My search for the best beer in New York continues….
I remember a few months ago before the second location of Astoria Bier & Cheese opened on Ditmars, I passed by a few people on the street who saw the sign announcing the beer store’s opening and they expressed their doubt. “Beer and cheese don’t go together.”
Well, hopefully now that the beer and cheese pairing has been underway for a few months, there are no more doubts about the two foodstuffs perfect marriage.
I never got to enjoy both the beer and cheese together at Astoria Bier & Cheese’s original location on Broadway, but I couldn’t resist a rich truffle gouda and pear grilled cheese sandwich to pair with my hoppy, malty beer choices.
The store is a bar, a cheese shop, a grocery, and a hang-out all in one roomy, bland location. And it’s quite a bit of fun. Mostly for their well-curated beer list.
They allowed me to get a flight of four tasters for $10 so I chose three local beers and one rare find from Nebraska (I just came back from a road trip through the Cornhusker State, so wanted to try more of their beer).
The first official beer I’m reviewing from the Bronx’s Gun Hill Brewing is their Kraftwerk Altbier, an old German style that is brewed with ale yeasts, but generally tastes more like a lager. I was not a fan of this. I’m even wondering if the bartender poured me the right beer. The copper color looked appropriate, but the flavors were a bit off-putting. There was a bit of maltiness with an overwhelming note of stewed apples. It tasted more like a turned cider than a balanced beer. I was expecting these flavors from the pumpkin beer, which I had next.
Port Jeff’s Brew Boo hails from Long Island (it’s a brewery you don’t see too often in the city) and is the token pumpkin beer on draft. Since it’s that time of year (and not months too early as has been the custom of late), I decided to give it a try. It was a nice drinkable pumpkin with just a hint of sweetness, but I couldn’t get too much of the spice notes that keeps me warm at night.
My last sample was from Barrier and it was the first Barrier beer that I have not been crazy about. Hopfen Blasten is described as a German IPA, which are two words you do not see together very often. Now I might know why. The beer is brewed with German hops, German malts, and German yeast. It had a rich body, but the flavors were reminiscent of a bitter lemon candy. The sweetness was a little too much for me and I did not like the floral citrus punch. Barrier is probably my favorite brewery in the NYC area, but they can’t win them all.
Even though I wasn’t crazy about any of the beers I tasted, I can tell you that my grilled cheese tasted so much better for having some beer to cut the richness. I imagine those strangers on the street are now eating their words – in addition to some cheese and beer.
Is Gun Hill Brewing’s Kraftwerk Altbier the best beer in NY? 5 out of 10 since it had a very funky sweet apple flavor with just a hint of maltiness.
Is Port Jeff Brewing Company’s Boo Brew the best beer in NY? It’s a nice pumpkin beer that veers more on the fresh pumpkin side with vegetal sweetness rather than much pie spice. 7 out of 10.
Is Barrier Brewery’s Hopfen Blasten the best beer in NY? Germans generally don’t make IPA’s and from this overly floral lemony brew, I can understand why. It gets a 6 out of 10.
