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?”.
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