Author Archives: Eric Newcomer
NY Beer Week kickoff
While the NY breweries and their aficionados (typically me among the latter, admittedly) partied behind these locked and guarded 42nd Street doors into Grand Central (which are typically very busy)… I headed west along 42nd to B.B. King’s club to … Continue reading
What’s going on with craft beer?
On the eve of New York Beer Week, it seems appropriate to ask “what’s going on with craft beer?” The kick off event is tomorrow evening at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central, a venue known for its upscale Christmas market … Continue reading
Will We Drink Industrialized Craft Beer?
Starting today, year-old Two Roads Brewing of Stratford, CT is distributing its beer in NY. (This is exactly a week after Bell’s started distributing its beer in NY.) The founders say the name is taken from the Robert Frost poem … Continue reading
Best Saison list from Men’s Journal Misses the Mark
I follow Hill Farmstead on Facebook and they posted a link to the review of Arthur in Men’s Journal’s top saison list. This is a pretty good list but misses the point that modern saisons are designed to feature the … Continue reading
Bell’s Brewery Night in New York
Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, MI has entered the New York market through a recent agreement with Union Beer Distributors. I personally counted at least 4 “Bell’s Brewery Night” events at local bars, and BeerMenu finds (today at least) 81 places … Continue reading
Yeast is the new hops
Craft brewing has been pretty much all about the hops. The most highly rated brews (such as Heady Topper and Pliny the Elder) have tended to be brewing imperial or double IPAs with very hoppy aromas and taste. Drink from … Continue reading
Why is Hill Farmstead so great?
Basically for the same reason Calvin and Hobbes was so great. Bill Watterson personally wrote and drew every strip. Many successful strips (Garfield for example) hire teams of assistants to help write and draw. Shaun Hill does not delegate brewing … Continue reading
Highlights of beer tasting January 12
Among the highlights were Founders Sweet Repute, Mystic Entropy, and Perennial Hommel. Also Stone Southern Charred… Interesting beers included Lambickx (Wambeek & De Troch) and Spike and Jerome’s 2011 Barley Ryne… A clear standout was Founders’ Sweet Repute, the latest … Continue reading
Big beer news in MA
Today is the official release day for Spencer Trappist Ale, the ninth Trappist beer certified by the International Trappist Association (there has since been a tenth, in the Netherlands, but they are not shipping beer yet) and the first ever … Continue reading
Aging Beer – Part Two
One of the best aged beers I’ve ever had, I opened this one about a year ago. I have another from 2004 still in the cellar. Bottle conditioned means more yeast added during bottling specifically to help beer age (or … Continue reading
Beer Notes 