No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn and Allagash's New Tasting Experience

Just Tapped

In addition to full bellies, the Thanksgiving holiday gives us a short work week, so we'll keep this week's Tray brief as well. Say it with me, "Queremos Cervesa! Queremos Cervesa!"

Brooklyn Brewery is Movin' on Up

It's been said that a craft brewery can transform a struggling neighborhood, renewing and revitalizing a community. If it’s true, there is no better example than the 35-year-old Brooklyn Brewery and its impact on Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood.

Last week, Brooklyn Brewery announced that it is moving out of its longtime home in Williamsburg. With its current lease expiring at the end of 2024, it would be a shame if the brewery got priced out of the neighborhood it helped revitalize. Apparently, the brewery found the right real estate partner, so instead of being forced out by the transformation, the brewery will continue to be part of the transformation.

“Williamsburg has completely transformed, and is now one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city,” said Eric Ottaway, CEO of Brooklyn Brewery, noting that such a transformation can create issues for businesses like breweries. “The ongoing commercial development of the area puts pressure on the ability of manufacturers like ourselves to remain in the area.”

At the new location just four blocks down the street, Brooklyn Brewery will serve as the anchor tenant in a new building, occupying 82,000 square feet across three levels. That includes 41,000 square feet zoned for light manufacturing on the lower level.

“We are excited to be staying in the neighborhood we’ve called home for 35 years,” said Ottaway. I am sure that the no-longer-so-sketchy neighborhood is excited to keep its brewery, too. You can read all about the move and the new development that Brooklyn Brewery will anchor here.

The Brewers Association ranked Brooklyn Brewery as the nation’s 13th-largest craft brewery by volume in 2021. Craft Business Daily reports that the brewery expects to realize 25 percent growth this year, fueled in large part by increased international sales.

Allagash Brewery Introduces a New Kind of Tasting Experience

It is a brewery that needs no introduction, so I'll just say that Allagash was among the very first modern American craft breweries to experiment deeply with Belgian-influenced beers.

This weekend, at its brewery tasting room in Maine, Allagash Brewery introduces what it calls a "new immersive and intimate beer-tasting experience." At the new Allagash Cellars, guests can book reservations for groups of up to 12 people and enjoy an experience that is part education and part tasting, taking a deep dive into some small-batch and experimental beers. The Cellars tasting experience happens in the space where Rob Tod created his first beers and brought Allagash Brewery to life in 1995.

"During the guided tasting, guests will enjoy a range of unique beers, often including barrel-aged, sour, and wild beers, as part of the curated session run by Allagash’s knowledgeable staff," Allagash said on social media. "Guests will also be able to purchase a variety of beer to-go, including The Cellars-only releases."

You can reserve your spot online. I'd imagine this weekend is booking out fast.

Around the Web

• Beyond the heroic headlines, there's more tragedy. A local brewery owner took down the gunman in the Colorado Springs nightclub shooting.

• And speaking of Allagash Brewing... Allagash Brewing realizes 6.2% dollar sales growth in 2022, propelled by significant increases in the sales of its flagship Allagash White.

Beer Bric-a-Brac

Many of this week's headline involved Qatar's "last minute decision" to ban the sale of beer at World Cup stadiums. This isn't the first time in recent history that a World Cup final has stumbled with regard to beer. International football fanatics will recall that in 2018, when Russia hosted the World Cup finals, Moscow damned near ran out beer. Restaurants and bars reported that they were surprised at how many soccer tourists drank beer so exclusively. What? They thought English football fans were going to drink vodka? (Below, Ecuador's thirsty football fans began a chant during the first World Cup match, a match which saw Ecuador defeat Qatar 2-0.)

Geek Speak

What You Don't Know About Pilsner - Most beer geeks knows that pilsner originated in the town of Pilsen in what is now the Czech Republic, but did you know that the first pilsner was brewed by a Bavarian? The citizens of Pilsen, who'd grown unhappy with the quality of the local beer, decided to build Bürger Brauerei (A.K.A. Mestansky Pivovar, or to Citizens’ Brewery), which would later become Pilsner Urquell. The citizens hired a Bavarian brewmaster, Josef Groll, who is credited with creating the first pilsner beer in 1842. It is said that the original idea was to create a Bavarian-style lager, but the character imparted by use of Czech ingredients led to the emergence of a new style. Pilsner is the most Czech-style beer a Bavarian ever brewed. Learn a lot more about pilsner here.  

Feedback

This week's Taster Tray was composed by Kendall Jones. Reach out to [email protected].