California beers, they're undeniable
Bierwax eyes second location, I hop off the plane at LAX, and there's a beer with my name on it
News hit yesterday that famed Michigan stalwart Bell’s Brewery had been purchased by Japanese beer conglomerate Kirin, who also owns Colorado’s New Belgium. Bell’s is beloved among beer geeks, named the best brewery in the country by members of the American Homebrewers Association, with both their Two Hearted Ale and Hopslam named among the top ten beers in the country. There was surprise and disbelief among beer drinkers to the news. Inevitably, in response to this news, someone will say that they’re never buying Bell’s beer again, someone will accuse Larry Bell of being a sellout, and someone will angrily and performatively pour out an out-of-code can of Oberon in the back of their fridge that they were never going to drink.
Every time a brewery gets swallowed up by big beer, it’s worth reminding people that beer is a business first and foremost. People don’t start breweries out of charity. Larry Bell has been running a business for 35 years and it’s time for a new chapter.
In a few days, memories of this will fade even among most of the people who pretend to care about this. Time will march on. And people will continue to drink beer from Bell’s.
Bierwax crowdfunding for second location
Bierwax, a beer bar and vinyl joint that’s been open in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn for four years, is embarking on their next adventure, and they’re looking for your help. Founder Chris Maestro has been a fixture on the New York beer scene and is aiming to make Bierwax Queens an even better version of the vision he fulfilled in location #1. Their second location is under construction in Ridgewood, Queens, and they’ve launched an Indiegogo to complete the buildout and open in a big space just off Myrtle Avenue.
They’re just a little over a third of their way to their $40,000 goal that they’re trying to reach before the end of November. The goal will help them build out their sound system, DJ booth, and furnishings in the new space. Awards for the campaign include free drinks, t-shirts, LPs, and DJ nights for the control freaks who don’t appreciate Bierwax’s “no requests” policy.
Waterfront Ale House shutters in Kips Bay
After over 30 years in business in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the remaining 2nd Avenue location of Waterfront Ale House closed its doors this past weekend. A noteworthy spot for both beer and food, the corner spot at 30th and 2nd was a go-to spot for me to dine and drink before movies at the Kips Bay AMC, and once acted as a much-needed salve after an unfortunate visit to the NYU-Langone ER a block away. The wings here were always excellent, and owner Sam Barbieri always had a top-notch food menu that stayed under the radar.
Sam sold off his Brooklyn location on Atlantic Avenue in 2014, but kept the long-running Manhattan location and continued to serve a stellar, affordable beer list with plenty of local flavor. The Manhattan location opened in the 1990s and weathered several storms on the craft beer front while still being a reliable spot for a good meal and a good pint.
For those in the neighborhood looking for another reliable beer option in the wake of this loss, reports of the demise of Albion Bar nearby were greatly exaggerated, as the bar just a block up Second Avenue reopened over the summer after a long Covid pause. It won’t fill the hole left by Waterfront’s closure, but it’ll at least keep you well-lubricated, even if it won’t keep you well-fed.
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 2,466
New breweries in 2021: 391
Breweries visited in California: 241
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #2462, Far Field Beer Co., Lawndale, California (Visited 6-Nov-2021)
If you’re looking for a brewery to visit if you happen to have a long layover at LAX, people will probably tell you to go to El Segundo or Three Weavers or Firestone’s Propagator. And those people aren’t wrong, but sometimes you have to switch it up a little bit. So when my good friend offered to pick me up at LAX and take me to a couple breweries when I had a four-hour layover on Saturday evening, I picked this brand-new spot that’s just a 15-minute drive from the airport. Far Field opened just over three months ago and for a brewery as young as it is, its beers are tasting wise beyond their years.
I started with the Fest Friends, a Marzen that was delightfully malty and crisp, then moved on to the All-Terrain, a Cream Ale that was true to style, with a touch of corny creaminess and a smooth, clean finish. The Chasing Ghosts DIPA was a tasty West-Coast style with a snappy hoppiness, and the Feller was a sparklingly lovely Pilsner with an enjoyable bite from the Nelson Sauvin hops. Rarely does a brewery this young have beers this dialed-in, and I’m excited to see how they mature. It’s worth a stop next time you’re in Los Angeles.
Geographical Nerdity of the Week
Lawndale, California is one of those bizarre municipalities that probably shouldn’t exist. While the city boasts 32,000 people per the 2020 US Census, it spans a mere 1.93 square miles. An accomplished amateur runner could trace the city’s boundaries in under 45 minutes. And while Lawndale seems ridiculously small and pointless, it’s not even the smallest jurisdiction where I visited a brewery last weekend. That honor goes to Oaklyn, New Jersey, where Tonewood Brewing Company resides. South Jersey is notorious for tiny boroughs with their own governments, police forces, and school districts. Oaklyn encompasses a mere 0.63 square miles of land — so three Oaklyns could fit in already-small Lawndale, California.
Social Post of the Week
Beer people are too predictable after a buyout… especially beer writers who write about brewery buyouts in the opening paragraphs of their newsletters.
Beer of the Week
O’Leary’s
E9 Brewing Company (Tacoma, Washington)
Milk Stout with Coffee
7% ABV
Okay, fine, you caught me. I’m featuring a beer based solely on the name alone. But it’s a good beer at a brewery that does some fantastic stuff. This stout is rich and creamy and made with coffee from Caffe Vita, who also happens to have a roastery in Brooklyn not far from where I live. It had bold coffee flavor and probably sustained me for the rest of the brewery crawl through Tacoma last Friday night.
Anyway, if you’re wondering how to cheat your way into being featured in my newsletter, name a beer after me.
Long Read of the Week
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the concept of Cold IPA after seeing it more and more on each beer trip I’ve taken this year. Em Cassel has the origin story and a regional angle on the style in Racket. My favorite pull quote comes from Aaron Juhnke from Junkyard Brewing in Moorhead, Minnesota (brewery #986), who thinks Cold IPA will go the way of Brut IPA — “it was talked about for a bit, beer writers were writing about it and stuff, and it just never took off.”
One Last Thing
These new bottles from Talea Beer Co. in Williamsburg are downright gorgeous.
Cheers,
Chris