Drink in the Past
TALEA and Threes news and a visit to ski town brewery
I’ve talked a lot about how breweries can find success through innovating their taproom experiences to keep people coming back. Threes Brewing has found a way to do just that over the summer at their Greenpoint taproom: a summer guest series. The series will feature a pop-up event with a different restaurant or cocktail bar each Monday from 5-8pm throughout July and August, including Nom Wah, Veselka and Peter Luger. The decor, the playlist, and the menu will all be at the whims of the partner each week, and it’s a chance to enjoy the food and beverages of these spots without leaving this corner of Brooklyn. Things kick off next Monday with Dante and New York Cocktail Company. You can see the full lineup on Threes Brewing’s calendar.
News from TALEA: new location and an historic collab
Brooklyn-based brewery TALEA ushers in July with two bits of news that might be of interest here. First off, they’ve announced they’re opening their sixth location in the city, this time on the Upper West Side. The forthcoming space will be located at 441 Amsterdam Avenue, between 81st and 82nd Streets. It’ll offer much the same as their other locations: bright atmosphere, an all-day space that evolves from remote workspace to beer bar, and 16 draft lines to offer their beers brewed in Williamsburg. The space is aiming to open in the fall, when it will join locations in Cobble Hill, the West Village, Bryant Park, and the Penn District.
Next is a beer that was 250 years in the making. TALEA’s Liberty Lager is their collaboration beer with The New York Public Library, and its roots are in one of our nation’s founders: George Washington. A recipe for small beer is contained in his notebook from 1757, likely to have been brewed for his troops at Fort Loudon, Virginia as a safer alternative to drinking water. Liberty Lager isn’t small (it’s 6.5% ABV), but it’s got an amber hue with malty sweetness and a touch of hop bitterness. The limited-edition beer is available right now at all five TALEA locations.
Upcoming Beer Events of Note
Brooklyn: Sail4th Viewing Party at Strong Rope Brewery, Saturday 7/4 at 9am, outside table reservations necessary
Brooklyn: Belgian National Day at 4th Avenue Pub, Tuesday 7/21 from 4pm, free entry
Staten Island: Kills Boro Pizza Party at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, Saturday 7/25 from noon-4pm, tickets start at $72
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 4,006
Total breweries visited in 2026: 83
Total breweries visited in California: 345
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #3629, South Lake Brewing Company, South Lake Tahoe, California [Visited 10-Jan-2025]
On a hot day like today, I’m thinking about snow and cold and past visits to breweries in ski towns. Drinking an après-ski beer is one of the most rewarding experiences, and while I didn’t get on skis on this visit to Lake Tahoe, it was during ski season, and the evening vibes at most of the breweries in town were impeccable. Lots of ski gear was worn by the folks at the bar, and I overheard lots of war stories of the day on the slopes. Not surprisingly, the beer flights are served on custom-made ski and snowboard paddles. And in a rare move, I ordered one on my visit, mainly on account of the dizzying number of options on the draft list. Pillow Line was my favorite, a nicely hazy and soft pale ale with oat. The Little Pines was a crowd-pleaser West Coast IPA that’s properly transparent and properly piney, like drinking the woods in a glass. It could’ve been another run-of-the-mill brewery on my list, but when a brewery sticks to a good theme, it’ll stick in my mind.
The Doom and Gloom Tracker
At least 1 brewery I’ve visited closed or announced their closure in the past week:
Brewery #1683, Bluegrass Brewing Company, Louisville, Kentucky [Visited 31-Aug-2019]
The Weekly Reader
The absolute insanity of d.b.a.’s annual beer bracket [Hannah Staab, VinePair]
The 70s were the golden age of beer advertising [Jeff Alworth, Beervana]
Mid-strength beer: so hot right now [Josh Bernstein, SevenFifty Daily]
The kids have discovered day drinking [Stephanie Gravalese, Food & Wine]
One Last Thing
Flagship Brewery on Staten Island has been churning out beer for nearly a decade, and the next chapter of the brewery has been written with the launch of their Wolf Hound Nitro brand, which you’ve probably seen around town. They’ve started a YouTube series documenting how the beer came to be, and it’s worth watching the first episode, which is available now.
Cheers,
Chris