Didn’t score tickets to tonight’s (sold out) NYC Brewers Choice? No worries, because we have a great brewer with new beers coming to Jimmy’s No. 43 as counter programming. In fact, if you are looking to try Rockaway Brewing’s new Scotch Ale, well, you will only find it here tonight at Rockaway Brewing Night!
Head Brewer Marcus Burnett creates beer in small batches (they all taste slightly different!). Tonight’s creation is Plains Drifter Scottish Ale, a 7.2% ABV brew. We’ll also have the new IPA (which we took for a test run at Monday’s Nano-brew Dinner) and Rockaway’s Porter.
It’s pay-as-you-go with regular bar/restaurant service also available. While supplies last!
Singlcut Beersmiths’ Head Brewer Rich Buceta. Photo courtesy of First We Feast.
Only a handful of tickets remain for tonight’s Nano-beer Vegetarian Nonsense™ Dinner, which offers an up-close-and-personal meet and greet with five nano- and micro-brewers from the state’s burgeoning craft beer scene. Among the largest of the small brewers who will represent at this five-course dinner is Singlecut Beersmiths. The brewery in Astoria has only been open a few months and already boasts of an impressive line-up of beers, including its Raw Mahogany Ale, which will be paired with a Roasted Beet and Shaved Pecorino Salad.
Head Brewer and President Rich Buceta (who will be at Wednesday’s NYC Brewers Choice; Assistant Brewer Brian Dwyer will be at tonight’s dinner) recently updated us on the state of his microbrewery, adding music to the brewery, and his love of craft beer.
What was the first beer you ever drank and the circumstances?
Knickerbocker Lager, my dad’s beer. It was brewed in NYC, and he’d give me a can after cutting the grass (this was in 7th grade mind you!). It was the most delicious thing I’d ever had, and it made me feel funny!
When did you realize that your “homebrew” was ready for primetime (i.e. consumer worthy)?
After consistently winning awards with the beer I’d been making.
Cans, bottles or keg-only? Explain your answer.
Kegs. We will get into cans soon, but for now, we’re in enough debt!
What is your desert island beer (i.e. if you could only drink one beer—or one brewer’s selection—for the rest of your life, what would it be and why)?
Alchemist Heady Topper! So original and superb.
How do craft beer brewers compete with “pseudo-craft,” i.e. special label beers being put out by factory-based commercial brewers (Anheuser-Busch and their ilk)?
No comparison, and the consumer’s taste buds will tell the truth.
What’s your biggest challenge as a micro-brewer?
Fortunately for us, it’s keeping up with demand.
Tell us about the beer you’re bringing (Raw Mahogany) to the dinner and how it will pair with our Roasted Beet, Shaved Pecorino Salad.
It’s walks the line between Pale Ale, IPA, Amber Ale and Red Ale in a way that isn’t on the market. We’re very proud of this beer.
What else do you want us to know about Singlecut Beersmiths?
It’s Oscar Night at Jimmy’s No. 43, and aside from a television (discrete but watchable) we’ll have Shelton Brothers rep Jim Barnes pulling out his own red carpet gems! From 6 p.m. on, we’ll have a line up of stars from the Shelton Brothers label.
Tonight’s nominees for best brew most likely to be sampled:
Theillier La Bavaisienne
Thiriez Extra
Bretagne Dremmwel Rousse
La Choulette Ambrée
De Ranke XX Bitter
Ridgeway Oxfordshire Blue
And for best beer featured from our cellar (and available for purchase):
Co-owners (and brewers) Marcus Burnett and Ethan Long during happier times in Rockaway – i.e. pre-Sandy.
If you are interested in local brewers, then you have double the love next week with Rockaway Brewing Company. On Monday, brewer and co-owner Marcus Burnett will be in the house for our Nano-beer Vegetarian Nonsense™ Dinner (only a few tickets remain, so get yours here). Then on Wednesday we’ll have a special Rockaway Brewing night with the launch of their new beer, Hi-Plains Drifter Scottish Ale!
Marcus was nice enough to check in by phone this week to preview NYC Beer Week and what he’ll be bringing to Monday’s beer dinner (hit: it’s hoppy, and you can’t find it anywhere else!).
What was the first beer you ever drank and the circumstances?
The first beer I really enjoyed as and English Bitter Ale I tried in Surrey, England, when I was staying with my uncle when I was 14. It was the classic English countryside with sheep farms and rolling hills.
When did you realize that your “homebrew” was ready for primetime (i.e. consumer worthy)?
When Ethan (Long, co-owner) and I realized we’d rather drink our own beers rather than any other beer, that’s when we decided to open a brewery. The first eight months we only brewed that one beer, our ESB. Now we officially have three beers—ESB, Porter, Stout—with two more premiering at Jimmy’s No. 43 next week (Scottish Ale and IPA).
How did you and Ethan decide to launch a brewery together?
We had similar professions, so we knew each other. I was doing cinematography/photography while Ethan was a set designer. We also had bungalows nearby each other out on Far Rockaway. [Editor’s Note: Neither brewer’s home was destroyed during Sandy.] We started brewing together and, eventually, opening the brewery together.
Cans, bottles or keg-only? Explain your answer.
We only do kegs. I don’t have the patience to do individual bottles, and we don’t have the money to get a canning or bottling line. Besides, I enjoy beer on draft more than from a bottle.
What is your desert island beer (i.e. if you could only drink one beer—or one brewer’s selection—for the rest of your life, what would it be and why)?
If I had four taps of Founder’s, I’d probably be okay for awhile. They’re making really solid and palatable beers.
What’s your biggest challenge as a nano-brewer?
Our biggest challenge is expanding at the right pace, keeping up production with demand. Sometimes we have plenty of beer on hand; sometimes we don’t have any. We’re pretty much at capacity now, so we need to consider what we do next. Also, we want to come up with enough styles to satisfy our clients. Lots of craft beer bars always want the next new thing. That’s something we love about Jimmy’s No. 43. It’s more about consistent quality than just having something new to offer.
What else do you want us to know about Rockaway Brewing Company?
Our company really represents the hope for the American Dream. As homebrewers, we really didn’t have any money. Everybody said, “You can’t do a brewery with a two-barrel system.” I thought, “You can’t tell me what to do.” In some ways, of course, they were right, but we’re not trying to be something we’re not. We love what we do and the beer we’re making at our current rate of production.
Wow! We’re just blown away by the new Thrillist template for making your way through NYC Beer Week, which officially launches tomorrow. If you follow any of the options, chances are you’ll end up at Jimmy’s No. 43. We have a great line-up, but we’ll let Thrillist map it out for you here. Click on any of the black boxes and you’ll find out more details!
Didn’t score tickets to tonight’s (sold out) NYC Brewers Choice? No worries, because we have a great brewer with new beers coming to Jimmy’s No. 43 as counter programming. In fact, if you are looking to try Rockaway Brewing’s new Scotch Ale, well, you will only find it here tonight at Rockaway Brewing Night!
