Posts Written ByJulia Burke

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor I couldn’t believe my luck at finding this relatively rare IPA at my local pub. A Brett-fermented IPA made with Citra hops at Ithaca Beer Company in June, this creation is the brainchild of a collaborative brew session with a guest list impressive enough to warrant an emergency nuclear attack escape plan: Ithaca’s own Jeff O’Neil and Eric Kugeman, Phil Leinhart of Brewery Ommegang, Scott Vaccaro of Captain Lawrence, Casey Hughes of Flying Fish, Phil Markowski of Southampton Publick House, and one West Coast representative, Steve Altimari of Valley Brewing in Stockton, CA. Super Friends pours a…

One of the best beer events in the northeastern U.S. takes the Finger Lakes by storm this weekend: Ithaca Brew Fest 2010. A showcase of nearly fifty breweries from all over the country and beyond, this widely beloved and well-attended beer festival has increased rapidly in popularity since it began just four years ago. Sponsored by Ithaca Beer Company, Cayuga Radio, and Wegman's, the event takes place this Saturday, September 4 from 3 to 7 p.m. in Stewart Park on Cayuga Lake. In addition to fantastic beer from local favorites such as Middle Ages, Captain Lawrence and Brooklyn as well…

I credit our science editor, Tom Mansell, for putting me firmly in a barleywine-craving mood with his What We Drank this week.  The powerful, intense style is gloriously complex and balanced when done right, and the perfect answer to a long day or week as it reduces the world and all its problems to the need for a nice cigar and bed. Druid Fluid from Middle Ages  Brewing Company pours a light one-finger head and orange-amber hue into a snifter glass, where it maintains light lacing.  The nose is vague orange flavors and a hint of cream puffs but mostly…

This is one of two collaboration beers between brewers Hans-Peter Drexler of legendary Bavarian brewery Schneider and Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver. The version with the Brooklyn label is widely available but I found a Schneider label bottle and had to try it. The idea is that each brewed the same beer in the other brewer's brewery, but with different hopping to assert some terroir. Yup, I just dropped the T-word. It's not a New York beer per se, but it's a New York brewer and a pretty interesting concept. This weiss pours a gorgeous cloudy tangerine color, with a…

There's still at least one "BP" that isn't destroying the world. Blue Point Brewing Company, creators of multi-award-winning Toasted Lager, has responded to the Gulf oil spill disaster the best way they know how: by crafting a beer dedicated to our feathered friends affected by the crisis. It's been dubbed Toxic Sludge, and the proceeds from its sale will support the Delaware-based bird rescue organization Tri-State Bird Research and Rescue. The spill, caused by an explosion on April 20 of this year, has widely affected wildlife, but Blue Point president Pete Cotter explains his particular sympathy for the plight of…

By deeming this imperial black ale, the "antithesis of Unearthly" the label on this Southern Tier Brewing Company offering promises another 22 ounces of pure hedonism. It pours jet black into a goblet with a puffy three-finger head, for a sexiness shorter-lived than Lindsay Lohan's; fifteen seconds and it falls away like a deflated bouncy castle leaving minimal lacing. The nose is milk. School cafeteria milk, chocolate milk, sweetened condensed milk maybe, and just a suggestion of light hops. Supposedly there's Chinook and Willamette in here, Cascade and Centennial on the finish, bu they're surprisingly restrained for this normally hop-crazy…

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor From a can — love it! Environmentally friendly and less expensive. Pork Slap pours a clear amber and a puffy three-finger head into a wheat glass, leaving solid lacing. The nose is clean crystal malt, bananas, toffee, and baked plaintain, with a little clove, cardamom, and ginger (apparently ginger is actually added to the beer — I only got a hint, which is all I would have wanted on this delicate nose). On the palate, sweetness and more tropical fruit backed by assertive carbonation and light hops make for a mouthfeel that is textured yet…

Rooster Fish Brewing's tent at the 2010 Finger Lakes Wine Festival By Julia Burke, Beer Editor Amidst the sea of wine drinkers that accosted me and my fellow vendors (I was pouring for Freedom Run Winery) at the Finger Lakes Wine Festival this weekend, I managed to make my way to my own personal oasis: the Brewers Garden. Purposely tucked away behind the main festival proceedings, the small cluster of beer tents cost a $10 admission fee to both guests and vendors — irritating, yes, but once I got in I realized that maybe the fee was a good thing.…

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor It's with mixed feelings and no small measure of trepidation that I approach a beer labeled with the word "summer." Sure, they're a great way to draw macro beer drinkers into the craft world — a Hop Sun is a whole lot less scary than a Local No. 1 — due to their light body, relatively low carbonation and hop levels, and "drinkability." But that last word sometimes gets tangled up in the world of macro beer, and unfortunately so do some of the summer ales I've tasted. To sort the best from the rest…

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor At long last, after months of worry and deliberation without a pint of local beer to diffuse the tension, a beloved brewery was returned to its fans this week when Buffalo’s Flying Bison Brewing Company reopened its doors. Only six months ago, the home of numerous local staples, including Rusty Chain, Aviator Red, and Buffalo Lager was on the brink of closing its doors for good — but after lengthy debate with investors, Flying Bison owner and brewmaster Tim Herzog (pictured right) accepted a buyout offer from Utica producer Matt Brewing Company to save the…