Beer Superlatives 2021
A recap of the year in NYC beer
Hello from California, where I’ve spent some time between the holidays visiting breweries and masking up. I visited my 250th brewery in California on Wednesday, marking the occasion at Bear Republic Brewing Co. in Rohnert Park, a longtime stalwart I had missed on other visits to the state when it was brewing further north in Healdsburg. I happily drank a Racer 5 there, and the next day, a Pliny the Elder at Russian River Brewing Co.’s gorgeous production facility in Windsor. I’ll share more details on some of the beers and breweries that impressed me up here in next week’s newsletter. But for now — let’s take a look back on 2021.
The Brew York Beer Superlatives 2021
Here are some of the highlights and lowlights of the year in beer in New York City in 2021.
Debut of the Year
Back Home Beer
Back Home Beer, a new NYC-brewed brand created by Zahra Tabatabai, a daughter of Iranian immigrants, is producing beers with ingredients from and inspired by her ancestral home. The Sumac Gose is made with sour cherry, cured sumac, and blue salt, and the Persian Style Lager is kissed with blue salt. These first two offerings have been flying off shelves across the city, and a recent drop in Washington, D.C. has put them on the map beyond the five boroughs. It was a quick realization that Back Home would be the next big thing when sitting at Beer Karma for just a couple hours in October, five people came in looking for the beer after it had sold out. Here’s to bigger things for Back Home Beer in 2022.
Most Heartbreaking Brewery Closure
Folksbier Brewery
Folksbier was the only brewery closure in New York City this year, but this Brooklyn outfit had a loyal following that seemed truly torn up based on social media chatter after they closed at the end of October. The New York City beer community will be a different place without their OBL Lager and Glow Up series of Berliner Weisses. What made the loss more difficult was the abruptness of the closure — it happened without warning, just a day after their taproom was operating as normal on a Sunday. Few fans of Folksbier truly got to say goodbye to the brewery the way they wanted to, which leaves them even more heartbroken.
Most Heartbreaking Bar Closure
The Diamond
The year started off on a bad note when The Diamond closed up shop for good on January 3rd. This Greenpoint stalwart was a beloved beer bar that was off-the-beaten path on Franklin Street. My favorite feature of the bar was without a doubt the old Whiteface Mountain gondola car in their cozy, welcoming backyard. I shared more than a few beers there with friends and dates. My second favorite feature was the regular cask offering — the Diamond was serving cask in its heyday in New York’s beer scene, but they also served it long after other bars stopped. The Diamond will be truly missed as a quirky, unique, and excellent beer bar.
Event of the Year
Blocktoberfest
After a year and a half on edge, New York really needed its traditions back. Blocktoberfest, the NYC Brewers Guild’s annual fundraiser event, was a sight for sore eyes. The event went virtual last year, but it was the first large-scale beer event in New York since Other Half’s Pastrytown in early March of 2020. It was truly a pleasure to drink a ton of local beer among people in the city’s beer community who I hadn’t seen in well over a year. It was a relief to find an outdoor venue that could host the event after the irreplaceable previous venue, The Well, closed during the pandemic. Here’s to brighter times and beers with strangers and friends in the future.
Beer Foe of the Year
Andrew Cuomo
For all that disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo did for the state’s beer industry in his pre-pandemic years, his lasting legacy when it comes to beer will be the incredibly irksome way he handled the pandemic. Requirements around closing times seemed to change more often than the weather, and further restricted New York City when counties upstate were experiencing worse Covid outbreaks. The “Cuomo Snack” rule that simply served to annoy customers, not protect them from Covid, was only removed once the state legislature stepped in to unanimously eliminate the requirement in April. And in June, after the State Liquor Authority had explicitly allowed to-go alcohol for restaurants and bars into July, the rule was abruptly lifted overnight — a consequence of the governor lifting his own Executive Order without a stopgap measure in place to extend the rules at a time when restaurants and bars were still struggling to stay afloat. The Cuomo era is thankfully over, and Kathy Hochul seems to be a big fan of the state’s beer industry herself. We’ll see what 2022’s legislative session does to make some of the temporary Covid-era reforms of alcohol law permanent.
Beer of the Year
Little Patience, Wild East Brewing
Well, I asked you all for your nominations and this was the overwhelming most common response. Perhaps it’s odd that in a city filled with great IPAs, we seem to lean on refreshing, sessionable, crisp lagers like “Little P,” as the bar staff at Wild East like to call it. This 3.8% Bohemian Lager is heavy on the Saaz hops but light on the alcohol. It was flawless, crisp, and clean, and was a personal favorite of mine as well. It’s very much deserving of its title.
The Everything Old is New Again Award
Doug, Other Half Brewing
When Other Half’s new Domino Park location finally fired up their brewhouse earlier this year, they brought back an old favorite: Doug, their Black IPA that was a standard part of Other Half’s beer lineup when they opened in 2013. It tasted of roasty malt and piney hops and a heavy dose of nostalgia. Perhaps it wasn’t a full-on #BlackIPAComeback I hoped for, but it was so good to taste an old favorite again.
Brewery Opening of the Year
Strong Rope Brewery Red Hook
After five years of operation, Brooklyn’s Strong Rope Brewery was in need of — and deserving of — an upgrade. Their new space in Red Hook has moved them from a neighborhood taproom to a true destination brewery. With lots of homey touches, space to spread out, and amazing waterfront views of New York Harbor, it’s quickly becoming a must-visit. It helps that the beer — which is sourced entirely from New York ingredients — is worth the visit, too.
Bar or Beer Shop Opening of the Year
Sweet Avenue
It feels like Sunnyside, Queens is finally starting to develop a beer scene of its own. On the heels of Alewife Brewing’s opening late last year, Sweet Avenue joined the neighborhood over the summer. The bar and shop is the brainchild of Sunnyside resident and former One Mile House owner Gerry Leary, whose spot offers a dozen beers on draft and an impressive list of cans to stay and to go. It’s a small but efficient space, and enjoyable for sipping a beer while the 7 Train rumbles overhead.
Reality Check of the Year
Where to begin?
Whether it’s the beer industry’s reckoning over widespread sexual harassment allegations, the destructive impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on holding events, the increasing costs of supplies needed to make beer, or supply chain issues making items like cans and merchandise more difficult to get, 2021 has been a shitty year for beer.
What will 2022 bring? Let’s take a step back, relax, sip a beer, and enjoy ringing in the New Year tonight. I’ll be back for whatever comes our way in beer next week. Thanks for subscribing, reading, and sharing, and enjoy your New Year!