The Beer Friends

Tuesday, April 30 – Allagash Brewery @ Pony Bar UES, Manhattan:

I have long had a love affair with American brewed Belgian beer that comes from Allagash.  For some reason it just speaks to my taste buds more than other American Belgian beer or that weird stuff that actually is brewed in Belgium.  Allagash just gets what true American styled Belgian beer should taste like.  Even Phil gets close to almost appreciating the flavors he finds disgusting in all Belgian beers – almost.  Now that’s quality.  Dave Gonzalez from Allagash will be on hand with the usual good stuff and the rarest that Maine Belgian has to offer.

You might even see Phil there (ordering something else).

The Pony Bar UES is located at 1444 1st Avenue at 75th Street in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.

Wednesday, May 1 – PA Brewery Night @ Sunswick 35/35, Queens:

Nothing like a trip to Queens to visit Pennsylvania.  Although the two places couldn’t be more different, Sunswick 35/35 of Astoria will be paying tribute to all the wonderful brew PA has to offer.  Here’s the list:

Penn Brewing – Dark, Kaiser, Pils, Weizen

Stoudt’s Brewing – Double IPA, Fourplay IPA, Fat Dog Oatmeal Stout

Victory Brewing – Golden Monkey, Tripel, St. Victorious Dopplebock, Swing Spring Saison

Weyerbacher Brewing – Insanity Barrel Aged Barleywine, Last Chance IPA, Quad

Sunswick 35/35 is located at 3502 35th Street at 35th Avenue in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens.

Wednesday, May 1 – Animal, Mineral, Vegetable Night @ The Stag’s Head, Manhattan:

American craft beer is known for pushing the limit.  We make Pale Ale’s that taste like IPA’s, IPA’s that taste like a punch in the face, Stouts that are brewed with chocolate and aged in bourbon barrels, barleywine’s aged in wine casks – the list goes on and on.  The next logical step was to brew beer using food.  Any type of food.  Check out this list:

Ballast Point Indra Kundra – brewed with madras curry, coconut, kaffr lime, cumin and cayenne

Abita Oyster Stout- made with pounds and pounds of oyster shells

Ommegang’s Iron Throne – brewed in honor of Game of Thrones brewed with grains of paradise and lemon peel

Elysian Malestrom – IPA brewed with blood orange

And as always, in good Stag’s Head fashion, there will be some free snacks (in the form of strawberry and cucumber gazpacho).  All this starts at 6 pm.

The Stag’s Head is located at 252 East 51st Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.

Thursday, May 2 – Oskar Blues Tap Night @ Bierkraft, Brooklyn:

One of the Beer Friends favorite breweries is stopping into Brooklyn’s Bierkraft this Thursday to feature their classic and rare brews.  The draft list is TBA however you should expect it to be nice and fresh – Oskar Blues recently opened a satellite brewery in North Carolina in order to keep providing the East Coast with the finest quality brew possible.  Bring your growlers and enjoy!

Bierkraft is located at 191 5th Avenue between Berkeley and Union Streets in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Saturday, May 4 – Abita Crawfish Boil @ The Sycamore, Brooklyn:

Head on down – head on way down – as if you were going all the way to the swamp in New Orleans, but really you’re just going to the Sycamore in Brooklyn on the opposite side of Prospect Park.  It’s still pretty far, but it’s definitely worth it.  In honor of the last weekend of Jazz Fest they’ll be throwing a good ol’ fashion Bayou crawfish boil.  $25 gets you quite the large bucket of crawfish and a pint of seasonal Abita.  You can grab tickets at The Sycamore’s website.

The Sycamore is located at 1118 Cortelyou Road between Westminster and Stratford Roads in the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.