Mild Excitement

New York celebrates beer and Grimm announces new outpost

It’s worth acknowledging that for all its faults, New York State’s government and leadership has been wildly supportive of the craft beer industry (unlike our neighbors in the Garden State). There’s even a declared state holiday to celebrate the industry — New York Craft Beer Day. This year, it’s on Saturday, April 11th. There will be parties across the state at breweries and bars with free swag and a special limited-edition beer glass designed by a New York artist. $1 from the purchase of each glass benefits the New York State Brewers Association, who helps to provide resources to breweries, lobby the state for more flexibility under the law, and promote the industry.

In the Five Boroughs, you can find parties next Saturday at a handful of breweries: Fifth Hammer in Long Island City, Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg, and Strong Rope Brewery in Red Hook. Additionally, ABC Beer Co. in the East Village, The Bier & Cheese Collective in Astoria, BierWax in Prospect Heights, and Pine Box Rock Shop in East Williamsburg will all host parties for New York Craft Beer Day too. Keep an eye out for more announcements next week!

Grimm announces first satellite taproom in Prospect Heights

Grimm Artisanal Ales is branching out for the first time in its 8-year history brewing beer in Brooklyn, opening its first satellite location, Grimm Tavern, this Spring on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights. The space, previously occupied for a decade by Olmstead, will open on a strip already well-known for its beer offerings. Grimm Tavern will serve a different menu from Grimm’s rooftop pizza joint in Williamsburg, focusing instead on a menu of dry-aged and roasted meats. Think burgers and roast chicken to pair with Grimm’s lineup of beers and their Physica Wines.

The space is at 659 Vanderbilt Avenue between Prospect Place and Park Place. That puts it right in the middle of one of Brooklyn’s better beer neighborhoods. Up the street, you’ll find both BierWax and Beer Street. Farm.One, one of the city’s most innovative breweries, is just steps off Vanderbilt on Dean Street. Gold Star Beer Counter is just an avenue away on Underhill. Two blocks further is Covenhoven. The addition of Grimm merely adds to the beer wealth in the neighborhood.

Grimm Tavern is expecting to open later this Spring. Keep posted here for updates on their opening, or follow them on Instagram.

Upcoming Beer Events of Note

• Brooklyn: Beer and Chocolate Pairing at Brooklyn Brewery, Wednesday 4/8 at 6pm, tickets $70

• Brooklyn: Kolsch Service at Eckhart Beer Co., Saturday 4/11 at 6pm, free entry

• Brooklyn: Saison Day at Threes Brewing Gowanus, Saturday 4/18 from 12-6pm, free entry

• Long Island: DAS BOCK! New York's Original Lager Festival at Plattduetsche Park, Saturday 5/16 from noon-5pm, tickets start at $55

• Brooklyn: Green City at Other Half Brewing Gowanus, Saturday 6/20 from noon-4pm, tickets start at $85

Brewery Tracker

Total brewery count: 3,954
Total breweries visited in 2026: 31
Total breweries visited in Pennsylvania: 106

Brewery Visit of the Week

Brewery #3953, Forest & Main Brewing Co., Ambler, Pennsylvania (Visited 28-Mar-2026)

This brewery probably needs no introduction if you’re a beer nerd like me. Last weekend wasn’t my first visit to Forest & Main, but it was my first since they moved out of their original location in a charming little house down the street (which now houses a tea room) into an all-grown-up production brewery further up North Main Street in Ambler. It’s just a short walk from SEPTA Regional Rail, and Ambler happens to boast four breweries, so if you’re in the Philly area, you can easily make a day of this.

Visiting Forest & Main in March means one thing: March Mildness. The celebration of the English Mild, which originated across the country at Machine House in Seattle, is now a staple of Forest & Main’s calendar. I had two, both pulled from cask engines. First was their very simple, straightforward 3.3% Mild, with hints of fig and molasses. Then it was on to their collaboration Mild with Human Robot, Fellow, a more pale offering that screams Maris Otter malt and East Kent Goldings and Fuggles hops. Forest & Main isn’t a one trick pony, though — their Saisons are highly regarded, their Lagers drink easy (and are all poured on Lukr taps here), and their hop-forward beers offer plenty of variety.

These days, you don’t even need to venture out to Ambler to experience these beers. Last fall, Forest and Main opened a satellite taproom in Fishtown in Philadelphia, another spot among a host of popular and successful beer ventures in the City of Brotherly Love. Even amongst a wealth of options in that part of Philadelphia, drinking Forest & Main beer is an experience worthy of your time.

The Doom and Gloom Tracker

At least 4 breweries I’ve visited closed or announced their closure in the past week:

• Brewery #157, Colorado Plus Brew Pub, Wheat Ridge, Colorado [Visited 9-Nov-2013]

• Brewery #338, Copper Kettle Brewing Company, Denver, Colorado [Visited 22-Mar-2015]

• Brewery #1674, Goodwood Brewing, Louisville, Kentucky [Visited 30-Aug-2019]

• Brewery #3763, Funguys Brewing, Raleigh, North Carolina [Visited 1-Jun-2025]

The Weekly Reader

• A Long Island beer that uses yeast from a shipwreck [Kayla Voigt, Colby News]

• Beer is still fun [Stan Hieronymus, Appellation Beer]

• The weird jockeying for position happening in beer’s middle tier [Dave Infante, VinePair]

• Here comes Bass, for some reason [Boak & Bailey]

One Last Thing

Headed to Chattanooga, Tennessee this weekend to explore the scene of another place I’ve never been. If you have and have a beery recommendation, feel free to share! I’ll report back next week.

Cheers,
Chris