Looking back is always one of our favorite things to do each year - and 2017 was another great trip. We were all over the US once again, with stops in Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan; and most importantly the Broadway Brews Project powered forward, with the release of Brews number two and three, with more to come! Get ready for 2018, and “Craft Beer for Good” with us. CHEERS!
Stopping in for Blues, Brews and Botany!
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.
The Happy Hour Guys celebrate NYC Beer Week!
The Happy Hour Guys don't normally report from beer festivals, but this one we could not miss! The kickoff event of New York City Beer Week, for us, is a chance to connect and reconnect: So join us for this blast of an evening, with brew news from KelSo Beer, Gun Hill, Sixpoint, Greenport Harbor, Transmitter, Sand City, Industrial Arts and Lineup. Meet some old friends, make some new ones, and support NYC Craft Beer. Cheers!
Video #305, At GABF 2014 - BEERicon.
*** OUR 300TH VIDEO EPISODE!!***
It's been 4 years since Jimmy and Mark dropped in to the Mother of all Beer Festivals in Denver; and goodness, how things have changed. Old friends meet new ones at, is it the Super Bowl of Craft Beer? Nope... it's BEERicon.
Featuring:
5 Rabbit Cerveceria (Chicago), Breckenridge Brewing (Denver) New Holland Brewing (Holland, MI) The BeerVangelist, Atwater Brewing (Detroit), handlebar mustaches, Whos (from CraftBeerVille?), Wayne and Garth, WomenEnjoyingBeer.com, BeerDrinkersSociety.com, Julia Herz (the Brewer's Association), Carhartt, Magnolia Brewing (San Francisco), the Big Blue Bear, and a bunch of people wearing... well click play and just see it.
Cheers!
Video episode #211: Travels with Thurston: The Best of 2011!
Just in time for the end of the year, Mark and Jimmy post their annual retrospective, looking back on the best (and silliest!) moments of 2011 on The Happy Hour Guys. It's been a FANTASTIC year. Many thanks to all those who've come on board and joined the team this year - we couldn't do this without you, especially the one and only THURSTON. Whew! ENJOY, and here's to an amazing 2012!
Video episode #186: The Get Real Belgian Festival!
The Guys (and Gals) make their way to downtown Manhattan to the Get Real Belgian Beer Festival - many thanks to Patrick Donagher of Rattle N Hum, and Michelle Gralitzer of MLG PR. The Belgians are coming! The Belgians are coming!
Gettin' Real-er...
Artsy Guy again! More shots from Get Real NYC Belgian Fest... Happy Hour Gal interviewing Clay, the chocolate (and beer pairing) master.
And Stat Guy with his Red-Headed Not-A-Guy.
