Why does Anheuser-Busch Need a Small Batch Series?

While going through my morning Twitter ritual I stumbled upon this article on Beerpulse covering AB's plans to release a small batch series, and the first and only thing that popped in my mind was "WTF???" Whether it's what-the-fuck, why-the-fuck, or who-the-fuck is inconsequential, I'm sure many of you craft people share my initial reaction. It's bad enough that ABInBev bought out Goose Island, owns a large portion of the CBA(Widmer,Redhook,Kona) stock and tries to market garbage like Shock Top as "craft". Why do they feel the need to continue encroaching into a market that really wants very-little-to-nothing to do with them. Truth be told, how many fans of craft and industry folk are going to make the switch over to small-batch Bud from whatever they brew or craft consumed on a regular basis? Most likely, not many, if any. I admit, I'll try it once, but I guarantee its not going to beat even the worst of locally-produced beers. On the other hand,ABInBev could be shooting themselves in the foot by releasing a Brewmasters series. What if the desire for better beer causes Average Joe Bud to seek out more better beer? We all started somewhere. It's likely to happen, but not on such a scale to affect there business dramatically, but there is always wishful thinking

Staff Draft Picks

If memory serves me well, today the Growler Station is celebrating 3 months of life on West 8th. As for the staff draft picks, if record stores can do it, why shouldn't beer stores?

First Time In Philly

This past Monday I took a day(and night)trip to a city about 80 miles north of the Big Apple that in some hip circles is jokingly referred to as "The Sixth Burrough", Philadelphia. Having had friends who lived there in the distant past, and didn't have many nice things to say about the City of Brotherly Love, I've never looked at it as much of a destination for myself until recently. Most likely due to my obsession with taking the 90 minute trip by bus just for a real cheesesteak lunch. Since I've been working in the craft beer industry, I've been hearing a great deal of good things about Philly, mainly from industry folk. Rumors like "Philly has better beer availability than NYC" and "Cantillon provides most of their imports to Philly". All I could think to myself as a NYer was, "Nonsense, New York is the best city in the world, it can't be." Truth be told....It can. I was in Philly for less than two hours before I happened upon a bottle of Russian River, one of the most coveted breweries in America. i have known for a while that Philly is really the only place on the Eastern Seaboard, but I had always thought it would be ridiculously expensive and rare. Some bottles were a little too pricey for my taste, but I was able to grab a bottle of Damnation for about 8 bucks. Not to mention, i was drinking the Russian River, Pliny the Elder,for less than 5 bucks a glass at Monk's Cafe. Monk's has a beer list over 300 long placed on every table referred to as "The Bible" that had close to 10 different bottles of Cantillon available for purchase. That's crazy, considering the Blind Tiger never has more than a couple at any given time. I was amazed to say the least. Aside from some of the local beers I had the pleasure of pouring into my face, namely Weyerbacher and Yards, I also had the pleasure of consuming one of my new favorite beverages that will probably NEVER have a NYC availability, Bell's Hoplam. I was surprised to actually find a bottle at POPE, which is a spectacular craft beer bar located in South Philly. Not only were the prices right, but it's the kind of place I could see myself spending a LOT of time in if I lived in the neighborhood. My short trip obviously left me craving more, so it won't be long before I take a longer trip up to my new favorite East Coast destination. As far as crafty beer culture is concerned, Philly gets it better than any other city in the East in all aspects. Donnie of Beer Frontiers compares Philadelphia's beer vibe to cities on the West Coast, and I would have to agree. Hopefully it won't be long until my nest weekend trip. Until then, i'll be regularly buying my Yards and Voodoo in Jersey City.

Steel Cans are Todays Twitter Craze

I'm sure by this point many of you tweeters, bloggers, and podcasters who dedicate your life to Malt and Hops have heard about Churchkey Can Co., Adrian Grenier's "craft beer" fallback. If you haven't heard, Grenier and his big wig business partner, a Nike Exec, are in the process of releasing the the first steel-canned beer released in 50 years. Churchkey Pilsner will actually require a churchkey to open it. As cool as many of us probably find the concept, there is a reason why aluminum replaced steel to package foodstuff, namely expense. Sure, the cans are made from recycled steel, but how much of the cost of the product will be because of the package? I also can't help but imagine that because of packaging costs, the company taking funds away from product development, leaving the consumer with an inferior product. I also take issue with a couple of men with money trying to cash in on the current craft beer craze with little to no experience in the industry whatsoever. This is why I don't really consider Bomb Beer as craft. Many of the breweries we know are labors of love to the owners/crafters who put in a shitload of blood, sweat, and tears to be rewarded with the success they know today. Just because you have the cash to hire a brewer to make you a recipe and your packaging is shiny, does this really make the final product "craft"? Thoughts?

The Beer Hunter, Olde English, and Conan

I've been a fan of Michael Jackson's writings for several years now, and it kills me to think i never thought to do a YouTube search of the Beer Hunter(slaps head furiously). I have to thank my fellow GSer Seth Bradley of Foodncraft for urging me to investigate. I don't know if it's good that there is enough Beer Hunter to waste my time more than YouTube already does, but its going to get done.

Victory Brewing, Big News, and my love of Pils

While checking my Twitter feed for the first time in days I discovered that today's big news (or at least the last hour)is that Victory Brewing is in the process of opening up a second brewery. Since this news has already been covered by many, I really have no to get that extensive about the news(Here). All I can say is good for them. It makes me happy seeing the little guy make a success of himself, especially when it comes to craft brewing. Expansions like this prove to me that even though I've thought that Victory has produced solid products for years, I'm obviously not alone. Speaking of Victory products, I've been consuming the Prima Pils like a fiend whenever I see it on tap. For most craft beer consumers in the Northeast this is possibly the worst news of the day, but it's a pretty big step for me considering that I had a hatred for the pilsner style that has spanned for at least a decade. I repeat, HAD a hatred. Ever since the nice folks over at Raven Imports brought me a sample of Jever, I've been driven to sample as many German, Czech, and American Craft pilsners as possible to see if they hold a light to noble-hopped nectar that is Jever. Thus far, I've had some good ones from here on American soil, but none of them have come close as the Victory Prima Pils in my book. Since I'm obsessive, and must talk about the same topic over and over to multitudes of people, both industry people and geeks and they will usually tell me the same. It's nice to not be alone. Anyway, I look forward to to seeing a good future for Victory brewing and will be anxiously awaiting the Spring seasonal. Steve out!

APORKalypse Now

This past weekend I attended Aporkalypse, a craft beer and food event dedicated to my favorite source of protein, the pig. Dozens of food and beer vendors collaborated and worked together to bring to NYC an annual event of e-pig proportions. Yeah, it's taken me a couple of days to bring you a meager amount of blogage and photos, but trust me that it was an event worth attending. Although i didn't spend much of my time chowing (3 or 4 small dishes), the sample glass as I was given as I entered the room probably saw between 15-18 pours, some spectacular, some not, mostly great. As far as spectacular is concerned, Southhampton's Abbot 12, Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, and Ommegang Aphrodite were among my favorite. Mary and I also spent a considerable amount of time hanging out with the guys from Bronx Brewery, which is always a pleasure. We both took pictures, but Mary took a few more than I did. As soon as i get a hold of them I'll add them.

MIHE TV Interview of Yours Truly

Danny from Make It Happen Entertainment interviewed me during the Bronx Brewery Tasting we hosted a couple weeks back. I know exactly how the interview went but I still have only watched it in bits and pieces, mostly because I hate the way I look on video. This time being no exception.

Sixpoint Ich Bin Kein Berliner Weisse

This past Thursday, Sixpoint released the latest of their Mad Scientist series to commemorate the release of the The Time Out New York Beer Issue. When the word got out a few weeks ago that TONY was a citywide tapping of the beer, i knew I had to bring the Growler Station in on it. I've always been a huge fan of the TONY beer issue and Sixpoint Craft Ales so there is no question as to why I was quick to raise my hand in participation. What really sparked my interest in participating was the style Sixpoint was brewing, a Berliner Weisse, one of two styles of German sour beer that is rarely seen in the U.S. of A. Being relatively new to the world of sours, I knew this would be a great opportunity to satisfy my craving. Even though we tapped it on Thursday night, I only had room in my bag for one growler as I was leaving work, and I was with my lovely lady, so it wasn't going to be a beer of my choice. Oh well, the things we do for love. It was only a slight disappointment, i mean I manage a damn beer store for Christ sakes. If it wasn't that day it would definitely be the day after. Since Mary had a lovely bunch of friends coming into town later in the evening, we opted for some late night libations at Pine Box Rock Shop, possibly the best taphouse in Bushwick. Thankfully Pine Box had also participated in the TONY tapping, so I didn't have to wait an extra 12 hours to the the Ich Bin Kein. Ich Bin Kein pours that hazy golden hue the is prevalent in many styles of German weiss beers, which can throw the mind off. being new to German sour styles, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but after my first sip I was impressed. My lips puckered as they would with Oude Gueuze but i didn't get the viscous red wine-like mouthfeel that I usually get when i drink Belgian-style sours. It was as light as I would expect a low ABV wheat beer to be, but with the added pucker. Speaking of ABV, I was quite happy with the 3.5% it runs at seeing as I had no plans of getting loaded. I've been a big fan of the low ABV's lately, especially since I have the money to drink socially now. It makes those long work days easier to handle. I was impressed enough with this latest Mad Scientist to get a second, and would have moved on to a third if my curiousity about a particular pils didn't get the best of me. Would I drink it again? Most certainly, unfortunately I forgot my growler at home. There is always making a special trip tomorrow.

The Growler Station is coming along

We will be ready to rock Greenwich Village in two days!!

The Growler Station

By this point, it's pretty safe to say I have a new job, and it's possibly the best job in the world. I have recently been hired to manage a new beer boutique in Greenwich Village, The Growler Station. A business that will probably change the face of beer retail as we know it. Sure we have more taps than any other store of it's kind in the City, and we also have a bottle selection that would make Michael Jackson roll over in his grave. These things are great, but what really sets us apart is the tap system. Our tap system is not only unique and so easy to use it's as close to foolproof as you can get, but the technology incorporated makes it possible to fill a growler that will maintain it's freshness for months to come. Typically after a growler is filled with the ambrosia of your choice, you have about a week to finish it before the beer becomes undrinkable. The Growler Station's tap allows it so that an unopened growler will remain fresh for months after purchase. As I said, technology like this completely changes the face of the growler industry. So over the past 4 days I've put a great deal of work in, but it hardly feels like it seeing all I do is talk beer all day long. I've met with all the distributors, picked a tap and bottle list, and spent a day learning the brewing process as Southport Brewing Company, along with the more mundane stuff like cleaning and building shelves. No matter what, it's been worth it. I don't think I could have asked for a better job. So because of this, I will be posting much about the store, from tap lists, to new arrivals, to events. As well as my beer reviews that I've been slacking on as of late. So if your in the NYC area, come down and check us out, buy a growler or two and shoot the shit.

Welcome to 2012 ....

Now that we are five days into a new year, I guess I can finally write up my first post of hopefully many to come over 2012. I had intended to start beer blogging like a madman as soon as the new year started, but I came down with a cold this past weekend that put a slight damper on my plans. I like to think that the last few posts I did in 2012 were more of a test than anything else. 2012 is when Get Straight to the Pint is in full motherfuckin' effect! Already 2012 has turned out to be a great year, and I'm only five days in. New clothes, new outlook, new XBox, and best of all, a new dream job( More details to come). My intention with this blog, as with the movie one, is to be able to hook the public with at least 10-15 entries a month, but don't hold me on that. I can only work my word magic with the amount of spare time and subject matter I'm given in a day, so here's hoping for the best. Not only do I plan on giving the public beer reviews, but I'm also going to be writing about events, bars, and documenting my own experience down my newly found path of homebrewing. So I shouldn't be running out of subject matter. Happy 2012!!!!