Tag Archives: Jimmy’s No. 43

July 12, 2012 · 1:02 pm

New York City celebrates its beer scene

From left, 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) at New York City Hall, where Mayor Mike Bloomberg presented them with a proclamation taking notice of the celebration

It’s July Good Beer Month in New York City, a celebration of the city’s breweries and drinking establishments, sponsored by the Good Beer Seal group of craft beer bars.

The celebration includes special beer-related events throughout the city.

Among the feature events is Hopfest: Backyard Hops on July 16 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the Brooklyn Brewery. Hopfest will feature a walk-around food and beer tasting with local “backyard” hop growers from throughout New York City. Participants include the Bronx Brewery, which in collaboration with the New York Botanical Gardens and the Cornell Cooperative Extension is growing hops in community gardens throughout the Bronx; Jeff O’Neill of the Peekskill Brewery; John Segal of Segal Ranch Hops; Ben Granger of Bierkraft and John Liegey of Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. Tickets are $35.

Another featured event is the Beer Book, Blog & Video Fest on July 25, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the South Street Seaport Museum, described as a one-of-a-kind event featuring more than 20 of the country’s best writers and filmmakers, who will showcase their work, sign books, and sample beer with the public. Tickets are $15,

Other events include:

· July 12 – Craft/Beer/Jam – Live webcast with a studio audience and beer! At WNYC’s Greene Space.

· July 21 – Kelso of Brooklyn’s Great Hot Dog Cook-Off, now in its seventh year.

· July 31st – Edible’s Good Beer at 82 Mercer, billed as New York’s ultimate beer and food pairing event.

The Good Beer Seal, an association of independently owned bars dedicated to the promotion of craft beer, identifies bars that offer an intriguing selection of craft beer in a unique atmosphere created by owner/operators who exhibit a deep commitment not only to the promotion of craft beer but to the community in which they do business. The Good Beer Seal Committee includes Jimmy Carbone of Jimmy’s No. 43; Dave Brodrick of Blind Tiger Ale House; Bree O’Connor of Beer Sessions Radio; Sam Barbieri of the Waterfront Ale House; Ed Berestecki of Mugs Ale House; Juan Cruz of Sunswick 35/35, and Drew Bushong of Burp Castle.

A full list of member bars and information on upcoming events are available at goodbeerseal.com

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July 6, 2012 · 9:05 pm

3 new gin discoveries

Making gin is like painting a blank canvas. It’s a collage of flavors. And some new micro distillers, I‘ve found, are painting with a colorful palette.

Catoctin Creek Watershed Gin

Recently, I discovered some new flavorful renditions of this spirit, whose origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages, at Elixirs & Eats: Bacon, Beer, Booze, and Burlesque, an event at Hudson Terrace put on by food and beverage promoter Jimmy Carbone, who owns Jimmy’s No, 43 bar in Manhattan and Food Karma Projects, an event company. He received assistance from Gregg Glaser, editor of Modern Distillery Age.

Bluecoat Gin from Philadelphia Distilling

● Bluecoat American Dry Gin, from the Philadelphia Distilling Co., Sold in a cobalt blue bottle, this gin is far from the typical London dry gin. It’s made with wheat,  organic juniper berries, citrus and botanicals. The taste is firmly focused on the spicy juniper and citrus.

● Brooklyn Gin, produced under contract for Jose Santo’s Brooklyn Distilling Co. by the Hudson Valley-based Warwick Winery and Distillery. Santo’s recipe includes hand-cracked juniper berries, 11 botanicals, five types of citrus peels, lavender and cocoa nibs. It’s floral and citrus forward.

Brooklyn GIn

I’ve always found gin much more interesting than vodka, largely because of its complex flavors. To me, a martini is tastier with gin than it is with vodka. And nothing beats a gin and tonic on a hot summer day, though a gin greyhound cocktail may come close. Or, perhaps, this gin punch recipe from Brooklyn Distilling’s Jose Santos:I must lament that it’s difficult to find these distinctive gins outside of New York City.  You’ll find retailers listed on the producers’ respective web sites.

Gin Punch 

Adopted from a recipe from Brooklyn Distilling

1 bottle of Brooklyn Gin or other small batch gin

3 Earl Grey tea bags

12 oz. agave syrup

12 oz. pear purée

20 oz. water

10 oz. lemon juice (12 fresh lemons)

Nutmeg

Pour the gin into another a pitcher or jug and add the three Earl Grey tea bags. Stir/shake occasionally for up to 20 minutes, tasting along the way to ensure that it doesn’t get you too bitter for you.

Remove the tea bags.

Pour the infused gin into a punch bowl.

Add all other ingredients (except the nutmeg) and stir.

Add some ice to the bowl.

To serve, add some ice to a glass, pour punch in glass, and sprinkle some ground nutmeg on the top.

Notes

Agave syrup is available in most supermarkets

If commercial pear purée is unavailable make it yourself using 6 pears. Peel and core the peers and then puree with a little water in a food processor.

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March 28, 2012 · 2:08 pm

A sweet memory: Zymatore Thornbridge Raven Black IPA Whiskey & Pinot Noir Barrel

Every Thursday at 5 p.m. is “Thursday Tap,” at Jimmy’s No. 43, one of New York City’s top beer bars. That’s when host Jimmy Carbone taps a special keg/cask beer, usually a rare cask, a new beer or a hard-to-find small batch brew.

I happily happened to be the city recently on other business and made a point to stop in at Jimmy’s to try its unusual offering on that day, Zymatore Thornbridge Raven Black IPA, imported by B United International, a well-regarded importer that is working hard to challenge beer imbibers.

This was a black IPA developed for the U.S. market by Thornbridge Brewery in Derbyshire, England using five malt varieties and six different hops. It was then shipped to B. United’s facilities in Connecticut in temperature- and climate-controlled bulk liquid tankers for kegging, Jon Lundbom, the importer’s New York area manager told me in an email. A portion of the 3,500 liters imported went into wooden barrels for maturation. The barrels used for this brew previously held Ransom Winery pinot noir for three seasons before being filled with Ransom Distillery Whisky.  Each barrel produces up to a dozen 20-liter kegs. Only two kegs made it to New York and the entire production, Lundbom noted, has sold out.

This particular Raven is part of B United’s Zymatore Project, in which the importer matures and manipulates some of the distinctive beers it brings in.  Other breweries that have been a part of the project include Scotland’s Harviestoun Brewery, Germany’s Brauerei Heller-Trum/Aecht Schlenkerla, Switzerland’s Brasserie des Franches-Montages, Belgium’s Brouwerij De Glazen Toren and Japan’s Hitachino Nest, among others.

Thornbridge beers were first brewed in early 2005 after the establishment of a 10-barrel brewery in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall in Derbyshire. Initially the brewery focused on traditional cask beers modernized through the use of a wide range of hops, malts and other innovations. It soon began sweeping up national and international awards, which now number more than 200. A second brewery was opened nearby at Bakewell in 2009.

The Zymatore version of the Raven is an incredibly complex brew. Served in a Chimay chalice at Jimmy’s No. 43 for $12, it has a deep, black body with a thin beige head that fades rather quickly. The aroma is super sweet with notes of whiskey, wood, dark fruit and chocolate. It’s a beer to sip slowly.  In the mouth it seems a tad thin but the flavors are intense: dark sweet chocolate with only the barest hints of resin but also oak, bourbon, and a hint of sweet wine. It tastes absolutely nothing like a black IPA, as virtually all the bitterness or hop character has been displaced by its barrel conditioning.

Now, I’m anxious to try other brews in the Zymatore range. For now, though, the Raven remains, alas, a sweet memory.

 

 

 

 

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