ONE IN VERMILLION (Barrier Brewery’s Vermillion at Bar Great Harry)

My search for the best beer in New York continues….

It’s an interesting experience – going to a bar by yourself. It’s not something I’ve done too much in the past, but now that I’m searching for the best beer in NY, I’ll probably be making these solo bar trips much more often. Some people go to bars by themselves to meet women, others go for the conversation, I’m strictly going for the beer.

I had been to Bar Great Harry in Carroll Gardens about two years ago when I first met with the owners of Urban Oyster to talk about the possibility of becoming one of their tour guides. And now here I was coming full circle, giving their beer tours and their food cart tours.

It’s one of the more popular beer hangouts in this great, little food crazy neighborhood. There are 20 craft beers on draft and the bottle selection usually hits 50. The atmosphere is rather dark and gets truly divey as you get further toward the back. It looks as if there’s a back room with tables, but I was intimidated to venture there by myself. There were a group of friends playing Trivial Pursuit in the area closest to the windows. Everybody had their own vibe, but it seems the common theme here was the beer.

The young bartender was bubbly and kept calling me pet names like “Hon,” and “Sweetie.” It came across as slightly condescending. I’m not a fan of when somebody my age (or most likely younger) calls me “darling.” But, like I said, it’s all about the beer here. And so she happily took my Craft Beer Week Passport coupon and gave me the choice of the two Barrier Brewery beers on tap. The one that sounded most interesting and I hadn’t encountered before was the Vermillion Saison Rouge, red saison beer. Unlike my previous coupon experience at Stag’s Head, I got a full pint of beer for $3. Perhaps that Midtown bar was just being stingy.

The beer was quite unique, with a dark red amber color that was difficult to fully make out in the dark bar. I got some sweet orange and grapefruit notes (of the candied variety) on the nose. With the first sip, I tasted some deep yeasty flavors and a bitter tartness. I found the beer very dry with lingering hints of tart pink grapefruit and a light butteriness at the end. It was complex, but the spicy bitterness held tight throughout. I found it very drinkable, although the high carbonation was a bit intense.

This is definitely a beer to linger on. There was a lot going on and I’d like to taste it again somewhere down the road. It was fresh, spicy, and quite hoppy. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting and that’s what I appreciated.

Bar Great Harry is also not what you’d expect on first glance. What seems like a tough, dark lonely bar turns out to be a great place to mull over a beer in a friendly and diverse neighborhood. What better place to drink alone?

Is Barrier Brewery’s Vermillion Saison Rouge the best beer in NY? It was quite complex, with mostly tart, spicy bittery notes. An 8 out of 10.