September 10th, 2010
By Kevin Burns
New York City Craft Beer Week starts today, and while I will not be attending any of the events, I was lucky enough to preview all of the amazing events that will be going on. In anticipation of the week Brooklyn Brewery hosted an exclusive press preview event on Wednesday, September 8th. The three hour event was attended by members of the media, representatives from participating venues throughout the city, and brewery owners involved in the Beer Week program. Attendees had a chance to hear about NY Craft Beer Week’s featured events, get a sneak peek of the NYC Beer Passport 2010 and have the opportunity to tour Brooklyn Brewery’s brand new expanded facilities.
Allagash, Brooklyn, Captain Lawrence, Goose Island, Ommegang and Victory were all on hand pouring beers while food producers Gerald Jerky, Hawthorne Valley Sauerkraut, Murray’s Cheese, My Friend’s Mustard, Nunu Chocolates, Ovenly Pastries, Rick’s Picks, Sullivan St. Bakery and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream were offering attendees a chance to pair the great beers with local, artisanal foods.
Beer celebrities Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery, Jeremy Cowan of Shmaltz Brewing Company, and Bill Covaleski of Victory Brewing Company were all in house to help talk about their beers, and the upcoming events.
The 3rd Annual New York Craft Beer Week will be held from September 24th – October 3rd. The week will kick off with the 3rd Annual Freaktoberfest Boutique Beer & Music Festival, the event’s official kick off event. The other main events will be the Get Real NY Cask Ale & Food Festival, Zagat Sponsored “Beer Pairing Menus,” Voyage of the IPA Event, Celebrity Chef Food & Beer Pairing Dinners, Long Island City Beer Festival, Meet The Brewer Events, Beer Walks, and Bike Tours.
The staple of the week is the NYC Beer Week Passport. The passport features a calendar of all events, a list of all participating bars and restaurants, articles and features on the craft beer world, and most importantly discounts on pints of beer across the city. Each participating venue will be featuring one brewery, and the passport will contain an offer for a $3 pint of beer at that venue from the brewery that will be featured. The passports can be purchased for $10 now at www.nycbeerweek.com and at each participating venue beginning September 9, 2010.
NY Craft Beer Week has grow ebough that it will have it’s own iPhone application as well as it’s own signature beer. The iPhone application will list all of the events and venues going on during the week. Geektoberfest will be the official beer of the 2010 NYC Craft Beer Week. The beer is a collaboration beer by Shmaltz Brewing, Captain Lawrence Brewing, and Ithaca Beer Company. Geektoberfest is a blended beer, barrel-aged in whiskey barrels. Geektoberfest will only be available on draft during NY Craft Beer Week.
The press preview event is a great event. Aside from offering great craft beer and artisanal food, it allowed members from different brances of the craft beer family a chance to socialize and discuss plenty of issues. Brewers, bar owners, distributors, and members of the press were able to discuss different ideas, events, and other topics. NYC Craft Beer week is a great way to promote craft beer and the event allowed members of the press a chance to write about and promote the upcoming events.
