March 5th is my 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. The gentleman who owns the place (whose name I sadly cannot remember now) 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".
Last March 4th, I cancelled a trip to Seattle as that city seemed to be the only place in USA getting hit with Covid. Instead I drove up to 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 PA that chaos seemed to be ensuing everywhere but Vermont. So knowing that I was facing my last day of normalcy in VT 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! The next day I drove home with 2 coolers of newly purchased VT brews, plus another cooler of meats and veggies, and tp knowing that finding this stuff in philly would be impossible! I did not leave my house again for 6 weeks! Hoping to head back to Seattle this summer. Fingers crossed! Love the newsletter!
For 18 months I commuted from BK to Staten Island on the weekends to weld up a needlessly complicated piece of furniture for my apartment at the (then) Staten Island Makerspace, during which time I made a ritual of consuming a 'boat soda' on the ferry ride home. There's nothing like cold beer after a day of manual labor, so it soon came to be a highlight of the week. When I started on a new piece of furniture at the (now) NYC Makerspace's new location at Brooklyn Army Terminal, my improved commute was offset by the lack of refreshment on the ride home.
I remedied this issue by making a new habit of walking from BAT to Five Boroughs Brewing for 'faux boat soda' or two or three on my way to the train. I came to relish my seat at the bar and the companionship of the ever-present pups that always seem to be congregating there.
I made no special efforts to enjoy pre-lockdown life, so my last pre-pani beer outing comprised consecutive Saturday and Sunday sessions at Five Boroughs, where I was desperately trying to earn 'regular' status.
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, FL, 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.
I've done some fully outdoors brewery visits over the past year (here in CT during the summer, then I was in Florida and Georgia from August to January working on the elections), always masked except while drinking, haven't had a drink or meal indoors outside my home in a year, but honestly that guilty feeling hasn't quite gone away.
Feb. 29, 2020 was my last big hurrah. Traveled out to Worcester, MA for a special beer release at Wachusett Brewing Co.’s satellite taproom. Our friends the Mass. Brew Bros brewed a collaboration beer with them – a spruce-tipped red imperial ale that I recall being dangerously smooth for 8.5% ABV. It was the last time I saw any of my local beer friends in person even though we all talked a bunch about all the get togethers we’d host in the coming spring and summer months.
It was the last “normal” weekend for my fiancé and I where we’d spend a Saturday visiting new breweries. On this final trip that took us to not-often-traveled (by us, at least) Central Mass., we swung by Purgatory Beer Co. and Greater Good Imperial Brew Co. It’s surreal to look back on the TVs at some of those places tuned to the news of COVID’s quick spread through WA.
March 14 for me as well, I was supposed to hist my birthday party at my place but we canceled to be safe. Instead I went out to Bridge and Tunnel that afternoon not many people and plastic cups for the first time. Spent time talking about what was to come but no one expected it to last this long. Good folks there and walked over to Evil Twin and had 2 there outside before hopping on the L train back home. Revisited B&T 7 months to the day in October, sat outside with one other person, it was a little depressing remembering how much fun that place was.
Chris, gotta say I agree with you. Cerebral is quickly becoming my favorite in Denver, followed by Novel Strand and Woods Boss and further afield, Westbound and Down and Outer Range! I’ve had Ratio but need to hit their taproom.
I have to agree with your comments about The Alchemist, it’s almost more fun finding the next new thing. Unfortunately, since moving to CO (or maybe it’s pandemic related), I’ve found the CO beer scene to be more established with fewer new entrants. Every time I found myself in a small East Coast town, I found a new brewery like Red Clover in VT for example. Here’s hoping I’ll find a few new gems as I travel around.
i didn't do much during the first weeks of March 2020, partially because i was scheduled to be in Boston for 2nd work trip. that ended up being cancelled the night before i was due to travel and i probably just hit up my local for cheap beer and wings... anyway, as NYC Beer Week comes to an end today, one of my last pre-pandemic beer outings was on the first night of Beer Week 2020, where i gathered a group of friends for Big aLICe's launch party at their Barrell Room location in Brooklyn. it's a go-to for my girlfriend and i to take our pups to due to all of the space available at Industry City, and while i had to be in Boston for most of the Beer Week, at the least we were able to do something on the first night of the annual event.
as for Boston, though i was there for work, i did manage to visit a number of breweries along the way:
- Slumbrew @ Somerville Brewing Company (which looks to be closed now)
- Remnant Brewing
- Lamplighter Brewing Co.
- Night Shift Brewing
- Harpoon Brewery
- Trillium Brewing Company
it had been years since i've been to Boston, so it was my first visit to these breweries. and this was the last time i visited a brewery outside of the states of New York and New Jersey.
Other Half's Pastrytown was March 7th, 2020. I had bought tickets for my wife and I to attend in January, only to find out she was pregnant with our second child a few weeks later, so I went with a buddy of mine who lives a half mile from the brewery. Little did I know at the time, it would be the last form of "going out without the kids" entertainment I would have over the next 365 days.
It was the week before the world really shut down and details around COVID were somewhat murky. Outside of continually washing your hands, you just kind of lived your life, which is laughable one year later. I took the Metro North train from my home in Westchester to GCT that morning, then the 4/5 to Bowling Green, then an elevator up to the 18th floor to my office. All of that MASKLESS, mind you.
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.
March 5th is my 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. The gentleman who owns the place (whose name I sadly cannot remember now) 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".
Last March 4th, I cancelled a trip to Seattle as that city seemed to be the only place in USA getting hit with Covid. Instead I drove up to 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 PA that chaos seemed to be ensuing everywhere but Vermont. So knowing that I was facing my last day of normalcy in VT 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! The next day I drove home with 2 coolers of newly purchased VT brews, plus another cooler of meats and veggies, and tp knowing that finding this stuff in philly would be impossible! I did not leave my house again for 6 weeks! Hoping to head back to Seattle this summer. Fingers crossed! Love the newsletter!
For 18 months I commuted from BK to Staten Island on the weekends to weld up a needlessly complicated piece of furniture for my apartment at the (then) Staten Island Makerspace, during which time I made a ritual of consuming a 'boat soda' on the ferry ride home. There's nothing like cold beer after a day of manual labor, so it soon came to be a highlight of the week. When I started on a new piece of furniture at the (now) NYC Makerspace's new location at Brooklyn Army Terminal, my improved commute was offset by the lack of refreshment on the ride home.
I remedied this issue by making a new habit of walking from BAT to Five Boroughs Brewing for 'faux boat soda' or two or three on my way to the train. I came to relish my seat at the bar and the companionship of the ever-present pups that always seem to be congregating there.
I made no special efforts to enjoy pre-lockdown life, so my last pre-pani beer outing comprised consecutive Saturday and Sunday sessions at Five Boroughs, where I was desperately trying to earn 'regular' status.
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, FL, 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.
I've done some fully outdoors brewery visits over the past year (here in CT during the summer, then I was in Florida and Georgia from August to January working on the elections), always masked except while drinking, haven't had a drink or meal indoors outside my home in a year, but honestly that guilty feeling hasn't quite gone away.
Feb. 29, 2020 was my last big hurrah. Traveled out to Worcester, MA for a special beer release at Wachusett Brewing Co.’s satellite taproom. Our friends the Mass. Brew Bros brewed a collaboration beer with them – a spruce-tipped red imperial ale that I recall being dangerously smooth for 8.5% ABV. It was the last time I saw any of my local beer friends in person even though we all talked a bunch about all the get togethers we’d host in the coming spring and summer months.
It was the last “normal” weekend for my fiancé and I where we’d spend a Saturday visiting new breweries. On this final trip that took us to not-often-traveled (by us, at least) Central Mass., we swung by Purgatory Beer Co. and Greater Good Imperial Brew Co. It’s surreal to look back on the TVs at some of those places tuned to the news of COVID’s quick spread through WA.
March 14 for me as well, I was supposed to hist my birthday party at my place but we canceled to be safe. Instead I went out to Bridge and Tunnel that afternoon not many people and plastic cups for the first time. Spent time talking about what was to come but no one expected it to last this long. Good folks there and walked over to Evil Twin and had 2 there outside before hopping on the L train back home. Revisited B&T 7 months to the day in October, sat outside with one other person, it was a little depressing remembering how much fun that place was.
Chris, gotta say I agree with you. Cerebral is quickly becoming my favorite in Denver, followed by Novel Strand and Woods Boss and further afield, Westbound and Down and Outer Range! I’ve had Ratio but need to hit their taproom.
I have to agree with your comments about The Alchemist, it’s almost more fun finding the next new thing. Unfortunately, since moving to CO (or maybe it’s pandemic related), I’ve found the CO beer scene to be more established with fewer new entrants. Every time I found myself in a small East Coast town, I found a new brewery like Red Clover in VT for example. Here’s hoping I’ll find a few new gems as I travel around.
Like the first few emails. Keep it up.
i didn't do much during the first weeks of March 2020, partially because i was scheduled to be in Boston for 2nd work trip. that ended up being cancelled the night before i was due to travel and i probably just hit up my local for cheap beer and wings... anyway, as NYC Beer Week comes to an end today, one of my last pre-pandemic beer outings was on the first night of Beer Week 2020, where i gathered a group of friends for Big aLICe's launch party at their Barrell Room location in Brooklyn. it's a go-to for my girlfriend and i to take our pups to due to all of the space available at Industry City, and while i had to be in Boston for most of the Beer Week, at the least we were able to do something on the first night of the annual event.
as for Boston, though i was there for work, i did manage to visit a number of breweries along the way:
- Slumbrew @ Somerville Brewing Company (which looks to be closed now)
- Remnant Brewing
- Lamplighter Brewing Co.
- Night Shift Brewing
- Harpoon Brewery
- Trillium Brewing Company
it had been years since i've been to Boston, so it was my first visit to these breweries. and this was the last time i visited a brewery outside of the states of New York and New Jersey.
Other Half's Pastrytown was March 7th, 2020. I had bought tickets for my wife and I to attend in January, only to find out she was pregnant with our second child a few weeks later, so I went with a buddy of mine who lives a half mile from the brewery. Little did I know at the time, it would be the last form of "going out without the kids" entertainment I would have over the next 365 days.
It was the week before the world really shut down and details around COVID were somewhat murky. Outside of continually washing your hands, you just kind of lived your life, which is laughable one year later. I took the Metro North train from my home in Westchester to GCT that morning, then the 4/5 to Bowling Green, then an elevator up to the 18th floor to my office. All of that MASKLESS, mind you.
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.