What you missed at the Beer Book, Blog & Video Fest

Last night was a great event at the South Street Seaport Museum (if you’ve never been, the place is appropriately decked out like the inside of a ship!). We were drinking beer with Shmaltz Brewing, Long Trail, Thomas Hooker, Beer Hear! and the Brooklyn Brewshop (among others); and ate food from Jimmy’s No. 43 and Sigmund’s Pretzels. All while hanging out with a great group of beer media. Be sure to see all the latest on our Facebook page (and, please, “like” us). A special shout out goes to the Beer Union team of Giancarlo and Sarah Annese, who did manage to get to all 41 Good Beer Seal Bars in a month (they started a week early and finished with a week to go, so we say it still counts). We’re guessing they are the only non-GBS members to make it to every bar on our list, so huge congratulations to them!

What You Missed On Beer Sessions Radio™ – Coppersea, Stills & Mash (7/24/12)

What’s the connection between craft beer and micro-distilleries? Quite a lot. From craft brewers who are adding distilling in their business to distillers who got their start in brewing, the ties between brewing and distilling are defining how micro-distillers make inroads into the market.

Michael Kinstlick of Coppersea Distillery – a recently licensed distillery in West Park, NY, and will be selling in the fall –  updates us on the progress of the craft spirit movement. Gregg Glaser (Yankee Brew News and Modern Distillery Age) calls in to help connect the dots between the two industries. Plus regular guest Jen Schwertman of Blind Tiger weighs in on micro-distilleries, alongside Matt Barclay and Justin Israelson from Sycamore Bar and Flowershop.

The movement for craft brewers to add a distilling element is spreading world wide, from Japan (Hitachino) to Europe (Mahr’s Bräu) and everywhere in between (Warwick Valley/Doc’s Cider, McMenamins, Rogue, Dogfish Head, Triple Eight/Cisco Brewing, and Dutch’s, among others). Join Beer Sessions Radio and hear what’s happening in micro-distilling with this great beer-loving crowd.

What You Missed On Beer Sessions Radio™ – Beer Media, Homebrew And The Soul Of Craft (7/10/12)

As a preview of July Good Beer Month’s Beer Book, Blog & Video Fest at South Street Seaport on July 25th, several beer media personalities joined Beer Sessions Radio™ for Episode 122: Beer Books & Blogs. In the studio are Christian DeBenedetti (The Great American Ale Trail and The Weekly Pint), Seth Wright (Beer Nation), and Erica Shea and Stephen Valand from the Brooklyn Brew Shop.

From the future of beer media (including the difficulty of launching a beer-tv show) to the evolution of home brewing as a catalyst for the craft beer movement, this group is looking ahead to the Fest by celebrating the “soul and spirit of beer.” By the end of the episode, you’ll be ready to brew some Peach Cobbler Ale. Or maybe just buy tickets to the Fest here, where you’ll meet these beer celebs and more. Slated to be in attendance:

  • Authors—Christian DeBenedetti (The Great American Ale Trail), Joshua Bernstein (Brewed Awakening), Horst Dornbusch (Asst. Editor, The Oxford Companion to Beer), Erica Shea and Stephen Valand (Brooklyn Beer Shop’s Beer Making Book), Lew Bryson (Pennsylvania Breweries), John Holl (Massachusetts Breweries), Jeremy Cowan (Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah), and others TBA;
  • Filmmakers—Seth Wright (Beer Nation Tours The GABF), Jimmy Ludwig (The Happy Hour Guys), Paul Kermizian (American Beer), Laurie Delk (100 Beers in Thirty Days), Roberto Serrini (The Brewhaha), Anat Baron (Beer Wars), Jeff Cioletti (Beerituality), John R. Richards (Beer Hunter, The Movie), and Ian Jenkin (Brewery Show);
  • Beer Bloggers— Beer Sessions Radio™, The Good Beer Seal, Bear Hear!, Beer Union, Beertography, New Jersey Craft Beer, SuperNeat Beer Adventure, Private Tap, Win Bassett, and Where and Back.

Hopfest A Success!

Our friends over at LocalBozo were nice enough to write up last night’s Hopfest: Backyard Hops In Support Of BK Farmyards at Brooklyn Brewery. Read what you missed (or relive the event):

The Good Beer Seal’s “July Good Beer Month” continues on in 2012, with more exciting events day after day. Throughout this steamy month, exciting ale centric programs will be held at each of the 40 Good Beer Seal bars throughout the city. The LocalBozo crew has been out celebrating these events, while learning a great deal about our favorite adult beverage. On Monday night we headed back to Williamsburg’s “Brooklyn Brewery,” a venue that has become our regular stomping ground for “Hopfest: Backyard Hops In Support Of BK Farmyards.” The large brewing room was literally transformed into a “House of Hops,” allowing event goers the opportunity to walk around to taste the brews and smell the miracle flower produced by “backyard” hop growers throughout New York.

Read the rest of the article here.

Learn To Grow Hops… Or Just Enjoy Drinking Them

Photo from Edible Brooklyn by Michael Scott Berman

This Monday, July 16th, July Good Beer Month™ and the Good Beer Seal present Hopfest: Backyard Hops In Support Of BK Farmyards from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Brewery. Hopfest will feature a three hours of unlimited walk-around food and beer tastings with local “backyard” hops growers throughout New York City. Teaching you how to grow hops will be:

  • The Bronx Brewery, in collaboration with the New York Botanical Gardens and the Cornell Cooperative Extension, whose Urban Hop Project is growing hops at community gardens throughout the Bronx;
  • Jeff O’Neill (Peekskill) and John Segal (Segal Ranch Hops);
  • Ben Granger (Bierkraft – Edible did a great story about Ben a couple years ago);
  • John Liegey (Greenport Harbor);
  • Host Brooklyn Brewery with more hops growers TBA.

In addition to plenty of beer, food offerings include dishes from Parish Hall, Jimmy’s No. 43, East Village Meat Market, and Sigmund’s Pretzels, among others. Tickets available now.

Mayor Bloomberg Proclaims: July Is Good Beer Month

It was off to City Hall this morning for several Good Beer Seal bar owners, who were happy to receive Mayor Bloomberg’s fourth annual “July is Good Beer Month” proclamation. Among the GBS bar owners in attendance; Juan Cruz (Sunswick), Bobby Gagnon (The Gate), Jimmy Carbone (Jimmy’s No. 43), Sam Barbieri (Waterfront Ale House), Dennis Zentek (dba), and Paul Kermizian (Barcade).

Want the full story of The Good Beer Seal and the dedicated bar owners who brave the pre-noon heat to bring this Mayoral Proclamation to the people? Check out this piece from one of our favorite craft beer resources Private Tap.

Happy July Good Beer Month!