Andrew, Jess and I took the subway to Williamsburg for brunch/lunch with cocktails at the Roebling Tea Room, followed by a trip to Buffalo Exchange for thrifting. Upon arriving at Beacon’s Closet for more thrifting, we reached an executive decision: Jess would shop and the menfolk would stride briskly across the street to the Brooklyn Brewery for the free tour and, uh, beer. We timed it right, as it began pouring down rain soon afterwards. The tour was static and boring and it turns out the Brewery bottles most of its stuff upstate. I did learn that Milton Glaser designed the BB logo and has a tiny stake in the company. Plus, he gets free beer for life. At least according to our guide. The most of our time was spent quaffing plastic cups of beer from a large, communal table area of the brewery set up much like a beer hall. It was pleasantly crowded with much people watching. I don’t know much about cask ales but I believe the best beer the Brooklyn Brewery makes is a cask ale called Blast. Andrew and I enjoyed several glasses of it. It’s a double IPA, so it’s muscular (nearing double-digit ABV), sharp, hoppy and rich, yet paradoxically but pleasantly smooth, with a nice head. Alas, or maybe not for the sake of my moderation, they don’t bottle it—it’s only available on tap at the brewery and select bars.
Afterwards, we trudged through the rain and made our way to Carroll Gardens for dinner with Allison, Beth and Mike at Frankies, followed by cocktails at Clover Club.