Author: anon

Chances are if you don’t know the name, you do know the face: Mike Lovullo is the Union Beer rep who brings lots of great craft beer to lots of bars in the city, and he is the “man behind the curtain” during Jimmy No. 43’s weekly $10 Tuesday Tasting (often mimicked, but we’re the original thanks to Mike’s efforts). Today, he’s celebrating his birthday with us (are ya one, are ya two…) with some of his very favorite beers. We sat down with Mike to ask him about beer, Jimmy’s No. 43, the $10 Tuesday Tastings, and growing older.

How did you become involved with Jimmy’s No. 43 and where did the idea for the $10 Tuesday Tastings come from?

Even before I started at Union Beer back in August of 2007, I was a regular at Jimmy’s No. 43.  During this time I was a part-time photographer at Ale Street News. After I assumed the territory for Union Beer that included Jimmy’s No. 43, Jimmy actually approached me about doing small tastings for a cheap price. I forget how we settled on $10, but I have to give Jimmy credit for the idea.

What do you plan on having for your birthday beverages at the $10 Tuesday Tasting?

Jimmy has generously allowed me to raid his beer cellar for some rare gems (discounting the fresh-as-ever Oskar Blues Gubna). Here’s the list:

• Professor Fritz Briem Grodziskie (4% Sour Smoked Wheat Ale) bottles
• Vicaris Triple (8.5% Belgian Triple) bottles
• Fantome Noel (You got words for this one? Cause I don’t! 10% Belgian Strong Dark Ale reportedly spiced with honey, caramel, coriander, black pepper, and other secret ingredients) bottles [Editor’s Note: Our words are, “Sounds like a great beer to toast a great guy on his birthday!”]
• Olvisholt Lava (9.4% Smoked Imperial Stout from Iceland! Just in time for the new Sigur Ros album! Word!) bottles
• Firestone Walker Sucaba (13% Barley Wine, was called Abacus in years past) bottles
• Oskar Blues Gubna (10% Imperial IPA) draft

 What’s your desert island beer (i.e. if you could drink only one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be)?

That is a really really tough one. Most people know I don’t have a favorite beer (only brewery…starts with an A & ends with a GASH!), but it would probably be one of the following: Allagash Interlude with 2-3 years on it, The Alchemist Heady-Topper, CAntillon Fou Fonne or—very possibly—Orval.

What do you hope the $10 Tuesday Tasting participants gain from the experience (e.g. better beer knowledge, new beer friends, a chance to try beers they might otherwise eschew, etc.)?

For this particular tasting, I want them to be absolutely blown away by beers we haven’t featured yet.  As always, I hope the participants come away with more knowledge of styles and the breweries featured and have a great time.

I’ve been doing these tasting for the past 3 years & just love the community around Jimmy’s and am grateful that I can “hold court” in one of my favorite watering holes in this great city.

The summer-like weather has us dreaming of the biergarten (or, in the case of Jimmy’s No. 43, the rathskeller), a cool spot to grab a pint and some wurst. Thus, Jimmy’s No. 43 presents the Dish of the Week: Knockwurst, a venerable sausage veal and pork blend originating in Holstein, Germany, but sourced around the corner at the East Village Meat Market.

For 42 years, owner Julian Baczynsky has been serving up some of the best veal, pork, lamb, beef and other meats that only a true butcher can provide. Jimmy’s No. 43 sources traditional sausages like knockwurst and kielbasa from Julian, a noted maker of hams and traditional smoked sausages, including the sausages that go into our Veal Knockwurst, Pickled Cabbage, and Grainy Mustard (a small plate that feels anything but small). So stop by this week for the Dish of the Week and taste what the neighborhood meat market has to offer.

As with any fledgling business, the owners tend to take a hand’s on approach. When it comes to NYC’s newest brewery, Bronx, President and Head Brewer Damian Brown literally carries his Bronx Pale Ale into Jimmy’s No. 43 every week. While the brewery officially opened in August of last year, their flagship brew took over a year of recipe tweaking to arrive at the perfect American Pale Ale it is today. This traditionally-crafted ale uses only premium and minimally processed ingredients to create a fresh, bold taste from a borough known for its own bold individual character. Character that includes—when necessary—a bit of heavy lifting.

This week’s Thursday Tap is Ridgeway’s Bad Elf, a 6% IPA brewed with UK-grown Cascade hops. Olde England meets the New World in this strong, warming golden ale. A generous amount of famous English malt is masterfully balanced with an astounding 45 ounces of fresh hops – including English Cascade – per barrel. Bad Elf is brewed by Peter Scholey, master brewer for the late and much-lamented Brakspear Brewery of Henley-on-Thames, England. Peter has bought up the entire crop from the single row of Cascades grown in the U.K.

This traditional firkin-style cask is sure to bring a smile to many a beer drinker’s face, so be sure and enjoy the weekly offering. Jimmy taps at 5 p.m. and this beer is available while supply lasts!

It may not be the world’s best kept secret, but if you haven’t tried our amazing grass-fed burgers, now is the time to get acquainted with what we believe is the best burger in town. We start with Hudson Valley Harvest‘s distribution network to bring us grass-fed, free range beef from local meat farmers. As they explain, “All cattle herds are pasture based. No feedlot type infrastructure is used in raising or finishing our cattle. At no point in the present or future will preventative antibiotics or appetite stimulants be used.”

What this means for diners at Jimmy’s No. 43 is a deliciously fresh and great tasting burger. And in an effort to reward our carnivore patrons, we are launching The Burger Club at Jimmy’s No. 43. Getting in the club is easy. Three simple steps and you are there:

1. Like us on Facebook here;
2. Follow us on Twitter @jimmysno43;
3. Take a picture of yourself eating a burger at Jimmy’s No. 43 and upload it to our FB or Twitter feeds!

Your reward? Well, other than a tummy full of tasty burger, we’ll be choosing our favorite photos to put on the blog. If your mug of meat is chosen, you’ll get a free burger and an American pint on your next visit. It’s a win-win. So join us for this week’s dish… and don’t forget your iPhone!