2 O'Clock Tasting: Reuben's Brews
Ever heard of a brewery starting because of a birthday gift given by a one-month old? According to Reuben's Brews co-founder "and Reuben's mama," Grace Robbings, it was her son, Reuben, who bought Adam Robbings, co-founder and brewmaster, the homebrew kit that would lead to the family brewery in Seattle, Washington. Like any first-time brewer, Robbings fell in love with making beer.
Soon enough, his hobby became an obsession, and then a profession. Robbings' beer recipes had much success at homebrew competitions, including winning the silver medal at the National Homebrewing Competition (NHC) in 2012, and his talent, along with a Kickstarter campaign that raised close to $11,000, eventually earned him his own brewery—Reuben's Brews officially opened in Seattle's Ballard district in August 2012. Since then, the team has accrued an astounding amount of accolades, including 15 World Beer Cup medals over the past three years.
2 O'Clock Tasting: Beer Liquors
Pushing the envelope has been a major trend in our modern era of beer. More hops, more booze, and more of the word “Imperial” in titles. This alcohol arms race has produced some of the most acclaimed and sought-after beers in the craft. Granted, there is a ceiling of sorts: push a beer too far and it stops being beer altogether. But what's wrong with that?
New Holland Brewing appreciates this beer-to-liquor transition so much that they fired up their own distilleries at New Holland Artisan Spirits in 2005. Long Island Spirits and Japan's Kiuchi Brewery have likewise linked the worlds of craft brewing and craft distilling with their own beer-based liquors. A selected brew-hooch hybrid from each of these alcoholic artisans have graced our glasses in what is by far our highest-ABV 2 O'Clock Tasting ever. Expect just the slightest hint of boozy heat.
2 O'Clock Tasting: German Beers
Germany is often thought of as the birthplace of beer. It is of course home to the original Octoberfest, which is held in Munich, and draws beer drinkers from every corner of the world. Whatever the origin of the drink and however popular their beer festivals, it is evident that Germany doesn't have as many varieties of beer as we have in the States. In Munich its the Wiessbier, in Berlin its the Berliner Wiess, and in Cologne its the Kölsch. A specific brewing process and specific ingredients that create a certain type of beer for a specific region and that is typically how it goes.
However, Braustelle Brewery in Cologne flips the script on this age old style of brewing. Boasting a number of varieties of beer from wheat and barrel aged beers, to herbal and sour beers, this place is pretty unique when it comes to what the rest of Germany's breweries are doing. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to get our hands on some of the unique beers they are concocting at Cologne's smallest brewery!
2 O'Clock Tasting: Alaskan Brewing
Craft brewing is all about exploring new frontiers. Yet, as Alaskan Brewing's success story has shown, sometimes the frontier does some exploration right back. Founded in 1986, Alaskan is ancient in Craft Beer Years. In fact, it was only the 67th brewery to open in United States history. Beginning as the husband and wife duo of Geoff and Marcy Larson, Alaskan has since traversed as far afield from Juneau as Texas, California, and Michigan, to heavy accolades (especially from the Great American Beer Fest, where it is one of the most decorated breweries in the festival's history).
Alaskan's expedition continues westward, and they now have an outpost here in Brookyln after personally sending us bottles of their Winter Ale and their famous Smoked Porter. After sampling both in our latest 2 O'Clock Tasting, we're avowed fans of the veterans from the Great White North.
2 O'Clock Tasting: Icelandic Beers (feat. Stedji)
Beer in Iceland has had a long and troubled history, dating back to when the island was first settled by Norsemen in the mid-800's. Production was difficult and spotty - the country, though notoriously green (unlike Greenland), is too cold for barley to grow in any substantial way. Combine that with the fact that, for most of the 20th century, beer was either outlawed or regulated to within an inch of its life, and it appears miraculous that Iceland has any beer at all.
Bar Profile: The Pony Bar, Manhattan, NY
While brewing at home is great fun, the Brooklyn Brew Shop team likes to get out and grab a beer every once and a while. Who doesn't? With that in mind, we would like to give our fellow beer drinkers the scoop on some of the best beer bars in our area. From Brooklyn to Manhattan to the occasional stop out of town, here's where you might find us drinking tonight.
Tucked away in Hell’s Kitchen, The Pony Bar's original location on 10th Avenue could be one of the only bars in Manhattan that has two massive LCD screens and neither tuned into a football game. Instead, these screens are windows into the Pony Bar’s beer list — a collection of strictly American, constantly rotating craft beers. It’s this States-focused aspect that sets the bar apart from other craft beer joints; while many are bursting at the seams with Belgian and German beers, this bar has kept things within U.S. borders, something that owner, Dan McLaughlin has aimed to do from the start.
“The focus on American beer goes back two decades to my belief that some of the best beers in the world are being brewed right here in our own backyards,” McLaughlin said. “Seven years ago, when we signed our lease for our first Pony Bar, I wanted to emphasize that fact.”
2 O'Clock Tasting: Creature Comforts
At Brooklyn Brew Shop, one of the things we get most excited about are new breweries. We love our tried-and-true favorites, but discovering new, daring brewers is one of the purest joys of the current craft beer renaissance. Enter Creature Comforts Brewing Co., founded just last year in Athens, Georgia. Within 8 months of opening its doors, the outfit was named one of the top 10 craft breweries in the state, and their reputation has only grown since then.
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Brooklyn Brew Shop is a Brooklyn, NY based food start up dedicated to helping people easily make beer, cider, bubbly & food that's as good as (if not better than) the world's best breweries and restaurants.
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