Beer Table

Beer Table is a restaurant in Brooklyn, a store in Grand central terminal, and a series of beers called table beer.

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Did you know IPA DAY 2013 is just around the corner?

That’s right! Thursday, August 1st is the third annual IPA DAY. Beer Table Pantry has you covered!

To celebrate one of our favorite styles of beer we’re offering for the first time ever a complete IPA tap take over. All six of Beer Table Pantry’s draft lines will be pouring rare and unique IPAs that you might have never seen or tried before! All drafts will be available in pints and growlers to go. You can find a list of our planned offerings at the bottom of this post. We hope to see you there!

1. Ithaca Flower Power

2. Thornbridge Jaipur

3. Peekskill Eastern Standard (pint only)

4. Evil Twin Yang

5. Barrier Unimperial

6. Hitachino Classic

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Four Picks for the Fourth of July

Hey Tablers!

Fourth of July is just around the corner and that means it’s time for picnics, pools and grilling. Now if you’re anything like us, then any and all of these things go great with beer. We decided to put our heads together and come up with our top four picks for the Fourth. These beers will keep you cool in the heat while also pairing beautifully with grilled meats and potato salad. Enjoy!

Founders All Day IPA

This beer was created for days like the Fourth of July! Bursting with grapefruit and grassy notes up front, it finishes bitter and dry. And at 4.5% ABV, it’s perfect for anything involving the outdoors or a body of water.

Freigeist Ottekolong

For us, kolsch is always a go-to style during the summer months. But believe you me, Ottekolong takes this style up a notch. It’s unfiltered, so it has an ever-so-slightly heavier body that a traditional kolsch. However, it has the perfect balance of mild cereal sweetness and dry, grassy bitterness that will make you want to enjoy this beer all summer long. Trust us.

Saison Dupont

This is one of our go to beers for entertaining. It’s one of the best examples of a classic saison that pairs beautifully with a laundry list of dishes. There are notes of pepper and coriander alongside a voluminous texture. While it is delicate enough to suit a wide range of palates, it maintains a degree of complexity that makes it anything but boring.

Schlenkerla Marzen

What better to go with grilled meats than one of the best smoked beers on the planet? We believe our owner, Justin, described it best when he once called this beer the “perfect sausage partner”. It has overwhelming notes of smoke supported by rich, caramel flavors. While it may not be for everyone, it is a one-of-a-kind beer that is sure to add some excitement to your grill-out.

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Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is right around the corner and while we're sure your mom would love to get flowers and a card, why not mix it up and give her an amazing beer instead? To find out what moms like to drink, we went straight to the source - our own moms! We asked them what they would like to drink for Mother's Day and made some recommendations based on their responses. All of the suggested beers are available in the shop right now, so swing on in and pick one up for your mom!

Allegra "(When I was your age) nobody knew anything about beer other than Rheingold, Schlitz, Miller High Life…while I steer clear of stouts (I still like to see through my drinks) my explorations have led me from Allagash to Ommegang, from Brooklyn Brown Ale to Boston Lager, and many tasty places in between. " - Denise

Mom's getting a mixed six-pack of 961 Pale Ale, Captain Lawrence Brown Bird, and some Lagunitas Pils for a little mix of her old stand-bys and soon to be favorites.  

Hannah “While in Alaska, Alaskan Amber. While in Mexico, Corona. While in other countries or states I like to try their beers.” - Bev

I'd suggest something local and fresh. SingleCut Keith on tap, for growler fills, that'd be good. Something light, refreshing, and crisp.

Justin “Dear beer table, I would enjoy a J.W. Lees please...ideally with butter beans, bread and butter. Thanks!” - Laura

Ask and you shall receive. We currently have the 2008 J.W. Lees Harvest Ale in stock – a fantastic treat for any mom!

  Megan “Corona! Ice cold with lime and salt. It makes me feel like every day is summer!” - Lori

So I am going to get my mom something that is special but still within the flavor spectrum of beers that she likes to drink. I’m probably going to go with the Prof. Fritz Briem 1809, which is an interpretation of a Berliner Weisse. It has some mild acidity from lactic fermentation that would mimic the bright citrus flavors you get from adding lime to a beer. It’s also super effervescent and can quench your thirst no matter what time of year it is.

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Beer Table is now mobile! (at Beer Table)

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Just tapped: Dupont Bio Foret! (at Beer Table)

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Just tapped: Del Borgo Perle ai Porci! (at Beer Table)

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The last Sunday at Beer Table on 7th Avenue! (at Beer Table)

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Just tapped: Duffield Ales Best Bitter! We're open early today in Brooklyn. (at Beer Table)

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Hanssens Scarenbecca Kriek on a beautiful spring day at Beer Table. (at Beer Table)

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The countdown has hit the teens. We hope to see you all soon before we move! (at Beer Table)

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Apollo on draft with Shane from @sixpoint ! (at Beer Table)

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How does beer get from the brewery to your glass? The bearers of your beer are distributors, the unsung heroes of the six-pack, the mysterious carriers of kegs, the transporters of tall-boys and twelve-packs alike.

This week I was privileged to be given an inside look at how a distributor...

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Here is a great look into where our beer comes from and how the Three Tier System operates.

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Homebrew Series Part 3 "Bottling Day"

We're near the end of the road here with Chris and Cole. The bottling day! Bottling is one of the more important steps in the home brewing process. It’s the last stage before drinking the beer and it’s very important to get the priming sugars correct and really pay close attention to the sanitation of all the bottling equipment. One false step here and the whole batch could be lost due to infection or oxidation. With that said lets jump into bottling.

The first thing we like to do is to get our priming sugars ready first while we clean and sanitize all our bottles and bottling equipment. Here on the scale you'll see 2.6 grams of "corn sugar". We'll bring about 12-16 oz of water to a boil and dissolve this sugar in the water. One detail is that we do this first because we have to cool this "conditioning sugar" solution down to 70 degrees before we add it to our batch of beer. Once we add this sugar to the beer the active yeast will eat up the sugar and since the bottles will be capped the CO2 will be trapped inside and we'll have a fresh "bottle conditioned" beer to drink.

Here's the pile of freshly sanitized empty bottles waiting patiently to be filled with our beer. We've made the investment in some new "swing top" 500ml bottles this time around to cut down on the capping time and labor. Plus those 500ml are perfect for one person or sharing a bottle with a friend.

Here we can see Cole using the hand caper and some filled bottles ready to be crimped. One thing to note here is that you must sanitize the caps as well prier to placing them atop the bottles.

Here's a close up shot of the swing top bottles. These are a great investment as they are highly reusable and simple. Plus they are really fun to open.

Finally here's a case all packed up with the bottles. These will be stored in a lower temp part of the apartment for the next few weeks. The beer will be "drinkable" in about two weeks but we usually try to hold out until the four week mark. That tends to be a good base time to start drinking the beer. But each batch is different so now we just have to play the waiting game.

Current Tasting Notes. The beer seems to have come along nicely. The first sample we tasted after we took our gravity reading a few days ago was pleasant. There were no noticeable "off flavors" and it had a nice mild roast, hint of chocolate and coffee. We're pretty excited to crack these open in a few weeks. And when we do we'll be sure to let you know how it turned out with full tasting notes.

- Chris & Cole

p.s. if you're in the shop and are curious about tasting this homebrew mention the password "mash tun" and maybe we'll hook you up with a bottle. But there's a limited supply we can give away and one per customer.

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Homebrew Series "Gravity Reading"

The stout Chris and Cole brewed has been in the primary fermentation for exactly 30 days.  We've taken a gravity reading and we think its time to bottle up. Its hard to see in the photo but we're down to 1.010. Stay tuned for the bottling action shots we'll post up in the next few days.

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the short list: Valentine's Day Edition

Trying to find the perfect Valentine's Day gift for the beer lover in your life? Well we've come up with a 'short list' of beers that we are sure your Valentine (or you) will love. This time around we asked each of our employees what beer they would love to receive on Valentine's Day. We received some pretty great responses and have a list of beers that are sure to be awesome no matter how you spend the day!

Anchorage Love Buzz

"'Cause my lady knows I love it, it's so delicious, and it's sized perfectly for two!" - Justin "I think the Love Buzz would be the perfect Valentine's Day beer because what is sexier than a Saison aged in Pinot Noir barrels." - Meaghan "It's complex and layered, like life. And it's enough to share or drink alone (and forget the night ever happened)." - Hannah Spider Bite Boris the Spider

"It will definitely put you in the I'm-about-to-get-my-nap-time-on zone and is reminiscent of dessert. It's a really dark and handsome night cap." - Angel

Almond 22 Pink Peppercorn IPA

"It's one of the best IPAs that I've ever had and has one of the driest and most enjoyable finishes of all time. Not to mention it's ruby hue is perfect for the holiday!" - Megan

Omnipollo Leon

"It's the lock and key to my heart..." - Allegra

So be sure to swing by the shop and pick up one of these tasty treats for your sweetheart! And as always, we're curious to know if you have anything special picked out that isn't included on this list. Let us know in our "Ask" section!

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In-depth Look: Environmentally Friendly Brewing

We here at Beer Table / Pantry are curious about all aspects of beer and brewing. At a recent staff tasting, the topic of environmentally friendly and sustainable brewing was brought up for discussion. None of us was too familiar with what breweries were really striving to become more eco-conscious, so we put our very own Alaskan, Hannah W., on the case:

As someone who is interested in good beer and sustainable living, I started the long dive into what the craft beer industry is doing to reduce their carbon footprint. As a new(er) industry, the really exciting thing is that craft breweries are pushing themselves to be on the forefront of eco-friendly industry.

So what does environmentally friendly brewing even mean?

Basically it comes down to lowering your energy and water consumption and minimizing environmental impact on all levels. Through this lens, the brewing process is broken down into 3 categories:  

Upstream transportation - the manufacturing and transportation of raw goods to the brewery and drying and roasting the malts.

Operations- the actual making of the beer. Here, water consumption (4 ½ barrels of water makes 1 barrel of beer) and heat exchange are the biggest carbon factors.

Downstream transportation- getting the beer to us! Transportation with trucks and retail refrigeration are the largest part of this category. Making the beer cold for us accounts for 25% of the breweries carbon footprint, even though the brewery has no control over the energy used.  

During the life cycle of a beer, there are many different ways that the brewer can reduce their carbon footprint. It’s a given that breweries are recycling their glass and cardboard, but the American breweries below are leaders in the field and are available at Beer Table Pantry.

Brooklyn Brewery - The first company in NYC to use only wind power to generate ALL of their electricity. Sierra Nevada - Reuses and recycles about 99% of their waste. They produce their own methane to heat the boilers and have a small farm where they grown hops and barley for special releases. Anderson Valley Brewing Company - Operates their own waste water treatment plant and gives all spent grains to local farmers for mulch and feed. Oskar Blues Brewery - The first craft brewery to offer beer in a can (though it’s debatable if that’s more environmentally friendly than bottles) they operate their own hops farm and raise their own cattle for their restaurant. Alaska Brewing Company (unfortunately, not available at Beer Table Pantry but worth mentioning) - Created the first CO² collection system in the US and now use their spent grain to power the brewery with steam energy.

What about organic brewing?

Beer uses “natural” ingredients and many of the ingredients can be made in the USDA certified organic way, but to get the organic certification involves huge expense and many hoops that smaller breweries aren’t in a position to try and get. Organic beer falls under the same regulation as all other organic food, so pesticides can’t be used to grow the grains or hops (taken off the exempt list in Jan of 2013). Hops and cereal are very susceptible to disease, so using certified organic ingredients can sometimes lead to beers with a limited range of flavors. It’s great to know where the ingredients in your beer come from, but in the case of craft breweries, the organic label isn’t the end all be all.                          

What can I do?

Drink green beer! There are many things that we as beer aficionados can do to support eco-friendly brewing, but at the end of the day, drinking craft beer from these breweries sends the best message, that we support sustainable brewing practices! Beyond that, you can also:

Drink local products to minimize transportation emissions. 

Recycle, Recycle, RECYCLE! 

Only chill the beer that you are going to drink immediately. 

Get a growler fill! Not only does this mean less waste and packaging, but you also get major cool points.  

As craft brewing continues to grow, new and exciting ways to take care of the environment are always on the horizon. I’m keeping a tabs on the innovation in this arena and will always be more than happy to point you towards a sustainable craft brew at Beer Table Pantry.  

-Hannah Wolf

p.s. do you have a Eco-friendly brewery story you'd like to share? Please leave a comment or drop us a note in our Ask, we'd love to hear about it!

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Homebrew Series Part 1

Welcome to the first post of our homebrew series. Two of our staff members Chris and Cole will walk us through brewing a batch of beer from beginning to end and give us a peak inside their kitchen as they brew up a small batch beer.

First thing on the list is to develop a Recipe. Below is the basic outline of the Stout we based our recipe on. We had to make a few modifications and tweaks on the fly due to our kettle size. Mainly the boil size was just over 6 Gallons and just over 4.5 gallons made it into the fermenter.

Next up we needed to gather our ingredients. One of the better spots in Brooklyn is Bitter & Esters. This place has everything you need to get started. Equipment, grains, hops, yeast, and best of all a very friendly and knowledgeable staff to get you on your way to making some great beer.

Here you can see Chris dumping our grains into the grain mill to crush it up and prepare it for our mash.

Here is the group shot of all our ingredients. 13 pounds of grain, one ounce each of Fuggle, Kent Golding, and Northern Brewer Hops. And we decided to switched out the yeast listed above to the Wyeast Whitbread Ale strain #1099.

Here you can see us “mashing in”. This is where we take our grains and add them to our “mash tun” that has approximately 4.5 gallons of 164 degree water. This process is called “mashing”. The grains will sit in this hot water for approx 60 minuets. The basic reason for this is we’re trying to extract the fermentable sugars from the grain that the yeast will eventually eat and produce alcohol for the beer.

In this shot you can see our home made copper “wort chiller”. This step is after the 90 minute boil and we now need to cool our "wort" as fast as possible. The wort chiller hooks up to the sink and we pump cold water through the copper tubes. The goal is to get the beer to around 68 degrees. Then we can pitch our yeast.

Once we have the wort chilled its a good time to take an Original Gravity reading to see if we hit our target OG. We fill this little tube with our wort and drop in the hydrometer and it will tell us if we’ve hit our target and how much potential Alcohol we can achieve. Our OG was 1.051. Slightly missed our target but we’re still going to have a solid beer with approximately 5.5% alcohol.

In this shot you can see us transferring the cooled wort into the glass “carboy” fermenter. The strainer is there to catch some of the hop sediment and to also aerate the wort to add oxygen which will help our yeast have a happy place once we pitch. The little brown jug is for our “blow off tube” which is used during fermentation to allow the CO2 gas to escape without exposing the beer to the open air which could contaminate it. The little jug is also filled with sanitizer to keep the beer from becoming infected.

Here you can see our blow off tube set-up. The photo was shot about 36 hours after we pitched the yeast. Can you see all the bubbles coming out of the brown jug? Seeing those bubbles and hearing the little “pop, pop, pop” a few times per second is a good indicator that we have a healthy fermentation.  The brown bag and towel are around the carboy to protect the beer from any light damage. We also keep the carboy in a colder part of the apartment for the first week. This beer was fermenting around 66-68 degrees. After the first week we move the beer into another part of the apartment to let it warm up a bit to about 70-72 degrees. It will hold there for about 2 or 3 more weeks until we bottle it.

For us the last step of the process is to compost our spent grain left over from the mash. When the CSA is not in season we take the spent grain to the Union Square Green Market and give back to the soil that gave us our grains.

Do you have any homebrew questions or comments? Drop us a note in our Ask. And stay tuned for more updates as the homebrew comes along.