September 29, 2009

The Mortadella of Hot Dogs!


So besides our normal update about things going on in the store, we wanted to give a shout out to, what are in our opinion, the finest hot dogs in Brooklyn. The folks over at Bark know what they are doing. Not only are they serving some amazing, homemade hot dogs, but the guys at Six Point Brewery managed to create the perfect hot dog beer, Bark's very own Red Ale. You can only get this delicious beer at Bark. Summer might be over, but hot dogs and beer should officially be added to your year round diet.

In business news, we have been super busy! Flying through products so fast!
We also have a whole mess of new products. We happy to announce the arrival of our first batch of this seasons new harvest hops. The prices are cheaper and the hops are finer. We have pellets and whole leaf and they smell fantastic! They are still packed in oxygen-barrier bags that are purged with inert gas, and then vacuum sealed, to preserve the hops original character. The only difference in packaging is that the bags are not light proof. However, since our hops are always stored in a dark freezer, and away from any fluorescent lights, that isn't an issue. Plus, you will be able to see the hops before you buy.
We have changed extract companies! We now carry Briess extracts! Right from its birthplace in Wisconsin into our hands. As fresh as they get. Each extract is individually packaged for us by the manufacturer in vapor resistant bags. Rather than bulk liquid extracts shipped from Europe, which then sits in a warehouse for weeks or months, before being sold...
We also have some new grains, rice hulls, corks for belgian bottles, Erlenmeyer Flasks on the way, and finally a Wine Equipment kit. We have also added a new Beer Equipment kit that only cost $40. It is called the Bare Bones, and it's for all you folks out there looking to try out homebrewing, without making too big of a commitment.

Besides the large selection of new products we have added, we have also added a new Search Box to the site, making it far more convenient to just look for a specific product. Since we have already began receiving Gift Certificate requests for the Holidays (oh no, is it that time already!), we have added a simple button to our Homepage allowing you to purchase Gift Certificates easily. Thanks everyone, we will be seeing you around....

September 18, 2009

Organic Hops, CO2, Test your Beer Knowledge.


Check out our web-catalog if you haven't in a few days... We've added a few new Malts and Wyeast yeast strains. Just to name a couple: 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend and 2206 Bavarian Lager.
Just a reminder to some new comers, everything that you see on our web-catalog is available for purchase 6 days a week at our store. Some items are very popular and sell out fast, so feel free to phone first to be sure what you need is in stock. We will always try to accommodate your needs; if you want something that you don't see in our catalog, just ask. Chances are we can get it, usually in a week or less.

If you haven't visited the Great Brewers website yet, you should. Along with other great content, the
Great Beer Test is a fun and challenging way to test your beer IQ. This isn't some watered down Facebook-style, "Will you survive the twinkie famine" quiz... This is a full-bodied beer test. Everything from beer history to brewing techniques. 50 to 100 questions. If you don't have an account at GreatBrewers.com, then you must create one....
Word on the street is that Simplex Fire Extinguisher Co. located at 1621 Mcdonald Ave, Brooklyn, NY‎ - (718) 998-1250 will REFILL your CO2 tank. No exchange required! They will fill your nice shiny 5 lb gas tank for $15.oo. Thanks for the tip D.S!
We heard your cries New York. From now on, nearly every hop that we sell comes to us directly from the Yakima Valley in Washington. From the vines right to us. These hops come direct from the farms, rather than a wholesalers' warehouse. All of our pelletized hops too. We will be able to package the hops at their peak of freshness. Homebrewers will get even fresher hops than before, and most importantly, at about half the price! All of our hops are still packaged in oxygen barrier bags that are first purged with inert gas, and then vacuum sealed and stored in the freezer.

And finally, congratulations to all of the winners of last weeks homebrew competitions! You guys all did really great. We are already looking forward to the competitions the next time around.

September 11, 2009

Happy Beer Week!

Craft Beer Week is here! We bought our Passports the other day, and are really excited to use them! We highly recommend them. There are so many great deals, and some of the deals last all year! Plus $2 Pints at a bazillion bars!
Tonight we will begin our long week of beer drinking at Jimmy's No43, with the tapping of the NY3 Casks, free for Passport holders, and part of the Gotham Cask Festival. The NY3 has been custom brewed just for Beer Week. It's collaboration of Captain Lawrence, Ithaca, and Southhampton. The beer is a Belgian Style Amber, made with neighboring honey from each brewery, and it sounds so delicious! Everyone can buy this beer at bars through the city during Beer Week, so go find some, please. Make sure to check out all the events for Craft Beer Week here.

The shop will be closed this Sunday, due to the large amount of beer events we will be part of. We apologize ahead of time for an inconveniences we might cause!

We have added a few new items to the website such as a few adjuncts and The Carbonator. We will be adding sodas extracts in a few days, as well as introducing our first wine equipment kits. So check back!

Also, good luck to everyone who is competing this weekend in one of the homebrew competitions. We look forward to trying your brews! And if your not competing, don't forget to buy your tickets....


September 4, 2009

Competition time!




Sunday September 13th is a VERY busy day. Craft Beer Week will be in full swing by then, and there will also be 2 Brooklyn homebrew competitions. The first one will be the Chew N Brew, located at The Diamond in Greenpoint. 8 teams will be pairing there homebrew with a homemade snack. Tickets are $25, and 90% of the sales go to BARC animal shelter in Williamsburg. We didn't get to attend the Chew N Brew last year, so we are very excited to be apart of it this year. You should join us in our excitement.....



The next competition is The Brooklyn Cheese Experiment. These guys did a really great job with the Beer Experiment that was held in June. The competition is being held at The Bell House again, which is an awesome venue. This time around the Amateur Chefs will be cooking up some cheesy delights, while local local homebrewers will be serving up the brews. The audience gets to vote for their favorite as well a panel of judges. There is also an after party including more beer and cheese. Tickets in advance are $20, and they sold out last time, so buy some ASAP!





Everything here at the store has been going great. People seem to be gearing up for there fall brews. We have just finished our first batch of Root Beer, and its really delicious. We will likely have some extract Root Beer and Ginger Beer kits for sale next week, so look out for them. We have justed launched our spice collection. It's small right now but will increase in the future, check it out here. We have also added a few new grains, and yeast strains, and will be adding more soon. The site has changed a little bit, so hopefully it is easier to navigate. Thanks everyone, and we will see you Wednesday at the MBAS meeting at Mugs!