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Moustache Brewing Co. Ocelot 2.0 IPA

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I recently visited the Moustache Brewing Co. during their ribbon-cutting ceremony and was able to taste through three of their current releases. The One Drop Pale Ale, Everyman’s Porter and Ocelot 2.0 IPA were all impressive, but the IPA filled my growler and made the ride back home with me. The ale pours a bright orange-copper hue that just looks delicious. A bit too cold at first, the nose shows orange blossom, grapefruit rind and lemon. Once warmed, the aromatic hops are even more prevalent with a piney character taking over. A slight caramel note hints that the palate will…

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Oyster Bay Brewing Company IPA

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Reviewing IPAs can become quite redundant. They’re all hoppy, bitter, citrusy, whatever. I love the style, but it’s prevalence at the beer store can be overwhelming. There are multitudes of styles, with brewers using varying amounts and varieties of hops and malt. Why so many of them can taste so damn similar is a mystery to me. For a beer that is meant to knock you over the head with hops and malt, there are some rare exceptions when an IPA can bring subtlety and balance to the table. This rant was inspired by Oyster Bay Brewing Company’s IPA. It…

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Brooklyn Brewery Sorachi Ace

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This little 750 ml beauty comes from Brooklyn Brewery. One of the brewery’s regional sales reps and I were discussing local distribution on the East End of Long Island at an event back in the spring. He mentioned that some accounts were dropping their Brooklyn tap lines because they “weren’t craft enough.” This struck me as odd at first, but then I understood. Once a small upstart brewery, opened in 1996, Brooklyn Brewery can now be found in 25 states and 20 countries. This means your favorite sports arena, restaurant and even gas station probably has at least one of their beers. Some of…

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The Summer Session: Southampton Publick House Biere de Mars

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The literal translation of the French phrase, “Biere De Mars,” is “Beer of March.” Traditionally, this farmhouse-style beer is made in early spring with the first harvest of grain, and then aged before release. The brewing of ale in colder months ensured that the fermentation would be more controlled, preventing unwanted flavors brought on by summer temperatures. Nowadays, brewing technology and climate control have removed the necessity of this seasonal brewing, but the style is still crafted by some small breweries. Luckily, for beer enthusiasts such as myself, Southampton Publick House still embraces many of these old world brewing techniques that are all but forgotten. Southampton…

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The Summer Session: The Bronx Brewery Bronx Pale Ale

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I’m admittedly not a big fan of “summer” beers. Ales and lagers that are part of a summer beer program are usually over-the-top with citrus flavoring and other adjuncts. The malt profile in these beers, whether it wheat or pale malt, often leave a funky aftertaste. I’d much rather reach for a Belgian or domestic wheat beer for hot-weather drinking — but, I am always in the market for a crisp sipper that has a clean finish and complements outdoor activities. As I find beers that fit into the “session beer” category over the warmer months, I’ll review them for…

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Southampton Publick House 2013 Russian Imperial Stout

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Russian Imperial Stouts, like India Pale Ales, are named after the region they were originally shipped to, rather than where they were brewed. The flavors and alcohol content of these styles (that we have grown to love as consumers) were born out of necessity. High alcohol and hop content act as natural preservatives in beer. So, as demand for foreign beer grew internationally, brewers resorted to adding additional hops and fermenting to higher alcohol — ensuring that their product could be shipped across longer distances. Made to last, IPAs and Russian Imperial Stouts are still some of the most cellar-worthy…

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Woodcock Brothers Brewery Porter

I first tasted Woodcock Brothers Brewing Company’s prototype porter back in May, when the brewery was still in its planning stages and brothers Tim and Mark Woodcock were still homebrewers — rather than owners of Niagara County’s first modern-day brewery, as they are now. I loved it. The dry, smoky finish was delectable, the chocolate and walnut notes and hearty body balanced just right for the warm spring weather. I remember thinking, “If this is their sample porter, I can’t wait to try the rest of their beers.” The weekend before Thanksgiving I visited the brewery once again, and barely…

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Whole Foods Market-Harpoon Brewery “Saison Liaison”

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You can’t mess with Saison. Seriously, don’t even try. You meet a frothy glass of it in an alley, promptly throw down your wallet, bow your head, take a few cautious steps backward, and run. And, just recently, a new player has stepped out of the alley and onto the scene. Harpoon Brewery has teamed up with Jeff Wallace, the NYC Whole Foods Beer Buyer (and an avid homebrewer), on a new collaboration called “Saison Liaison,” which will only be available at Whole Foods Markets in NYC that carry growlers. Saisons are my favorite beer style, made even cooler by the fact that they nearly disappeared from the world,…

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Brooklyn Sorachi Ace

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A beer-loving friend recently asked me to recommend a book on beer and food pairing. I pointed her in the direction of Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver’s classic The Brewmaster’s Table, the definitive tome on beer and food pairing. Oliver is an Old World brewer with a conviction that beer belongs at the table and, just like wine, is as important a part of a meal as the food. I can think of no beer better suited to deliver this message than his farmhouse ale, Sorachi Ace. Sorachi offers the spice (lots of hot pepper and a twinge of thai…

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Peak Organic Brewing Company Local Series: New York

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Peak Organic Brewing Company isn’t a New York brewery –– it calls Portland, Maine, home. But their beers are so consistently good that I forgive them. Now they’ve gone and made a beer with New York ingredients, which, for various reasons, is more than I can say for many of the excellent brews reviewed on this site. Peak has embarked on a Local Series, with each brew in the series featuring hops and barley from a certain state (Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York) to showcase that state’s particular terroir. Their New York example is here, and it’s a very…

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