Craft Beer Thread

I first tried this at a craft brew fest in NYC a few years back. It was great to find it at Total Wine!  Nice frothy head from a canned beer, and I enjoy the flavor. 

I adore Dale's but can't bring myself to try beer called Porkslap. #makesnosenseatall

Pork Slap is definitely a good pale ale. Came in a can before everyone started canning. I used to see it in the city all the time (it's from Upstate NY) but don't recall seeing it around Jersey much. It's amazing what difference a state line can make with beer distribution.

I like it, and was surprised to see a canned beer at this craft beer festival.  But it was a few years ago so I guess they were ahead of the crowd.

Butternuts Brewery seems to operate in the grand craft brewery tradition of having 12-year-old boys come up with their beer names (and design their website), or at least people who think like 12-year-old boys.  Another of their beers is called Heinnieweisse.

Maybe they have the same creative director as MTV's Beavis and Butthead...

huh.

Huh huh huh.

Pork slap.

Huh huh.

On Mother's Day, we had brunch at a great restaurant on the Lower East Side (Ivan Ramen) and I was able to have a Grimm Psychokenisis. I've been trying to find a place that stocks Grimm for a while. Aside from being...YUUUGE, it was an amazing sour beer. I had an Incorrigible on one of my trips to Toronto and while I did finish it, I found it much too sour. The Psychokenisis was perfect. And their graphics are top notch also.

http://grimmales.com/our-beers/

If you like IPAs, Grimm's Tesseract is really good.  I don't think that a place that "stocks" Grimm exists.  I think that they get it and it goes out the door pretty quickly.

Seems like I got lucky. I've used one of those beerfinder iphone apps to track down Tesseract, but it's never at a bar close enough when I'm looking for it.

qrysdonnell said:

Pork Slap is definitely a good pale ale. Came in a can before everyone started canning. I used to see it in the city all the time (it's from Upstate NY) but don't recall seeing it around Jersey much. It's amazing what difference a state line can make with beer distribution.

Pork Slap is sold at the Village Wine Shop on Maplewood Ave.  They also carry Snapperhead from Butternuts Brewery.  I like Pork Slap, but there's something about Snapperhead that tastes strange to me.  It has a plastic-y aftertaste that I can't stand.

ArchBroad said:

Seems like I got lucky. I've used one of those beerfinder iphone apps to track down Tesseract, but it's never at a bar close enough when I'm looking for it.

Yes, it's a crap shoot.  If you use BeerMenus, you can tag it and it will let you know when/where it is available.

Did anyone go to the new Twin Elephant Brewery in Chatham opening weekend? I'm curious to know how it is. Photos of the space look awesome but do make me think it's not so kid-friendly so I'm not sure when we'll make it there.

I was there. I don't have kids, and may not be the best judge of such things, but there's truly nothing there for a kid to do except watch his parents and the rest of the customers drink beer. They don't serve any food, and there aren't even proper tables to sit at. 

EDITED TO SAY: By "proper" tables, I mean in the sense of the kinds of table & chairs you'd find in a restaurant or a regular bar. There are places to sit and enjoy your pint, and there several built-in places to sit your glass. It's a very nice, workable, comfortable space for sampling beers. It's just not --in my estimation-- a very conducive place for hanging with kids.

BrickPig said:

I was there. I don't have kids, and may not be the best judge of such things, but there's truly nothing there for a kid to do except watch his parents and the rest of the customers drink beer. They don't serve any food, and there aren't even proper tables to sit at. 

That was my feeling from the pictures. Not a big deal, just means we'll have to get a sitter figured out to get over there. It looks great and I'm so glad it's local!

That sounds sort of like the American Legion or the VFW Hall (though the AL did have food, and amazing food at that). They just need to add a pool table or a dart board and all the kids will be fine...

BrickPig said:

I was there. I don't have kids, and may not be the best judge of such things, but there's truly nothing there for a kid to do except watch his parents and the rest of the customers drink beer. They don't serve any food, and there aren't even proper tables to sit at. 

EDITED TO SAY: By "proper" tables, I mean in the sense of the kinds of table & chairs you'd find in a restaurant or a regular bar. There are places to sit and enjoy your pint, and there several built-in places to sit your glass. It's a very nice, workable, comfortable space for sampling beers. It's just not --in my estimation-- a very conducive place for hanging with kids.

Hit Stirling Hotel on the weekend. http://www.thestirlinghotel.com/

I went there for the food last weekend, but the beer garden was HOPPING. They had a Two Roads event and a Founders event in the past week. Check the calendar.

ArchBroad said:

Hit Stirling Hotel on the weekend. http://www.thestirlinghotel.com/

I went there for the food last weekend, but the beer garden was HOPPING. They had a Two Roads event and a Founders event in the past week. Check the calendar.

Yes!! We went there for the first time last weekend as well and it was great  fun!