Beermenus Blog

Thursday July 31st at 6PM, 16 Exceptional American Draft Beers at East Village Tavern

Will — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:10:02 GMT

EVT will feature a meticulously picked, unusual, and, most importantly, American draft selection of beer. A preview of the offering to make you drool: Rogue Chocolate Stout, Sixpoint Carob Porter, North Coast Brother Thelonius, Great Divide Titan IPA, Allagash Triple, and Troegs Troegenator Double Bock. The rest will be a surprise, but I have been told most of them will be hard to find anywhere else. Mark your calendars and come on over to the East Village Tavern to find out what other amazing beers will be on tap while this unique offering is flowing.

Also, pad your stomach with delicious $5 plates of Kobe dog-in-a-blankets, and chips/salsa/bean plates.

Long week? Don't just order a double, order a Defiant Tripel

Will — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:14:18 GMT

The Defiant Tripel, brewed by defiantly independent Neil Acer, is sure to kick start your weekend. Find a friend, pick up a 64 oz growler of this 9% beauty, and forget about your crazy boss for a night. This Belgian style tripel is brewed with imported Belgian barley and yeast for an authentic balance of classic fruity flavors.

Defiant Brewery is located in Pearl River, NY and offers a variety of great brews from Neil Acer, owner and brewmaster. After years of working for others, Neil Acer wanted to have his own brewery. Acer says of his current situation at Defiant, “I’m limited only by my imagination.” Support this defiant brewery and pick up a growler of Defiant Tripel this weekend at the Whole Foods Bowery Beer Room.

Kelso Fette Sauv & BBQ

Will — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:39:09 GMT

A couple weeks ago, Kelso of Brooklyn introduced Kelso Fette Sauv, a beer brewed specifically for the barbecue restaurant Fette Sau. The brewery says “The Fette Sauv has a pilsner malt base, is fermented with Sauvignon Blanc Yeast and aged with toasted French oak, passion fruit, and a generous amount of Summit (think tangerine) hops. Very crisp, with a big passion fruit nose and luscious mouthfeel. A refreshing summer beer that pairs perfectly with BBQ.”

Fette Sau offers slow cooked meats that include pork and beef ribs and shoulders, pigs’ tails, flank steak, leg of lamb, pork belly, and pastrami. Combine that with the impressive tap selection, (poured via a row of knife tap handles) and you have yourself a fine meal.

So this Summer, check out the Fette Sauv while it’s available and pair it with some barbecue!

The Kings of Beer Menu Updates

Will — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:12:12 GMT

A big thank you to the five bars that updated their beer menus most often in June: Puck Fair, Blind Tiger, East Village Tavern, Jimmy’s No. 43, and Fourth Ave Pub. Thank you all for helping the craft beer community in NYC and for making it easier to find great beer.

Puck Fair is an Irish bar that offers way more than your typical no frills Irish bar. It’s almost an Irish bar and beer bar hybrid. It serves the beers most people recognize to appease the after work masses and also has an amazing list of craft beers that surpasses most beer bars. This not only makes everyone happy, but also creates a few converts who are peer pressured into trying a great craft beer.

East Village Tavern’s continually rotating selection of American draft lines is never stale. Make sure to check out their happy hour which, among other things, offers the cheapest glass of Dogfish 90 Minute in NYC.

Blind Tiger has an influx of new beers on tap every Wednesday for their brewery events. They continue to add more new beers to BeerMenus than any other bar.

Jimmy’s No. 43 holds impressive beer events run by the NYC Degustation Advisory Team. The events feature incredible pairings of beer with cheese, chocolate, and bacon. Check the events section to find out more info or go straight to their event on July 1st.

4th Avenue Pub offers 24 rotating craft beer lines offering some of the most obscure beers on tap. If you’re near Park Slope, this is a great place to find something new.

We hope you check out all these bars and reward them for making sure you know exactly what beers they offer.

Many thanks, The BeerMenus team

Become BeerMenus Famous and Win a BeerMenus t-shirt!

Will — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:23:56 GMT

Want your photos to appear on BeerMenus? You can now submit photos for bars and restaurants. We’re looking for creative photos that capture the vibe of a bar or restaurant in new and different ways. Is there an amazing bartender who knows about every beer on Earth? A hot bartender? A bar fly who is almost a part of the bar? Include them! Looking to shamelessly get your face on BeerMenus? Feel free to submit photos of you and your mates.

We’ll review submissions and add them to beer menu pages. The best submissions will win a BeerMenus t-shirt.

What are you waiting for? Submit a Photo

Cheers,

The BeerMenus Team

Stoudt's Brewing Co. at East Village Tavern

Will — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:43:43 GMT

East Village Tavern Welcomes Stoudt’s Brewing Company of Adamstown, PA.

Offering

$5 Stoudt’s all night long! $5 Plates of stinky cheese and crusty bread. $5 Baskets of fresh baked pretzel’s with homemade mustard. Full Food Menu.

6 lines from Stoudt’s Brewing Company…

1) Pils- The driest and most delicate of our lagers. Stoudt’s Pils is characteristic of the traditional European Pilseners. Straw-yellow and assertively hopped with Saaz hops, this frequent medal winner has a refreshing bitterness and refined hop aroma.

2) Weizen – This Bavarian-style unfiltered wheat beer (hefe weizen) is brewed with 50% malted barley and 50% malted wheat. The authentic German strain of yeast imparts a flavor and aroma reminiscent of cloves, bananas and bubble gum. Traditionally, weizen beers feature a medium body and high level of spritzy carbonation, and are served as a thirst quencher of sometimes a breakfast beer in the summer.

3) Smooth Hoperator – This medium bodied copper colored strong lager is in a class all by itself. First released in celebration of our 20th Anniversary. Ed Stoudt calls this beer an “American-style Doppelbock” He believes it to be the first high gravity lager brewed with German Malts and American Hops. This brew has a delicate malty palate up front, which is abruptly overshadowed by the dominating ho presence that can be attributed to 1.5lbs/bbl of hops that were added to this brew for aroma & flavor. A hop lover’s beer indeed.

4) American Pale Ale – This uniquely American beer offers a crisp, medium-body with a light amber color. It is assertively hopped with Pacific Northwest Cascades for a firm bitterness and delightfully floral aroma.

5) Triple – A strong, full-bodied Belgian Abbey-style beer. The traditional yeast strain that is used imparts a rich array of spicy and fruit-like flavors. The prominent clove and melon notes are complemented by the sweetness and alcoholic warmth of the beer. The appealing color of glowing orange makes this brew irresistible.

6) Blonde Double Maibock – A rich, deep golden-blonde lager, Stoudt’s version of the German classic style includes a generous amount of honey for added flavor notes. The full-bodied Mai-bock beer is significantly stronger than Stoudt’s Gold Lager. Brewed with the finest German 2-row malt and a subtle, yet noticeable touch of noble hops, this year-round beer was traditionally made to cut through the chill of early spring.

Come on out June 12th, and support East Village Tavern and Stoudt’s Brewing Co!

Help Craft Brewers in NY State

Will — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:30:54 GMT

In New York state, breweries cannot sell beer directly to bars. Breweries are required to sell their beer to a distribution company that then sells the beer to bars. A brewery’s fate is largely in the hands of their distributor. Currently, if a brewery isn’t well represented by their distributor, it is often almost impossible for the brewery to switch distributors. A new bill up for vote in the New York State Senate is offering small breweries the ability to end their relationship with a distributor if they fairly compensate the distributor to exit the agreement. The bill would give small breweries the ability to choose the best distributor for their beer and still make sure that distributors are fairly compensated.

What would this bill do for you, the craft beer lover? Small breweries could avoid getting stuck in contracts where their beer is lost in the shuffle and would be free to get the best representation. It would likely help more small breweries make it, increasing the diversity and availability of great beers in the market.

Scott Vaccaro, of Captain Lawrence Brewery in Westchester, NY, recently wrote an email urging beer lovers to support the legislation:

Dear Beer Activists,

Please read the information below, provided by the New York State Brewers Association, concerning an important piece of legislation which, if passed, would help ensure greater access and choice for consumers of craft beer in the Empire State.

New York Craft Brewers need your help!

We are asking for your support of the NY Craft Brewers’ efforts to pass an important amendment to the laws governing beer distribution in New York.

Under current law, it is very difficult, expensive and sometimes practically impossible for small brewers to switch from one wholesale distributor of their beer to another. The laws now in effect were enacted about 15 years ago to protect beer wholesalers from unfair distribution contract termination by large, multinational breweries. Wholesalers were legitimately concerned because all too often when a brewery moved its brands, the former wholesaler went totally uncompensated for all the time and effort spent in building sales of those brands.

In 2008, however, the beer and brewing landscape is very different. Although there are fewer wholesalers, those remaining are much larger companies and while multinational breweries certainly exist, the rise and proliferation of small, local craft breweries means that many brewers are smaller than the wholesalers they do business with.

Yet, these small craft brewers are required to operate under the same “franchise” laws that were created to protect the wholesalers from large brewers. Unfortunately, today these same franchise laws are being used by wholesalers to lock in the distribution rights and restrict access to market for these small brewers. Clearly, this is not good for small brewers, but it’s also very bad for consumers because it means less choice in terms of fewer brands and fewer breweries available on store shelves.

S 6101 proposes a change to that law so that any small brewer that is less than 5% of a wholesaler’s business will have the ability to terminate a relationship with a wholesaler providing they pay fair compensation to that wholesaler, i.e. what the brand has transferred for with other wholesalers over the past 12 months or a minimum of 2 times gross profit. Thus, S 6101 relieves small brewers from the franchise laws but importantly would continue to compensate the wholesaler for value of the brand rights if they are terminated.

On behalf of the New York State Brewers Association, please call or email your New York State Senator at his or her Albany office as soon as possible and urge them to support S 6101. This bill has already passed the Assembly and could come up for a vote in the Senate at any time.

Senators’ contact information can be found at http://www.senate.state.ny.us/senatehomepage.nsf/senators?OpenForm

If you are unsure of who your Senator is, please visit: http://www.senate.state.ny.us/sdlookup.nsf/Public_search?OpenForm

KEY POINTS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR COMMUNICATION:

I am a craft beer drinker and it upsets me that some craft beers are being held hostage by the franchise laws. The small craft brewers in New York State are not only making great beer, they are making a contribution to the state’s economy. The franchise laws as they exist in NY today are a burden on this growing industry and a restraint on small brewers being able to develop their business. I urge you to amend these laws and vote yes for S 6101. Thank you for your support of New York’s craft brewers and consumers.

Thank you for all your support in the past. Right now we could really use your help more than ever to secure the future of our brewery. If you have the time please contact your State Senator and voice your support for S 6101.

Thanks,

Scott Vaccaro

Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.

99 Castleton St

Pleasantville, NY 10570

914-741-2337

www.CaptainLawrenceBrewing.com

Thanks For Celebrating With Us

Will — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:11:26 GMT

A big thank you to everyone who came to the Blind Tiger last weekend to help us celebrate a successful launch. It was exciting to meet everyone and share great craft beer. We really appreciate your support and feedback on the site. We will be adding several features in the upcoming weeks to make your experience finding great beer even better.

East Village Tavern, American for Beer

Will — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:05:55 GMT

I recently had the pleasure of wetting my whistle at a brand new bar, the East Village Tavern. With 16 rotating craft beer taps meticulously picked by co-owner Bill Mack, the bar clearly means business when it comes to great craft beer. The tavern focuses on American craft beer, offering great brews from all over the country in all different styles.

The East Village Tavern chef, Andrew Dunleavy, crafted an impressive menu, brilliantly pairing each dish with a beer. Try Troeg’s Dreamweaver Wheat, a wheat beer brewed in Harrisburg, Pa, which pairs perfectly with the baby arugula salad that has golden beets, hazelnut crusted goat cheese, and pomegranate vinaigrette. What’s better than a Dogfish Head 90 Minute on tap? A Dogfish Head 90 Minute paired with “grown up grilled cheese” that has farmhouse cheddar, country ham, apple, onion, and dijon. I highly recommend the East Village Tavern.

BeerMenus Launch Party Sat. 5/24 at Blind Tiger Ale House!

Will — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:55:53 GMT

On Saturday May 24th, help us celebrate a successful launch at The Blind Tiger Ale House. Since the beginning, The Blind Tiger Ale House has been one of our biggest supporters and they’ve generously offered happy hour prices until 10pm.

We’ll be there starting at 5pm and we hope to see you there!

Please RSVP here (there’s no entrance fee) or on the Facebook event page if you plan to attend so we can make sure everything runs smoothly.

We’re excited to meet people who’ve been using BeerMenus, get feedback, and enjoy some great beer.

Cheers, The BeerMenus Team

Now Serving Brooklyn

Will — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:48:34 GMT

We are now expanding to Brooklyn! If there is a bar you want to see on our site that is located in Brooklyn, drop us an email: will@beermenus.com

Help us throw our launch party!

Will — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:56:36 GMT

We’re planning a launch party to meet the people using BeerMenus, thank everyone for their support, and enjoy an evening of beer and good times. If you manage a bar or want to sponsor the event, you can help us make it happen.

We are currently seeking a beer bar to host the event

Do you own or manage an awesome beer bar in Manhattan with lots of space? Want to introduce the BeerMenus community to your bar? Give us an offer we can’t refuse! For more information, contact Will@beermenus.com

Want to sponsor the event?

We’re going to give out BeerMenus t-shirts at the event with all of our sponsors’ logos printed on the back of the shirt. For more information, contact Will@beermenus.com

Want to make sure you don’t miss the event?

What People Are Saying About Us...

Will — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:17:58 GMT

CNET, WIRED, NEW YORK MAGAZINE, GOTHAMIST, THRILLIST, and COMPLEX…

Many thanks to Caroline McCarthy at CNET for writing the article titled BeerMenus.com, where have you been all my life? “For those of us who prefer their beer to be a bit more esoteric… this is a godsend.” Read more

Also, many thanks to Scott Gilbertson at Wired for writing the article Finally, a Website for Something That Matters: Finding a Good Beer where he says “Here’s one for your Friday afternoon daydreams: BeerMenus is great new little website that tracks bars’ beer selection so you can search for a particular bar and find out what’s available.

Even better is the reverse. Just type in your favorite beer and BeerMenus will tell you where you can find it on tap (or in a bottle if that’s your thing). Think of it as MenuPages for beer.” Read more

Thank you New York Magazine for writing the article Beer Menus Site Guides Beer Geeks in the Ways of Beer Read more

Many thanks to John Del Signore at Gothamist.com who wrote “Sure, websites like Menupages are handy when you need to line your stomach for a night of debauchery, but how do Manhattan transplants find the best place to meet up for high fives and car bombs? And how do you find the best bar to avoid them and enjoy your favorite microbrew?

A new website, Beer Menus, is more than just a bar search engine; it’s a great resource for tracking down microbrews and the bars that pour them. So far they’ve got 1,210 beers in their database and 162 beer menus throughout Manhattan – not bad considering it just launched today.” Read more

Thank you Thrillist.com for writing Proof the Internet loves you and wants you to be happy: BeerMenus.com “NYers benefit from a surfeit of dining resources – MenuPages for menus, CheapAssFoods for salmonella – but we’re tragically deprived of the most critical info of all. Ensuring you’re informed about what truly matters: BeerMenus.com.” Read more

Also many thanks to Complex.com, for writing “Beer guzzlers in NYC are psyched about Beermenus.com, a fully functional search engine that scopes out over 162 beer menus throughout the Big Apple. Think of the site as a liquid brother to the more familiar Menupages.com—it maps out every bar in the city where you can find your favorite brand of beer. The database is equipped to trace popular titles like Stella Artois to the more under-the-radar Stone Arrogant Bastard.” Read more

Many thanks to those who are helping us evangelize great beer.

We launched!

Will — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:25:19 GMT

Today marks the launch of Beer Menus with over 150 NYC bars and over 1200 beers. What’s the beer you were most surprised to find on Beer Menus? Let us know if you have any feedback, recommendations, or requests in the comments or by emailing will@beermenus.com

Warm and Sunny, Cool and Refreshing

Will — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:14:39 GMT

Warm and sunny weather goes perfectly with cool and refreshing beer. It’s Spring time and we at Beer Menus love drinking outside under the sun at bars that have outdoor seating and patios. Our favorite beers to drink under the sun are hefe weizens. These beers are light, refreshing, and have spectacular flavor, unlike a Bud Light. We recommend checking out Zum Shneider. This German beer bar recently opened its outdoor seating along Avenue C where you can enjoy an impressive selection of fine German beers on tap in tall glasses. Order a Weihenstephaner while you are there; it is the oldest brewery in the World that brews our favorite hefe weizen.