Brooklyn Bloggery

Happy Birthday, Norman Mailer

Today is the birthday of one of Brooklyn’s great writers and one of my personal favorites, Norman Mailer. I had the honor of meeting Mailer in the early years of the brewery. He was attending a production of “The Cherry Orchard” at BAM and I was there serving Brooklyn Lager at a pre-theater reception. I was introduced to Mailer and he tried a sip of my beer. “It’s a bit heavy for me,” he said in his gruff voice. “I’m not a big beer guy.” I guess I looked a bit crestfallen. Mailer said, “Well don’t brood about it man, I don’t know shit about beer. I’m the last guy you should worry about.” He then asked how I got into the beer business. I told him about my past life as a Middle East correspondent for AP. He leaned toward me and said, “You are probably the only person here I want to talk to.” We talked about the Arab-Israeli conflict and other Middle East issues. He introduced me to his wife and kids. As we parted, he said, “See you around. The Brooklyn establishment is not that big you know.”

– Steve Hindy, Co-Founder & President, Brooklyn Brewery

Schumer Bets On Big Blue @ The BB

In a beer-and-sports related wager entirely unrelated to our bets with Anchor and Harpoon, NY State Senator Charles E. Schumer swung by Brewers Row this morning to don a Manning jersey and boast his local beer.

Chuck has a Super Bowl bet going with the senators from Massachusetts where the “loser” will provide all the other senators a six-pack of beer from the winner’s state.

UPDATE // JAN 31 The Hill reports: According to Schumer’s office, if the Giants beat the Patriots, Shaheen will purchase beer from six of New York’s craft brew companies from around the state, including New York’s Brooklyn Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Company, Saranac Matt Brewing Company, Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, Ithaca Beer Company, and Brown’s Brewing Company. Schumer plans to supply beer from New Hampshire’s Smuttynose Brewery to the entire Senate if he loses the bet. 

“I can’t wait for Senator Shaheen to participate in the ‘I Love New York Brew’ Campaign by buying the best craft brews in New York and supplying them to every member of the United States Senate,” Schumer said in a statement released by his office. “When Big Blue brings Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to their knees, the entire U.S. Senate will understand why we love New York brew. Go Giants!”

We finally distribute in CA! At Anchor Brewing. For one Week? Read on…

UPDATE // JAN 30 The photos are in! Anchor reports:

Anchor brewing staff will wear Giants jerseys and pour samples of Brooklyn’s Sorachi Ace beer during tours of its San Francisco brewery Monday, January 30 through Friday, February 3. “The Niners played a great game but the Giants came out on top, so we’ll stand by our word,” said Dannerbeck. “We’ll be pouring beer from Brooklyn Brewery and wearing the Giants’ colors this week, but don’t worry, our Niners will be back next year and we’ll be hoping for a chance to even the score.”

“We hope our friends in San Francisco enjoy the Brooklyn Sorachi Ace. Let’s hope for a rematch in 2013,” said Brooklyn Brewery President Steve Hindy.

Public tastings of Brooklyn Beer will not be available during this time, as Anchor tours are available by advance reservation only. Unfortunately, all tours are full this week, but you may call the brewery directly at 415.863.8350 to inquire about any cancellations.

UPDATE // JAN 27 Anchor reports that the Sorachi big bottles and Giants jerseys arrived safely, and that next week their tour guides will pour beer decked out in Big Blue during their Mon-Fri tours at 10am and 1pm, with brewery Chief Dannerbeck kicking off the first tour on Monday. Mr. Dannerbeck has promised to provide us with ”photos of the heinous crime scene,” so stay tuned!

UPDATE // JAN 25 Sorachi Ace and Giants jerseys are en route to CA.

UPDATE // JAN 22 Big Blue’s Victory Brings Brooklyn Beer to San Francisco

So it shall be written! Brooklyn Brewery beer and Giants jerseys will grace the Anchor Brewery this coming week. Stay tuned for updates and photos of our seven-day West Coast distribution.

The fabled Anchor bar in The City By The Bay.

A friendly wager has been placed between Brooklyn Brewery and Anchor Brewing Co. that our respective hometown teams will win the National Football Conference game this Sunday.

John Dannerbeck, president of Anchor Brewing Co. of San Francisco, and Steve Hindy, president of Brooklyn Brewery in New York, have agreed to pour the other brewery’s beer and outfit their brewery tour staff in jerseys from the opposing team for a week if their team loses the title game in San Francisco on Sunday. The brewery chiefs will wear the jerseys of shame as well.

“We are very confident that the 49ers will come through for us and we will not have to suffer this humiliation,” said Dannerbeck. “We beat the Giants earlier this year, and I am sure we will do it again.”

“The Giants have come together in an impressive way since the post-season commenced,” said Hindy. “We think Eli Manning and his team are going to avenge that earlier loss and move on to the Super Bowl.”

May the best team win!

Tap That Glass: Draft List, Friday January 27

Below is the roster of beers you can expect to find here at The Brewery on Friday, January 27 (list is subject to change). Beer tokens can be purchased for $5/each or 5 for $20.

DRAFT // 1 token each (unless otherwise indicated)

SPECIAL: Cask of Winter Ale (6.0% abv)

Brooklyn Lager (5.2% abv)
Brooklyn Brown Ale (5.6% abv)
Brooklyn BLAST! (9.0% abv) - 2 tokens
Brooklyn Companion Ale (9.1% abv) - 2 tokens
Brooklyn East India Pale Ale (6.9% abv)
Brooklyn Radius (4.8% abv)
Brooklyner Weisse (5.1% abv)
AMA Bionda (6.0% abv)

BIG BOTTLE POURS // 3 tokens each, includes complimentary Souvenir Logoed Stemware Glass

Brooklyn Local 1 (9.0% abv)
Brooklyn Local 2 (9.0% abv)
Sorachi Ace (7.4% abv)
AMA Bionda (6.0% abv) – 2 tokens

View our complete public hours here.

Vintage Photo Of The Week: The Hamilton Boys

Boys at Fort Hamilton, ca.1910, V1981.284.55; Emmanuel House lantern slide collection, v1981.284; Brooklyn Historical Society.

From Brooklyn Historical Society:

This photograph features boys from Emmanuel House on a visit to Fort Hamilton. Fort Hamilton is located in Bay Ridge, in the southwestern corner of Brooklyn. American soldiers had used the site as a garrison since the Revolutionary War, but the structure that stands today was not erected until the nineteenth century. The Army commenced building Fort Hamilton on June 11, 1825, completing it after six years and at a cost of half a million dollars. Fort Hamilton has played numerous roles in both war and peacetime. Its military residents included Robert E. Lee, garrisoned there during the 1840s, decades before he would lead the Confederate Army. During the Civil War, the fort protected New York harbor against potential Confederate invaders and provided troops to police the New York Draft Riots of 1863. In the twentieth century, it served as a major port of embarkation during both World Wars. Fort Hamilton continues to be an actively used military site today. The fort also houses the Harbor Defense Museum, which offers educational tours, exhibits, and access to archival collections related to military history in New York City.

Emmanuel House was located at 13 Steuben Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. As a civic center and place of outreach run by the Young Men’s League of the Emmanuel Baptist Church, the Emmanuel House offered Sunday school, Kindergarten and recreational classes to children of the church and neighborhood. Emmanuel House was demolished in the mid-twentienth century during an expansion of the neighboring Pratt Institute, at which time outreach and recreational activities were resumed at the Emmanuel Baptist Church.

To see more photos from BHS’s collection, visit their online image gallery.

Wednesday Cheese Pairing, Jan 25

Brooklyn Radius with Salvatore Smoked Ricotta. Rich, richer, and richest without being part of the 1%, this homemade Ricotta is made by two women in Brooklyn. Its luscious texture and gentle hints to smoke will pair wonderfully with the leanness of the Radius.

Martin Johnson runs The Joy of Cheese, a series of informal cheese tastings held at several venues around Manhattan and Brooklyn; he blogs about cheese daily at www.thejoyofcheese.com.

Brooklyn Brewery & Boston’s Harpoon Brewery Bet On Giants-Patriots Super Bowl

Harpoon Brewery President Dan Kenary and our own Steve Hindy are betting that their home team will prevail in the Feb 5 Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

If the New York Giants win, as they did in the 2008 Super Bowl against New England, Harpoon will pour Brooklyn Lager in their tasting room and their brewery tour staff will wear Giants jerseys for a week this winter. If the Patriots win, Brooklyn will pour Harpoon IPA in their pub for a week, and the Brooklyn staff will wear Patriots jerseys.

“We are very confident that the Patriots will carry the day, and avenge the 2008 loss to the Giants,” said Kenary, who still cringes when he thinks back to pouring Brooklyn Lager four years ago.

“We know the Patriots had a better season record than the Giants. They are a great team,” said Hindy, clearly concerned about appearing over confident. “But the Giants have come together in the post-season. Eli Manning and his team have to keep it together for one more game.”

Hindy noted that the Anchor Brewery in San Francisco lost a similar bet to Brooklyn last Sunday when the Giants beat the 49ers on a last minute field goal. Anchor’s tour guides will be wearing Giants jerseys and pouring Brooklyn Sorachi Ace for their guests in the coming week.

“It is difficult to calculate the shame that accrues to a brewery that must pour its competitor’s flagship beer through its home taps,” said Hindy. “And wearing the opposition’s jerseys—you take your life in your hands when you wear a Boston jersey here in New York.”

Monster’s Log: Tuesday, January 24

The people here just can’t stop talking about the bet they won with some other people on the other side of the country. Beer and Giants jerseys are being packaged up and sent west to San Francisco for the folks of the Golden Gate to enjoy, and thoughts of championship glory are now bent towards Boston.

All fine and well, except I’m not a Giants fan. Convinced “Big Blue” was going down, I’d been wearing my 49ers jersey around the brewery all last week until brewer Tom took it from me and crushed it up in the mill room. Hard to fight back without opposable thumbs.

Steve Hindy To Give Keynote Speech At 2012 Craft Brewers Conference

 Hindy at the mic in 1988 commemorating the F.X. Matt Brewery’s centennial

Brooklyn Brewery’s fearless leader will “address thousands” of beer industry professionals at the 2012 Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego on May 2. A beer biz veteran of nearly 25 years, Steve has amassed a trove of knowledge, insight and great stories about our favorite beverage, and has delivered countless speeches to fans, media entities, business partners and industry insiders. All of this is to say we’re confident he’ll shine on the CBC stage.

We interviewed Steve today about the art of public speaking:

Brooklyn Bloggery: What do you generally think about when giving speeches? What’s on your mind as you address the crowd?

Steve Hindy: The most important thing about giving a speech is having something to say, having a message. Seems to me that many people who give speeches, particularly business executives and politicians, studiously avoid saying anything. This is very frustrating, and boring, for their listeners.

BB: What is your favorite kind of crowd to address?

SH: I like addressing my peers in the industry and other entrepreneurs. I like talking to young people about entrepreneurship.

BB: What are some of the things that make a beer-lover crowd unique, aside from the obvious collective interest? What characteristics tend to define this audience?

SH: Beer lovers are intensely interested in beer, and breweries and brewers. They want to know about our beers and us. But their attention tends to be inversely proportional to the volume of beer they have consumed. So if they have had more than two beers, end the speech.

BB: Do you think you are more or less of a better speaker when you yourself are drinking beer during your speech?

SH: One beer enhances my speaking ability. Beyond one, the benefits diminish.

BB: Where did you give your best and worst speeches? What’s the most memorable speech you gave?

SH: My most memorable speech was at 6pm on the day we celebrated the opening of The Brooklyn Brewery [Williamsburg, Brooklyn facility] in 1996. There were a couple of thousand people at a two-block party on N11th St. I announced there would be FREE BEER until the kegs ran dry. This resulted in a mad rush. My partner Tom Potter then announced the free beer would end at 6:30pm.

BB: Do you still get nervous addressing crowds?

SH: Yes I do get nervous. But you have to channel that nervousness into positive energy. A calm speaker can be a blah speaker.

BB: What topics will you be addressing during your CBC speech?

SH: In San Diego, I plan to celebrate the role of the Local Brewer and outline some of the great challenges facing our industry in the next 25 years.

Yesterbeer: A Look Back At Craft (January 1996)

This month in 1996, “master analyst of brewing-industry statistics” Robert S. Weinberg peers into a crystal ball and comes out of his trance saying: “I honestly believe that 90 percent plus of the American people do not like the taste of beer, and only drink it because it’s a lubricant of social intercourse.” Probably a fair measure of truth in that statement in the mid-90′s, but thanks to guidance from the likes of Mr. Weinberg, the percentage of us here in the 21st century who savor craft beer grows daily.