All posts by deronc

A visit to Randolph Beer, located at 343 Broome Street in Soho/Nolita

The ever expanding Randolph empire opens up another location three doors east of the original spot on a rather quiet block of Broome Street.  About the same size as The Randolph, Randolph Beer offers 36 tap beers and good food.  On the second night of operation, the Randolph Beer was packed, so the early reviews appear promising for this spot.  Pub Crawl NYC is very happy that this section of Soho/Nolita has a quality craft-beer focused bar.  Outside of One Mile House one block north and east on Delancey (and now that Stanton Public has morphed into something else), Randolph Beer stands alone in this section of town.  We’ll need a few more bars like Randolph Beer before we have a bonified Soho craft-beer focused NYC bar crawl.

Some of the three dozen taps

A visit to Heavy Seas Alehouse in Baltimore, MD

A recent Sunday afternoon brought Pub Crawl NYC to Heavy Seas Alehouse.  Heavy Seas beer, formerly known as Clipper City, has been a quality Baltimore craftbrew since the 1990s.  In fact, the first IPA I ever had was a Clipper City IPA and I’ve been a hophead ever since (the staff at the Alehouse was very happy to hear that)!  Located in a former factory on the eastern edge of Baltimore’s Little Italy, Heavy Seas Alehouse offers ten taps of Heavy Seas beer, as well as two cask-conditioned ales (there is also a small offering of bottled beers not from the Heavy Seas line-up).  Unfortunately, the Alehouse does not double as a brewpub.  The beer is brewed nearby in Baltimore County.  The place has several dining areas beyond the main bar area.  The food menu, featuring a raw bar, offers a combination of bar and bistro fare.  The Heavy Seas Alehouse is definitely worth a visit the next time you are in Charm City.

The tasty sampler option!
The main bar area

A visit to the Sweetwater brewery in Atlanta, part 2

Some photos from the brewing and bottling portion of my visit.  I had never before seen a bottling facility of a microbrewery.  The local NYC microbreweries do their bulk bottling outside of the tri-state area (where real estate is much more affordable versus in the five boroughs).  Even for the size of Sweetwater (who proclaimed to be the 27th largest craft brewer in the U.S.), this operation seemed elaborate to me.  The entire bottling room was two stories high and nearly two football fields in length.

This room holds the aging vessels.
Part of the bottling room. At the very back of this photo, empty bottles enter the room . . .
The bottles are filled with beer at the station at the top of this photo and then wind their way around to the room to the bottle labler, also toward the top of this photo.
A (sort-of) close-up of the bottle filler

 

A close-up of the bottle labler
One filled and labled, the bottles get placed into standard cases of 24 bottles and the cases are moved out of the bottling facility for distribution.

What are your thoughts on Sweetwater and its bottling facility?  Leave a comment here.

A visit to the Sweetwater Brewery in Atlanta, part 1

A visit to the Sweetwater Brewery entailed some sampling at the indoor bar and hanging in the outdoor area.  Some photos from the occasion.  The photos from the brewery tour part of the visit will be available later this week.

The crowded indoor tasting room, the bar offered six 8-oz pours for only $10.
The main outdoor tasting area. The weather was great, even for late March in Atlanta!
In the background, is the line of people waiting to get in. On a nice weather day, it gets crowded quickly!

I just wish Sweetwater’s beer were available in NYC!  Check back later this week from some photos of the brewing and bottling process.

A visit to Meehan's Irish pub in Atlanta, GA

A recent weekend trip to Atlanta gave me a chance to visit Meehan’s in Downtown Atlanta.  Very spacious (for NYC standards anyway!), Meehan’s offered quality regional craft beers (love the Sweetwater offerings) as well as good bar and pub fare.  If you are hanging out in Downtown Atlanta after work or before a sporting event at nearby Phillips Arena or the Georgia Dome, definitely stop in at Meehan’s.

Pics from the recent West Village NYC pub crawl

After the Blind Tiger (maybe our fave Manhattan bar), we visited the Village Tavern
And when you're done at the Village Tavern, how can you NOT then visit Daddy-O, just across the street!
The small dining section at Daddy-O
The last place of the evening was The Brooklyneer at 220 West Houston Street.

What are your thoughts on this crawl?  Did we miss out on any must-see bars in that section of the West Village?  We want to hear from you!

A visit to the Downtown Bar & Grill in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

The Downtown Bar & Grill, at 160 Court Street in Brooklyn, is a solid beer bar and an integral part of any Cobble Hill craft-beer focused NYC bar crawl.  The 20 taps are all quality and experience frequent rotation.  The Downtown Bar & Grill offers over 400 bottled beers as well.  The food menu offers a mix of bar appetizers, sandwiches/burgers and other pub fare.  The long bar area is located on the right, with a seating area opposite the bar separated by a three-foot high wall.  With its location on the northwest corner of the Court and Amity Streets intersection, the Downtown Bar & Grill’s floor to ceiling windows offer plenty of opportunities for sunny afternoon imbibing and people watching.  The Downtown Bar & Grill, a must visit.

 

The 20 taps at Downtown Bar & Grill on a recent Sunday evening.