Is It T-Shirt Worthy?
TALEA opens its taproom, your pre-pandemic beer memories, and copious Simpsons vocab
A couple weeks ago, I asked here and on social media about your most-prized piece of brewery swag. A lot of responses were around brewery t-shirts. I have a lot of brewery t-shirts. Like, an embarrassing number of them. Specifically, they account for more than half of my entire wardrobe. But when it became clear that this was becoming a problem, I started to have very strict rules around justifying another brewery t-shirt purchase.
Basically, a brewery has to be t-shirt worthy.
What makes a brewery t-shirt worthy? First, it has to be a memorable experience. Second, it has to make exceptional liquid. Finally, it has to offer unique, aesthetically-pleasing shirts. I think the most fitting (pun intended) example of this is the shirt I bought at Drake’s Brewing Company in San Leandro, California a few years ago:
This shirt is, by far, the one that gets the most comments and compliments when I wear it. And it has opened doors to interesting conversations with total strangers who either appreciate it for its nostalgia factor or the brewery itself. Wearing a brewery t-shirt makes you a walking advertisement, and I don’t mind advertising a longtime favorite Bay Area brewery of mine, especially now that their beer is available in New York City. I’m pleased to see that they still sell this shirt, because as you can see, this one has seen better days.
Talea opens Williamsburg taproom
I mentioned a couple weeks ago that TALEA Beer Co. had already fired up their brewhouse in their new space at the corner of Richardson and Leonard Streets in Williamsburg. Now, their taproom is welcoming customers for on-site drinking, with a soft opening that started Monday and an official grand opening this weekend. The space features an expansive indoor space that features an area for to-go beers and merch sales next to an airy taproom. There’s plenty of sidewalk seating for those not ready to sit indoors yet.
The brewery taproom has a soothing art deco decor that matches their brand motif, with soft colors and pastels throughout the room and greenery that adds to the relaxed vibe. There were nine beers on tap on night one, including the Marine Layer West Coast IPA, a remarkably clean brew with Strata and Centennial hops, and the Raspberry Lime Crush Gose that struck a balance between sweet, tart, and briny. To pair with the beers, small plates are the name of the game: mixed nuts, a Mediterranean platter, and cheese plates.
The brewery will be open daily from noon-8pm during its soft opening, with extended hours to come soon. They’re also operating the space as a coffee shop starting at 8am, with Partners Coffee, tea, and Pilot Kombucha.
Your pre-pandemic beer memories
Next week will mark exactly a year since New York bars, restaurants, and breweries were shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was last March 16th at 8pm when the whole hospitality industry grinded to a halt and the state-imposed shutdown began. Last week, I asked you for your recollections of the last time you were out before the world forever changed. Here are a few of those stories.
Joe opted to stay closer to home after canceling a trip to Seattle, and ended up in Vermont:
As I was spending the days hitting breweries in and around Burlington and Stowe, skiing, and even going to live shows, kept getting the news from back home in Pennsylvania that chaos seemed to be ensuing everywhere but Vermont. So knowing that I was facing my last day of normalcy in Vermont on the 11th, I drove out to Hill Farmstead. Great beer of course and a beautiful facility. It is a small hazard getting up there, and a few miles out, phone service went out followed by the lack of paved roads. Drove up a path of mud and ice spinning out, but made it. It was so calming standing out on outside deck looking down the snow filled mountain sipping on some great beer. I had no idea of what we were all about the face, but I vividly remember the peace I felt at that moment, and want it back!
Charles also had a canceled trip and a bit of guilt:
My partner and I were planning to visit my father in Thailand in March 2020. After weeks of anxiously watching COVID news and travel policies, it finally became clear they were shutting the borders/imposing mandatory quarantine and we cancelled our tickets in early March. So I went down to Orlando, where she lives, instead. I remember the weekend of the 14th we went on a hike near Lakeland, Florida, and afterward went for a couple of beers at Hourglass Brewing, which was a new visit for me. I was really into their traditional styles menu -- I think I had a brown ale and a barleywine. I remember sitting indoors, but next to the open doors, and pumping hand sanitizer every single time I touched a new object. Pretty sure nobody was masking yet, including us. But I mostly remember feeling kind of unsure and guilty about being out and about at all.
Jimmy spent his last time out celebrating his wedding anniversary:
On March 9, 2020, my wife and I took the train to the NY Aquarium and bummed around Coney Island for a while. Things were weird, but the weather was gorgeous and we were just trying to enjoy our day off.
We got back on the N, hopped off at Atlantic Avenue and went straight to St. Gambrinus. Being Queens residents, we don't get to Gambrinus much so it was a blessed treat. The back patio was open, and even though we didn't know at the time how important ventilation was to preventing Covid, we felt it was a good idea to be outside in the warm weather anyway. I had an IPA from Fox Farm Brewery and an altbier from Suarez Family Brewery. [St. Gambrinus owner Ray Darmstadt] gave us tasters of an imperial peanut butter stout from Nightmare Brewing Co. and a wild banana stout from Evil Twin. Needless to say, we were a little looped.
That was the last time life felt anywhere close to "normal".
And finally, Dennis came down from Westchester for festivities around Other Half’s Pastrytown festival on March 7th of last year:
The Friday night before the event, we went to the bottle share in the OG taproom at OH. It was jammed in that little space (LOL), as was the main taproom in anticipation of the next day. We shared great beers with strangers from all over the country (again LOL).
We got to Industry City quite early on Saturday (we were awake and bored and FOMOing) and the line was already building. It was freezing, which makes sense on a February day along the East River. As the opening got nearer, the line was shuffled into a bullpen type area (again, LOL) and off we went, tasting world class barrel aged stouts and other offerings.
All in all, the festival was extremely well run and we had a great time. There were hand sanitizing stations, all the servers wore gloves, etc., so we felt safe for March 2020 standards, but I can't help but think back to that time and wonder if/when we'll get back to that level of comfortability at large scale events. I have a constant reminder of that day though, an OH branded "Hand Washing is Sexy" sticker, on display in my bathroom.
But what's even sexier are vaccines.
Comings and Goings
A couple notes that don’t fit anywhere else, but may be of interest to you:
The Pony Bar on the Upper East Side reopened on Wednesday after a three-month pause.
The Rookery, a Bushwick standout for good beer and pub vibes, returns from its winter shutdown on April 1st.
Astoria Craft, a neighborhood standby near Astoria Park, announced their permanent closure this week on Instagram.
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 2,103
New breweries in 2021: 29
Breweries visited in Canada: 113
Breweries visited in Canada’s Maritime Provinces: 22
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #1917, Trailway Brewing Co., Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada (Visited 7-Mar-2020)
This week last year, as the world was slowly falling apart around us, I made a planned trip to New Brunswick for the Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, which friends I had met on previous trips to Nova Scotia told me was a worthwhile event. It lived up to its expectations — I was able to sample beer from literally dozens of breweries I had never even heard of before, including Trailway Brewing Co., which I visited the next day.
When the guys sitting next to me at Trailway (who were from Tire Shack Brewing about two hours east in Moncton) found out I was from New York City, they asked, “why aren’t you at Pastrytown today?” When I explained that my penchant for brewery exploration trumped my desire to drink pastry stouts, they confirmed that I had come to the right place. “This is basically Fredericton’s Other Half,” they told me.
They weren’t far off. Their flagship beer is Hu Jon Hops, a hazy, juicy IPA with a hint of dankness. The Seeing Citra I tried next was a dialed-in hazy IPA that hit on every flavor and aroma that forged my obsession with Citra hops. The Rye IPA, Rype, was tinged a bit darker and featured a rye spiciness, but was still just as hazy. You’ll be shocked to know that the next beer recommended by the bartender was also a hazy IPA. But they were all very good!
In case you think they’re completely a one-note brewery, I did finish my visit with a crisp, clean Candlepin Kolsch, a beer brewed for Trailway’s second location, The Drome, a 60-year old candlepin bowling alley a few blocks away that the brewery purchased in 2018 and operates as a satellite taproom.
Historical Nerdity of the Week
Atlantic Canada is a highly underrated weekend vacation destination from New York. A direct flight to Halifax is just two hours from JFK (and hopefully they return in a post-pandemic world) and it’s a charming city. But anyway, every year, the city of Boston, Massachusetts receives a Christmas Tree to place in Boston Common from the people of Nova Scotia. The tradition is rooted in the thank-you gift of a Christmas Tree given in 1918 to Boston for the assistance that the Boston Red Cross and State of Massachusetts gave to Halifax in the wake of the 1917 Halifax Explosion. The incident remains the largest accidental explosion on record after a ship carrying high explosives collided with an empty cargo ship in Halifax Harbour, killing nearly two thousand people. Help poured in from all over the world in the aftermath of the explosion, and Boston dispatched a relief train just hours afterwards. The Christmas Tree is a very involved tradition, with ceremonies at the cutting of the tree and on both ends of the journey. But my favorite detail? There is a designated Christmas Tree Specialist employed by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources who spends months searching for the perfect tree each year.
Beer of the Week
Ploughshare
The Drowned Lands Brewery (Warwick, NY)
Altbier
4.8% ABV
I’ve been itching to get up to Drowned Lands ever since they opened last year, but I’ve been picking up cans of their beers at beer shops around town every chance I get. This one was so enjoyable that I came back to Beer Karma for another can. Altbiers — a style that’s defined by its balance — are a rare find in the states these days, and Drowned Lands put their own spin on this by aging it in oak foeders, adding a rich complexity to this amber-hued brew. It’s nicely hopped, but the molasses and caramel flavors help mellow most of the bitterness for me. The oaky notes make it feel almost decadent — but it’s under 5% ABV, so you can help yourself to another. I really can’t wait to make that trek up to Orange County.
Long Read of the Week
These perfectly cromulent words by Samer Khudairi about how his relationship with drinking was crafted by The Simpsons was an enjoyable read. It touches on some of the poss-eye-bly uncomfortable ways drinking is depicted on the show and how many young viewers were introduced to the concept of dive bars long before we stepped into them ourselves. It also quotes two people who I happen to know subscribe to this newsletter — which might embiggen my ego. Save this read for a day when you’re stuck inside during some lousy Smarch weather.
One more thing
If you like this newsletter, won’t you share it with a friend? Sharing is caring, after all.
Lovin' the shout-outs to TrailWay, Tire Shack, and the rest of Atlantic Canada! Looking forward to having you back up here when the borders are a little easier to cross! - ChrisM
my girlfriend and i bought a house in Orange County during the pandemic and Drowned Lands is by far my favorite brewery of the ones we've visited around us. Apex Brewery is a smaller mom & pop's spot - and it's our 'local' now since it's much closer to us - but i love the beers coming out of Drowned Lands. they also (a) have a very sleek, Scandinavian-style brewery, (b) allow dogs since they don't prepare foods on premises, and (c) do BYOF when they don't have food trucks. it's definitely the brewery i like to take visitors to as well as bring back to Brooklyn whenever i do come back down to BK.