The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [121]
THE BRAZEN HEAD
228 Atlantic Ave. • Brooklyn, NY 11201 • 718-488-0430 brazenheadbrooklyn.com • Established: 2000
SCENE & STORY
A friendly, traditional Irish pub modeled after Dublin’s most famous (and oldest), Brooklyn’s version is a good approximation, with yellowed tin ceilings, darts, a wide wooden bar, and a small outdoor area in the back. The vibe here is relaxing and unpretentious, which is a welcome quality in the sometimes cooler-than-thou Borough of Kings. Brooklyn’s first real ale festival (celebrating cask-conditioned beers) was staged here, an annual event that returns each November, which is worth attending, provided you arrive good and early.
PHILOSOPHY
People first. This is more a beer bar to hit with friends than an educational experience with every visit, but that doesn’t mean the beers aren’t good.
KEY BEER
There are typically fifteen beers on tap with two casks, so look for recent releases from New York area brewers including Chelsea, Captain Lawrence, and Brooklyn.
THE DIAMOND
43 Franklin St. (between Quay St. & Calyer St.) Brooklyn, NY 11222 • (718) 383-5030 thediamondbrooklyn.com
SCENE & STORY
A lighthearted den where craft beer meets pop art and rock and roll, the Diamond is a little out of the way, a little bit kooky, and a lot of awesome. With its bright lighting, contemporary art, horseshoe bar, high metal stools, shuffleboard, and back patio equipped with an old ski gondola car, it’s a refreshing change of pace from the Ye Olden Days vibe that pervades so many bars and taverns in New York these days. It makes a superb afternoon stop on the way into Williamsburg’s other great beer destinations like Spuyten Duyvil, Radegast, and Fette Sau. The bar sponsors a Shuffleboard Biathlon, and “Brew n’ Chew,” a homebrew and home cooking competition, as well as occasional beer dinners, such as a recent sausage event.
PHILOSOPHY
The fact is, you’re not going to come here for lectures on hop growing, but the beer list is no less worthy, and if you’re really lucky, you might get to hear Van Heusen, owner “Diamond Dave” Pollack’s Van Halen cover band.
KEY BEER
With seven taps, about thirty-four bottles, and a few cans, the selection is organized into “session beers,” “middleweights,” “strong,” and “extra large.” Look for obscurities like White Birch Wrigian, a rich, 7% ABV brown rye beer made with spicy Belgian yeast.
BIERKRAFT
191 5th Ave., No. 1 • Brooklyn, NY 11217 • (718) 230-7600 bierkraft.com • Established: 2001
SCENE & STORY
Former mortgage broker Richard Scholz opened Bierkraft on a stretch of 5th Avenue that wasn’t exactly screaming “craft beer.” This, of course, was exactly the genius in his move. The area was on the cusp of rapidly gentrifying and soon he had steady business. Despite high prices, the assortment of over 1,000 beers as well as 14 fresh beers on tap in growlers has made it a go-to for beer lovers. It’s a narrow horseshoe-shaped space with a long beer cooler, stacks, and shelves of various sundries, the growler filling station, and enough meat, cheese, and chocolate racks to make the mind reel.
PHILOSOPHY
Beer is food. The store has expanded to include an incredible array of edibles: 250 artisan cheeses, more than 100 gourmet chocolate bars, rustic charcuterie, and other specialty foodstuffs are piled high from end to end. This would be the place to create the ultimate picnic or gift basket.
KEY BEER
Bierkraft carries more than 250 Belgian beers and nine beers on tap, available to go. Store employee Benjamin Granger built a counter-pressure filler so growlers stay fresher longer (as long as three months unopened, he claims, but it’s better not to wait so long). Taps tend to be devoted to local beers not available in bottles. They also have their own “Randall,” which for the uninitiated, is a kind of filter packed with fresh hops; beers on draught are pushed through it, picking up even more fresh hop aroma, though