What is a Beer Book Blitz?

In 2015, I was in a friend's bakery. At the counter was a stack of "Brooklyn Beer Books."

I picked one up. The rest is history.

Well, it's a little more complicated than that.

I figured, at the time, that this would be a piece of cake. Lots of the bars in the book were in my neighborhood, and the summer still stretched out in front of me. So what if I missed a few out in the Rockaways?  Heck if I only used 4 or 5 of the coupons, I'd still come out ahead of my $28 investment.

As it turned out, I procrastinated, and found myself in the middle of December having used only one of the coupons, at my favorite local beer garden, Lock Yard. So, with 27 beers and less than that many days remaining (all beer book coupons expire at the end of the year), I scrambled.

I made a valiant effort, dubbing my adventure a "Beer Book Blitz," but I couldn't get to all of them - several bars had shuttered their doors.

Nevertheless, I had fun, logging my beers on the Untappd app, and posting on social media. Friends and family were either entertained and/or concerned.

A month or so later, in 2016, the website that presented this little adventure, Brokelyn, posted that the new beer books were on sale.

I rushed to the website where, I learned, that there was no "South Brooklyn & The Rockaways" edition in 2016. Just North and Middle Brooklyn.

Living in south Brooklyn, the 2015 book was very appealing, as there was a nice scattering of familiar establishments from which to choose. I pondered this new conundrum: would I take advantage of the geographical location if it were less convenient. Brooklyn's a big place. I couldn't even fathom trying to get the "Upper" Brooklyn book. Why no "Lower" Brooklyn? I tried to find out, but it was one big "Fuhgeddaboutit!"

So I bought the 2016 Middle Brooklyn book, tried to get some friends to go in on it with me, but ended up being solo again. Plus, it was two more beers for two more bucks.

Although I did manage to dispatch two of the coupons in the fall, I once again faced the prospect of 28 beers in December. I started earlier, but only got to about half of the places in the book. Still, Beer Book Blitz II was a mild hit on my social media and people seemed more excited about my frothy adventures.

And here we are in 2017, another Beer Book is in the mail, but I really wanted to commemorate the adventures a little more formally, so I have endeavored to do two things:

1) Go back and recap the first two years of the Beer Book Blitz, piecing together what I can

and

2) Documenting the 2017 adventures which will hopefully be less blitz-y and more successful. Plus I have three great friends joining me. They saw how much fun I was having and have hopped on board.

So, this will be the place marker for the new chapter. I will backdate old posts commemorating past Beer Book Blitz adventures, and post new adventures as they happen.

Cheers!

The 2017 Beer Book Blitz, an Introduction

Something new in 2017 with the Beer Boom Blitz - company!

Three of my good friends bought the books with me, and so I didn't go the journey alone, until the  end of December, when I went rogue, with dwindling days and a goal to use more free beer coupons (2015 -14, 2016 - 16).

So strap in with Al, Sean, Chris and me, as we go in pursuit of beer in Brooklyn!

Volume 2, Conclusion

My second year of the Beer Book Blitz concluded on a Thursday. I took the day off and planned accordingly.

I started first at an eatery in Red Hook, called Hope & Anchor. The beer selection wasn't great, but I was able to wet my whistle with a Hofbrau Dunkel.

Getting to Red Hook involved taking a bus, so I bused back to Gowanus in Brooklyn and discovered Threes Brewing, a shining example of a place I have returned to numerous times, had I not discovered them in the Beer Book.

The bar and beer garden was still closed that early on a weekday (about 1:15 P.M.), but they have a coffee shop attached with a small tap and shop built in, so I was able to launch my as-yet-unknown love affair with Threes Brewing with their Chronic Myopia IPA. 

From there, I headed to Building on Bond, an establishment in Boerum Hill that had been too busy with the Sunday brunch crowd the last time I had tried to go. Again, this was more of an eatery with a decent beer selection than a beer-centric place. Nonetheless, I tried something new (to me), a traditional English ale called Old Speckled Hen. I wasn't terribly impressed. 

From there I headed to Fort Greene, but No. 7 Restaurant was closed, so it was on to Clinton Hill, where I was delighted with Mekelburg's, which looked like a basement grocery, until you find the taproom in the back, serving up a wide eclectic assortment of New York microbrews. 

I enjoyed a Short, Dark & Wired, from Other Half Brewing.

From there, I was going to head to The Emerson, but it wasn't open, and Covenhoven in Crown Heights was also still shuttered. By the time I had reached Covenhoven, I could have waited twenty minutes and gone in, but I was bladder-full, cold, and it was getting dark. I decided to try one last place in Crown Heights, and finally found warmth, a bathroom and a beer at Catfish, a New Orleans-themed establishment.

I rounded out the night with a Rockaway Black Gold Nitro Stout.

And that concluded the 2016 Beer Book Blitz. 16 out of 30 establishments. That was 2 more than 2015, but still a little underwhelming - considering the places that weren't open. Planning is key! Nonetheless, still a valiant effort for this old man. 2017 looked to be a better year!

Volume 2, Day 4

I took a day off from work to knock out some more Beer Book coupons.

Again, however, I learned the hard lesson of not planning properly.

My first two stops in the early afternoon were Bar Chord and Sycamore in the Ditmas Park section of Brooklyn.

Alas, after a long trek via bus, and on foot, both places were not open for business in the early afternoon. Sycamore was, but only the flower shop section of the flower shop-bar combo.

So, I headed toward Windsor Terrace and finally made it to Hamilton's, where I had an Old Rasputin from North Coast Brewing:

From there, I found The Adirondack, which was just opening, and I was delighted to have a tasty beverage from Grimm Artisanal Ales, their Cube Cuvee #2:

I wrapped things up at Krupa Grocery in Prospect Park South, enjoying a Bush Fire from Beau's All Natural:

And then this happened at Krupa's:

I had other errands to run, so that wrapped things up for the day. There was one more day of blitzing remaining in the year.

Volume 2, Day 3

Thirteen days until the end of the year, and I really hit my stride today, straddling Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, in Brooklyn.

Started with a Two Roads Bergamonster at The Vanderbilt:

Then I discovered the wonderfulness that is Berg'n, where I enjoyed a Moscow on the Hudson from Peekskill Brewery.

Along with some delicious lumpia from the Lumpia Shack:

Then, I found my way to The Saint Catherine, where I enjoyed The Perfect Matcha from Evil Twin Brewing:

And then I wrapped things up with an awesome Black Walnut Stout from Kelso Brewing at Dean Street:

And another chapter in the Beer Book Blitz came to an end.

Volume 2, Day 2

Still ahead of last year, I went out again, hoping to knock a bunch of beer coupons out of my Book.

It started successfully enough, at Hollow Nickel on Atlantic, where I enjoyed a Bell's Two-Hearted Ale:

Then, things got complicated, I headed over to Building on Bond, but I timed it poorly. They were in full Sunday brunch swing and there were no seats in the inn. To frustrate matters more, Robert Bar, right next door, didn't open until 5:00 PM. So, I ditched those two Boerum Hill locations and headed into downtown Brooklyn, to the Kimoto Rooftop bar. They, also, were closed. I was told they didn't open until 4.

So then I went on a long walk to Fort Greene. Well, it was only a mile, but it was longer than I had hoped to walk, after striking out at three closer locales.

Nonetheless, I went to a place I had visited several years earlier, and I knew the beer was good. The place was DSK, or Die Stammkniepe, a great biergarten.

There, I enjoyed a Hofbräu Dunkel / Dunkel Gold from Staatliches Hofbräuhaus München:

It was a big strong beer, and it made me happy, despite my expression!

So, only two beers, but I had hoped for more. Still, there were 20 days left in the month!

An "Early" Start, Volume 2

After a late start in 2015, I was determined to get a jump on 2016, and, after purchasing my Beer Book, did just that. Sort of.

I started October 15 in Park Slope with a two-shot, beginning at High Dive, where I enjoyed a Roadsmary's Baby from Two Roads Brewing:

From there, I went down the street to Alchemy Restaurant, where I enjoyed a Coney Island Freaktoberfest!