Meet 5 Brewers

Five brewers visited Jimmy's No. 43 tonight as part of a major trade tasting this week in New York City. Union Beer Distributors (aka greatbrewers.com) hosted a tasting for the trade of over 50 brewers. Brewers in attendance at Jimmys No. 43 tonight were:

Hitachino Nest (Japan)- espresso stout on draft.
The Porterhouse (Ireland)- oyster stout on draft
Harviestoun (Scotland) brought two beers-
Haggis hunter pale ale in cask
Old engine oil (porter/old ale blend)
Grado Plato (Italy) brought 3 different beers in bottle including the chestnut ale
Birrificio Piccolo (Italy) Seson with chinotto herbs

$10.00 Beer Tastings on Tuesdays

Tuesdays are the new Friday.

Or at least, they feel pretty good at Jimmy's No. 43.

On Tuesday, Jimmy's is offering $10 beer tastings with a variety of themes. Here's a quick list that was posted on Ten Weeks, Ten Dollars a Day. And don't forget tomorrow night's Beer and Cheese Pairing with Anne Saxelby!

Tuesday March 30th – Michael Lovullo presents IPAS from the west coast, the east coast, and Belgium – 7 – 9pm

Wednesday March 31st – Flying Dog brewery night with cheese pairings – 7 – 9pm

Tuesday April 6th – Saison and farmhouse ales – 7 – 9pm

Tuesday April 13th – BR from Shelton Brothers presents Beir De Garde – 7 – 9pm

Tuesday April 20th – All About Porters – 7 – 9pm

Tuesday May 11th – 12 percent importers ( specialty belgium beers ) plus beer and bacon tasting in the back room

Tuesday May 18th – Beer, Cheese and Kimchi tasting with Anne Saxelby

Keep checking back for updates on our Upcoming Tasting Events!

The Naked Pint Beer Pairing

We collaborated on a beer pairing brunch menu with Christina Perozzi, co-author or The Naked Pint. Some choices were obvious, like Kostrizer Black Lager paired with smoked salmon, because we're in New York and we are big fans of Russ and Daughters!

Our second course would be the "beer brunch salad" - frisee, smoky Benton's bacon, and local farm poached eggs. It is a simple, bistro standby that tastes so very American complimented by a great American saison beer, Ommegang Hennepin.

Also for brunch, I like to pull out my old party standby, pasta with bacon, onions, beer, and fresh farm sourced cream. I start by sauteeing onions and bacon, add Sixpoint Ale, reduce and finish with farm cream. Christina suggested a Belgian single ale, Maredsous 6, as accompaniment.

Cheese and dessert would follow. The cheese could go any direction, soft, local sheep's milk camembert, perhaps? We chose a local aged blue, Cayuga, New York state paired with St. Bernardus Prior 8, a Belgian dubbel ale that is fruity and food friendly. For dessert, a local cider bread pudding with Ronnybrook whipped cream and Allagash Curieux. The cider bread pudding is the new favorite dessert at Jimmy's No. 43. It's sweet apple goodness is balanced by the cask aged Curioux.

This would make quite a meal!

Fresh Hop Beers

Not long ago, there was a great article in the New York Times Dining Section about fresh hop beers. Last year, we featured the Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale. Currently we have: Southern Tier Harvest Ale, Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA, and the best of the bunch Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale from Colorado. Thinking about awarding a best beer of the year? I'd nominate the Great Divide!

Green Flash

On Friday, September 18 get ready to "Meet Chuck- An Evening with the Green Flash Brewer" at Jimmy's No. 43.

Chuck Silva is the brewmaster at Green Flash Brewery of San Diego. He will be at Jimmy's No. 43 to talk about Green Flash while Jimmy's serves up an extensive selection of limited Green Flash draft and bottled beer. Find out why Green Flash brews in small batches. Taste it for yourself. Pay as you go. No reservation required.

Until then- check out this post on The Full Pint.

Smoked Beer for Lent

Jimmy's No. 43 has a special beer on draft this week, called "Fasten' or "Lent" beer. I was intrigued by the name, then figured it out pretty fast when I tasted the beer. Catholics, please tell me: in the old days, was bacon/pork forbidden during Lent? If so, the German brewers at Aecht Schlenkerla made this smoky beer taste like bacon.

Thanks Thom!

What a nice fellow! Thom is trying to drink, what, 1,000 beers, and write about them? Well, he drank quite a few at Jimmy' s No. 43, and even liked the food. Check out Thom's Beer Blog and read more.

Obama Ale

Less than an hour after Obama's swearing in, and only a few minutes after we had an express delivery of Ommegang's Inauguration Ale, enterprising beer writer Claire Goggin from Digital City stoped by to taste it. See her post.

Top 10 Bars for Beer Snobs

New York Observer writer Michael Anstendig has a hot new list of Top 10 Bars for Beer Snobs. Jimmy's No. 43 lands at number 8 for it's "underground vibe" and "eclectic pints". Click here to read the full article.

We Know Beer

Recently, The New York Times published an article about Brooklyn breweries including one of our favorites- Sixpoint Craft Ales. The New York Times reports that, "Its (Sixpoint) beers are a staple at beer lovers’ haunts like Barcade in Williamsburg and Jimmy’s No. 43 in the East Village."

That is most certainly true. We are proud to pour Sixpoint, but what if you don't know which beer will suit your tasty entree? Where can you go to find beer pairings to delight your palate? A query was posted on Chowhound just the other day: "Is there a restaurant that offers beer pairings with the menu?" Luckily, Jimmy's No. 43 is a good spot for an informal pairing, just ask for Jimmy!

Summer. Sixpoint. I've been a huge fan of Brooklyn's Sixpoint Craft Ales since they started brewing in 2005. Jimmy's No. 43 always has at least one Sixpoint on draft, often more. This week we feature three: Bengali Tiger -a 1900 style IPA, Emasculator Doppel Bock- Germanic, dry finish, caramel, Gorilla Warfare Porter- 1 shot of Gorrilla espresso per pint, and coming this weekend is the Hop Obama All American Pale Ale!! Let's see how it sells....

Shelton Brothers Beers

The first time I met beer importer Dan Shelton, he told me how all my beers paled in comparison to his imports. Since then, I have become a devotee and proud to feature many of his beers, not only in bottle, but on draught as well. We are currently the only establishment in New York City to serve Christoffel Blond on draught. A 6% beer, Belgian style, from the Netherlands, refreshing with good mouth feel. I can drink this beer all night, and often I do!!

The other day, Rob Patronite and Robin Reisfeld (New York Magazine) were reviewing chef Phillip's asparagus recipe, and they drank the Shelton Brothers Spezial Rauchbier. A light, food friendly ale, with hints of smoke. In fact, primitive beers had a smokiness because early brewers dried their malt over an open fire. It's not at all what you would expect. True to the German beer purity law, there is a subtle smokiness from the natural brewing process, not a commercial additive of hickory flavor.

I love the Shelton Brothers Beers. Check out the beer list at Jimmy's No. 43 for both draught and bottle selections. Look for the friendly "*SB".