Jimmys No. 43

While we love nothing more than to hang out at the bar with both old friends and new craft beer lovers, we here at Jimmy’s No. 43—along with owner Jimmy Carbone—spend a lot of time checking out the craft beer and sustainable food community beyond our East Village craft beer kitchen. So, for fun, Jimmy documented his whereabouts last week, as he ventured from Long Island to Governors Island and from Alphabet City to Albany! Take a look at what we do in any given week, and drop by to chat with us this week over one of our great beers!

On Monday, Jimmy was working out the details for next year’s NYC Brewers Choice, which will have even more beers sourced with NY State Ingredients. Pictured is Mark Sorrell of Cornell University, who is leading research on growing barley and other grains for beer in NY. Brewers Choice will take place on Thursday, February 26^th, 2015 (venue TBA).

On Tuesday after taping Beer Sessions Radio™, the studio panel cracked open several bottles of Hill Farmstead, including a special collaboration beer made with Luc “Bim” Lafontaine of Dieu du Ciel!.

On Wednesday, we hung out at Jimmy’s No. 43 with brewmaster Loren Taylor-Raymond of Third Rail Beer, which will be launching on Saturday (August 23^rd) at One Mile House. We got to preview the new Saison.

On Thursday, Jimmy headed up to Albany as part of the Governor’s new NY Craft Brewer Workgroup. Jimmy was talking NY grains, malts, and craft beer at Brown’s Brewing in Troy with Paul Leone of the NY State Brewers Association, Fred Matt of F.X. Matt Brewing Company, and FarmHouse Brewery owner Natalie Mattrazzo.

On Friday, we got to sample Sticke Handwerker, a Secret Engine/Rocky Point collaboration beer (following their cask launch on Thursday at St. Gambrinus).

And, finally, on Saturday, we were back out on Governors Island with the Jazz Age Lawn Party, where we were serving up our 20s-themed menu. Great food, great beer, great friends, great fun! A week in the life…

We’re into those dog days, and we’re pulling out our favorite IPAs from some of our favorite breweries. This week on Beer Sessions Radio™ on The Heritage Radio Network, Jimmy Carbone (who is also host of the popular podcast) invited several guests to talk about the best local IPAs, many of which can regularly be found here at Jimmy’s No. 43. While August 7th was National IPA Day, we like to celebrate with our favorites that we’re pouring this week (while supplies last, of course):

1) Peekskill Brewing, Eastern Standard IPA
2) Other Half Brewing Co, Hop Showers (Our friends at First We Feast recently took a road trip with the brewers!)
3) Singlecut Brewery, Half Stack IPA
4) Barrier Brewing Co, Money IPA

And while we absolutely love these great local brews on draught, we also have some amazing bottles (all 12 oz.) that encompass the hop, including:

1) Sleepover Coffee Double IPA – a collaboration brew between Mikkeller and To Øl that weighs in at a hefty 10.5% ABV (our favorite review calls it “weird but great”!).
2) Taras Bulba by Brasserie de la Senne – This extra hoppy Belgian ale is one of our favorites, and at a sessionable 4.5% ABV is a great summer all-day beer.
3) Alvinne Undressed – While the exact opposite of a hop bomb, this amazing brown sour ale (6.9% ABV) is a great antidote for all the bitterness when you’re ready to let your sour flag fly!

Finally, we’re happy to support our community groups, including Edible SchoolYard, who will soon be back in the city’s schools promoting healthy eating, but in the meantime will be hanging out with us this evening! We’re already taking bookings into the fall, so if your group (non-profit, business or social) needs a hang-out, let us know!

An important part of our identity as a Craft Beer & Kitchen restaurant is supporting both local non-profits along with small local brewers, as well as bringing in small imports from all over the world for our regular (and new!) customers to try. All these beers pair great with our summer menu (look for our new full menu come September), so we hope you’ll enjoy a new brew (or an old favorite) with us as summer winds down.

We’ve heard that Denmark is the happiest country on the planet due to social welfare, but we have the sneaking suspicion that it is the hot dogs and beer. This Sunday, August 10^th, we hope you will join us for an “Evil Pairing,” when Danish pop-up Revolving Dansk takes over part of our craft beer kitchen and the Evil Twin himself, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø will be in the house to pair his brews with old world Copenhage Street Dogs, served up pølsevogn-style (meaning they are topped with locally produced Scandinavian pickles, crispy fried onions, chopped onions, Danish remoulade, ketchup and mustard.

Recommended pairings (in case you can’t get Jeppe’s undivided attention):

• *The Cowboy paired with the Rød Hot Dog
• *Low Life paired with Grillpølse

And we’ll have more recommendations come Sunday, from 5-10 p.m. It’s Danish happiness in sausage form, slurped down with a cold brew!

And for those who aren’t getting your Dane on, well, regular bar and restaurant service is available with beers from Rushing Duck—Kroovy Imperial, Naysayer Pale Ale, Coffer Porter Nitro Stout, Barrier—Ruckus IPA, Greenroom Pale Ale, Cali Common, and Singlecut Beersmiths—Billy Half Sack IPA, “Kim” Tart Cherry Sour.

It’s only humpday and we’re already working for the weekend. FoJ43, Patrick Martins (of Heritage Radio Network fame and author of The Carnivore’s Manifesto) has called for a national holiday to recognize our agricultural heritage and praises the best in agriculture and our food traditions. Patrick has proposed that August 1st be a National Farmers Day, and we’re happy to join him in bringing awareness to the many local farms we rely on for our craft beer kitchen.

Since it’s typically ground meat and sausages that are the most sustainable forms of meat, we’ll be having a Fancy Hot Dog weekend, beginning on Friday featuring farm sausages from Flying Pigs Farm, Violet Hill Farm, Three Corner Field Farm, and others in our region. Among our offerings:

• *Bahn Mi Hot Dogs
• *Lamb Sausages
• *Chorizo
• *Kielbasa

NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is taking craft beer seriously! Like Gov. Hickenlooper in Colorado, Gov. Cuomo sees the economic potential in our state’s growing craft beer scene. In fat, he has formed the first-ever NY Craft Brewer Workgroup, which will put forth recommendations on ways to continue spurring the rapid expansion of the state’s craft beer sector. Among the appointees to this important “think tank” is our very own Jimmy Carbone.

Jimmy met the governor at this year’s Wine, Beer, Spirits and Cider Summit, where he weighed in on the NYC craft beer scene and the need to help small craft beer businesses, such as gastropubs like Jimmy’s No. 43 and nano-brewers and the farmers who are growing local hops or opening up malting facilities. The governor sees the synergies of so many diverse (yet related) businesses related to craft beverages, the need for education, the agriculture of NY State (which was once the hops growing capital of the world), as well as brewers/vintners/cider makers and retailers who sell fine-crafted alcohol beverages.

“New York’s craft beer industry has seen tremendous growth in the past four years – and we plan to keep the momentum going,” Governor Cuomo said in the announcement of the panel. “By bringing together leaders from industry, academia and the public sector, we can make sure that the Empire State becomes an even better place to brew and promote world-class beverages.”

As part of the governor’s workgroup, Jimmy will be a part of improving communication between all segments of the craft brew industry and state government. He and fellow panel members (which also includes Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery, GrowNYC’s June Russell, and NYS Brewers Association President Dave Katleski, among other beer luminaries) will work together to identify emerging needs, including research on new varieties of hops and barley, production methods and consumer trends; as well as making sure that the state has the infrastructure in place for this growing industry.

The workgroup will also continue where the summit left off by reviewing areas of potential regulatory reform and guiding the continued development of Empire State Development’s One Stop Shop, which is designed to provide New York’s beverage producers with a single point of government contact for assistance regarding regulations and licensing.

We hope you’ll come by this weekend and raise a glass to toast this panel and congratulate our very own Jimmy on his appointment!