Announcing our partnership with Think Tank Photo!

July 29, 2019

The Happy Hour Guys have been invited to join the affiliate program at Think Tank! These geniuses design camera carrying solutions for working professionals - really cool, innovative stuff, and gear that we’ve tested in the field and really love. Like this (their ‘rotation’ gear):

Just by clicking through any of the their logos on our pages (including the one right here), you go directly to their site with deals in hand, free shipping, etc. Take advantage, ya’ll. This is good stuff.

(And yes, there’s a free gift in it for you. No idea what that is - click thru and find out.)

Photos from the Phantom Broadway Brew Release Party!

August 26, 2018

Oh what a fun night we had at the release party for Pint of No Return, our very own Broadway Brews Project brew number FOUR! Loads of great folk from Phantom, Hardywood Brewing, and Musicians on Call raised multiple glasses throughout the evening for a great cause. Under a beautiful Manhattan sunset, we toasted the journey that this beer will take, from Virginia to Broadway and beyond!

Every time we come to the end of a Brew journey, it's a real reckoning. These are not easy to pull off, but INCREDIBLY rewarding, every single time. Look for a video episode covering this amazing night very soon. And many thanks to the good folks at Beer Authority NYC, as well as our wonderful capture crew.

Still want to support the Broadway Brews Project? We're always looking for help.

And NYC'ers, find The Pint of No Return at a Trader Joe's in the NYC area, and give it a try. It's one of the coolest beers you'll taste this year. CHEERS!

Broadway Brews Project, Phantom Brew: The Naming Finals!

November 30, 2017

This is it folks: The contest to name the Phantom of the Opera Broadway Brew has entered The Final Round. Time to pick a winner!

We've gotten many excellent suggestions from all of you - thank you for your suggestions - and after discussion with the cast members and brewers, we've narrowed your best down to this list of finalists:

Lot 666

Pint of No Return

Drink of Me

Darkness Stirs

Wishing You Were Somehow Beer Again

Phantom's Lair Lager

Chande-beer

And once again, WE NEED YOUR HELP! Leave us a comment on the website, send us an email at info@thehappyhourguys.com, comment on facebook, or tweet us (@happyhourguys) with your vote.

We'll be in Virginia at Hardywood this weekend creating this beer with cast brewers Ali Ewoldt, Paul Schaefer and Rodney Ingram, and it's going to be truly fantastic. We'll also be announcing the charitable organization that this beer will - forever - be raising money for, soon!

But for now -- let us know your favorite name. And remember, there will be prizes for whoever submitted the winning name (and a random winner chosen from all who vote!)

Broadway Brew #4: Let's play the name game!

November 20, 2017

What do you think a Phantom beer should be named?

The Broadway Brews Project rolls on! The Happy Hour Guys are assembling yet another team to create the fourth in our Broadway Six Pack lineup, with none other than - PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!

And this Majestic Brew will be created by cast members of the Broadway company, collaborating with the craft wizards of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery in Richmond, VA.

Very soon we'll be gathering the cast together to talk about what kind of beer they're going to make, and which charity this beer will raise money for.

HERE'S WHERE YOU COME IN:

WE NEED A NAME. What should a Phantom of the Opera beer be called? Share your entries with us in the comments here on the website, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed. If we choose your idea, there will be goodies in it for you. One rule: Phantom of the HOPera is already taken!

GOOD LUCK and off we go!

Stopping in for Blues, Brews and Botany!

September 28, 2017

With Summer stretching far into Fall here in New York City and the temps still happily warm, is there a better way to spend a beautiful (and warm!) Saturday than sipping some cool suds at a beer festival?

Yes. Yes there is. New Yorkers, do you know just how stunningly beautiful the Bronx is?

And now it features a yearly festival with beer, music...and BOTANY?

Mark and Jimmy had a chance to take in BLUES, BREWS AND BOTANY last weekend at the New York Botanical Garden, and what an afternoon it was.

Now for those of you with serious FOMO at the moment, FEAR NOT: This is a yearly fest, so you can start making plans for next year. Also, it's looking like there might just be more ways to get your bev-adventure going at NYBG this year. Read on!

We had the privilege of asking a few questions of one of the organizers, Thomas Mulhare, Director of Public Education at the NYBG.

Is this the first time that NYBG has hosted a beer festival?

This was the second annual Blues, Brews, & Botany at The New York Botanical Garden.

What made this event ‘not your normal beer fest’, in your eyes?

Alliteration aside, the botany aspect of our beer festival is on an equal footing with our beer sampling. The Botany of Beer, a talk about the history and science behind brewing beer by one of the Botanical Garden’s senior scientists, tells visitors about the plants that have been used to make beer over the centuries and helps them understand the complexities of brewing. The idea is to give our visitors the opportunity to learn while having an amazing time.

We loved that the event seemed like a hybrid - in that, we mean that the crowd was not your ‘typical’ (read: male) craft beer fest crowd. There was a large spectrum of people, average age 30ish we would guess, male and female. Do you feel an event like this is a ‘value add’ for the audience you already have, or are you looking for a younger demographic?

Thank you! We are always interested in adding diverse and interesting programs that will not only engage people who already know and love the Garden but also attract new visitors.

If you do this event again, how will it be the same (or different)?

We do aim to host our third annual Blues, Brews, & Botany next autumn. Stay tuned for details!

We noticed that many of the breweries featured all use the same distributor. Was this intentional, either from you or from the distributor?

The Garden partnered with Manhattan Beer Distributor in creating this event.

Anything else you’d like to tell us, or The Happy Hour Guys’ audience?

The Garden is proud to host a wide variety of programs all year long. For example, with CHIHULY Nights, we have a nighttime viewing of illuminated Dale Chihuly sculptures every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night through October 28th, with a rotating lineup of performing artists and musicians, and food, beer, wine and Avión Tequila cocktails available for purchase.

We are excited to offer festive programming during our Bar Car Nights (What? BAR CAR NIGHTS, you say?) on selected evenings during the upcoming Holiday Train Show® (November 22, 2017–January 15, 2018). We also have another beverage event called Daffodil Celebration & Wine Weekend scheduled for April 28 & 29, 2018.

So there are plenty of events for the adventurous drinker upcoming - New York, man! Its wonders just never cease. And while we would have loved to have seen a larger variety of beers offered at this particular event, here's hoping that NYBG will bring in more than one distributor's offerings next year. We can't wait to see if that will be the case.

Thanks so much to the NYBG for a truly amazing day! Now get yourself to NYBG. You will not regret it.

Come join the NY Homebrew competition!

July 12, 2017

Here's something we've learned over the years; if a homebrewer is serious enough to enter their precious liquid in a competition, they're entering the beer that is basically THEIR FAVORITE, CAREFULLY CRAFTED BABY. And this Saturday, Jimmy is going to be one of the judges at the NY Homebrew Competition at Gun Hill Brewery, 3227 Laconia Ave, Bronx.

You should come by. Why?

It breaks down like this: 18 bucks, to sample a crazy wide variety of craft styles, all in the same place. Last we heard, there were already 25 different beers registered to compete, and that's a beautiful assault on your tastebuds. FOR EIGHTEEN BUCKS.

THERE WILL BE A PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD GIVEN! Don't like what Judge Jimmy is picking? Then judge for yourself - come by and let these budding Craftspeople know how much you love their beer.

TICKETS? HERE:

Drinking in Korea: Update from the Blonde Guy.

June 1, 2017

Editor's note: More from our 'Adjunct Faculty'! The Blonde Guy has recently returned from Korea, and to celebrate his feet replanting on American soil, we present a series of his observations from those Eastern shores. Enjoy!

Hello Happy Hour Nation!

Well, I guess now we are technically Happy Hour WORLD! How cool does that sound!? Last we spoke I left you all in the sleepy town of Daegu with a briefing on the craft scene here in Korea. Since then we made our way to eight more cities in Korea, I teamed up with a Korean brewery to make a beer, and made we it back to the states! Now, becausenot all of these cities were very "craft-forward" (and also due to an inconvenient stomach bug), there won't be a comprehensive breakdown on each city. I will, however, leave yall a list of top bars that were found either by comrades or myself at the end of the post with links to each if you find yourself thirsty in Korea. Whew, ok with all that being said time to dive into my favorite city we have been to outside of Seoul... *We hear the king of travel, food, and booze, Anthony Bourdain, starting to narrate...

Anthony

"Busan, South Korea. The second most populated city in the secluded Korean Peninsula. It boasts a sprawling coastline, an exciting culinary scene, and only recently, craft beer."

Thanks, Tony. We'll send your check in the mail.**

In all seriousness, Busan is not only the fifth largest port town in the world but one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited, and definitely the most beautiful in Korea. Bridges over the ocean connecting the downtown business center with the beachside restaurants, and a vast array of architecture create a skyline that requires taking an obscene amount of photos. (See obscene amount of photos below)

Only three blocks west of Namcheon Beach lays the headquarters of the aptly named, Galmegi Brewing Company. Galmegi (Korean for "seagull." Get it? Seagulls are on the beach... just like the brewery... ) started in a third story bar space and now is housed in a old surf shop that has been repurposed into a full fledged micro brewery and restaurant. With 12 of their own, rotating, beers on tap you can bet that anyone from a craft-beer-virgin to a certified Cicerone will find something they enjoy. Some favorites from my December visit were:

Yuja Gose, a deliciously dry and salty Gose brewed with Yuzu to give it a nice citrus snap.
Winter Ale:Winter warmer style with the perfect balance of Ginger and cinnamon, a favorite amongst the cast that was with me as it was the day after Christmas. F
Galmegi IIPA and IPA: The Galmegi IPA is one of their best selling beers and honestly one of the most solid IPA's I've had to date. It sits at a mid-low ABV so you can have a few at the beach and gives you the perfect, balanced, hop-forward flavor profile you want from an IPA. Now their IIPA... Oooo their IIPA. When I sat down and chatted with their CEO, Steven Allsopp, he poured a chalice of this sweet elixir for me to try and I almost wept. I was immediately swept away through clouds made of flowers and citrus on tiny magic carpets made of hops and bubbles before landing softly in a peach orchard. Seriously folks, I thought he had poured me a Heady Topper or Sip O' Sunshine this beer was so good. Galmegi IIPA is only brewed a few times a year, so if you find yourself in Busan while it's on tap consider buying a growler or two or ten of this truly masterful execution of the IIPA style.

Galmegi paved the way for craft to take wing in Busan with Gorilla Brewing opening down the block and Akitu Brewing Company headquartering just outside of the metro area opening shortly after Galmegi hit the city's palate. British company, Owl and Pussycat, also opened a bar right on the beach offering a wide array of international and domestic brews and artisan dishes, and a bottle shop of the same nomenclature right across the street from Galmegi's flagship location. This beach oasis was quickly climbing to the top of my list of favorite cities.

Another exciting opportunity presented itself while visiting Busan: brewing my very first beer! I presented the idea of brewing a Jekyll and Hyde themed beer (a la Broadway Brews) to Galmegi CEO, Steven Allsopp, on our first night of meeting and he loved the idea. Two days later we nailed down a recipe and the day after that I met him at the brewery early in the morning for a full day of brewing!

We decided to make a sweet and spicy beer, incorporating the theme of duality from the show, using caramely(is this a word? It is now) German malt, and Korean chilis from a local market. After transferring everything to the fermentation tank, Steve brought out a huge surprise for me: the magical yeast we would be using to turn our work into beer were the same creatures that are used at Alchemist Brewing to make HEADY TOPPER. Yes, THE Heady Topper. The perfect micro organisms were pumped into the tank and we left it for two weeks to let them feast on the sugar, and poop out their delicious phenols and esters. It was distributed throughout Busan and to a couple bars in the many neighborhoods of Seoul and surprisingly well received by the craft community in both cities! So much so that Galmegi almost went through every keg before I could get my hands on it!

Jekyll and Hyde had a beautiful peach and pepper aroma with a sinister red hue. At first sip you get a malt forward flavor with a hint of the peach and rye. It then evolves into the "Hyde" profile with a dry Korean gochu (chili pepper) kick at the end. Not going to lie, this beer is weird (in a good way, like people who like to run for fun... Jimmy) but rolling in at 5.5% ABV this brew is goes down surprisingly easy even with the spicy finish. Topping the list of reasons why this beer is great is that we are donating a dollar from every pint sold at the brewery to a local orphanage in Busan. Unfortunately Galmegi doesn't have a canning or bottling system yet so there wasn't a way to get it back to the states.

It pained us all to leave this beautiful beach town, but alas, we had to move on with the show. The cities that we traveled through from Busan to our two and a half month sit down in Seoul varied with what they had to offer in the craft beverage department. I also experienced food poisoning and a back injury that required me to take medicine that prevented me from drinking for about a month all together. So my beer expertise is not so high on some cities, however I was incredibly lucky to have a craft cohort, Ian Jon Bourg, on this journey who never failed to look into more beer places to check out and is to thank for the lists below.

Like I said above, we have just now completed the run of the show and returned to the states. This is a short update so stay tuned for a "Korea in Retrospect" post in the coming weeks after the exciting Broadway Brews news. Believe me, there is A LOT, to report on from my stay in Seoul. A LOT.