Posts tagged craft beer

The majority of people have a fairly simple relationship with beer. If you’re a girl it’s probably a beverage you usually associate with hot days or being at the beach; if you’re a guy you probably associate beer mainly with sports or just getting rat-arsed with your buddies.

But if that’s not too far from how you feel about beer - it’s time you reconsidered your associations. Beer, and in particular American beer, has undergone a stunning renaissance over the last 25 years, and is right now enjoying a moment of creativity and quality that’s unrivaled in human history. Beer - surprisingly enough - has become sophisticated.

(Certain you can’t be convinced to try new beer? Well stop reading, slap yourself for your close-mindedness, and check out today’s exciting renaissance in cocktail culture).

Let’s wind the clock back a little to see just how we got to this frankly, glorious moment in time. It all starts way back in 1920 with the nakbar, or catastrophe that was Prohibition, (on which subject there’s an excellent Ken Burns Doco now screening on PBS - 1st episode: A Nation Of Drunkards below).

(See more Ken Burns here.)

The temperance movement had already succeeded in shutting down many breweries, and when the Constitution’s 18th amendment banned the production, sale & consumption of liquor, the last 1500 or so breweries closed their doors.

Nearly a decade and a half later America’s taps finally started pouring again, albeit slowly due to the still-strong temperance movement. But before the American beer industry could re-establish itself, WWII began, forcing grain rationing, which meant smaller brewers had to insert corn and rice as substitutes, inhibiting their growth. From 1941 til 1945 beer production exploded by 40%, but it was from an ever decreasing group of mega breweries like Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser) and Coors that came to dominate the market for the next 50 years with their light, flavorless lagers and pilsners.

American beer became a joke around the world, nicely encapsulated by this riddle:

Q: What do American beer and sex in a canoe have in common?

A: They’re both fucking close to water.

If it wasn’t for Jimmy Carter, this sad and tragic state of affairs might still be the case today; but in 1978 Carter legalized home brewing. This sparked a resurgence of interest in beer from passionate people who began to create beers with flavor. At the time, many people who tried ‘craft’ beers shrugged them off as “too strong”. But after a while people’s palates began to adjust to beers with flavor, body and aroma, in contrast to the bland swill they’d historically been served.

Home brewers got good enough at what they did, that they started their own micro-breweries. This really was an unusual case of creating demand for something people didn’t know they wanted (because like an iPhone, it didn’t exist before), rather than the usual focus-group-tested and market-researched approach to product launches in the modern business world.

Today, while the overall beer market in America - and in most industrialized countries - is stagnant or declining, the pricier craft beer segment continues to grow anywhere between 5% and 10% annually. This is in the face of a worldwide economic collapse.

Why the surging popularity? It’s largely due to the consistently increasing quality and range of styles on offer. American brewers are now regarded as leading the world because of their innovative, take-no-prisoners approach to brewing. Even prestigious German and Belgian brewers, who arguably have made the best beer in the world for the longest, are today influenced by American brewers. And English consumers crave American brews (even if some of their journalists are a little fuzzy on the difference between a lager and an ale).

It’s also no doubt in part because people are increasingly realizing the range of beers on offer in most convenience stores in the US offers more and better options for matching with food than your local wine store ever can.

Yeah I said it - beer is better for matching with food than wine. (Cheese in particular). “Sacre bleu!” and “Bullshit!” I hear you cry. How can this be? It’s simple.  While wine is made with one ingredient - grapes - beer is made with four ingredients: water, barley, yeast and hops; all of which reflect the terroir they come from. And it can be made with many more ingredients. Because of this, beer simply has a much wider variety of flavors and textures than wine, that can both complement and contrast with food.

Here’s a very useful chart for matching beer with food. Download it and go explore!

There are nearly 100 or so different styles of beer available and growing. Arguably the most famous new style is Cascadian Dark Ale, also known as a black IPA, and the innovation in the industry, notorious for beer names, beer blurbs, and increasingly insane quantities of alcohol - even extends to the packaging.

How’s that? Cans are becoming in vogue over bottles, much as screw-caps are displacing corks in wine bottles. Wait a minute. Wasn’t it the mass produced shitty beer that was in cans and the good stuff in bottles? Not any more. Light is the enemy of beer because it oxidizes it, making it stale (which is why beer isn’t produced in clear bottles). Cans also weigh less, don’t shatter into foot eating shards, and are much more convenient outdoors, or in cities that forbid bottles in public places like parks and beaches.

Anyway, before I get carried away talking about how the main difference in flavor between Belgian beers and American beers is that the Belgians focus more on the yeast, while the Americans focus more on the hops, I think I should just leave it here for now. Below is my gift to you, a map I constructed of the best places for craft beer in New York. It’s by no means complete - works in progress are like that - but it should come in handy for anyone looking for a good brew in New York.

(View New York’s Greatest Craft Beer Joints in a larger map)

If New York’s a bit far away from you, I recommend perusing the Beer Mapping Project for a comprehensive list of US cities, as well as 12 other countries around the world. 

Cheers!

“Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough.” - Mark Twain

To which I’d add “Friends don’t let friends drink light beer”. When it comes to today’s American craft beer, Twain is most certainly correct. Ridiculed for generations for its childish, pissy, flavorless pointlessness; American beer has undergone a stunning renaissance over the last 20 years to the point where Yankee suds are now leading the world. Yes, you read that right - American beer is the best in the world. Yes, even better than Belgian, or at the least, more innovative. I know, a big call, feel free to correct me in the comments.

Many American brewers are certainly heavily influenced by the Belgians, I’ll give you that. And London may have a stronger pub culture, and more overall brewpubs - but I’d put money on Manhattan still coming out ahead in terms of gastropubs per square foot. (Manhattan is small). The following list is not meant to be exhaustive, but every one serves some of the best beer in the world.

Top ten brew pubs

I’m pretty lucky to have as my local a bar a place that reinforces my love for American craft beer with every visit. The Pony Bar only serves American beer through its 20 taps, and the menu changes daily due to every keg being replaced by a different beer when emptied. The staff all know their brews and the food is quality too; I recommend the green bean tempura with spicy mustard. 637 10th Ave (Between 45th & 46th). 212 586 2707‎

There are two locations only about 5 blocks apart for the House of Brews, which boasts around 100 different beers in bottles, cans, and on tap from America and around the world. They also have some pretty rare beers if you ask for ‘em, to the tune of $500…  363 West 46th St (Between 8th & 9th). 212 245 0551 / House of Brews - 302 West 51st St (Between 8th & 9th). 212 541 7080

Just up past the American Museum of Natural History is George Keeley’s, which serves free popcorn alongside a fine range of brews from the US and the globe - and more importantly, leaves the Buds, Coors, & Miller at the door. 485 Amsterdam Ave Frnt (Between West 83rd & West 84th). 212 873 0251

The term ‘Blind Tiger’ originated in the 1800’s, when blue laws restricted the sale of alcohol in the US. Bar owners would charge a cover to see a blind tiger, or some other imaginary attraction, and provide “complimentary” alcohol. The Blind Tiger Ale House charges the other way around, and serves infinitely better beer. 281 Bleecker St (Between Commerce St & Jones St). 212 462 4682

One trend I’m definitely in favor of is when bar menus give you the standard ABV, but at Rattle & Hum they go a step further, listing Beer Advocate’s average scores for each brew. 15 East 33rd St (Between 5th & Madison). 212 481 1586

Three blocks up is Ginger Man, with a pedigree claimed to involve the first multi-tap bar in America. Having a proven seventy taps and 160 bottles on offer should impress even the most jaded beer critic. 11 East 36th St (Between 5th & Madison). 212 532 3740

While not exactly famous for its happening nightlife, the upper east side does have David Copperfields, a restaurant and brewery with too many beers to count. 1394 York Ave (Between 74th & 75th). 212 734 6152

In a much more happening area - just down from Please Don’t Tell in fact, is the Hop Devil Grill, which also has fine bourbon and a good food selection. 129 St Marks Place (Between 1st Ave & Avenue A). 212 533 4467

Valhalla is a warm, wooden neighborhood bar with wooden trestle tables and dedicated glassware for many of their brews. 815 9th Ave (Between 53rd St & 54th St). 212 757 2747

By accident I chanced upon The Stag’s Head amidst a wasteland of Irish pubs in mid-town and was pleasantly surprised to find a great selection of all-American craft beers - and a happy hour that lasts from 11am-7pm. 252 East 51st St (Between 3rd Ave & 2nd Ave). 212 888 2453