A Brewery Time Machine
Beer from the 90s, layover breweries, and garbage anxiety for New York brewers
What a week it’s been. NYC Beer Week is always a marathon run of beer events for me, and I’ve been trying to get around to as many as I can this week — not necessarily for the fun of the beer, but just to see a lot of familiar faces in the industry that I haven’t seen in a while. The Opening Bash on Saturday was one of those events where I could barely walk five feet without seeing a friendly face from New York’s close-knit beer community. Thanks to those of you who stopped to tell me you read this newsletter! It’s always great hearing from readers, and I hope you had as great a time as I did.
Two of my favorite beers at Opening Bash came from two different sides of the beer spectrum. Tripping Animals had a stellar brandy and bourbon-barrel aged Imperial Stout called Scarlet, and Bronx Brewery had an Imperial Pilsner — a style I hadn’t seen in a long time that was executed flawlessly. The concept of uniting Pastrytown and Opening Bash played to a broad crowd, from beer nerds and whale-chasers to casual beer drinkers who may have found a brewery or two they’ve never heard of.
On Sunday, I headed to The Grand Delancey for Lagerfest and feasted on some excellent beers from visiting brewers like Wheatland Spring, Human Robot, and Schilling. And last night, I made my annual Beer Week visit to Blind Tiger to see 27 taps of New York-brewed beer (and Allagash White, of course).
There are still more Beer Week events going on through Sunday — check the NYC Brewers Guild’s calendar to see what’s on for the weekend. I’ll be out of town, so that’s one less person to crowd the room at these events!
Your Long Airport Layover Brewery Guide
Tonight, I have an unplanned four and a half hour layover at Chicago O’Hare Airport (hence the lateness of this newsletter). Lately, I’ve found myself leaving the airport on longer layovers to take advantage of breweries that are near airports (TSA PreCheck and/or Clear are highly recommended for this). So, here are some hub airports in the U.S. where you might be faced with a layover, and where to go if you’ve got a few hours to spare.
Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport
Arches Brewing, Hapeville, GA
Arches makes some really great lagers and is a 7-minute Uber ride from the world’s busiest airport. If the weather’s nice, sip on a Pilsner while playing cornhole on the patio.
Back-up Plan: Halfway Crooks Beer, Atlanta (13 minutes from ATL)
Charlotte Douglas International Airport
The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery & Biergarten, Charlotte, NC
Just 11 minutes by rideshare from this American Airlines hub is one of the most well-regarded German-style breweries in the country. The massive biergarten at Charlotte’s oldest brewery is worth the visit itself, but the beers make it well-worth the extra trip through airport security.
Back-up Plan: The Brewers at 4001 Yancey, Charlotte (11 minutes from CLT)
Chicago O’Hare International Airport
Short Fuse Brewing, Schiller Park, IL
On the short list for my layover tonight is this spot, just 8 minutes from the Terminal 2 Uber pickup area. They’ve got nearly as many styles on their tap list as American and United have destinations at the airport down the road.
Back-up Plan: Illuminated Brew Works, Chicago (12 minutes from ORD)
Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport
Hop and String Brewing Company, Grapevine, TX
Just a quick 10-minute ride on TEXRail from DFW Terminal B is this beloved brewery, which won Best Brewery in the Dallas Morning News’ Readers Choice poll last year. Have a flight between your flights!
Back-up Plan: Cowtown Brewing Company’s Southlake Taproom (15 minutes from DFW)
Denver International Airport
Tivoli Tap House, Denver, CO
You don’t even need to leave airport property to get to the closest brewery to Denver’s airport — it’s on the first floor of the adjacent Westin hotel, about a one-minute walk from the south entrance to the main terminal. Tivoli is a good start or end to any trip to the Mile High City, too.
Back-up Plan: None. DEN is practically in Kansas.
Los Angeles International Airport
El Segundo Brewing Company, El Segundo, CA
There are plenty of good, well-known breweries that are within spitting distance of LAX, but only one makes a beer for Stone Cold Steve Austin. Have a Broken Skull IPA and then delve into more of their hoppy goodness before the 10-minute ride back to the airport.
Back-up Plan: Three Weavers Brewing Company, Inglewood (10 minutes from LAX)
Miami International Airport
Tripping Animals Brewing, Doral, FL
Before you connect to the Caribbean or Latin America, get a taste of a beer paradise about 15 minutes west of MIA. Tripping Animals has a spacious taproom, lots of fun fruited sours and Imperial Stouts, and a little courtyard to soak up some rays. The power move: use a layover to attend one of their festivals.
Back-up Plan: Unseen Creatures Brewing & Blending, Miami (15 minutes from MIA)
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
Venn Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN
Hop on the Metro Blue Line straight from the airport to this artsy-looking brewery and coffee shop that’s a cool neighborhood gathering place. It’s just a 9-minute light rail ride from Terminal 1.
Back-up Plan: Arbeiter Brewing Company, Minneapolis (20 minutes from MSP by light rail)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Logan Brewing Company, Burien, WA
Logan is an airport on the east coast, but it’s a friendly, welcoming brewery on the west coast that’s just 10 minutes from Sea-Tac. I crashed their weekly trivia night on a Wednesday layover last year and helped a team of strangers to victory. So much for the Seattle freeze.
Back-up Plan: Airways Brewing Tap Room & Brewery, Kent, WA (15 minutes from SEA)
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 2,941
Total breweries visited in 2023: 46
Total breweries visited in New Jersey: 55
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #2940, Climax Brewing Company, Roselle Park, New Jersey (Visited 24-Feb-2023)
“It’s an old-school IPA,” Climax owner Dave Hoffman told about one of his staple beers as he ran through the menu last Friday night.
These days, “old-school IPA” is generally an accepted term for a West Coast-style IPA, bright and bitter and golden and clean. But back when West Coast-style IPAs were new-school on the East Coast, IPAs resembling Climax’s recipe were far more common around these parts. It’s copper-hued, with a floral hop character and a malty sweetness, and was among many beers like it back when it was released in the late 1990s. Climax’s IPA has been around for so long that the tasting notes from famed beer writer Michael Jackson’s first visit still apply more than 25 years later.
Climax has been around since 1996, making it the oldest craft brewery in New Jersey. It’s showing a bit of its age in the sense that its taproom is not nearly as polished as newer breweries, its beer list is not as innovative as the Untappd generation would probably like, and its clientele seem to have remain unchanged since the late 90s. But that’s not a knock on the brewery — when you’ve been doing something for so long and every table is still occupied on a Friday night (the only time they’re open each week — from 5:30 to 9 or so), there’s no reason to change. It’s like a brewery time machine, and it was great to take a trip back to an era devoid of hazy IPAs.
Long Read of the Week
Good Beer Hunting’s Kate Bernot has a read on a piece of legislation in Albany that has some of New York’s breweries nervous. It puts larger alcohol producers on the hook legally and financially for recycling the materials they manufacture, even when recycling programs for things like PakTech holders still aren’t fully implemented. I’ll be keeping an eye on this and other beer-relevant legislation making its way through the New York Assembly and Senate in the coming weeks as the session ramps up.
One Last Thing
You might have noticed in my Brewery Tracker that I’m coming up on brewery #3,000. That brewery has been chosen, and I’ve made plans to visit it with some friends on April 2nd — the last possible date I can visit when it’s open and I’m in town. That means in order to hit that milestone, I need to visit 58 breweries between now and April 2nd.
“If there’s anyone who can do it, it’s you,” a friend told me last night about the aggressive strategy I’ve got coming up in the next few weeks. I’m taking every opportunity I can get to find breweries I haven’t visited, whether I’m traveling or just looking for a quick train ride out to a suburban brewery. The slog begins now. Hopefully, there’s some good beer along the way.
Cheers,
Chris
Tortugo Brewing in Inglewood, CA is another good choice for an LAX layover. The Watermelon Mint IPA sounds gross, I know, but was actually my favorite there.