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!!!!

Happy Hanukkah Beer Geeks!

It's time for the Festival of Lights, people! 8 days of lighting candles, gift giving, and spending time with the family....or so many of us goyim like to think. I know the holiday is more than that, but those of us that were raised in homes with a christian sleight like to think it's close to our holiday equivalent. it's not, but it's close enough to the fake birthday of the Christ for all the ignorant goys out there to think it's relative.

As secular a lifestyle I represent, there are still many things to look forward to during the holiday season. Namely, holiday and winter seasonal brews. But for all the beers out there with Santa and Krampus on the label reppin' the holidays, I'm surprised I never taken the time to wonder why Hanukkah beers are sorely lacking on the market. Thankfully, I'm a godless liberal who subscribes to NPR on my Facebook news feed, and chances are you may be too. Just in case your not though, NPR released a nice reader-and-listener friendly article mere hours ago about the growing Hanukkah holiday beer market, and a little bit of background on Jewish brewing for those history buffs out there. It's a short article, but a good read and relative to the subject of this website.


 NPR - With Hanukkah Microbrews, A Taste of Jewish History

Clown Shoes Clementine (Mass)

I have long been a fan wheat beers. Ever since the first time I poured a Weihenstephaner down my gullet at the Boulevard Tavern all those years ago, wheat beers have always been my go-to session drink when I'm not pinching pennies on peebers. So it should be no surprise that my first time trying a beer from Clown Shoes, it was likely to be a wheat beer. Or at least that's the excuse I'm using even though it had more to do with my budget. Honestly, if I had the cash flow, I probably would have went with the Muffin Top for the sheer humor value.

I poured my $3.00 bottle of Clementine after a long two hours running around North Brooklyn looking to fill up a couple of growlers. An activity that takes up close to 3 hours of my obviously exhausting week. Since I'm a bit limited in the glassware department, I used the old standard...the 16 oz. pint glass! Clementine pours exactly how I would expect a what beer named as such, golden yellow with orange hues. The head quickly dissipates, which is probably one of the least disappointing things I find when I'm about to rate a beer. As much as I find the scent appealing, Clementine's being heavy on the citrus(to me it was of sweet oranges), the aspect I most care about when drinking a beer is the actual taste. I'm sure most beer geeks can agree with me. "Grapefruits!" was my first thought after taking the first sip, most likely due to the bitter surprise that the hops gave. As the beer settled, the citrusy bitterness stopped being so apparent, and I the sweetness of the oranges I found it the scent became much more defined. Seeing that it was only 3 O'Clock in the afternoon on a weekday, I took my time with this brew, which was a good thing, but I could easily see my self polishing off a sixer of Clementine at a BBQ or any other warm weather drinking session. Not to say that I won't be drinking any this winter since I don't really discriminate based on the season. Wheat beer is good year round.

Would I take Clown Shoes over Weihenstephaner? Most definitely not, but there are several beer bars in NYC that only cater to craft brews, and right now Clown Shoes is on everybody's beer menu in the City, most likely because it's slightly regional. Regardless, it would be a nice replacement when my wheat beer of choice was not available. I'm sure Clown Shoes Clementine will be getting a session or pub revisit from me in the near future.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

Sometimes it's hard to to grasp just how much the craft beer market has evolved in such a short amount of time in terms of ABV percentage. It was only about a decade ago that the highest grade micro available on the common market, at least in my neck of the woods, was the Trouble Bag at 8%. Back then, all it took for me to consider myself a beer snob was to indulge in Guinness, Bass, and Franziskaner in between some pretty severe PBR sessions. I didn't really hold the craft beer market in such high regard, even though I came from an Old New England town with a long brewing history (Portsmouth,NH). It wasn't until the Double Bag that my my interest in high test, and therefore craft brew, really to a grasp.

Fast-forward 3 years - Dogfish Head 60 and 90 Minute IPA's become readily available in the NH Seacoast and I'm hooked, over the next year after discovery I hear rumors of a 12% ABV. I must have it!

2 more years - Upon arriving in NYC I am finally able to indulge in the sweet nectar that is the 120 Minute IPA. At 10 bucks a bottle, it's a rare treat.

Today - By this point, I rarely drink anything under 7-8% ABV, unless it's session drinking. Even then, I try to stay away from the old standards like PBR if I can help it. By this point, Dogfish Head has produced a 15% beer that is still cheaper than the seasonally-released 120 Minute. But there is a new 12 percenter in town and it goes by the name Palo Santo Marron.



I cracked open the Palo Santo Marron for a Saturday morning breakfast a couple of weeks ago after a long night out on the town. I find that beer is a perfect accompaniment to my double-meat breakfast sandwich that is an almost daily staple, especially when feeling a bit hungover. Poured into a pint glass, I was immediately impressed by how dark this particular brown ale was. With it's dark coffee head, that doesn't last very long at all. It poured more like a porter or stout. As baffled as I was, after tasting I was not going to be doing much complaining. Chocolate malty goodness with a fair alcohol presence, in both taste and smell. I found that the brew tasted best about halfway through when the vanilla started to become more prevalent. This tells me that next time I should let the bottle sit out of the fridge for about 20 minutes before I crack it open.

At 12% ABV, Palo Santo Marron is not a session beer, but knocking back 1 or 2 while relaxing is not going to kill you. In fact, I find that it makes a whole afternoon of marathon TV that much more relaxing, as well as eliminating a hangover better than an Advil. While cheaper than the 120 Minute, drinking a whole 4-pack to your head could put a damper in your plans, if you have any. As far as the label art is concerned, it's a standard Dogfish Head logo with some funky colors added to distinguish it from anything else in the flagship. Nothing worth noting. I feel the Dogfish Head has made such a name for themselves in recent years that they don't even need a flashy label to sell beer, the name speaks for itself. The Palo Santo Marron does a really good job representing the company.

Bomb Lager - NYC, NY

To kick off the first beer review in close to five years, I figured what better way to go than with something new and local. That, and Bomb Lager was also the cheapest 6-pack available at the overpriced organic market on my block when I was headed back home from Pearl's Social and Billy Club at 2 AM.

New York City isn't exactly a mecca for locally-produced craft beer like the cities of the Pacific Northwest. So whenever something new pops up on the local market, I'm sure to seek and destroy with a vengeance. Many parts of2009 and 2010 are but a faded memory, a blame I place solely on Sixpoint....and maybe Kelso. The point is, a new local brew doesn't escape me for very long. It only took me four days to procure a sixer of Bomb Lager after reading about it in this article.

A few questions still remains though....Can the beer really be called "local" and "craft"? Bomb Beer Company is a NYC-based business but contract Lion Brewery in PA to produce it. If I'm correct, Lion Brewery is hardly a local craft brewery. Regional favorite(for some) yes, but more on the macro side of the American brewing world. I guess I would have to have a better understanding of the contracted terms to see which company actually designed the recipe.

For a $6 six-pack at an overpriced gentro-bodega, I can actually forget about those questions in a timely fashion. Not so quickly to forget I'm drinking something that is no more than a couple steps away from a shitty American Macro Lager. Bomb Lager pours a bright amber, with a fair-sized white head that will stick around for the duration of drinking. As far as duration is concerned, it really shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to knock this session beer back. Like most American Lagers, opening a cold one and taking an instant sip is sure to produce gasface from the bitterness. That's why I have found it best to wait a few minutes after pouring before knocking it back. I have also found the drinking it at a warmer temperature is a more pleasurable experience. Drinking it at 45-50 degrees brings out more of the Helles style that Bomb is supposed to be modeled after.

Now we get to the artwork...blarggh! I love street art just as much as the next bearded fucker who calls Bushwick home, but I am of the opinion it doesn't belong on a beer can. I like my label art to to have elks and drunk monks, even images of Lucifer. The current label makes me think I'm drinking alcoholic Kool-Aid like FourLoco and all the other ghetto shit that mocks it. Street art belongs on brick walls, not a can of craft beer.

Despite my hatred of the can art, I can't really go wrong with the price point. It's the best party/session beer that I'm going to find in these parts. It's even cheaper than getting a sixer of PBR, and much better in taste and quality. It couldn't have come at a better time. I've been disgusted with my old friend the Blue Ribbon lately, and was on the verge of never touching it again. Bomb Lager just gave me a good reason not to.

Old Blog, New Face..Get Straight to the Pint

I can't believe it's been almost 5 years since the last time I updated this fucking thing.

I first moved to Brooklyn over 5 years ago from a quaint town on the New Hampshire seacoast. Before the move, I had been a bit familiar with the blogosphere, having been a member of Livejournal since 2002. Like most people who used LJ though, I didn't really consider it as much of a platform to get my thoughts and ideas out to the public as a whole as I do now. The early days of LJ were more of a diary I could share with my friends, utilized in the same way that the Facebook wall is today. It wasn't until further down the road when I started using blogs to develop more of my internet identity for the world to see. Instead of being some dude from the burbs who left status updates about the day-to-day of a slacker twentysomething, I started participating on political and art forums as a form of reaching out to people I would never meet in real life. This eventually lead to using early social media to reach out to bands I wanted to book. By the time I left Portsmouth, I was no longer just Steve the drunk proto-hipster who worked at a tobacco store for years. To me and my internet presence, I was Steve the Anarchist stencil artist who booked shows for touring bands. How cool was I?

Not very, as I soon learned upon my arrival to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Going straight from suburban social butterfly to alone in the big city was quite a culture shock to me, and gave me a sense of perspective. I might have thought I was cool before, but it didn't take long for me to realize how much of minnow I really was. So for the first 6 months of living in the city I didn't really do much socializing. I did do quite a bit of drinking at home. New York had 1000 times the beers that were available back home, so for a self-proclaimed connoisseur of fine beers back home, I had a lot of learning to do. Since I still felt the need to shake my internet tail-feathers, I created this blog shortly after I moved here. Not necessarily as a medium to flaunt my expertise in alcohol, but more of a learning and growing process with both my love of beer and creating a more suitable web presence. Instead of continuing the "look-at-me, look-at-me" persona that currently plagues the urban areas of America, I could be a semi-anonymous critic of the finer things in life. It was a much more fitting path for an aging hipster such as myself.

But over the months, my dedication to my beer blog waned almost overnight. I can't quite put my finger on exactly what happened, but it did. Even after five years of no entries, I never lost interest. Instead of sharing my opinions about beer with the world, I kept my findings more to myself and concentrated on other interests of mine, like trashy cinema and a social life. Over this time, I've learned how to market my opinion better with social media so my musings have a much larger audience than before, but I still don't feel as if I shake too many feathers. Since then, I have attached myself romantically to a fine specimen of a beer lover such as myself, and stopped being such a drunk socialite. My knowledge and excitement about beer has also increased tenfold since I've lived here, to the point where I'm in the process of brewing my own. Since I spend more time at home with the girl, and being a seasoned blogger, I figure now is as good of a time as any to jump start the first blog and add a a few new elements, namely a female perspective. So I've added a better name and design to the primitive blog I kept before and hopefully, a continued written word on one of my favorite things in life.....Beer.

Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

Brooklyn is still holding on to the memory of the Dodgers, and this beer is asalute to the Hometown pride that was felt when the Dodgers won the Pennant in 1955.. I'm not much of a baseball man myself, but I am a beer man. If this beer is any representation of how the city of Brooklyn loved there one-time champion baseball team, it's a pretty good representation.



Appearance:Amber with a thick, carbonated head.

Smell: Of hops and complex fruit odors.

Taste: Kinda sweet,not as complex a taste as aroma,but still a good tasting beer.

Artwork:A handsome silver and blue pinstripes make up a large border for the almost-standard fare Brooklyn logo. Defference being the baseball in the center. Did you expect any less?

Overall:I would give it a homerun. Play Ball!

Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale

Corsendonk. Sounds good, doesn't it. Even if the beer wasn't good, I would still give it 2 thumbs up based on the name. Say it with me. Corsendonk. I love funny words.

I picked this one up at the Williamsburg Thrifty near the BQE. They don't have a large selection, and the guy behind the counter looked at me like I was scum. Most likely because he thinks I'm some kinda hipster scumbag who is ruining his neighborhood. Well fuck him. He doesn't have to be nice to sell me good beer.



Appearance: Brownish-red with a tan head the lasted for a very short period of time.

Smell: malt and mint (weird), with a hint of hops.

taste: Mild bitterness, and slight spice that left my tongue tingling. Sweet. later on I realized the taste reminded of a port.

Artwork:Jesus n' Mary Blah, Blah etch printed on the glass. looks like a traditional abbey seal. Whatever. Corsendonk! Hehehe...

Overall: This beer makes me realize I need to have a seperate fridge of some kind just for beer preservation. Considering I don't have a cellar. How else am i going to keep good beers like this at 45% all the time?

McNeill's Champ Ale

Straight from Brat, Vt comes the first of several McNeills beers I picked up over the holidays. McNeills is the hometown hero in this small, hippie town located in southern Vermont, and I only get to try it a couple of times a year. This ale is the Brewery's tribute to the American Loch Ness Monster, Champ. Who has been haunting the waters of lake Champlain since the coming of man into the area.



Appearance: Light, reddish-amber with a quickly dissapating bubbly head.

Scent: I smell hops and maybe yeast, mostly hops. Bountiful amounts of hops are found in ALL McNeills products.

Taste: Bitter hops, but not overt. There is also some sweet stuff going on along with fruitiness. Hops is the most recognizable taste in this beer, which also makes it pretty citrusy.

Artwork: A lakemonster and a clown done in watercolor. I wonder if there is a story behind it. Simple, yet effective. The label would stick out in a cooler, but some might be thrown off by the Jr. High, fantasy-nerd level of painting. whatever, It's better than I could do on a canvas.

Bought: At the Sunoco gas station on Christmas Day. Which was the only place open on the trip home before we hit the highway.

Dogfish Head Chicory Stout

Yet another excellent product from the folks in Delaware. Nor as strong as the 90 Minute IPA, but good. I love stouts,oh yessiree, I do.



Appearance: Blah,Blah Blah it's dark Blah. With a fairly typical brownish-red tint coming through the bottom. It started off with a fluffy ,tan head that was about 1- finger in width.

Scent: The scent hit me as soon as I opened the bottle. Mostly malt with some sweet complexity.

Taste: Tastes of coffee but without the good amount of bitterness I have come to expect from stouts.

Mouthfeel: As a stout, through and through.

Artwork:Typical simplistic DFH logo with a basic modern art pattern for the label. Nothing special.

Overall: I let this one get to room temp, and it was perfect for what it was. A good session drinking stout.

Allagash Tripel Reserve Belgian-Style Ale

One of the many beers I used to bring in the new year. This beer is a little ore special to me than the rest. First of, It was brewed in Portland, Me. Not just close to home but also one of the brew capitals of New England. Second, It was corked like wine. That's how i really knew I was getting into some classy shit. Third, you all know how much I love the Belgian-style. This one was a bit pricey for regular consumption, but it is a good one.



Appearance: Foggy Gold with a thick, light head that doesn't last very long.

Smell: Sweet. Of fruit and Hops.

Taste: Bitter Bite accompanied by mild sweetness and the taste of spices. Overall, not very complex for a tripel. Sips are soon followed by a bitter aftertaste. Nice....

Art:Multicolored block print of a woodsy road during what appears to be autumn. I happen to love block prints,so it touches me in more special places. I also like the fact it isan't in-yer-face but still manages to catch the eye.

Overall: The abv kicked my ass!!!

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout

I love imperial stouts. Especially ones that are inexpensive and are over 9% abv. I have hesitated with Victory Brewing Co. everytime I saw there beer up until now. The name and logo(a big V) remind me of 1984 and for some reason makes me feel like a mindless prole. I'm a prole regardless, and it wasn't and act of mindlessness that made me buy and enjoy this Victory product.



Appearance: Dark with a capital"D",with a 2-fingered head that looked a bit like chocolate milk after it's been shakin' up.

Smell: Hops, citrusy hops.

Tastes: Fairly complex and slightly bitter, Although, less bitter than Old Rasputin. I wouldn't guess the abv was so high, due to the lack of a prominent alcohol taste,but look at Brooklyn's Stout. The warmer this beer gets, the tastier it gets to.

Art: Beware the Storm King,Oh Eagle-headed God wearing the Victory Crown. No need to look so pissed buddy...you won!

Overall: I ain't scared of this Big Brother. In fact, I embrace him.