We didn't have to wait until next weekend for the Brooklyn Brewery tour after all (see our post of yesterday). They now give tours on Sundays too. Upon entering the brewery we were greeted with our old friend - cold beer!!!!
Here are a few pics of the two brewing rooms. Within these rooms, 25% of the company's beer is produced. This equals to 25,00 - 40,00 kegs. The rest of the stock is produced upstate. ******Word to the wise via the brewery guide: drink unfiltered or hefeweisen beer to avoid hangovers due to the abundance of vitamin B.............. go figure.
Our guide talked of the early days when Williamsburg in the late 1980s was not an ideal location. Obviously not the Williamsburg we know today. In the early days, the brewery was hijacked for 30k at gunpoint (when they had no money as is). Their forklift was also stolen and the owners drove around the neighborhood looking for the forklift and stole it back. Here's the magical beer keg machine:
After an informal two-room tour of how the beers are made, we were released to the tasting bar. Ohhhh yessss. The tasting area is no frills with fold-up chairs and picnic tables plastered with pizza delivery menus from either Vinnie's or Baldo's. You (not the Brewery staff) calls the pizza delivery folks and they bring you the box of hot pizza to your table.
We sampled six beers; unfortunately most were marginal, but the Lager will remain the staple. The Brooklyner Weisse was just awful. But we look forward to trying their Post Road Pumpkin Ale and especially their Black Chocolate Stout (with an ABV of 10.6%). The tasting bar was packed and it was getting rowdy with boozers and pizza munchers by the time we left.
Here are a few pics of the two brewing rooms. Within these rooms, 25% of the company's beer is produced. This equals to 25,00 - 40,00 kegs. The rest of the stock is produced upstate. ******Word to the wise via the brewery guide: drink unfiltered or hefeweisen beer to avoid hangovers due to the abundance of vitamin B.............. go figure.
Our guide talked of the early days when Williamsburg in the late 1980s was not an ideal location. Obviously not the Williamsburg we know today. In the early days, the brewery was hijacked for 30k at gunpoint (when they had no money as is). Their forklift was also stolen and the owners drove around the neighborhood looking for the forklift and stole it back. Here's the magical beer keg machine:
After an informal two-room tour of how the beers are made, we were released to the tasting bar. Ohhhh yessss. The tasting area is no frills with fold-up chairs and picnic tables plastered with pizza delivery menus from either Vinnie's or Baldo's. You (not the Brewery staff) calls the pizza delivery folks and they bring you the box of hot pizza to your table.
We sampled six beers; unfortunately most were marginal, but the Lager will remain the staple. The Brooklyner Weisse was just awful. But we look forward to trying their Post Road Pumpkin Ale and especially their Black Chocolate Stout (with an ABV of 10.6%). The tasting bar was packed and it was getting rowdy with boozers and pizza munchers by the time we left.
