Slide Me a Slice
A Brooklyn institution announces its closure and memories of grim days
Four years ago today, I went about my business with a feeling of impending doom. It was the first nice Saturday afternoon of the year, so as had been tradition for many years before, I made the three-mile walk from my apartment in Bushwick to Finback’s taproom in Glendale, Queens. I felt like I had to get out of the house while I still could. It was bustling in the taproom, a pizza vendor was serving up pies, and I was running into old friends throughout the afternoon. But there were signs we were just days away from being sent into a months-long lockdown, from the bottles of hand sanitizer at the entrance to the fact that everyone was sitting and standing a little further apart — signs of unease in a city that would see its first Covid death that day, the first of tens of thousands to come.
That would be my last time drinking at a brewery in New York City for more than three months, and my last time inside a brewery taproom here for more than six months.
What transpired in the year after that last visit to Finback scarred a lot of us. Between layoffs and closures and curfews and labor shortages and masking rules and vaccine mandates and social distancing and Cuomo Snacks, it was a lot for us all to deal with, but especially for those working in hospitality. I remain in awe of the people I know — the ones who served me beer and coffee and meals both before, during, and after those dark days — who stuck with it through such a disheartening, gut-wrenching period for the industry. The ones who pivoted from pouring beers at a bar to delivering them to my front door. The ones who became Jacks and Jills of many trades overnight. And the ones who didn’t let Covid discourage them from sticking with the tight-knit beer industry despite all its flaws.
I used a lot of space this newsletter to heap praise upon service workers in the weeks after the city finally reopened for good in 2021, but I hope that you all still heed the advice to treat them well, tip them well, and wish them well. It’s the least you can do after all they’ve sacrificed to serve us.
Spuyten Duyvil announces it will close in April
Williamsburg stalwart Spuyten Duyvil, a pioneering beer bar that opened on Metropolitan Avenue back in 2003, has announced it will close next month. The bar has been a landmark on the city’s beer scene, hosting countless events including the popular Zwanze Day celebration from Belgium’s Brasserie Cantillon. That celebration will close out its 21-year run, hosting the beer release one last time on Saturday, April 20th before closing for good on Sunday, April 21st.
Spuyten Duyvil opened in the very early years of Williamsburg’s rise as a hip neighborhood, in an era where the beer bar began to thrive. There was a brief expansion in the form of a co-owned bottle shop — Spuyten Duyvil Grocery — that was open in the Williamsburg Mini-Mall in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The bar’s penchant for European imports made it a hot spot in the era before the American beer boom, and its focus on a curated bottled beer selection over draft beer was unique as the craft beer boom spread. The focus on beer was carried into the neighboring St. Anselm restaurant, and to nearby Fette Sau, which both have the same owners and will remain open.
Spuyten Duyvil has played host to Zwanze Day ten times since the beer release became a global event back in 2011. The special rare blend from Brasserie Cantillon in Brussels is released at venues around the world on the same day. This year’s beer is a lambic made with sea lettuce. The final release at Spuyten Duyvil will start at 11am on April 20th, with 140 tickets being sold for pours of the beer beginning at the opening, and the official tapping at 3pm. Even if you miss out on the namesake of the event, a host of other Cantillon beers will be available on draft and in bottles. It’s likely to be a tearful toast that day.
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 3,354
Total breweries visited in 2024: 70
Total breweries visited in Ontario: 39
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #1925, Longslice Brewery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Visited 9-Mar-2020)
I was stuck overnight in Toronto on the Monday before lockdown began in New York City back in 2020, and fearing that it would be my last time out of the country in a while, I made the most of it by texting a friend in town (a friend of no relation) and inviting him to grab some afternoon beers at a brewery near the city’s waterfront. He obliged and shared in what would be my last brewery visit outside the United States for nearly two years. The Aviary, the brewpub that’s the home of Longslice and thankfully remains open today, is an airy spot with a baseball theme, a great vibe and lots of sports on TV (sports that just four days later would mostly cease to exist for months). I look forward to making a return visit and creating new memories that aren’t nearly as grim.
The Doom and Gloom Tracker
At least 5 breweries I’ve visited closed or announced their closure this week:
Brewery #1885, New Anthem Beer Project - Greenfield Annex, Wilmington, NC (Visited 7-Feb-2020)
Brewery #1887, New Anthem Beer Project, Wilmington, NC (Visited 8-Feb-2020)
Brewery #2164, Second Pitch Beer Co., San Antonio, Texas (Visited 29-Apr-2021)
Brewery #2928, Hoots Beer Company, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Visited 11-Feb-2023)
Brewery #3157, Coin Toss Brewing, Oregon City, Oregon (Visited 5-Aug-2023)
The Weekly Reader
Great South Bay is adding a satellite taproom to Lindenhurst’s bustling beer scene [Nick Esposito, Greater Long Island]
Some breweries are weathering the industry’s downturn by merging [Andy Crump, Hop Culture]
The slow decline of two iconic British breweries [Jeff Alworth, Beervana]
A story about Guinness for St. Patrick’s Day Weekend [Maggie Hennessey, Vinepair]
One Last Thing
The newsletter is coming out a little early this week for one reason: to celebrate the triumphant return of Spring Lounge’s Kegs and Eggs events! Pre-Covid, the Soho bar would regularly host beer events at 10am (after all, it opens daily at 8am), complete with complimentary breakfast served. Well, it’s finally back today in the form of a celebration of the bar’s 27th anniversary. They’ll release a West Coast IPA collab with KCBC and Blind Tiger Ale House, Tiger Shark Skate Park. And there will be food served from the Tiger. If you can’t play hooky until later in the day, they’ll celebrate the release at 3pm at Blind Tiger.
Welcome back, Kegs and Eggs! We’ve missed you — even though most of us have to work.
Cheers,
Chris
