FOOD ARCHIVES NYC Beer Week Hits the Home Stretch
by Brad Japhe
The seventh annual NYC Beer Week is heading to the finish line, but it promises to go out with a boisterous bang. The final weekend is punctuated with several standout bashes, tap takeovers, local drink specials, even a whole lamb roast. Here’s a few to hit in the home stretch.
Clinton Hall (90 Washington Street; 212-363-6000) in Lower Manhattan hosts Huge Beer Night starting at seven this evening. The event welcomes Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, offering no fewer than seventeen taps from the San Francisco–based brewery. Diverse styles range from barrel-aged barleywine to a Belgian-inspired white IPA. They’ll also be pouring from an exclusive firkin (a cask used to condition small-batch beer). The lucky recipient of the final pour enjoys a comped beer tab for the night. Beer and a small selection of pub grub is priced à la carte.
Head to Fool’s Gold (145 East Houston Street; 212- 673-2337) in the East Village on Saturday to enjoy their Cask Fest, which promises more than a dozen exclusive rarities, low in carbonation and served at a slightly higher temperature, in the English tradition. The selections, including local producers like Sixpoint, will be available throughout the weekend — or until they run out.
Sunday funday is all about Brooklyn, with competing events bringing the ruckus to two separate corners of Kings County. In Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bowl (61 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn; 718-963-3369) is the setting of the Closing Beer & Brass Brunch, the official conclusion of NYC Beer Week. $40 tickets still remain to the four-hour festival, complete with a Blue Ribbon buffet and an hour of live brass music. The exclusively NYC-centric tap list features the best of the old guard (Brooklyn Brewery) and the new (Other Half Brewing).
Not to be outdone, Threes Brewing (333 Douglass Street, Brooklyn; 718-522-2110) in Gowanus celebrates the release of its newest IPA, Superf*ckingyawn, with a whole lamb roast, beginning at 4 p.m. on Sunday. In addition to the beer of the hour, the brewery offers a lineup of two dozen crafts on tap, a full bar and cocktail menu, and live bluegrass from the Tumble. Food is priced à la carte and is first-come, first-served, but a $50 pre-order ticket ensures food and two pints of the IPA.
Parting is such bittersweet sorrow. But as New York City Beer Week bids adieu, at least it won’t leave you on an empty stomach.