On Monday, BBC One in Scotland aired an hourlong expose on BrewDog, a brewery that has grown dramatically over the past decade, across the world and into the U.S. Much of the piece, as documented in this summary from Dave Infante, focuses around allegations that the brewery’s co-founder and CEO, James Watt, exhibits inappropriate behavior around customers and employees, fostering a hostile work environment — something previously alleged on a small scale in the U.S. in an incident at their Indianapolis bar last year.
Back in 2013, I hosted Watt along with his co-founder Martin Dickie for a discussion and screening of their then-forthcoming TV program, Brew Dogs, in front of an audience at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg as part of the Taste Talks Festival. My interactions with Watt left me convinced he was part of that tiny 1% of assholes in beer that Sam Calagione had talked about — something we had fooled ourselves into believing was true at the time. So these accusations — and the shady business practices documented both in the piece and in years past — come as nothing as a surprise to me. But most beer consumers aren’t even aware of who runs the company they’re buying beer from, let alone anything about them, so I’m sharing this essential viewing with you if you’re a fan of the BrewDog brand.
Anyway, as promised, we’re kicking off this week’s newsletter by featuring a New York City beer bar. Always looking for your suggestions, so please leave them in the comments!
Celebrating NYC’s Beer Bars: Drop Off Service
Drop Off Service
211 Avenue A (between 12th and 13th Sts.)
East Village
Over a decade ago, I lived a block away from Drop Off Service, and to this day, I deeply regret not spending more time here when I lived so close. This beer-focused gem on Avenue A has always had an impression selection of beer, and they were pouring local craft beer before a lot of other bars caught on. In my budget-conscious twenties, Drop Off Service’s happy hour was by far its biggest appeal. Back in the day, that meant $3 pints of beers that had no business being $3. The bar, named for its previous incarnation as a laundromat, maintained an English Pub vibe while also appealing to a very non-pub crowd, who also happened to enjoy the appeal of a very pub-like offering: twenty-ounce pints.
These days, in the pandemic era, happy hour means $4 pints of Bass and Lionshead until 7pm every day. But the overall beer selection has become more deeply local, celebrating breweries like Fifth Hammer, 18th Ward, Interboro, and Ebbs among its 25 draft lines. It’s one of the few beer bars left in the city that still has a cask engine, which this week is graced by Threes. And yeah, you can even get a can of Heady Topper here if you really want it that badly.
But what I love most about Drop Off Service is that in the era of clean and polished drinking venues, it still has the atmosphere of a well-worn neighborhood watering hole. It has charm and personality and regulars and knows that a deep-cleaning would steal all those things away. It’s a little bit classy and a little bit gritty and I’m so glad it survived lockdown.
NYS Brewers Association Hosting Virtual Tasting in March
The New York State Brewers Association is hosting another Virtual Tasting Experience featuring three of the state’s top breweries, including Brooklyn’s Threes Brewing, on Saturday, March 5th. The view-at-home event will bring beer and food pairings straight to your door, with brews from Threes along with Suarez Family Brewing and Drowned Lands, and food from New York purveyors like Muranda Cheese Company and Sweet on Chocolates.
The two hour interactive virtual tasting will highlight the history of these three brewers and tour their facilities while tasting their beers. Tickets to the event include nearly two gallons of beer from the breweries, snacks, four commemorative glasses, tasting cards, and stickers, all mailed to your door fresh ahead of the event. The $185 package is made for up to four people to share and enjoy, so you can pop the event onto a big screen and share with friends or family. The beers can be shipped anywhere in New York, plus Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Washington, DC.
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 2,555
Total breweries visited in 2022: 26
Total breweries visited in California: 255
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #2555, Yorkshire Square Brewery, Torrance, California (Visited 23-Jan-2022)
In the past year, I’ve made a habit of booking long layovers at LAX and sneaking away to a brewery with a friend. Sunday night, my buddy scooped me up from Terminal 2 and we made the quick trip down the 405 to Torrance to visit this spot, which I had on my to-do list for a while. Yorkshire Square is a rarity in the US: a brewery that specializes in English-style beer, and a taproom where most of their beer is served on cask.
The beer lineup boasts some sessionable, traditional ales, like the Early Doors Pub Bitter, a 3.6% thirst-quencher with a nice biscuit bite. The At Last the 1948 Mild is a smooth dark mild with chocolate and molasses notes that goes down way too easy. I only had time to down a couple pints in the taproom, which feels like the intersection of a brewery taproom and English pub. Barstools are appropriately nowhere to be found and everything is ordered at the bar. There’s a feeling of coziness with plenty of comfy tables and a fireplace. And there are cardboard cutouts of the royal family, just in case the UK flags decorating the ceiling didn’t make it completely obvious that you’re in a brewery that celebrates British beer (and food — there’s lots of traditional food — even bags of crisps imported from overseas).
Social Post of the Week
Lager? Lager.
Beer of the Week
Cloak Spell
Fifth Hammer Brewing Company (Long Island City, New York)
Dark Lager
5.8% ABV
Dark lager? Dark lager.
This is yet another in a long line of great dark lagers brewed in New York City. Fifth Hammer’s entry is robust and smooth, but has all the clean finish you’d expect in a lager. There’s not a lot of bitterness from the roasted malt, but its chocolate notes aren’t particularly sweet, either. It’s really quite dialed in — a perfect easy-drinker for those chilly winter evenings.
Long Read of the Week
If you like beer and live in New York City, you’ve probably had a beer brewed at Twelve Percent Beer Project in North Haven, Connecticut, whether you’ve known it or not. At Good Beer Hunting, Courtney Iseman tells the story of this huge facility that has helped propel several New York-area beer brands to success.
One More Thing
Thanks as always for reading and subscribing! We’ve nearly weathered a cold (and for some of you, Dry) January and the days are getting longer again. Hope to see some of you out and about as the weather warms, especially during NYC Beer Week!
Cheers,
Chris
Bass Ale on draft 😳🙌
I had no idea Cask Marque was available in the states (I've just checked their website and it is!), looks like a lovely place.