Author Archives: Dan

Cheese Pairing | Week of June 10

Brooklyn Summer Ale with Cantal. Lean, grassy and a touch earthy, this cow’s milk cheese is from the Auvergne region of France. Its complex flavors are a good foil to the zesty qualities of the Summer Ale.

Martin Johnson runs The Joy of Cheese, a series of informal cheese and beverage classes that take place at a variety of Manhattan and Brooklyn venues as well as at the 92nd St. Y. He is also Cheese, Charcuterie, Beer and Wine Manager for Gastronomie 491, a new market/cafe on the Upper West Side. He blogs TheJoyOfCheese.com.

The Brooklyn Brewery Mash Comes to Boston, July 9-14

Brooklyn Brewery is taking its neighborhood on the road. Collaborating with friends old and new, the Brewery has bundled up some of its favorite events into The Brooklyn Brewery Mash as a benefit for Slow Food USA, rolling out in Boston July 9-14. Check back for a Boston Mash recap from Brooklyn Brewery House Chef Andrew Gerson (@BKLYNhouseChef).

Mash HQ
Tue, July 9 – Fri, July 12, 5-7pm; Stoddards Food & Ale; 48 Temple Pl, Boston
Brooklyn beer specials, new and special offerings, giveaways and general info available on The Mash.

Lovin’ Spoonfuls Beer Dinner
Tue, July 9, 7pm; Stoddards Food & Ale; 48 Temple Pl, Boston – $55
Four course passed small plate dinner, hosted by Brooklyn Rep & Bostonian, Patrick Paulick.

Local 2 Ways
Wed, July 10, 7pm; Tip Tap Room; 138 Cambridge St, Boston – price TBA
Multi-course beer dinner celebrating local cuisine, interpreted 2 ways: by Chef Brian Poe of Tip Tap Room and Brooklyn Brewery House Chef Andrew Gerson.

Big Cheese vs. Big Cheese
Thu, July 11, 5-7pm; Stoddards Food & Ale; 48 Temple Pl, Boston – $55
The head cheese mongers from both Formaggio locations will face off in a battle for your taste buds. Brooklyn House Chef Andrew Gerson will present 5 beers and the two cheese heads will present their preferred cheeses.

NY Night Train Soul Clap & Dance-Off with DJ Mr. Jonathan Toubin
Thu, July 11, 10pm; T.T. the Bear’s; 10 Brookline St, Cambridge, MA – $8
Compete for a trip to New York for the Dance-Off championship at Brooklyn Bowl and $100 cash prize after getting warmed up with the exquisite 1960s soul 45s of world famous Brooklyn DJ Jonathan Toubin. Must be 21 years of age to win. Opening the show will be our funny friends from Found Footage Festival, showing off their most hilarious and danceable found VHS clips.

Chaos Cooking
Fri, July 12, 7pm – Free
A stalwart citizen opens their kitchen for a dinner party where all the guests are cooks. Each attendee brings the ingredients and everyone cooks together. Dishes are passed around, and there’s plenty of Brooklyn beer to enjoy. For location details, go to ChaosCooking.com.

Slow Supper with Brasstacks @ Lowell’s Boat Shop
Sat, July 13, 6pm; Lowell’s Boat Shop; 459 Main Street, Amesbury – $100
Held in America’s oldest functioning boat shop, guests will feast on a meal prepared in collaboration between Brooklyn House Chef Andrew Gerson and Chef Mark Sheehan of the underground-supperclub-soon-to-be-restaurant Brasstacks. Projection installations from Brooklyn’s NBNY. All proceeds benefit Slow Food Boston.

Books & Beer: At Sea with Erin Byers Murray
Sunday, July 14, 6pm; Upstairs Gallery @ Eastern Standard, 528 Commonwealth Ave, Boston – $10
Togather and Brooklyn Brewery present a conversation and Q&A featuring two enterprising individuals with ties to the water: author Erin Byers Murray who worked at Island Creek Oysters for 18 months to learn the business of oysters, and Graham McKay of Lowell’s Boat Shop. Your ticket includes complimentary Brooklyn beer and a percentage of ticket sales will benefit Slow Food Boston.

It’s A Busy Week In The Carolinas, June 5-12

Charlotte
Wednesday 6/5, All Night: Tap Attack @ Dillinger’s
Thursday 6/6, All Night: Tap Attack @ Jackalope Jacks
Saturday 6/8, 3pm: Brooklyn, Bands & Beer @ VBGB
Saturday 6/8, 9pm: Brooklyn, Bands & Beer @ Neighborhood Theatre

Charleston
Sunday 6/9, 2-4pm: Beer & Cheese Pairing @ Charleston Beer Exchange
Monday 6/10, 6-8pm: Beer & Food Pairing @ Liberty Tap Room
Tuesday 6/11 7-8:30pm: Beer Dinner @ Craftsmen Kitchen
Tuesday 6/11 9pm: Tap Attack @ The Griffon
Wednesday 6/12 7pm: Brewery Night @ Tattooed Moose

R.I.P. Monster Ale: The Captain Goes Down With The Ship

Today it is with a heavy heart that we announce Brooklyn Brewery’s barley wine Monster Ale has reached the end of its run. But although this beer will no longer be produced, its spirit will live on… no, like literally: Monster Ale will age nicely for many years, so for those holding on to a bottle (or keg) there’s still some Monster out there left to enjoy.

After the passing of Monster the Cat, things were just not the same with Monster Ale. The Monsters had come up in Brooklyn together, enjoying an incalculable tally of beer fans assembled in the Tasting Room basking in the duo’s respective glow, and witnessing the birth of new arrivals such as Local 1, BLAST! and Sorachi Ace, now all on course toward legacies of their own. When Monster was laid to rest, the spirituous, malty libation could be seen aimlessly meandering through the fermentation hall, lazing about the brewhouse, and listlessly watching bottles fill up with beer in the packaging room, giving the sense to those close with this classic Winter Seasonal that perhaps the end was near.

But don’t worry, even though one of its members has passed, the Brooklyn Beer family may just have some new suds in the oven…

Cheese Pairing | Week of May 27

Brooklyn Sorachi Ace with Mt. Tam. Rich, buttery and ever so slightly fungal, this cow’s milk triple cream is made in California; its sumptuous texture is a perfect foil for the effervescence of the Sorachi Ace.

WIN A TRIP TO BROOKLYN @ THE SOUL CLAP & DANCE-OFF

The Brooklyn Brewery Mash traveling food & arts festival wants to send you to Brooklyn to show off your dance moves.

Coming to the Twin Cities on June 20, the NY Night Train Soul Clap & Dance-Off with DJ Mr. Jonathan Toubin is to the best gyrator giving away a trip to Brooklyn for the Dance-Off championship at Brooklyn Bowl, and a $100 cash prize, after getting you warmed up with world famous Brooklyn DJ Jonathan Toubin’s exquisite 1960s soul 45s.*

Along with a delectable team of events inspired by food, film, books & beer, the Soul Clap & Dance-Off drops in the cities below. Break out those special shoes, start stretching it up, and we just may see you in Brooklyn.

TWIN CITIES, MN: June 17 – 23
BOSTON, MA: July 9 – 14
WASHINGTON, D.C.: September 19 – 22
CHICAGO, IL: October 1 – 6
PITTSBURGH, PA: October 22 – 27
PHILADELPHIA, PA: November 5 – 10
MIAMI, FL: December 10 – 15

[*must be 21 years of age to win]

The Brooklyn Brewery Mash Comes to the Twin Cities, June 17-23

Proceeds from every ticket sold will go to The Land Stewardship Project, a nonprofit dedicated to creating transformational change in our food and farming system by fostering an ethic of stewardship for farmland, promoting sustainable agriculture and developing sustainable communities. Check back for a Twin Cities Mash recap from Brooklyn Brewery House Chef Andrew Gerson (@BKLYNhouseChef).

Mash HQ
Tue, June 18–Fri, June 21, 5-7pm; The Happy Gnome; 498 Selby Ave, St. Paul, MN
Brooklyn beer specials, new and special offerings, cheese pairings, giveaways and info on all things Mash.

Togather Books & Beer with Christian DeBenedetti & Joseph Alton
Wed, June 19, 10pm; The Amsterdam; 6th & Wabasha; Saint Paul, MN – $5
Togather and Brooklyn Brewery present a conversation on craft beer featuring Christian DeBenedetti, author of The Great American Ale Trail and Twin Cities’ own Joseph Alton, editor of The Growler. Performances to follow by The Ericksons and Bora York.

Local 2 Ways
Wed, June 19, 7pm; Haute Dish; 119 Washington Ave, N Minneapolis, MN – $85
Multi-course beer dinner celebrating local cuisine, interpreted 2 ways: by Chef Landon Schoenefeld of Haute Dish and Brooklyn Brewery House Chef Andrew Gerson.

Found Footage Festival: Best of The Midwest
Thu, June 20, 8pm; Heights Theater; 3951 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN – $12
A hilarious show that features footage from videos that were found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters across the country. The “Best of The Midwest” edition will feature footage found exclusively in MN, WI, MI and IL. Special guests from videos harvested in the Twin Cities will appear live at the show.

NY Night Train Soul Clap & Dance-Off with DJ Mr. Jonathan Toubin
Thu, June 20, 11pm; Turf Club; 1601 University Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN – $7
Compete for a trip to New York for the Dance-Off championship at Brooklyn Bowl and $100 cash prize after getting warmed up with the exquisite 1960s soul 45s of world famous Brooklyn DJ Jonathan Toubin. Must be 21 years of age to win.

Farmers Market Workshop
Sun, June 23, 10:30am; 312 East Lyndale Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55405
The Brooklyn Brewery House Chef will be cooking up some of his favorite finds from the market. Stop by for cooking and beer pairing tips.

Chaos Cooking
Sun, June 23, 4pm; for location details, go to ChaosCooking.com – Free
A stalwart citizen opens their kitchen for a dinner party where all the guests are cooks. Each attendee brings the ingredients and everyone cooks together. Dishes are passed around, and there’s plenty of Brooklyn beer to enjoy.

Slow Supper with Chef Jamie Malone at Soap Factory
Sun, June 23, 8pm; Soap Factory; 514 2nd St. SE, Minneapolis, MN – $100
Guests will feast on a meal prepared in collaboration by Brooklyn Brewery House Chef Andrew Gerson and Chef Jamie Malone of Sea Change. Co-produced by Dinner on the Farm. Custom art installations by Brooklyn’s NBNY. All proceeds benefit The Land Stewardship Project.

Mash Specials
Throughout the week we’ll be featuring specials, pairings or fixed menus at the following locations: Bryant Lake Bowl, Stanley’s Northeast Bar Room, Stout’s Pub, Tiffany Sports Lounge

L Train Not Running to Brewery Memorial Day Weekend 2013

Please be advised that the L subway train will not be running between 8th Ave and Lorimer St over Memorial Day Weekend: Friday 5/24 (after 11pm), Saturday 5/25, Sunday 5/26 and Monday 5/27. Here are some alternate subway routes:

+ Take the A or C train from Manhattan into Brooklyn and transfer at Hoyt Schermerhorn to the G train. Take the G train to Nassau Av and walk to The Brooklyn Brewery.
+ Take the F train from Manhattan in Brooklyn and transfer at Bergen Street to the G train to Nassau Av and walk to The Brooklyn Brewery.
+ Take the J train from Manhattan into Brooklyn and transfer at Marcy Av to the Loop Buses provided by the MTA to Bedford Ave and walk from Bedford Ave and North 7th to The Brooklyn Brewery.
+ Take the 7 train or E train from Manhattan into Queens and transfer at Court Sq to the G train to Nassau Av and walk to The Brooklyn Brewery.

Cheese Pairing | Week of May 20

Brooklyn East India Pale Ale with Battenkill Brebis. Smooth, gently sweet, and slightly wooly, this sheep’s milk cheese is made in Shushan NY. Its demure but distinct flavors will balance the complexity of the East India Pale Ale.

Vortex IPA Tapped in Sweden to Commemorate 20th B-day of Stockholm’s Oliver Twist

A vortex, of course, is a thing that whirls. The dictionary says that a vortex is “A place or situation regarded as drawing into its center all that surrounds it” or “Any activity, situation, or way of life regarded as irresistibly engulfing.”

In 1914 a group of British writers and artists published “Blast”, the literary arm of the new futurist art movement called Vorticism. The Vorticists “Blasted” the things they despised in the modern world (conformity and mildness) and “Blessed” the things they celebrated (such as mariners battling an implacable sea).

In 1993, Oliver Twist opened in Stockholm. Opposing an implacable sea of conformity and mildness, Jorgen Hasselquist, Justin St. Clair Maitland and Tomas Ek soon joined OT and started up their own vortex. They resisted an implacable sea of beer boredom. They looked to draw towards themselves all beers, all things, and all people they wanted to hang out with. And the beers came, and the people came, and the music came, and to this day you’ll find them there, happily and noisily flying around the cultural core that is OT.

What then from Oliver Twist’s American cousins on the momentous occasion of OT’s 20th year? Brooklyn Brewery offers tribute, admiration and fellowship in a glass. Vortex IPA* is as strong as Jugge’s opinions, as warming as the staff’s welcome, and as brightly flavorful as OT itself. Vortex IPA Blasts blandness, yet Blesses drinkability.
It celebrates American hop ebullience, Brooklyn attitude, and Swedish cool. British caramel malts lend richness and depth, while a blend of American hops give the beer a mineral backbone and explosive aromatics (with a special guest appearance by our pal Sir East Kent Golding as “The English Aristocrat”).

Vortex IPA is mighty tasty. It probably even gives you fresher breath and whiter teeth, but we can’t prove that part. Nor can we support the claim that it concentrates the mind on life’s better aspects. However, we can guarantee that if you drink Vortex at OT and allow just a little bit of Brooklyn into your heart, you will laugh more than the average person. You may even become irresistibly engulfing.

A Vortex? Well, it’s a thing that Twists, of course. Come to OT, raise a glass, and put your own spin on things.

[*Vortex IPA is only available at Oliver Twist in Stockholm]