Jimmys No. 43

Not only are we open, serving brunch (later, dinner) and interesting and unusual beers, we’ll also have a tv feed for tonight’s game. Come in, and get away from Sandy with great craft beer.

We love being the home to interesting and unusual beers, but meeting interesting and unusual brewers makes drinking their beer all the more fun. If you’ve met Chris Post, Alex Hall, and Chris Cuzme of Wandering Star Brewing, you know exactly what we mean. They’re as cool as their beer, and for several Thursday Taps™ over the coming months, Jimmy’s No. 43 will feature casks their Pittsfield, MA, brewery.

This week, we’re featuring a firkin of Mild at Heart, a 4.4% ABV English Dark Style Ale. We don’t know if the boys will be around to toast with you, but we’re expecting some of them on Christmas Day for our 2nd annual Holiday Beer Family Dinner. Tickets are already available. Last year, we had a great time celebrating the day (12/25, for those of you who plan on surviving the Mayan Apocalypse) with Green Flash, and this year we’ll be featuring Wandering Star beer with Chris Cuzme as one of the hosts for the all-you-can eat family-style dinner.

As for tonight’s Thursday Tap™, we tap at 5 p.m. and, as always, until supply runs out. Regular bar/restaurant service (not to mention oysters!) still available.

We have a great event in the back room tonight (regular bar/restaurant service available out front) for all those foodies concerned about GMO-treated crops creeping into your food! Farmer Jim Gerritsen, who was voted one of the “25 Visionaries Who Are Changing our World” by Utne Magazine in October 2011, will be giving a talk (from 6:30-8) followed by dinner. Learn about Jim’s farm (Wood Prairie) in Maine where he grows MOFGA certified organic seeds and organic food.

• The talk begins at 6:30 p.m. (please RSVP) and is $10 at the door
• Dinner begins at 8:30 p.m. (RSVP for the dinner, as well) and is $25 plus tax, drinks and gratuity

Novelist and nature writer Richard Horan will introduce Jim and read from Harvest, An Adventure into the Heart of America’s Family Farms. Books will be available onsite for purchase and signing.

Jim’s presentation will focus on what each person needs to know to protect their family’s health, the environment, small farmers, and the public right of access to good clean food. Dinner will follow – family style – and be “mostly vegetarian” and will include produce from Jim’s farm such as beets, potatoes and fall root vegetables and squash.  All proceeds will go to support Wood Prairie Farm’s outreach activities.  For more information about Jim’s work, click here.

One of our favorite American breweries in Japan returns to Jimmy’s No. 43 for today’s Thursday Tap™. It’s Rising Sun’s Pale Ale, a 5.3% ABV complex and hoppy pale ale that is balanced in the Japanese style of brews. As always, we tap at 5 p.m., and this interesting and unusual beer will be available while supplies last. (Regular bar/restaurant/oyster service available!)

If you’ve been looking for a great excuse to join in the thrill of Cider Week NY, tonight is the night you’ve been waiting for. John Belliveau-Flores, co-owner of Rowan Imports, will be sampling from several Spanish and American ciders. The tasting is free (yes, you read that right!), although we hope your tastebuds will be sufficiently tantalized to order more cider from our extensive list of interesting and unusual brews. Among the ciders John will be pouring:

• Castanon – an unfiltered, natural ciders from the region of Asturias, made with only wild yeast.
• Villacubera – light and floral, the only single varietal cider produced in Spain.
• Espanar – Dry and complex, similar to a white wine.  2012 winner of the Alimentaria Food and Beverage Expo for cider.
• Hidden Star- Sparkling, slightly sweet American cider.  (not made in the champagne style)
• Slyboro Iced Special Reserve – Sweet American iced cider, absolutely delicious.

We anticipate John will be in the house at 6 p.m., and we’ll have our regular bar/menu service available all night long. Come out and get your cider on!