It’s always Beer Week at Jimmy’s No. 43

AlternateBeerAdvocateLooking back over the past 12 years (!!) from our home in the Brewmuda Triangle on East 7th Street, Jimmy’s No. 43 has been part of the larger NYC craft beer scene for more than a decade. We’re very excited to once again be the unofficial “clubhouse” for NYC Beer Week, which kicks off for us this Friday, February 24th, with the annual SimulTap, featuring a local beer made from local ingredients (we’ll be tapping a keg of “Something Ugly this SMASH comes,” a collaboration IPL from KelSo and Greenpoint Harbor featuring a State Malt and State Hop – aka SMASH beer – at 5PM).

Jimmy’s No. 43 has always prided itself on our support of local and artisan brewers around the world (want to know more about the beers that inspired us over the years? check out this article in Brooklyn Magazine), and we still feature many new brewers on our 12 rotating taps and even more beers by the bottle. Drop by and try the newest from IcoNYC (Queens, we have their High Ryse on tap right now), Industrial Arts, Threes and Other Half (among others).

Or maybe whisky is your preference! We have added a robust menu of hand-crafted spirits, which you can drink neat, on the rocks or in one of our signature cocktails – many of these brands are from the emerging distilling scene here in NYC. We also have one of the city’s best selections of cider and several NY State wines.

We’re also serving up a seasonal market menu, featuring both meat and vegetarian options, including our lasagne made with pork from Flying Pigs Farm, one of the sustainable farms we have supported over the years. And speaking of food and showing the love… we’ve nurtured quite a few impressive chefs over the past dozen years, including one of our first chefs, Philip Kirschen-Clark, whose inventive work in our kitchen was profiled many moons ago in this Grub Street article.

We always try to be inventive without being gimmicky, whether it was the city’s first sour beer week (we’ll be bringing back April Sours on Saturday, April 29th) or our annual Battle of the Belgians (which we are bringing to NYC Beer Week with an all-Trappist version – get tickets here).

So as we greet another NYC Beer Week (see our full list of events here), we’re proud of our rich craft beer heritage and how we’ve tried to be a part of the larger East Village community we call home. Hope to see you at the bar… you’re part of Jimmy’s beer family!

Homebrew Connection and Background About Our Brewmuda Triangle

InteriorBW2017Did you know that the very first meeting of the NYC Homebrewers Guild took place right in our building way back in 1987? Yep, for 30 years now this group has been meeting right upstairs from Jimmy’s No. 43 at Burp Castle. In fact, it was where Garrett Oliver – James Beard Award-winning Brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery  – first shared some of his early concoctions. Due to the three bars sharing the same building (the third place is Standings), we’re colloquially known as the “Brewmuda Triangle,” because you can drop in and never leave thanks to all the amazing beer!

We’re still connected to the larger homebrew community, offering up a spot for their annual BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) studies and as a drop-off point for homebrewers who are entering next month’s Homebrew Alley XI.

We’ll also be celebrating during NYC Beer Week (February 24th-March 4th), with a great line-up of events to include:

  • A kick-off celebration with charcuterie on Friday, February 24th
  • Simultap at 5PM on Friday, February 24th – our special tap for NYC Beer Week
  • Battle of the Belgians: Trappist Edition on Saturday, February 25th
  • Joshua Bernstein’s Homebrew Jamboree on Sunday, February 26th
  • Consider Bardwell Beer & Cheese Pairing on Monday, February 27th
  • Homebrew Happy Hour in honor of the BJCP classes on Tuesday, February 28th
  • NYC Brewer’s Choice (off-site) on Wednesday, March 1st
  • Alpine and Green Flash Night on Thursday, March 2nd
  • Ronnie Sue Chocolates Sampling with Beer on Friday, March 3rd
  • and another cheese-related event TBD

And if you prefer liquor over beer, never fear! Our expanded spirits program will include some exclusive guided tasting events this winter, as we launch Jimmy’s Spirit Council. Among the offerings:

  • Jimmy’s Spirits Council Launch Party on Saturday, January 28th: with El Buho Mezcal, Catsill Provisions Honey Whiskey and McKenzie Rye Whiskey
  • High West Dinner with Eliza Czander on Thursday, February 9th
  • An Irish Spirits St. Patrick’s with Jeff Cioletti (date TBD in March)
  • East Meets South – NY State Bourbon Pairing with Lew Bryson on Tuesday, April 4th

Of course, we also have a great seasonal menu, which currently features our amazing lasagna, cassoulet and new hearty vegetarian items that are perfect for winter!

So come on by and enjoy the history of drinking in the Brewmuda Triangle as we keep pouring the best hand-crafted beers, artisan spirits, orchard-to-bar ciders and local wines.

Where You Bean? Cassoulet Cookoff Returns This Sunday!

cassoulet-judges-tableLeave it to the French to create a peasant dish that has so many variations that we can host an entire cook-off around it! Voilà, this Sunday’s 9th Annual Cassoulet Cook-Off (taking place from 1-4PM on January 15th… a few tickets remain here). We have an incredible line-up of new and returning chefs, and we’re adding our own lamb cassoulet to the menu this week, so you can enjoy this classic meal yourself through the end of the month. Pair with wine or spirits (or even your favorite craft beer). It’s hand-crafted loveliness!

Or join us this Sunday and sample an array of cassoulet styles from the following chefs:

  • Noah Sheetz (former NY Governor’s Mansion chef), co-founder of Chefs’ Consortium
  • Jimmy’s No. 43
  • Grant Springer, Chefs’ Consortium
  • Chef Michael Lapi, Chefs’ Consortium
  • Chef Carolyn Wells, Chefs’ Consortium, who will be competing with a vegetarian cassoulet
  • Chefs Richie Biondo, 5 Napkin Burger
  • Peter Hudson, formerly French Roast, Nizza
  • Chef Jesse Jones
  • Tyler LaCorata, Still The One Distillery
  • Ryan Burk of Angry Orchard ciders
  • Tahisha Solages, Chefs’ Consortium
  • Alana Szemer, who was last year’s people’s choice and judges’ winner in the traditional cassoulet category

A portion of the proceeds will benefit this year’s non-profit partner, Brooklyn Rescue Mission, a food pantry and community garden in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

Battle of the Belgians: December’s Results and February’s Trappist Edition Tix Available Now

dsc_0156On Saturday, December 3rd, Jimmy’s No. 43 welcomed back the best of Belgium with our annual Battle of the Belgians. We love bringing in these classic style of beers (from any country making Belgian-style ales) during the colder months, and we’ll be featuring Belgian and Belgian-style beers through our annual Liquid Lent, which this year starts in the middle of NYC Beer Week!

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. On the Friday (December 2nd) before Battle of the Belgians, we had an esteemed group of judges (Paul Zocco of Zoks Homebrew, Certified Cicerone James Tai, Gregg Glaser of Yankee Brew News, Sam Barbieri of Waterfront Ale House, among others) gather together at the bar to taste close to two-dozen beers entered in this year’s event. Their winners—along with the People’s Choice—were announced both during Battle of the Belgians and on last week’s episode of Beer Sessions Radio™. The results of each category:

Hoppy Belgian Style:
1st Place – Humulus Terreux, The Bruery (CA)
2nd Place – Monsieur Shelton, De la Senne (Belgium)
3rd Place – XX, De Ranke (Belgium)

Belgian Sour:
1st Place – Flemish Primitive Wild Ale, De Proefbrouwerij (Belgium)
2nd Place – Oude Gueuze, Tilquin (Belgium)
3rd Place – Sour in the Rye Terreux, The Bruery (CA)

Belgian Specialty Strong:
1st Place – Zwet.be – Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen (Belgium)
2nd Place – Blond Bier, Achel Trappist (Belgium)
3rd Place – Oerbier, De Dolle (Belgium)

One of the judges, Paul Zocco, summed up the winning entries thusly: “It’s very interesting that all three category winners were beers with some presence of funk; be it Brett, lactic or acetic notes.”

People’s choice votes were tabulated during the event and the winners announced accordingly:

Best Local NYC on Draft: LIC Beer Project’s Silent Vixen Bier de Garde (Queens, NYC)

Best Classic Sour: Cuvee des Jacobins’ Flemish Sour (Belgium)

Best Classic Triples: Two Belgians tied for this… De Dolle’s Dulle Teve 10 and the Achel Blond Bier

Hoppy Belgian Style: De Ranke’s XX (Belgium)

Belgian Specialty Strong: Another tie of three Belgians… Zwet.be by Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen, Triporteur Full Moon 12 and De Dolle’s Oerbier

And a special mention goes out to Jimmy’s favorite (and the beer he drank all day): Solemn Oath’s Punk Rock for Rich Kids, a Belgo pale ale from Naperville, IL (near Chicago).

If you missed out on this month’s event, you have a chance to make up for it as we will be doing a special Trappist-only version of Battle of the Belgians for Liquid Lent/NYC Beer Week on Saturday, February 25th. Find out more details and get your tickets here.

Peace and Happy: Rounding up the Year that was

While there are quite a few people who won’t be sorry to see 2016 come to a long, tortuous end, we prefer to look back on the year that was and remember the highlights. We’ve shared many a pint with our Beer Family, and we’ve also been social outside what some consider one of the best beer bars in NYC.

As we recap 2016, we wish you and yours a very happy holiday. If you don’t already have plans, be sure to drop by on Sunday, December 25th, for our annual Xpats Xmas lunch (we’ll have pork roast, ribs, roasted Brussels sprouts and root vegetables, mashed potatoes and more – get your ticket here). Otherwise, please enjoy the year that was!

1. Our Backroom was transformed into a 1930s Jazz Club in Woody Allen’s latest film, Café Society.
Our Backroom is one of the best kept secrets in NYC, with private party rentals and performance space available to local arts groups, but we were very excited to welcome auteur Woody Allen selected our bar to be the setting for several locations in the movie. It was our “starring” moment on the big screen!
Jimmy-NY-Mag-Postcard-Front
2. Brewed Food collaboration
Back in June, we welcomed Jensen Cummings and guest chef Andrew Gerson of Brooklyn Brewery to serve up a unique beer and food pairing dinner that featured custom dishes incorporating craft beer brewing processes.  We ended up with some very funky pairings, like Brooklyn Sorachi Ace with Santa Barbara Uni / bonji and dry-hopped yogurt! It was a great night, and we hope Jensen’s tour in 2017 brings him back our way.
3. Hops salon
We held another of our Salon series as we welcomed hops farmers from around the region, including John Condzella from Condzella Farms on Long Island and John Segal from Segal Ranch, a 3rd generation farm that originated in NY State before moving to Washington State. The event was informative and aroma-filled!
4. Best Burger added to menu
We’ve always loved grass-fed ground beef, but our burger went to a whole new level this year as we arranged for a custom grind from Fleishers Craft Butchery in Brooklyn. Now our Best Burger is getting raves around NYC and is one of our favorite dishes to pair with red wine! Perfect year-round.
5. Outdoor events at Solar One
Summer in the city is the time to get outdoors, and we grilled at Solar One at key events throughout the warmer months, including collaborating with the Executive Chef of Georgia Grown to bring a half-dozen of the south’s best chefs to the waterfront for “A Taste of Georgia,” which also allowed a perfect view of the spectacular July 4th fireworks!
6. Opening of next level of NYC-area breweries
Offering up small batch and handcrafted beers, Industrial Arts quickly became a hoppy favorite this fall. Plus we witnessed the launch of two new Brooklyn-based breweries, Interboro in East Williamsburg and KCBC in Bushwick. We’re loving all this great beer that is coming out from local brewers!
We wish you the best holiday and Happy New Year, and we’ll hope for even better happenings in 2017.