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.