The Beerist

For all you beer blooded New Yorkers willing to trek into the heart of Brooklyn, a new destination awaits you. A couple weeks ago a new place opened up on 427 7th Avenue at 14th Street in Park Slope Brooklyn. Called the Beer Table, it's an intimate and cozy little place that serves up the rarest and the best brews from around the globe. Although still getting the routine together, the plan for the place seems to be a daily rotation of both draught and bottled beers. 

I stopped in there with a few friends and had a blast, I recommend and hope you get a chance to do check it out. We started of the night with one of each of the 3 draft brews and finished with a few of their more odd bottle selections. One was described as having hints of rubber flavor, yum! The mustard seed infused beer was also a kick to the palette, in a very good way.

The owners Justin and Tricia Philips, a late twenty something couple with a shared interest in the fine art of beer making and the enjoyment that ensues, are both very friendly and will be glad to guide you through their complex selections. The amount of knowledge they have about the beers they select is both impressive and inspiring. 

I don't want to say too much, the place is cool, you should go. 

The Beer Table

Michael Jackson, I've learned to brew and appreciate beer through your books and your words. Rest in peace, and cheers. 

Famed beer hunter dies - CNN.com

This is old news, but it's wacky enough to write about months after the fact. 

Apparently a visitor to the Beijing Zoo got an overwhelming urge to pet a panda bear, so he decided to hop the fence and give it a shot. The startled panda did the most logical thing a panda could do and bit him on the leg. The man, clearly shaken by the panda's defensive demeanor did the least logical thing a man could do… he bit the panda back. 

The man, Zhang Xinyan had consumed an estimated 4 jugs of beer (not sure how big a jug is) at the zoo's restaurant before the incident. He also described the panda's skin as "quite thick"… I bet it was.

Panda bites man, man retaliates and bites back - [wayodd.com]

Damn hop devil…what have you done!

UPDATE: This and other market forces have since led to higher beer prices for everyone. Although it's a terrible thing in the short term, it's a wonderful thing in my opinion in the long run. When demand is high suppliers take notice. I don't think it will be long before hop farmers kick up supply to meet the rising demand that the craft beer boom has placed on the market. No pain no gain… pass me a pint!

Beer drinkers beware: 4 percent of U.S. hops crop burns » [CNN.com]

Here's a story that warms my heart and my glass. Dave Grohl, the ex-Nirvana drummer and lead of the Foo Fighters is a freaking cool dude. Apparently some miners in Australia were trapped underground for a couple weeks. Rescuers were able to lower music players down into the mine to keep their spirits up while a proper escape tunnel was dug. The miners made a request that the music players be loaded with Foo Fighters songs first.

When Dave found out, he decided to go out and treat the dudes to some beers on him. Good work Dave, may the rest of the world follow with your example.

Grohl to buy beer for once-trapped miners » [MSNBC.com]

In a tribute to the late comedian Lenny Bruce, Smaltz brewery has created a bit of an homage. The RIPA, and that's not Rest In Peace Ale. It stands for Rye India Pale Ale, and holy shit is it tasty. I'm a bit of a hop head myself, and damn this brew made my toes curl. The BeerAdvocate gives it an overall score of 86 and you can taste each and every one of those 86 points.

The style is an American Double IPA, and it lives up to it's name. Take any strong and hoppy IPA you can think of and multiply the taste by two and you'll get an idea of what the brewmasters at Shmaltz brewery have in store for you. So a word to the wary, if you don't like strong hoppy beers (but who doesn't!) then this may not be the brew for you. But if you're one of the few beerist masters who crave that smack in the mouth that only a true craft brew can muster up, go out and pick yourself up a bottle. It truely is made with an obscene amount of hops and malt. Mmmm writing about it makes me thirsty.

Beer Makers Honor Lenny Bruce With Pale Ale » [All Headline News]

A brewery in Norway has created a beer to honor their own historical sponsorship in turn of the century Arctic exploration. About a 100 years ago they sent these explorers up to the North Pole while plied with good brew.

"At that time, brave men were equipped with tasty, strong beer as part of their supplies, as a reward for their bravery and daringness." [Nunatsiaq News]

The explorers took a 3 year trip by boat through the arctic ocean… drifting North through the sea ice. When the boat could go no further they walked. Although they didn't make it to the North Pole they made it pretty darn close and still further than any explorer had made it at the time.

If I were heading to the arctic with a boat load of beer I would probably take three years myself. 

"Nunavut" beer quenches Norway's thirst » Nunatsiaq News

A tiny microbrewery in Greenland is tapping the water from the melting ice caps to produce uber-pure water from which to brew their beer. They produce a dark and pale ale just 400 miles south of the arctic circle. The beer is currently being bottled and shipped to Copenhagen, Denmark. There is interest to market the beer in Germany and the U.S. and the brewers say it may be 6 months before it's begins shipment to Germany.

So anyone who sends us a sample will be our hero.

Greenland ice cap beer launched » [BBC]