder Hole Ale
Wonderful dinner at our neighbors house with some tasty brews. (Including the Heady Topper from the prior post)
The Mass Rising Lager is a bouquet of citrus and perfect as an appetizer beer. The Thunder Hole Ale explodes with hops and caramel malt. Much heavier but went well with the pork roast.
With friends, food, the fireplace roaring and good beer, it doesn’t get much better.
The Heady Topper!
Thanks to my friend Chris P., we had his last two cans of The Heady Topper. I have to tell you, it’s really funny what you smell when you open the can….GRASS! Yes, it is like when you eat a steak where the cow was grass fed and you taste the grass, here you can smell grass. As instructed, we drank from the can. The hops were outstanding and tasted malty at first. On second sip, the hops faded and it became a smooth balanced aromatic beer. As the beer warmed towards room temperature, the hopiness returned. It then turned into an almost “rustic” type of beer. All in all, I don’t know whether this is the greatest of all time, but it clearly is up there.
Offshore IPA
Had the Offshore IPA on draft at Barcelona Tapas to go along with the heavier Chorizo, Octopus and Figs. Great way to accompany them. A medium bodied IPA, not too hoppy, but an initial harsh tongue, but then it settles in and produces a very nice flavor. I would recommend this for someone who likes some flavor but not too much by way of hops.