One of the things we pride ourselves on is our willingness to try out new and local beers from up-and-coming brewers. Four years ago, we met Craig Frymark and Evan Klein, two guys with a vision and a pick-up truck. The were self-distributing their Barrier Brewing Company beers from Long Island, and one of the first bars in the city to embrace the brand was Jimmy’s No. 43. We’ve been ordering two kegs a week from the boys ever since, excepting the times they were shut down (first when they were building their beautiful brewery and then again when that brewery was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy). It was a testament to how much everyone loves Barrier that the greater craft beer community came together to help them through that difficult time.
And now they’re celebrating four years of making some of the best beers in NY State. We’ll be rotating four of our tap lines starting today and through the weekend to include the following Barrier brews:
- *Beech Street Wheat
- *Cycle Saison
- *Imposter Pils
- *Dune Grass Double IPA
- *Frau Blücher
- *Rembrandt Porter
- *Iddulus Kolsch
- *Mollycoddle Mild Ale (nitro pour)
- *Bulkhead “Red” IPA
- *MooChelle Milk Stout
Jimmy Carbone remembers that first day when Craig (who had been brewing at Sixpoint) and Evan came into our humble establishment. Here are his reminiscences over four years:
How did you first learn of Barrier Brewing?
Evan reached out to me when he first opened on Long Island. At the time, they were still a nano brewery and were self distributing. He kept coming every week with two kegs and he’s never stopped.
What was the first Barrier beer you drank?
Going back to 2010! They’ve always made a point of producing rotating beers: They’ve made over 30 different brews, and each week there is a different selection. One of the first beers I had must have been Bulkhead Red red or Green Room Pale Ale. Their beers were so different from most breweries that launch. When they started, the beers were packed with flavor, with unique hop and yeast profiles. They were fresh, local, always good.
Why do you like to order from Barrier on a weekly basis?
Barrier mixes it up every week. I never get the same beer week in and week out. Tonight we have six Barriers on tap to offer a good representation of what they have. Come by after the World Cup!
What is your all-time favorite Barrier beer?
I’m partial to three styles they make in general: Dark beer, saison, and hoppy IPA. The Rembrand Porter and Barnacle Brown are two darks I can’t resist. From their Saisons, the Cycle Saison and Vermilion Red cover the gamut of diverse Saison styles. Among their hoppy IPAs, I particularly like the Money IPA and the Dunegrass DIPA. We’re getting in Dunegrass today, so we’ll tap it sometime this weekend.
Anything else you want to add?
Evan and Craig set the bar for new, small breweries in NY State. In their first year, they won “Best Brewery in NY State” at TAP-NY. Quite an accomplishment, especially since they were also the smallest brewery in the state at the time. They provided a road map on how to start a craft brewery that many people have followed. I’d say the new explosion in craft breweries in NY state started with Barrier in 2010.