I Only Came for Two Days of Playing
Some memorable breweries from 2021 and a rice saison to help forget the cold
So, um, how are we feeling about beer festivals right now?
I took a quick weekend trip down to Miami last weekend, and seemingly went into the eye of the storm when I went to Juicy Brewfest at Tripping Animals Brewing. It had a great lineup of brewers from across the country pouring a whole bunch of weird, fun, and just plain tasty beers. Plus, it was nice to spend some time outside without having to wear several layers of clothing. But Miami Dade County is among the areas with the highest case rates of Covid-19 in the country right now, and while I’ve got three doses of Pfizer in me and recovered from a breakthrough case, I was still not mentally prepared for stepping into the indoor portion of the festival packed with hundreds of mostly-unmasked beer drinkers, even if the ceilings were high and the brewery’s garage doors were open. This really goes to show how Omicron set us back — I was at another festival at this exact venue in April of last year, freshly fully vaxxed and ready to party… and now? Maybe not so much.
The mental scars of the last two years are something we’ll be dealing with for a while, well after the most severe threat of Covid has passed. It’s going to be important for event organizers in the short-term to consider that there are people who will have to ease their way back into things like beer festivals, because some people are just not going to be ready to rip the band-aid off. Consider laying out the safety protocols well ahead of time, and plan outdoor events or hybrid indoor/outdoor events like the festival I attended last weekend — though it’s much harder to offer the same in colder climates.
Of course, there’s no telling what the Covid situation will be if you’re planning an event long in advance. Like me, I imagine everyone else is hoping things improve significantly, and sooner rather than later.
A Quick Call to Action
If you live in New York City, please fill out this survey from the NYC Department of Transportation about Open Restaurants. The city is trying to collect public input on this widely successful program, and you know they’re going to hear from the whiners and complainers and fun-haters who can’t stand that someone might enjoy a beer where a parked car once stood.
My Top Brewery Visits of 2021
We’re 13 days into 2022, so I’m really pushing the limits of 2021 retrospectives at this point. I visited 455 new breweries in 2021. Among my New Year’s resolutions this year is to visit fewer. There’s a strategic reason for that when planning for brewery #3,000, but I also pushed myself to the limits last year in terms of trying to cram in so many trips away from home to make up for lost time. I missed New York a lot. But I had a ton of fun trekking around the country and making my first overseas trip in almost two years. Here are my top five visits from last year, in chronological order, all memorable for different reasons.
Brewery #2146, Unseen Creatures Brewing & Blending, Miami, Florida (Visited 23-Apr-2021)
I had a feeling I was in a beer geek’s kind of place at Unseen Creatures when the bartender immediately recognized my Monkish Brewing hat and asked me about Other Half when he found out I was from New York. Not surprisingly, there were many hazy IPAs on the menu, including their flagship Pursuance, a bright, citrusy number with Citra, Simcoe, and Cascade hops, and Sunrise, Sunset, a Porter with vanilla, almond, and bergamot, a liquid dessert. If I’m going to pick one brewery from last year on the verge of being a hype beast, this one is it, and it’s worth the hype. I put my money where my mouth is — I went back again on my trip to Miami last weekend.
Brewery #2253, Klondike Brewing Co., Skagway, Alaska (Visited 13-Jun-2021)
When I visited Skagway in June — before any cruise ships had arrived in port — it felt empty and abandoned, with only a handful of shops and restaurants open. Klondike Brewing, thankfully, was one of those open businesses. Joel Probst and Damian Olivato welcomed me with open arms and happily shared beers with me over the two nights I visited this town of about a thousand people. I learned a lot about life and running a tourist-focused business in Alaska over pints of the HammerStone IPA, one of the most deliciously bitter West Coast-style IPAs I had all year. This was the Alaska experience I didn’t know I was looking for, and it is forever etched in my memory.
Brewery #2296, Black Narrows Brewing Company, Chincoteague, Virginia (Visited 23-Jul-2021)
Black Narrows came highly recommended from my friends in the DMV, and it did not disappoint. Owner and brewer Josh Chapman took far more time than he probably had to talk with us about his approach to beer, walk us through what was on the board, and just chat about the beer industry in general. Over that chat, I enjoyed a Weathered Together, a Pale Ale made with hops grown locally on the Delmarva, and Salts, a tart wheat ale with oysters — a nod to the brewery’s past life as an oyster shucking house. It was great to see a brewery celebrate local in a place where you don’t expect to find local beer ingredients, and it met the high expectations I had.
Brewery #2400, The Drowned Lands, Warwick, New York (Visited 9-Oct-2021)
My God, how did it take me so long to finally get here? I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t visit here sooner, but it was well-worth the wait. If you’ve had beer from Drowned Lands, you probably already know what to expect: a little of everything and everything good. Some clean, easy-drinking stuff, some nice hop-forward beers, and some sneaky good high-gravity stuff. It’s a lineup to satisfy all beer drinkers and a setting, with vaulted ceilings inside and a huge patio and lawn outside, to make everyone feel at home. Shout out to Allen for making my first visit there special by showing me around. I’ll be back real soon.
Brewery #2489, A.M.O. Brewery, Lisbon, Portugal (Visited 23-Nov-2021)
I rushed to make last call at this brewery near my hotel on my last night in Lisbon. There was no need to rush — the founder and brewer Margaret Orlowski was happy to walk me through her beer lineup for as long as it took, talking process (brewing on her 200L brewhouse) and honestly critiquing her own work. The Gato Bravo, a brettanomyces-spiked amber ale with coffee, was as unique as it was enjoyable. The space itself, a cozy taproom with seating for barely a dozen people nestled on a quiet residential block, added some incredible charm. Small urban breweries like this are always a fun find, and I wish more places like this existed in New York.
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 2,530
Total breweries visited in 2022: 1
Total breweries visited in 2007: 6
Total breweries visited in Wyoming: 6
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #19, Snake River Brewing Company, Jackson, Wyoming (Visited 14-Dec-2007)
Let’s go way back to the early days of my beer explorations. Someone asked me for brewery recommendations near Jackson Hole last week, so Snake River immediately came to mind. I first visited in 2007, when I traded in miles for a flight for the very first time and found a cheap hotel to ski Jackson in the shoulder season of mid-December. The conditions were perfectly fine for an East Coast skier like me, and the apres-ski activities for me, even then, revolved around finding some good beer. At the time, Snake River was the only game in town, and in the calm before the holiday rush, I was a rare tourist in a taproom full of locals sipping down some Zonker Stout while warming up after a day on the slopes.
That stout, Pako’s IPA, Snake River Pale Ale, and others, would ultimately end up in New York City. The small, charming, and long-defunct American Beer Distributors in Brooklyn struck a deal with Snake River to carry their beer starting in 2012, in a somewhat brilliant scheme: the brewery would do two drops a year in the city, in the spring and fall — the off-seasons for Jackson, when demand dropped locally for their beer without the skiers or hikers in town.
That’s not to say that the locals don’t pick up the slack. To this day, Snake River continues to cater more to the locals in Jackson than the tourists, calling their downtown taproom “Jackson’s living room.” It just went through renovations, so if you find yourself in that part of Wyoming this winter, get to work wearing it in.
Social Post of the Week
Is there a brewery that’s better at social media than Allagash? I doubt it.
Beer of the Week
Moon Sorceress
Kings County Brewers Collective (Brooklyn, New York)
Saison with Rice
4% ABV
I drank this beauty on New Year’s Eve and came back to KCBC the following week just to sip it again because it was arguably the best KCBC beer I had in 2021 (with mere minutes to spare) — and thus far, the best one I’ve had in 2022. It’s an easy drinker that’s bursting with lemongrass and lime flavors from dry-hopping with Citra and Motueka. Those flavors dance in step with crispness from the addition of rice in the mash, and it all finishes nice and dry. It’s a summertime kind of beer that you really need when it’s this cold.
Long Read of the Week
This beautifully-written piece by Johnny Hamilton about his personal experiences with the concept of the local pub was raw and honest and moving. It’s a read I strongly recommend.
One More Thing
Got any beer recommendations in Tucson, Arizona? Headed there to frolic among the saguaros for a few days next week.
Cheers,
Chris
Unfortunately my favorite brewery from my time in Tucson closed in 2018, so I've only got food recommendations for you: Banana Pancakes at Bobos and Sonoran Dogs at either Guero Canelo or BK.
Highly recommend Pueblo Vida, Borderlands and Bawker Bawker cider in Tucson! Tucson Hop Shop is a solid beer bar as well, and El Antojo Poblano also is some of the best Mexican food you’ll find.