4th Annual NY Craft Beer Week
September 16 - September 25, 2011
New York City's Top Craft Brewers, Celebrity Chefs, Beer Bars and Acclaimed Restaurants
Celebrate Beer Week with an Array of Delicious Events & Promotions
Special Events in all Five Boroughs Featuring
Exclusive Press Preview Event at Brooklyn Brewery, 4th Annual Freaktoberfest Boutique Beer & Music Festival, Get Real's All-American Craft Beer & Food Festival, Zagat Sponsored "Beer Pairing Menus," Garrett Oliver's "Oxford Companion to Beer" Launch Event, Celebrity Chef Food & Beer Pairing Dinners, Meet The Brewer Events, Beer Tours, and Much More
Plus a New Official Beer for NY Craft Beer Week: Geektoberfest,
and iPhone & Droid Apps for NY Craft Beer Week
New York, NY - The 4th Annual NY Craft Beer Week rounds up the state's premiere breweries, local celebrity chefs, over 100 beer destinations and 30 renowned restaurants across the City for an amazing line-up of special events happening in all five boroughs from Friday, September 16 - Sunday, September 25, 2011. Celebrated events such as the 4th Annual Freaktoberfest Boutique Beer & Music Festival, Get Real's All-American Craft Beer & Food Festival, and Brewer's Choice will return as part of this year's Beer Week. The week will also feature newly conceived boutique events, specialty food and beer pairing menus, educational tastings and tours, and the release of the official beer of the Week: Geektoberfest. Brewed by Shmaltz Brewing, Captain Lawrence Brewing, and Ithaca Beer Co., Geektoberfest includes a special blend of six barrel-aged beers, and will be available on draft at select Beer Week events and participating craft beer bars across New York City.
New York City beer enthusiasts and foodies alike will have the opportunity to enjoy over 100 craft beer destinations with the much-anticipated NYC Beer Passport 2011, the official NY Craft Beer Week program and resource guide. Passports are $10, and patrons will receive promotional deals and discounts on selections from their favorite craft breweries at participating venues. Each venue will feature one specific brewery, and instead of paying $7 per glass of beer, it's only $3 for the same beer through the Passport program (Passports have an offer for one serving at each bar). A majority of the bars will also offer a one-time $2 off a NY State produced beer through Labor Day 2012 to extend the Passport's value for those consumers unable to visit every bar during the Beer Week (offers may vary). Passports will be available for purchase at www.nycbeerweek.com, at each participating venue, a handful of retail outlets including the Strand Bookstore and others TBA, and in a new digital format as iPhone and Droid apps.
Passports include a calendar of all the featured events with a detailed description of each event, special editorial sections written by influential beer writers and industry insiders, FAQ's about NY Craft Beer Week, a list of all the participating restaurants with Zagat's "Beer Pairing Menus," a list of all the bars and retail outlets involved with NY Craft Beer Week, and much more.
Premiering this year is the NY Craft Beer Week mobile app for the iPhone and Droid, developed by technology partner Seed Labs. Both the free and paid apps will include: instant access to all updated content on nycbeerweek.org, a dedicated page for each venue (highlighting their brewery of choice, special offers and events schedule), a GPS powered map allowing users to find venues by distance, proximity to subway stops and featured brewery along with subway and walking directions, a searchable list of beers, and Foursquare-like functionality that will allow users to compete for fame, glory and prizes by "checking in" at venues and "checking off" beers they drink while simultaneously updating their Facebook and Twitter social networks on their activity. Badges that can be earned through "checking in" range from champions of various beer styles and beers from given geographic areas to conquering the full range of participating venues in each neighborhood. The free version of the app will serve as a companion to the printed passport, while the paid version will sell for $10 and allow users to redeem all of the deals offered in the printed passport.
Please see the initial list below highlighting the special events and promotions happening during the 4th Annual Craft Beer Week. Many more events and additional detailed information will be announced soon.
*Brooklyn Brewery Presents "Exclusive Press Preview Event" (Thursday, August 25, 6:30 pm)
-Come celebrate the release of the NYC Beer Passport. Fellow journalists and all participating breweries, bars, chefs, etc will enjoy locally produced artisan foods paired with craft beers provided by Brooklyn Brewery as well as other breweries.
*NYC Passport 2011
-Passport holders have access to special promotions at 100+ craft beer venues all over New York City (during the Beer Week and throughout the next year)!
*Zagat Sponsored "Beer Pairing Menus"
-Happening throughout the entire Beer Week, Zagat will present three- or four-course beer and food pairing menus at several prestigious restaurants. Each prix fixe menu includes a unique beer pairing for each course with prices varying between the restaurants.
*4th Annual Freaktoberfest Boutique Beer & Music Festival (Southpaw, Park Slope: Friday, September 16, 7 pm, $50)
-Sponsored by Shmaltz Brewing Company, Southpaw, Smuttynose and Beertender Brooklyn, more than 20 brewery owners will pour specialty beers while famous sideshow performers host the event and offer special performances alongside local indie-rock bands, burlesque dancers, and DJs. Freaktoberfest is the official "Opening Night Celebration" of NY Craft Beer Week. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketweb. More info is available at freaktoberfest.blogspot.com.
*Brewer's Choice (City Winery: Thursday, September 22)
-15 Brewmasters present their best beers and favorite food pairings in an intimate walk around tasting event for more than 400 people. More info at www.nycbrewerschoice.com
*Get Real's All-American Craft Beer & Food Festival (Friday, September 23 & Saturday, September 24)
-A one-of-a-kind tasting event, Get Real's All-American Fest will feature 80 of America's finest craft beers on tap, a cask bar with 30 cask-conditioned ales, the tri-state area's best homebrews, food tastings from some of NYC's top restaurants and food artisans, educational seminars, and, new for 2011, the first All-Americas Craft Chocolate Fest featuring some of America's top artisanal chocolate makers. Event details can be found at getrealny.com.
*The Ultimate Brewmaster's Degustation @ Mas (farmhouse) (Date and Price TBA)
-A reprisal of the phenomenal dinner held during the 2010 Beer Week. The special menu for the night at fine dining standout, Mas (farmhouse), will feature six courses prepared using creative reinterpretations of beer, and each course will be paired to a beer from different breweries. Many of the beers being featured during the dinner will have their brewmasters in attendance. Additional details will be announced soon.
*Brewer's Brunch (Sunday, September 25: Location and Price TBA)
-The best way to cap off an extended week of outstanding beers is to kick back with your friends and relive the best moments. With the hair of the dog in full effect, expect to find a broad selection of beers, reinventions of classic brunch cocktails using beer, and a broad gathering of industry luminaries as a leisurely brunch is enjoyed and the Beer Week is brought to a celebrated close. This is the "Official Closing Event" of the Week. Additional details will be announced soon.
*Garrett Oliver's Oxford Companion to Beer Launch Event (Location, Date & Price TBA)
-Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster and award-winning author of The Brewmaster's Table (2005), Garrett Oliver will host a special event celebrating the launch of his new book, Oxford Companion to Beer. Additional details will be announced soon.
*"Meet The Brewer" Events
-Occurring at several participating beer bars throughout Beer Week, top NY craft brewers will offer extensive selections from their beer line-ups, and will offer tasting notes.
Josh Schaffner, Director of NY Craft Beer Week, comments about the upcoming craft beer extravaganza, "Over the past four years, the concept of a Beer Week has progressed from non-existent to the most exciting series of events for the year in every beer drinking city throughout the country. NY Craft Beer Week is no exception; travelers come from throughout the world just to engage with the beer community, while local consumers eagerly anticipate the special events and the arrival of new Passports. It is with great excitement that there are now more beer-centric bars, restaurants and stores participating in the Beer Week than ever before, and a new set of smart phone apps will make the offerings even more accessible to all."
Brooklyn Brewery's Brewmaster Garret Oliver says, "NYC Beer Week is a great opportunity for people to check out the creativity and talent of New York's brewers. New York City is famous for having the best of everything, and NYC Beer Week is going to show off America's most diverse and exciting beer scene."
NY Craft Beer Week is proud to have Brooklyn Brewery, Shmaltz Brewing Co, and Empire Brewing Co as sponsoring breweries, Zagat Survey as a food partner, Just Food as a charitable partner, and Ace Hotel as the official hotel partner. Ace Hotel is a 12-story boutique hotel in the heart of Midtown Manhattan with 260 rooms and is offering a Beer Week rate of 15% off on their normal room reservations during the Beer Week. Reservations can be made using this link: http://acehotel.com/beerweek .
About NY Craft Beer Week
NY Craft Beer Week is a ten-day celebration of all things craft beer in the five boroughs of New York City. It is as much about civic pride as it is about appreciating the splendors available to us and celebrating the people who make it all happen. NY Craft Beer Week's focus is to fuse libation education with community appreciation, providing opportunities to discover new favorite breweries, beers, bars, stores and restaurants for enjoyment throughout the year. Learn more at: www.nycbeerweek.com.
About the Official Beer of NY Craft Beer Week: Geektoberfest
Brewed by Shmaltz Brewing, Captain Lawrence Brewing, and Ithaca Beer Co., Geektoberfest will feature a blend of six barrel-aged beers. All of the beers are originally brewed in the state of New York, and Geektoberfest will only be available on draft during NY Craft Beer Week. The beer represents each brewery and the folks at NY Craft Beer Week's exuberant appreciation of the mecca they call home, New York.
###
