In Pursuit of Humble Beer at the NYC Beer Week Opening Bash

The 2020 New York City Beer Week Opening Bash was held on February 22nd, and I went in pursuit of humble beer, of course. This shindig kicks off a week long series of events, designed to celebrate the City’s craft beer scene. The NYC Brewers Guild organizes Beer Week, and it’s a great opportunity to sample the City’s beer, and meet the people who are making it.

While I didn’t have to look too far to find it, humble beer was not surprisingly far outnumbered by the bold and the hype (i.e. IPA in varying forms, pastry beers and experimental sours.) That said, there was enough there that I couldn’t try them all before having my fill.

It’s tough to put an exact number on how many beers were poured, as many brewers had other beers on-hand that were not officially listed. The guide indicated 187 beers, and of those, I would identify 18-percent as humble beer. However, well over half of those were Pilsner, and the rest were one here, one there of a number of styles like Helles, Blonde Ale, and Bitter.

A few standouts that I had not previously tried were Strong Rope’s Pub Ale, a Schwarzbier by Big aLICe Brewing Co., and Marx Pale Ale by Circa Brewing Co., but there were many more. I checked in with a few of my other local favorites like Threes Brewing, Keg and Lantern and Folksbier Brauerei., all pouring excellent Pilsners.

There was a notable presence in the use of local/regional ingredients. While this is not directly related to humble beer, most beers made with an intentional use of local ingredients seem to be on the traditional side. I spoke with Jesse Ferguson of Interboro Spirits & Ales who noted how the quality of ingredients in New York State has greatly improved. I can say they do shine in the Pale Ale Interboro poured, made in collaboration with Indian Ladder Farms Cidery and Brewery from Upstate New York.

The event included a number of breweries from outside of NYC. In fact, the majority of breweries in attendance were not local. I’m not sure of the basis for selecting these breweries (though some have done collabs with local breweries, some have staff previously from NYC), but I was happy to see a few of them here.

Maine’s Oxbow Brewing Company had Luppolo, their crisp and delicious Pilsner. As part of beer week, they were also in town for an event at Beer Street, an excellent craft beer bar in Brooklyn. Also from Maine, Banded Brewing Co., was at the event. While I was in Portland last summer, I didn’t have the opportunity to try their beer, so I was happy to see them at the Opening Bash. They were also pouring a Pils that I really enjoyed.

Rockwell Beer Co. was making their first NYC appearance, and I was very excited to try their beer (I briefly discussed this St. Louis brewery in my first Casket Beer post). Rockwell places a strong emphasis on classic styles of beer, and their Pilsner was exceptional. It was also nice to see their head brewer Jonathan Moxey who I had crossed paths with over a decade ago at a few homebrew meetings. He was clearly talented back then, but also courteous with inexperienced homebrewers.

I was also excited that Forest and Main from Pennsylvania were there. A couple of years ago, after having a few drinks with Jess Reaves at Tired Hands (he was brewing there at the time, and is now at Industrial Arts), he said we had to visit Forest and Main. They make amazing farmhouse ales, but I really fell in love with their subtle British ales. I dream about spending lazy weekend afternoons knocking back these beers in their cozy space, and I was hoping they would have brought some to NYC. Unfortunately, they came with the former, though I can’t complain too much, because the one I tried was great.

Speaking of farmhouse ales, while there were plenty of outlandish ones being poured, there were also a number of simple, refined examples. This includes Prescience Farmhouse Blonde from one of the City’s newest breweries, Wild East Brewing. It was the first beer I had from them, and I was impressed. They’re coming out of the gates strong.

Transmitter Brewing, the OG NYC farmhouse brewery, was also pouring their straightforward, Belgian-inspired ales with their Classic Saison and Dry Hopped Golden, in addition to their Pre-Prohibition Lager.

One of the City’s oldest breweries, Brooklyn Brewery, provided a non-alcoholic beer for designated drivers, those looking to downshift for a minute, and others in need of an ashtray.

This event was proof that craft Pilsner is not a passing fad. And the good news is that while it was hard to find decent local examples in the past, there are now a number making them very well.

Sadly, it was slim pickings for anyone in search of humble beer beyond Pilsner. That said, I had plenty of great beer, there were many more that I didn’t get to try, and overall, it was an excellent event. Kudos to the NYC Brewers Guild and their partners.