Beer Wench Brown Bags It

I spent the 4th of July like any good Astorian: making the rounds for brunch and then bbq with 2-4-1 drinks at Hell Gate Social, followed by not one but two rooftop fireworks viewings. Except, unlike my friends and I’ll bet most of you, I spent my 4th sober and in the shade, popping antibiotics and washing them down with kiddie-cocktails while my cohorts swilled fun looking concoctions and frosty pints of beer in the sun. So despite countless invites to go drink awesome brews, this week my friends, this little beer wench is going shopping.

I have walked by the Euro-Market a few times a week for the past 3 years and, I am ashamed to say, until now I have never been inside. Sure the variety of beer in the window looked enticing, but usually I am on my way somewhere else in a hurry and usually that somewhere else also has an abundance of beer. For 6packs and such my deli is pretty well stocked and the Key Food on 31st Street has a nice selection as well, but after today I think I will bypass both and head to Euro-Market. The sheer amount of beer was almost overwhelming—the entire back wall is lined with giant coolers all fully stocked with glorious beer.

The variety is pretty amazing, right off the bat I found a 6pack of Kalik, a Bahamian beer that until now I have never seen further north than Florida. There are big name breweries that you’ll recognize, but Euro-Market mixes it up nicely with U.S. craft breweries as well. I was particularly excited to see several styles from Smuttynose, Rogue, Stone, Anchor Steam, West Coast, Troegs (yes they have the Troegenator I so enjoyed at Fatty’s), Flying Dog, Peak Organic, Dogfishhead, and Abita. They also carry a wide range of beer from local breweries: Brooklyn, South Hampton, Left Hand, Blue Point, Coney Island, Keegan, Ithaca, Saranac, Ommegang, Lake Placid and even McSorley’s are all amply represented. Unfamiliar with a particular brewery or beer? Euro-Market sells full 6packs or single bottles, some of which are only $1.50.

Enough with the U.S., it is called Euro-Market after all. I’ll be honest, there are beers here whose names I can’t pronounce and labels I can’t read, but the ones I do recognize are phenomenal. Just looking at the selection from Belgium made me thirsty. Small and large bottles of Delirium Tremens and Nocturnum beckon from behind the glass, taunting me with their $5 price tags. Rochefort 6, 8, and 10 all in a neat little row for $6.75 a pop right next to Westmalle Tripple and the entire Chimay line. The icing on the Trappist Ale cake, for me anyway, is the $6.85 bottle of Orval. While not the strongest of the Trappist ales, I enjoy the citrusey, yeasty flavor and will use it in lieu of champagne for special occasions. Orval also happens to be my boyfriend’s favorite beer and we usually down a few at the Belgian Beer Bar on Valentine’s Day. Corsendonk, Kwak, Duvel, Lindemans, and even La Choufe for bargain prices round out the tour of Belgium. There’s a wide array of German Hefewiesens to choose from, including two of my favorites: Erdinger Dunkeweis, a dark wheat beer with a rich malty taste, and Aventinus, a wheat doppelbock with distinctive notes of banana, honey, and clove and an A.B.V. of 8.2%.

Let’s keep rolling with the high octane brews—Euro Market has almost the entire line from Unibrou, a Canadian brewery where most beers top 8% A.B.V. Feel like celebrating in a serious way? Grab a large bottle of La Fin Du Monde (“The End of the World”) and enjoy the champagne style bubbles with the kick of extra alcohol, it is 9% A.B.V after all. Want to stay local? Enjoy my old favorite, Ommegang Hennepin, also available in the large corked bottles. A word of caution: consuming more than one glass of Hennepin may make it seem like it is ok to free-fall off your roof onto your fire-escape and crawl through the window with the intent of saving the day after your roommate has managed to lock you out. Sure, I emerged victorious but I had a vicious bruise for weeks and still get a sick feeling in my stomach when I gaze off my roof sober.

Yes, the sheer quantity of beer made me thirsty but my resolve not to drink was solid—until I got to the second to last cooler. There, right past the awesome collection of Trappist Ales stood a giant glowing gold bottle of Innis&Gunn and it was only $11. Crap. My hand was in and out of that cooler faster than I could process what I was doing. I know, I know I can’t drink until Sunday but that doesn’t mean I can’t take it home with me and keep it in my fridge until then, right? I can handle having the sweet nectar that results after having aged ale in oak barrels that previously helped to create Glenlivet in my home for the next few days until I can toast the end of my antibiotics with a glistening glass. Problem being my boyfriend, who every time he opens the fridge says “so, when are you off the antibiotics?” or “um can I drink this yet?”.

The Beer Wench and Her Favorite Beer

I’ve been looking back on my night at Crescent & Vine through the warm caramel hues of Allagash Curieux—it’s making things a little hazy. I knew I had to check out this cozy wine and beer bar after Brian from Fatty’s (which is right next door) told me that the Curieux was on tap for a limited time. Why all this for one beer? It is, in my opinion, one of the best. The fact that it is smooth, warming, and slightly sweet with hints of vanilla and coconut should come as no surprise, seeing as how Allagash ages this brew in Jim Beam barrels.

In bourbon barrels you say, isn’t that odd? Not really, dear reader, aging beer in oak barrels that have previously stored wine, bourbon, whiskey, or scotch is a process that isn’t new to brewing but in the recent get-beer-sell-beer-cheap market it has just kind of been ignored. The makers of Glenlivet discovered that by aging beer in the scotch barrels they could create the delectable smoothness of Innis&Gunn, while up in Maine the folks at Allagash were getting curious too.

Allagash began in 1995 as a one-man brewery—just one dude trying to fill a hole in the U.S.’s beer market through innovative techniques and traditional Belgian styles of beer.
Curieux (or curious in French) is the first in Allagash’s line of barrel-aged beers. It is a Belgian Tripel Ale aged in Jim Beam barrels for 8 weeks and it clocks in at 11% a.b.v.

I first tried this beer about three years ago and have been obsessed ever since. It can be a rather expensive habit in the city, 750 ml bottles can go up to around $60 and it’s rare to spot it on tap. Thank the beer gods that I live in Astoria! I have found 750ml bottles for $36 (at Sanford’s diner of all places) and now on tap at C&V.

I rolled into Crescent and Vine on a Monday night with a motley crew after having just spent the entire day at Spa Castle, courtesy of my boss (yeah it was pretty great). Thanks to the endless saunas and Jacuzzis, we arrived starving, our bodies languid and sweaty, and fully ready to undo all of the detoxing that had just occurred. Wade, our server, brought menus to the table and with a fiendish glint in his eye mentioned that there was a special beer missing from the list: Crescent & Vine had one keg of Curieux. Thank you, Wade, a round for the table please. It arrived in proper glassware and sat in front of me, glowing seductively in the candlelight. The music and dimly lit atmosphere lent a sexy, relaxed tone to the night and the cozy table allowed our conversations to flow. Our table filled quickly: cheese and meat plates, bruschetta, amazing paninis, and more beer. It was about this time that things began to blur together, conversations got a bit odd, and I began to feel as though I had followed Alice down the rabbit hole. My notes, like my memory of the evening, are slurred and almost unsalvageable. Please remember what I told you before, dear reader, the Curieux is 11%. And it goes down way too pleasantly.

The Vine also has a few other gems on tap—offerings from Troegs, Victory, and Chimay—and I am told their wine list is lovely as well, however I honestly don’t remember reading it and, like I said before, my notes are of absolutely no use. I sent my roommate a few days ago and he assured me that yes, it was a good time and yes, Wade picked out awesome beers for the table based on their tastes and cravings. I am already trying to plan another adventure at C&V before the Curieux keg kicks and I encourage you all to do the same. Don’t forget to ask what special beers are on tap but not on the menu.

Crescent & Vine is also showing the World Cup.

A Canz Conundrum

Let me start by admitting that I am not a sports buff, I get overwhelmed by too many games with sound on in a bar. I am also a pescatarian and have never had a Buffalo Wing in my life. I can, however, appreciate the Buffalo sauce. I have been told that my friends will travel and subject themselves to terrible bar scenarios in search of the perfect wing, I listened to them all wax poetic about their favorite sauces and wings when I mentioned Canz. As soon as the bar was brought up, all the boys got a fiendish glint in their eye and a boys (and Beer Wench) evening was planned.

We walked in to Canz on a rainy Wednesday, they had been open roughly a week. At first glance, it’s a nicely done roadhouse. Shiny new TV’s line the walls, big beer barrels create the back wall of their “beer garden” with a retractable roof, and yes, there are cans (I’m not talking about the metal kind, kids). The music was a fun mix of recent rock and throw backs that had all of us singing along and looking like instant idiots, but hey, we were there to be fools. I was one of the only chicks in the joint that was not wearing a black Canz shirt, daisy dukes, and knee highs also sporting the Canz logo and I still got gawked at multiple times on my way to the can by dudes in wife-beaters sporting over-gelled hair. My boys could have kind of passed for the typical Canz clientele, if it weren’t for their facial hair and lack of hair gel—but then again the dude at the bar with the infant strapped to his chest didn’t seem phased.


Our waitress was cute, bubbly, and overly attentive. A glass was empty a nanosecond before she scooped it up and she was quick on the popcorn refills. She took our crap and laughed at the boys’ jokes, an all around good sport until we starting asking beer questions. I’ll be fair, there are a shit load of cans and drafts on the Canz list, but most are domestics that we all already know (do you need 4 varieties of both Bud and Miller?). The boys ordered hot wingz (yes, everything is spelled with a “z” on the menu) and I went for the soft pretzel stickz, which turned out to be bread sticks with no discernable salt and a honey mustard dip that tasted like frosting. My dudes said the wingz were passable, but they left several untouched on the plate, and the fried pickles were dry, mealy, and nowhere near Afton’s quality.


I began with the Witerkerke can from Belgium, which our waitress said was “light I think” and it turned out to be a white ale, so she was right. The boys rocked the 21st Amendment cans of IPA, nice and mildly hoppy with floral spicy notes, and the $6 pints of Ommegang Hennepin (7.7% a.b.v.)—this by the way is a steal, 3 of these and you will be good to go. Hennepin is a Belgian Saison, or farmhouse ale, traditionally brewed in the winter and stored for summer consumption. The rest of the tap selection is alright, great local staples and seasonals from Blue Point, Sixpoint, Fire Island, and Coney Island. They also have Kona Longboard, which I enjoy in the summer. I stuck to the cans, hoping for something that made me go wow.



I wasn’t really in the market for a stout, however there were no descriptions and I opted to try a beer based on a funny name “Moo Thunder” from Butternuts, which turned out to be a stout in a can. I enjoy Butternuts craft cans, their wheat beer is pretty tasty. Moo Thunder boasts nice coffee and milky notes, would be optimal in the fall. We convinced one of the guys to go for the Steel Reserve from Wisconsin, little did he know it falls in the same category of malt beverage as O.E. We all had a hard time trying to down that beer, but if it’s your thing to go for 40s at the deli, follow it with it’s friend Mr. Colt 45. Hite, a Korean can, boasts that it is “cool and fresh” on the label and turns out to taste a lot like Bud. The Lienenkugal Summer Shandy Mr. Free ordered reminded me of a special concoction from college referred to lovingly as the “skip and go naked”: a mix of a 30 rack of Miller, a bottle of 151, and a frozen can of lemonade. Summer Shandy belongs in the category marked: Things I Drank Before I Knew Better And Turned 21, right next to Mike’s “Harder” Lemonade and Twisted Tea (both on the menu).





I don’t want to totally crush Canz, it has its place I suppose, but I definitely can’t echo their t-shirts and say I have “a crush on their Canz”. Go for the multiple TV’s and special nights—Monday is all you can eat wingz and draft beerz for $25 and Wednezday is karaoke night—but you most likely won't find this girl there anytime soon, despite our waitress's suggestion that I should apply at Canz after she overheard me giving out beer facts. She then asked me to train her.

We finished our fourth round of canz and still weren’t quite satiated, something was missing in our boys and Beer Wench evening. I had a hankering for another brew, nothing too special but something to hit the spot—the Modelo with Everything. As soon as the words left my mouth the bill was paid and the boys were out the door (I thought it would be harder to tear them from the sea of cans and booty shorts) and scampering down 30th Ave, up 34th St and into the cozy dimness of Sweet Afton. Steve and Stu were happy to appease our palettes, lining up cans of Modelo with Kosher salt rims and hot sauce dipped limes behind shots of Jameson and pickle-backs, they even made Mr. Free his choice specialty cocktail the “New York Sazerauc”. He had attempted to order the same drink at Canz (despite my telling him to “can it”) and I thought our poor waitress was going to short circuit. It’s anyone’s guess how long the Afton boys kept us at their bar, but the Taco Truck looked damn good when I left.


The Modelo With Everything at Sweet Afton

El Fatty and The Beer Wench

Let me first say that Fatty’s was not my intended destination this week. I had new territory to cover which, in my head, was going to be way more exciting than doing another column on a place I’ve been to a million times.In the rush of city life, I too forget to slow down and look again at things I thought I knew.

One of my brunch regulars (and blog readers) told me this Saturday that he has been working at Fatty’s, my favorite brunch spot, for the past few months. I hadn’t seen him there because I honestly can’t say that I have been to Fatty’s since about April. Always my go-to spot to bring out of towners and family to, I associate the joint with too many pineapple mimosas and the smell of mint, paired with amazing polenta cakes. I always forget that when I first ate at Fatty’s I was impressed by the beer, most likely because that particular night I had a little too much of it.
True, the selection is entirely in bottles but I’m a beer wench, not beer snob and happen to know that some things (a) can only exist in bottle form due to fermentation (like Duvel, Chimay Rouge/Blue, most other Trappist ales) and (b) some just taste better like that (Newcastle, in my opinion). The prices are low, low, low my friends and $5 will get you a Tecate and a shot of tequila, if you are so inclined. Five bucks will also get you almost any other beer off the shelf, if not seven bucks will get you a step up on the craft beer ladder, and nine will make you the proud recipient of a Duvel or Chimay (I answered my own damn question from last week!). My partner in crime, Mr. Free, opted for Rogue’s Dead Guy amber ale out of Portland (always a solid choice in my book) and I remained torn between a Lagunitas Pils and a Hitachino White. Hitachino is Belgian style white ale from Japan that is brewed using the Kiuchi brewery’s traditional sake brewing methods. It’s light, flavorful, and perfect for summer but I’ve had it a million times, so I opted for the Pils. While, familiar with Lagunitas IPA, I haven’t ever rocked their pilsner before. Turns out it’s nice and crisp, a good quenching beer to correct the damage that my liberal dousing of hot sauce on my Tostones had done to my taste buds.


Then a terrible thing happened: I ran out of beer. Luckily, Our trusty bartender Brian came to the rescue with his particular favorite: the Troegenator Dopple Bock. I had been intrigued by this beer at first sight, but because of the weather I had placed it on my “try another time list”, let me say I am very glad he forced my glass. Turns out this particular brew just won Gold at the World
Beer Cup (Bluepoint Toasted is also a former medalist). It was malty, it was toasty, and by Fatty it was delicious! The dopplebock historically was used by monks during times of
fasting because of it’s enriched nutrient content, however most clock in at over 8%. This “liquid bread” was all the monks consumed for days on end, and personally after one I’m a little
silly, so I can only imagine what those monasteries must have been like.




I continued to munch on my black bean dip and Mr. Free finished his “Situation” steak sandwich (he was pretty quiet which is always a sure sign of good food) while we pondered our next move for the evening. Personally, I would have been more than happy to hold down my bar stool and continue on down Fatty’s beer list on my way to certain embarrassment, seeing as how it was around 6:30, the sun was still out, and my stumble of shame home would have been a good 15 minute walk. Free, however, had been invited to a back yard party up on 30th drive, and they had a pool. Off we went to our next adventure, but don’t worry Fatty’s I won’t neglect you again.

Fatty's does weekend brunch (that includes a mimosa, bloody mary, or limeade) and weeknights dinner and drinks. They also host rotating art from local artists!
www.fattyscafenyc.com

Beer is for the Birds!

Last Saturday the Sparrow Tavern witnessed a glorious occurrence: the return of draft beer! Due to the slow and painful decline of an antiquated tap system that was
curiously devoid of maintenance panels, the bird had been rocking warm pints of
Guinness on the sole surviving line in the system for the past few months. During the interim, bottles and cans rotated aplenty and specialty cocktails were created to quench your thirst and yet something was missing. Every single customer asked some variation of “what do have on tap?” to which a bartender or server, by then weary of this question, would have to reply “Guinness” followed by the reasoning behind it.

I’ll be honest, I frequent the Sparrow probably too frequently.I myself have never been disappointed by the Sparrow’s beer selection, and am a fan of pretty much anything the bartenders put in front of me.The crisp and cool Bitburger tall boys, in my opinion, are the most popular, followed by Yuengling (which is $4 for Happy Hour) tied with whatever IPA is in stock (Dogfishhead and Lagunitas are popular). Duvel and Chimay Blue sell in spite of their price, which by the way is pretty accurate. Newcastle, some form of cider, a German Hefeweizen, and Abita Light can also be expected.

Enough of the bottles and on to the taps! The tower is beautiful, bronze and yes, it is vintage (but entirely restored and able to be properly maintained!!!). There are ten lines, six are currently in use, two more to follow soon and, if a larger walk-in is ever installed, the bird will have all ten lines. When I went in the other day, Rudy
leaned over the bar and whispered: “the Guinness is pouring like butter”. Next to the Guinness, the lines are as follows: Bluepoint Toasted Lager, Yuengling, Lagunitas IPA, Weihenstephan, and Radeberger. I snagged the first Bluepoint ever to be poured from the new tap and let my taste buds do a little happy dance. Exactly what I wanted to go with my cucumber yogurt dip appetizer and then the crab cake special. A word on the crab cakes: if they are on the menu get them! I <3>

the lovely Shannon with a lovely pint

Sparrow’s 3cubed Film Fest sign up is this Sunday at 8pm, check their website if interested: www.thesparrowtavern.com

They are open for lunch weekdays at 12pm and brunch weekends starting at 10am.

Beer Wench Goes to Lunch

I went to Ovelia for lunch with a girlfriend to celebrate her scoring a job with the Paul Taylor dance company. While not a new joint in our neighborhood, Ovelia is a new find for me—nice; eclectic Greek fare, pleasant ambiance; the option of outside seating, and a welcome respite to the techno music I typically associate with 30 Ave Greek cafes. Since it was 3pm on a Wednesday, the place was pretty quiet and we could have had our pick of the cozy tables and booths but we opted for stools at the shiny white bar, closer to the booze. It wasn’t until I turned my menu over, however, that my interest was truly piqued. It’s a modest beer list, true, with the usual crowd pleasers of Corona, Negro Modelo, Blue Moon, Heineken, Stella, Sam, and Amstel, two of my favorite Germans: Radeberger Pilsner and Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen, followed by Mythos, a light Greek Lager that I had never heard of and, just to mix things up, a Belhaven Scottish Ale Pub Can. Having recently discovered the unexpected deliciousness of Greek wine, I branched out and had the Mythos with my tsitsiki. It turned out to be light and bubbly, and had a flavor that I associated with a hybrid of Heineken and Stella. Eleni, our bartender, mentioned that the Mythos sells particularly well on hot days. Not bad, but I’d rather have a Radeberger. The Belhaven I’ll be coming back for on a brisker day, something about 90 degree weather doesn’t exactly scream dark beer to me, but just in case you’re interested, I know it to be a malty, toasty, and nutty concoction with a nice round mouthfeel that goes down real smooth in the fall.
Their draft selection is small but rocks: Delirium Tremens and Lion Stout. Ovelia isn’t screwing around when it comes to these two, both clock in at over 8% alcohol by volume. For those of you who don’t already know, Delirium Tremens (Latin for “trembling madness”) is the only beer to be named after a symptom of alcohol withdrawal (the “DT”s, also known as the “shakes”) and has won the honor of being voted the best beer in the world on more than one occasion. Lion Stout is a Sri Lankan brew I’ve seen before, but never on tap. I know I said hot days and dark beer don’t go, but frequently my foot needs to be inserted in my mouth, even if it’s only a paragraph later. This stout I could pair with some sort of coconut ice cream and be deliciously happy (not to mention off my bar stool after two). It’s reminiscent of Sixpoint’s Diesel Stout without the weight—somehow able to be dark and light at once. Nice flavors of coffee and caramel, with a hint of cherry somewhere in there. I’m more than a little disappointed I went with a salad and a Mythos instead of their frozen cheesecake (or fried chocolate bar) and a Lion Stout—bikini season be damned!
In lieu of desert, I opted for a frozen margarita and three Bluepoint Oysters off the “Rocking Ribs” Wednesday menu. While it tasted light, Eleni managed to get me pleasantly buzzed off that one frozen treat and if my lunch date hadn’t had to leave for some Fleet Week debauchery, who knows how long she could have kept us at her bar. Turns out Eleni and I know a lot of the same people, which is why I love this neighborhood: everywhere feels like Cheers, and she seemed ready to chat. My friend told me that at night it’s harder to get a table, but it gets lively and is a lot of fun (pretty sure I saw a DJ booth). That “Rocking Ribs” menu also looked like a great way to spend a Wednesday night with a group of friends at one of the large banquet tables outside. The back area of Ovelia looks like a cute date night spot: intimate low lighting, dark wood tables, cozy booths. It’s also worth mentioning that the bathrooms were nicely designed and clean, I enjoyed the river rocks in the sink, however the frosted glass doors may have freaked me out after a few more drinks.