Win flew to New York on the Friday of President's day weekend. I rode the Fung Wah bus down Friday afternoon and met up with him and David in the East Village. Our first stop was Jimmy's No. 43, which David characterized as a "gastropub", for dinner.
Jimmy's No. 43 is a basement level bar with low lighting and low, arched, brick ceilings. The walls were adorned with various antlers and barrels. The food was tasty. I had a nice duck cassoulet, David had pulled pork with Brussels sprouts, and Win had a sampler plate with Kielbasa, Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, rare beef, and cornichons. The beer selection was moderate in size, but consistently high quality. David and I had two rounds each, but switched half-way through, because of his stubborn desire to push my beer count higher. That's the general theme with drinking with David, pushing my beer count higher.
Mason's Black and Otis.
938. Mason's Black Wheat
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 5.70%
Serving: Tap
Style: American Dark Wheat Ale
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 4.1
You don't see Sixpoint frequently enough in Boston, but it's - not surprisingly - everywhere in New York. I started with Sixpoint's Mason's Black Wheat, which in many ways seemed similar to a Schwarzbier.
Pours a dark, clear black with garnet hints at the edges. The brown head thins to a film. The roasted malt aromas are very reminiscent of a Schwarzbier. There are also notes of chocolate, ripe fruit and raisins.
Roasted malts are dominant upfront, moving into a chocolate-tinged fruitiness in the center, before the roast backbone reemerges in the finish with an accompanying bitterness. Highly carbonated, light-bodied, crisp.
Flavorful and easy-drinking. Roasty with a sweet center.
939. Otis
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 6.10%
Serving: Nitro-Tap
Style: Oatmeal Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 4.05
Pours a cloudy brown. Topped by a thick, brown head that fades to a persistent quarter-inch layer, and leaves sheets of lace. The aroma is strong and sharp initially, an unexpected nosefull of resiny hops. Underneath a roasty, chocolate character appears.
Roasty upfront. Fruity in the center: chocolate, dates, and other dark fruit. The coffee notes in the finish build to a strong hop bitterness. Thick with the nitro-tap smoothness, which honestly, I'm not a fan of. I think it makes beers feel thin no matter how full-bodied they may be.
A good oatmeal stout with an unexpected dose of hops.
940. The Immortal IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Elysian Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Tap
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.5 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.9
Pours a clear copper. Topped by a fluffy, creamy, beige head that leaves clinging sheets of lace. The aroma is fairly light overall. Notes of citric hop, and some resin, but hard to place.
Bready and toasty malts set the stage for a wave of strong hop-bitterness that's dominated by resiny and citric hops. Oily and medium bodied on the palate with high carbonation.
Hop-focused with good hop flavors.
941. Chelsea Hop Angel IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Chelsea Brewing Company
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Cask
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.5
Overall: 3.65
Pours a dark, clear copper. Topped by an off-white head that fades, but leaves patchy lace. The hop aroma is subdued with only a light resiny character evident. Malty aromas of caramel and apricot make up for the light hops.
Sweet upfront, with raw sugar, citrus and fruity hints. The finish is mosty hop bitterness with only a bit of resiny hop flavor. Smooth, low carbonation cask feel.
Smooth but a bit more hop flavor would have nicely complemented the hop bitterness.
Jimmy's No. 43 is a basement level bar with low lighting and low, arched, brick ceilings. The walls were adorned with various antlers and barrels. The food was tasty. I had a nice duck cassoulet, David had pulled pork with Brussels sprouts, and Win had a sampler plate with Kielbasa, Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, rare beef, and cornichons. The beer selection was moderate in size, but consistently high quality. David and I had two rounds each, but switched half-way through, because of his stubborn desire to push my beer count higher. That's the general theme with drinking with David, pushing my beer count higher.
Mason's Black and Otis.
938. Mason's Black Wheat
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 5.70%
Serving: Tap
Style: American Dark Wheat Ale
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 4.1
You don't see Sixpoint frequently enough in Boston, but it's - not surprisingly - everywhere in New York. I started with Sixpoint's Mason's Black Wheat, which in many ways seemed similar to a Schwarzbier.
Pours a dark, clear black with garnet hints at the edges. The brown head thins to a film. The roasted malt aromas are very reminiscent of a Schwarzbier. There are also notes of chocolate, ripe fruit and raisins.
Roasted malts are dominant upfront, moving into a chocolate-tinged fruitiness in the center, before the roast backbone reemerges in the finish with an accompanying bitterness. Highly carbonated, light-bodied, crisp.
Flavorful and easy-drinking. Roasty with a sweet center.
939. Otis
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 6.10%
Serving: Nitro-Tap
Style: Oatmeal Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 4.05
Pours a cloudy brown. Topped by a thick, brown head that fades to a persistent quarter-inch layer, and leaves sheets of lace. The aroma is strong and sharp initially, an unexpected nosefull of resiny hops. Underneath a roasty, chocolate character appears.
Roasty upfront. Fruity in the center: chocolate, dates, and other dark fruit. The coffee notes in the finish build to a strong hop bitterness. Thick with the nitro-tap smoothness, which honestly, I'm not a fan of. I think it makes beers feel thin no matter how full-bodied they may be.
A good oatmeal stout with an unexpected dose of hops.
940. The Immortal IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Elysian Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Tap
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.5 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.9
Pours a clear copper. Topped by a fluffy, creamy, beige head that leaves clinging sheets of lace. The aroma is fairly light overall. Notes of citric hop, and some resin, but hard to place.
Bready and toasty malts set the stage for a wave of strong hop-bitterness that's dominated by resiny and citric hops. Oily and medium bodied on the palate with high carbonation.
Hop-focused with good hop flavors.
941. Chelsea Hop Angel IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Chelsea Brewing Company
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Cask
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.5
Overall: 3.65
Pours a dark, clear copper. Topped by an off-white head that fades, but leaves patchy lace. The hop aroma is subdued with only a light resiny character evident. Malty aromas of caramel and apricot make up for the light hops.
Sweet upfront, with raw sugar, citrus and fruity hints. The finish is mosty hop bitterness with only a bit of resiny hop flavor. Smooth, low carbonation cask feel.
Smooth but a bit more hop flavor would have nicely complemented the hop bitterness.
Labels: American Dark Wheat Ale, American IPA, Oatmeal Stout, Sixpoint Craft Ales, Travel
802. Sixpoint Groundskeeper Spilly
I had a glass of this with dinner at Christopher's back in February. Hopefully, I'll actually be able to climb out of this posting hole soon.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 7.20%
Serving: Tap
Style: Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy,
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.0
Overall: 3.6
Pours a hazy, brown-amber color. Topped by a creamy, beige head that leaves thick sheet of lace on the glass, and thins to a persistent film. The aroma is lightly bready with notes of dark fruit and caramel. Malty upfront with sweet caramel flavors, and a hint of smoke. As the beer moves across the palate a light bitterness appears and the smokiness becomes very strong. Highly carbonated, medium-bodied. A bit heavy. The smokiness is a bit overwhelming.
I had a glass of this with dinner at Christopher's back in February. Hopefully, I'll actually be able to climb out of this posting hole soon.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 7.20%
Serving: Tap
Style: Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy,
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.0
Overall: 3.6
Pours a hazy, brown-amber color. Topped by a creamy, beige head that leaves thick sheet of lace on the glass, and thins to a persistent film. The aroma is lightly bready with notes of dark fruit and caramel. Malty upfront with sweet caramel flavors, and a hint of smoke. As the beer moves across the palate a light bitterness appears and the smokiness becomes very strong. Highly carbonated, medium-bodied. A bit heavy. The smokiness is a bit overwhelming.
Labels: Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy, Sixpoint Craft Ales
I went down to New York for David's birthday and a long weekend. I saw friends, had some new beers and did a little home-brewing. All in all a good weekend.
Friday
On Friday night David, Dave and I went bar hopping in the East Village. Dave was at Lotus Lounge when I got into town, so after a brief layover at The Bear to drop off my bags David and I set off to meet him.
369. B.B. Bürgerbräu
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Appearance (3.5): Pours a lightly hazy golden with a thin white head.
Smell (3.5): Light hops with toffee and caramel malt aromas.
Taste (2.5): Sweet and toasty malts. Hop flavors are light and the beer lacks any real bitterness.
Mouthfeel (2.0): Light carbonation, light-bodied and watery.
Drinkability (3.0): Light and easy to drink, but there aren't really any great flavors to make you want to drink it.
Overall (2.9): Simple and lacking in flavor and depth in the palate.
370. Sixpoint Sweet Action
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass. Dave and David gave me comments on this one.
Appearance (4.5): Hazy orange-amber with a thin creamy white head that leaves nice lace.
Dave: Pretty Sexy
David: Copper and cloudy
Smell (4.5): Sweet and peppery, with fruitiness and citric hops.
Dave: Berry.
David: Beer & boisenberry.
Taste (3.5): Mild malts upfront, with a peppery finish with citric hops. Nicely balanced in the finish. bu the malts could be more pronounced upfront.
Dave: I can't do taste. Closer to sweet scintilating saltiness (peppery).
David: Colorado Grolsch. A draft beer taste with flavor and body.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Light-bodied, slightly oily and a little watery.
Dave: Carbonation a bit much. Leaves harsh taste of void.
David: Dry mouth, overly carbonated.
Drinkability (4.5): Easy to drink with a nice refreshing hoppiness.
Dave: Mine's already gone so it must get a 5.
David: I could drink it but I don't want to.
Overall (3.95): Very drinkable, the only thing holding this beer back is the lack of malt character upfront.
371. Radeberger Pilsner
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Appearance (4.0): Pours a clear golden with a fluffy white head that thins to a persistent layer.
Smell (2.0): There's a sweet smell and that's about it.
Taste (2.5): Slight sweetness upfront with a decent hoppy finish.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Tingly carbonation and clean mouthfeel.
Drinkability (3.0): Light and easy to drink.
Overall (2.8): Drinkable, but not a lot of flavor that makes you want to drink it.
Next we headed out to look for a place to eat. We ended going to an Italian restaurant whose name I don't remember. I had the ricotta and spinach ravioli tossed in olive oil and sage, which was quite nice. We finished up our meals with port: Dow's 10 Year Tawny for Dave and I, and Dow's for David.
Pictures of us enjoying port:
David
Dave
Dave
Me
Next we headed to Happy Ending where we had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Before we left we had the candle priviledges revoked at our table, surprisingly not my fault.
After a trip out to a bar in Brooklyn we ended up back in the East Village around 3 AM. We were wandering around looking for a bar when I spotted a place called The Belgian Room. We started off with a round of De Dolle Oerbiers, found a table and started playing poker with cards we'd borrowed from the bartender.
372. Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek - 2001
We split a 750 mL bottle of this at the Belgian Room. It was served in Cantillon wine glasses.
Appearance: Hazy dark-red. The only evidence of a head are thin wispy patches of bubbles.
Smell: Nose of cherries, a light funkiness and an acidic sour smell. Very lambic.
Taste: Sweet and sour notes of cherries up front. An intense sourness takes hold in the center and maintains its dominance through the finish.
Mouthfeel: Mildly carbonated, with a very dry finish.
Drinkability: This is something to drink slowly and savor.
Overall: This is a very nice cherry lambic.
373. Bink Blonde
I sampled this from a 12 (or maybe 11.2 oz) bottle at The Belgian Room, it was served in a Leffe Class.
Appearance: Pours a cloudy golden with a thin white head.
Smell: Sweet and peppery with some fruity notes that may have been banana.
Taste: Sweet upfront with peppery notes, fruit (again bananas?) and a surprising hop profile for the style.
Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation, smooth with a lightly dry finish.
Drinkability: A little tough to tell this late in the night, but the hoppiness was pleasant.
Saturday
Saturday Dave, David, Bennett and I went for a late brunch at Kitchenette in Morningside Heights. We walked around Central Park for awhile then saw Art School Confidential in Times Square. David, Bennett and I then headed to Megan's house in Pelham. We had pizza at the always excellent Johnny's. David, Bennett and I then played pool and poker and had a few beers: Harpoon Summer Beer, Sam Adams Summer Ale and Guinness Extra Stout.
Sunday
Sunday was David's birthday party. Megan had purchased a beginner homebrew kit for his birthday. The kit was an extract stout recipe with a small batch of milled grain, a package of extract syrup, and some Perle hop pellets. I had several Sam Adams Summer Ales as well as one new beer.
374. Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
I poured half a bottle into a half-pint weisse glass.
Appearance (3.5): Pours a slightly-hazy copper with a white foamy head that thins to a persitent layer. Large bubbles stream from the bottom of the glass.
Smell (2.0): Very strong and overpowering candy-like cherry aromas.
Taste (2.5): Light cherry flavor upfront, that fades into an American-style-wheat-beer flavor in the finish. The cherry flavor is present throughout and while not overpowering is a little cough-syrupy. The finish is grainy with little bitterness.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Light to moderate carbonation, smooth with a lightly dry finish.
Drinkability (3.5): Refreshing aside from the slight cough syrup flavor.
Overall (2.85): This isn't a great fruit beer. The cherry comes off candy-like and overpowering in the smell, and a bit cough-syrupy in the finish.
Friday
On Friday night David, Dave and I went bar hopping in the East Village. Dave was at Lotus Lounge when I got into town, so after a brief layover at The Bear to drop off my bags David and I set off to meet him.
369. B.B. Bürgerbräu
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Appearance (3.5): Pours a lightly hazy golden with a thin white head.
Smell (3.5): Light hops with toffee and caramel malt aromas.
Taste (2.5): Sweet and toasty malts. Hop flavors are light and the beer lacks any real bitterness.
Mouthfeel (2.0): Light carbonation, light-bodied and watery.
Drinkability (3.0): Light and easy to drink, but there aren't really any great flavors to make you want to drink it.
Overall (2.9): Simple and lacking in flavor and depth in the palate.
370. Sixpoint Sweet Action
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass. Dave and David gave me comments on this one.
Appearance (4.5): Hazy orange-amber with a thin creamy white head that leaves nice lace.
Dave: Pretty Sexy
David: Copper and cloudy
Smell (4.5): Sweet and peppery, with fruitiness and citric hops.
Dave: Berry.
David: Beer & boisenberry.
Taste (3.5): Mild malts upfront, with a peppery finish with citric hops. Nicely balanced in the finish. bu the malts could be more pronounced upfront.
Dave: I can't do taste. Closer to sweet scintilating saltiness (peppery).
David: Colorado Grolsch. A draft beer taste with flavor and body.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Light-bodied, slightly oily and a little watery.
Dave: Carbonation a bit much. Leaves harsh taste of void.
David: Dry mouth, overly carbonated.
Drinkability (4.5): Easy to drink with a nice refreshing hoppiness.
Dave: Mine's already gone so it must get a 5.
David: I could drink it but I don't want to.
Overall (3.95): Very drinkable, the only thing holding this beer back is the lack of malt character upfront.
371. Radeberger Pilsner
I sampled this on tap at the Lotus Lounge in New York City. It was served in a standard pint glass.
Appearance (4.0): Pours a clear golden with a fluffy white head that thins to a persistent layer.
Smell (2.0): There's a sweet smell and that's about it.
Taste (2.5): Slight sweetness upfront with a decent hoppy finish.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Tingly carbonation and clean mouthfeel.
Drinkability (3.0): Light and easy to drink.
Overall (2.8): Drinkable, but not a lot of flavor that makes you want to drink it.
Next we headed out to look for a place to eat. We ended going to an Italian restaurant whose name I don't remember. I had the ricotta and spinach ravioli tossed in olive oil and sage, which was quite nice. We finished up our meals with port: Dow's 10 Year Tawny for Dave and I, and Dow's for David.
Pictures of us enjoying port:
David
Dave
Dave
Me
Next we headed to Happy Ending where we had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Before we left we had the candle priviledges revoked at our table, surprisingly not my fault.
After a trip out to a bar in Brooklyn we ended up back in the East Village around 3 AM. We were wandering around looking for a bar when I spotted a place called The Belgian Room. We started off with a round of De Dolle Oerbiers, found a table and started playing poker with cards we'd borrowed from the bartender.
372. Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek - 2001
We split a 750 mL bottle of this at the Belgian Room. It was served in Cantillon wine glasses.
Appearance: Hazy dark-red. The only evidence of a head are thin wispy patches of bubbles.
Smell: Nose of cherries, a light funkiness and an acidic sour smell. Very lambic.
Taste: Sweet and sour notes of cherries up front. An intense sourness takes hold in the center and maintains its dominance through the finish.
Mouthfeel: Mildly carbonated, with a very dry finish.
Drinkability: This is something to drink slowly and savor.
Overall: This is a very nice cherry lambic.
373. Bink Blonde
I sampled this from a 12 (or maybe 11.2 oz) bottle at The Belgian Room, it was served in a Leffe Class.
Appearance: Pours a cloudy golden with a thin white head.
Smell: Sweet and peppery with some fruity notes that may have been banana.
Taste: Sweet upfront with peppery notes, fruit (again bananas?) and a surprising hop profile for the style.
Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation, smooth with a lightly dry finish.
Drinkability: A little tough to tell this late in the night, but the hoppiness was pleasant.
Saturday
Saturday Dave, David, Bennett and I went for a late brunch at Kitchenette in Morningside Heights. We walked around Central Park for awhile then saw Art School Confidential in Times Square. David, Bennett and I then headed to Megan's house in Pelham. We had pizza at the always excellent Johnny's. David, Bennett and I then played pool and poker and had a few beers: Harpoon Summer Beer, Sam Adams Summer Ale and Guinness Extra Stout.
Sunday
Sunday was David's birthday party. Megan had purchased a beginner homebrew kit for his birthday. The kit was an extract stout recipe with a small batch of milled grain, a package of extract syrup, and some Perle hop pellets. I had several Sam Adams Summer Ales as well as one new beer.
374. Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
I poured half a bottle into a half-pint weisse glass.
Appearance (3.5): Pours a slightly-hazy copper with a white foamy head that thins to a persitent layer. Large bubbles stream from the bottom of the glass.
Smell (2.0): Very strong and overpowering candy-like cherry aromas.
Taste (2.5): Light cherry flavor upfront, that fades into an American-style-wheat-beer flavor in the finish. The cherry flavor is present throughout and while not overpowering is a little cough-syrupy. The finish is grainy with little bitterness.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Light to moderate carbonation, smooth with a lightly dry finish.
Drinkability (3.5): Refreshing aside from the slight cough syrup flavor.
Overall (2.85): This isn't a great fruit beer. The cherry comes off candy-like and overpowering in the smell, and a bit cough-syrupy in the finish.
Labels: American Blonde Ale, Belgian Pale Ale, Brasserie Cantillon, Czech Pilsener, Fruit Lambic, Fruit/Vegatable Beer, German Pilsener, Lambic, NYC, Reviews, Sixpoint Craft Ales, Sour Beer, Travel
