Volume 1, Addendum

Shortly after finishing my brief inaugural Beer Book Blitz, my friend Chris Ferreira posted this:

Police, firefighters, war heroes, ecetera, ecetera. My real inspiration this year is Bill Cohen.

He bought a damn beer coupon book and only finished half with only six days left. Facing this immense challenge he didn't whine, he didn't run or give up. He knuckled down, faced his demons, and truly showed his daughters what a great American is and finished his coupon book (okay two had closed because they lacked Bill's fortitude).

PLEASE COPY AND PASTE THIS TO YOUR WALL IF YOU LOVE AMERICA AND FREEDOM.

DO NOT COPY AND PASTE THIS IF YOU LOVE DONALD TRUMP AND HATE KITTENS.

Volume 1, Day 5: The Last Beer

My dream of knocking out the whole book was clearly overambitious.

New Year's Eve was upon us, and I had time for one more beer, on my way home, at Red, White & Brew.

I sent the old year packing with a Blizzard of Hops from Troeg's.

And that was the end of my first Beer Book Blitz. On five of the last six days of the year, I had 14 beers in 14 bars.

It was my rookie season, I aimed to do better in 2016!

Volume 1, Day 4

I actually took the day off from work to conduct the Beer Book Blitz. I waited too long and figured I needed to put in some more effort.

Alas, when I got to Coney Island, both Freak Bar and Ruby's were closed for the season.

So I improvised and rode east, but the place I rode to in Sheepshead Bay, Anyway Cafe,  was also closed. Grrr.

Finally, after ten miles on the bike, I found a place open, Draft Barn on Avenue X. There I enjoyed a Mother's Milk from Keegan Ales:

From there I headed back to Coney Island, hoping Peggy O'Neill's would be open, finally. It was. I had a burger and washed it down with a 1609 Amber Ale from Coney Island Brewery.

And then I rode home:

Bill Cohen Tattoosday biked 17.1 miles with Strava.

December 30, 2015 · Strava · 

Report

Start and Finish

miles 17.10

hours 1:46:51

mi/hr 9.59

Elevation gain (ft) 75

But I wasn't done. I wandered over to Pippin's Pop-Up Pub and had a pint of Guinness:

And then called it a night after a Sixpoint Sweet Action at The Kettle Black.

That was it for December 30!

Volume 1, Day 3

Day 3 of the Beer Book Blitz came to fruition when my evening was freed up after my younger daughter won the Hamilton lottery and took my wife, freeing my evening up considerably.

I headed home and got off the R train at 59th Street in Brooklyn. I proceeded to a nearby watering hole called Irish Haven.

It was my first stop, so I didn't plan on staying long, I ordered a Smithwicks, downed it, and moved on. I had several more places to go and didn't want to dilly-dally.

From there, I took a hefty walk, from 57th and 4th all the way to 73rd and 5th, to Schnitzel Haus.

GREAT beer there, and I had always wanted to visit because it was technically in my neighborhood, albeit twenty blocks north of home.

The bartender razzed me because their happy hour was still going, so a brew would have been cheap, but I still wanted to use my coupon. I ended up with this glorious Hoffbrau Original from Staaoliches Hifbrauhaus Munchen:

The bartender also told me that my next stop, The Bean Post Pub, had a great selection. They did and they do. Alas, what I had at the Bean Post was wiped from my memory banks, but I know it had a high ABV.

From there, I literally stumbled to my fourth and final stop, Skinflints.

At Skinflints, I ordered a Blue Moon Winter Lager:

I also got some ribs and fries, which were delicious!

That was it for me that night, and this vision followed me home:

Volume 1, Day 2

After an initial slow start to the first day of the Beer Book Blitz, I was determined to have a little more local success.

I live in Bay Ridge, so I wanted to take care of the closest bars, on 3rd Avenue.

I started at The Harp Bar where I had a delicious Founder's Breakfast Stout:

From there I went to the Windy City Ale House, a Chicago-friendly sports bar, where I had this tasty Forbidden Root, which is one of those root beer-like brews.

And I wrapped up the afternoon at Ho' Brah, with this Pumpkin Ale from Smuttynose Brewing.

All the while, I was wondering how I was going to get more beers under my belt. Turns out, the weather was going to lend a hand.

Launching the Beer Book Blitz - Volume 1, Day 1

So, aside from using one of my beer book coupons at Lock Yard some time over the summer, I was looking at 27 coupons (out of 28 total), with six days remaining in 2015.

I decided to try to knock out as many as I could with what time was left in the year. It just so happened that I had recently become a fan of Newcastle United and they were playing my daughter Shayna's favorite team, Everton.

Me and Shayna enjoying the match

We knew the game was going to be on at Longbow Pub & Pantry, where I also had one of my beer book coupons. Killing two birds with one stone, as they say. I used my Longbow coupon for either a Tripel from Allagash Brewery or a Yeti from Great Divide Brewing Company (I had both). The Yeti is one of my favorites.

I was just getting a handle on the task before me.

Once the match was over, Shayna headed home and I stopped at the Yellow Hook Grille and had a Single Digit Dubbel from Smuttynose Brewing.

Yellow Hook Grille later closed in April 2016.

After a less than spectacular experience at Yellow Hook - the beer was fine but the ambiance was barely tolerable, I aimed for my third stop, Zito's Sandwich Shoppe, and I learned my first Beer Book Lesson: If you wait until the end of the year, the place may no longer be there.

As seen from the evidence below, where Zito's had been was now a restaurant called Bon Chovie.

It was an inauspicious start to the inaugural Beer Book Blitz, but I still had 9 coupons left for Bay Ridge and Sunset Park, so I was optimistic.