Friday saw me dash out of work a couple hours early to hop on the Decamp 33 headed into NYC for another beer expedition, my second of the week. On the itinerary last night was the first ever meeting of the Brooklyn Brewery’s Order of Osiris. The mug club, so named for the Egyptian god of beer, was to be gathering for beers and all around good times for an hour before the brewery opened to the public for the usual Friday night happy hour. The brewery staff member, I believe he said he was the operations manager, who ran the meeting was decked out in a ranger’s hat and sunglasses, and I couldn’t help but think of Super Troopers (one of my favorite movies) every time he rapped his mallet on one of the barrels laying about to get our attention and make an announcement. The sole bit of bad news was that the mugs arrived to Brooklyn in bad shape and so we’d have to wait until the next meeting to get them. The good news though was that there were plenty of great beers on tap, with hardly a line at all to get them (which is not the normal state of affairs there). I started with pours of Brooklyn Radius, a light Belgian pale beer that was poured at the ghost bottle night a few weeks ago, and their very nice rendition of a weiss beer. Next up was a real treat, their Cookie Jar Porter, a Brewmaster’s Reserve release from them about a year and a half ago, was being served from a cask. It’s a moderate strength porter brewed to taste like an oatmeal raisin cookie. Now, cask conditioned beers are hit and miss for me, but I tend to like the maltier styles when served this way, and this was no exception. The vanilla and raisin added to the brew was really able to shine through, and I found it overall a bit better than when I had it on draft when it was released. Last up, as the regular Friday night happy hour was getting underway, was their Blast imperial pale ale. Now this is a beer I love, but I had intended to order it on draft, and the bartender ended up pouring me the cask version instead. I was a bit apprehensive, as I tend to not go for hop forward beers as much on cask, but the hoppy flavors were so vibrant here that I really enjoyed it nonetheless. The meeting as a whole was a blast, I ran into my friend Seth and had conversations with a couple other cool people, and we sang the official Order of Osiris theme song. I dare not disclose the lyrics, but it was set to the theme of a song from the Simpson’s, so you know it’s good. By about 6:15 the place was filling up and, having already drank what we all wanted, Seth, myself, and a third person headed out into the city to continue our night.
Next up was a relatively new German beer hall style place a few blocks away called Spritzenhaus. The place is *huge*, a quick google search tells me about 6000 square feet. There’s a lot of seating, from stools at the bar to small tables to the big communal style tables one normally associates with a beer hall. The vibe is pretty cool, the décor inside is a bit industrial, and that combined with it being completely open to the outside just worked. The beer list is unsurprisingly dominated by German brews, but American crafts get a good representation as well. I decided to fall back on an old classic, Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier. This beer, to me, is the standard against which all hefes are measured. Killer yeast profile that’s right up front and doesn’t let bready malts take center stage. This spot was a one and done for us, though I’d definitely go back there in the future, and then it was time to head back into Manhattan
We ended the night at what’s almost definitely my favorite beer bar in the city, the Rattle n Hum. First up for me was a keg of Stone’s 15th Anniversary Imperial BlackIPA. It’s a behemoth of a beer, over 10% and hopped to the gills. This beer uses some of my favorite hops, Citra and Nelson Sauvin, and they play very well over a roasted malt background. I very much look forward to getting my hands on a bottle when it hits shelves in New Jersey
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