All posts by deronc

Little Town NYC Restaurant Row located at 341 West 46th Street in Hell's Kitchen

At the western edge of one of Midtown Manhattan’s many beaten paths, Little Town NYC is a spacious version of their original location in Union Square.  If you like their New York State theme, then you must visit the new location on Restaurant Row.  Located in the former Village Pourhouse spot (and before that it was a Joshua Tree, I sure hope this Little Town West location makes it at this address), the layout is similar to its previous incarnations (large bar area on the left with some high top tables opposite the bar, some additional seating in the back as well as an upstairs level).  The food aims to be locally sourced (great oysters, I’m told) and the beer selection is simply magnificent.  Beers available from Jamestown on the western edge of the state all the way to Greenport at the eastern end of Long Island, and just about everything in between.  Over 20 beers available on tap as well as many more bottled beers.  This place is great for those with a lot of New York State pride.

The Oyster Platter
The tap beer selection, great for any NYC craft-beer focused pub crawl!
The main bar area

A visit to New York Beer Company, located at 321 W. 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen

A new stop along the Hell’s Kitchen craft-beer focused NYC pub crawl, New York Beer Company is a must visit.  Very spacious, New York Beer Company offers a large bar area as well as two sections for seating.  The beer taps number around 30 and experience frequent rotation.  The offerings consist of a mix of New York regional craft brews and a few from other parts of the U.S.  Another 30 or so beers available by the bottle.  Pub Crawl NYC did not get to try to the food while there, but the menu looked promising.  The gimmick at this place is that select tap beer prices move up or down during the day based on supply/demand.  For instance, if 10 Sam Adams Boston Lagers were ordered within a certain period of time, the price of Sam Adams would rise $0.25.  The prices fluctuate at three-minute time intervals and television monitors allow you to see intra-day price movements.  New York Beer Company is another recently-opened spot that is definitely worth a visit (or three!).

The back half of the sprawling bar area
The TV screen showing intra-day beer price fluctuations

A visit to O'Donoghue's at 156 West 44th Street in Midtown

Just east of Times Square on West 44th Street sits the Irish Pub, O’Donoghue’s.  This relative newcomer is a step up from the run-of-the-mill Midtown Irish pub.  The food menu offered a mix of upscale bar/bistro fare.  The beer selection was also slightly better than the usual offerings in similar establishments in this part of town.  Though not quite good enough to be included in the Midtown NYC craft-beer bar crawl.  Staff was friendly.  It’s worth a visit the next time your in the area.

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.