Category: Beer Pubs

Memories of NYC: Heartland Brewery

On January 12, 2020

In Beer Pubs, Breweries, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized, US Beer

This morning one of those “Your Memories” things popped up on my Facebook feed. It was from five years ago, when I joined my wife in New York City for a few days while she was there on a more extended stay.

The specific “memory” was of our visit to the Heartland Brewery and Rotisserie at the Empire State Building.

We had gone out walking in midtown Manhattan and went up to the top floor of the Empire State Building, only to turn around, put off by the high price of admission to the observation deck. Back at ground level, was passed by Heartland, noticed it was a brewery, and decided to go in out of the cold and to make the most of the evening.

The place was one of those where they’ve gone a long way to make the venue feel old-timey when it obviously isn’t, but it was nice enough. Friendly and warm. Packed with tables and booths, it was obvious that the beer was produced somewhere else, but that’s no matter.

We didn’t order any food, so I can’t comment on that, but I recall the beers all being quite solid. They were all classic styles -pale ales, a stout, a heffeweizen, amber, and so on. I remember particularly liking the stout and the heffeweizen. Not bad for my first taste of NYC local beer!

From what I see online, that location is now closed, but Heartland –an employee-owned company– still maintains two locations near Times Square.

I do hope in plying that touristy area, they’ve kept up the quality of their brewing. However, since they’ve won a few medals at the New York State Craft Beer Competition in recent years, there’s no reason to think they haven’t still got it.

In Lima …

By juan

On June 15, 2019

In Beer Pubs, Lima, Miscellaneous, Note, Peru, Taprooms

I’ve been in Lima a few days, and last night I went out for some beers with my cousin. We ended up at the Nuevo Mundo Draft Bar on Manuel Bonilla Street in the Miraflores district.

I’ve mentioned Nuevo Mundo’s taproom before. As always the beer selection was good, but what made the night even better was running into José Alberto Castro, who was playing music at the venue.

Castro is a fellow beer aficionado and blogger, who writes at tomandoaltura.com. He was probably Peru’s first beer blogger, and his beer reviews in particular are one of the reference points on the local brewing scene. I highly recommend reading his blog.

La Cervecería (Lima, Peru)

By juan

On August 1, 2018

In Beer Pubs, Lima, Peru, Peru Beer, Taprooms

In my post on Nuevo Mundo’s new draft bar I mentioned that the Dörcher Bier tap room on Miraflores’ Calle Manuel Bonilla had closed. Well, it turns out that Dörcher Bier, a brewery from Pozuzo –a valley in the region of Junin, settled by German immigrants– has teamed up with Lima Beer Company, makers of Craftsman Cerveza Artesanal, to open up a joint tap room: La Cervecería.

In a converted early-20th century house, La Cervecería’s layout had to squeeze into the spaces of the home it once was -parlor, living room, etc.– which creates cozy nooks and crannies for sitting in with friends.

The decor follows a pattern that has become almost standard in taprooms here in Lima: rough brick facing behind the bar, a large chalkboard above the bank of taps, and a mural on one or more nearby walls.

The staff are friendly and the beer selection quite good, with 21 taps of house and guest brews; all of which are Peruvian.

Particularly noteworthy for foreign visitors is Dörcher’s Coca, a beer infused with coca leaves, which give the brew a slight green tinge and a light coca leaf aroma and flavor.

La Cervecería
Calle San Martín 431
Miraflores, Lima

https://web.facebook.com/cerveceriaperu

Farm Creek Brewing closing and relocating

By juan

On September 24, 2017

In Bay Area Beer, Beer Pubs, Breweries, Uncategorized

Tonight Farm Creek Brewing Co. in Walnut Creek rang “last call” and closed it’s doors to the public for the last time.

On Sept. 11th Farm Creek announced the closing:

Farm Creek Friends,

From the beginning, Farm Creek Brewing has always been about family. And community. We’re proud to be part of an amazing community of supporters and friends. But, we’re missing out on time with our families back home in the south. We can always make more beer, but we can’t make more time.

Heather and I have decided that it’s time for us to create the next chapter of the Farm Creek story.

We will be closing the taproom and brewery in Walnut Creek, California and relocating Farm Creek. The Janinda’s are going home.

The taproom will be open during normal business hours until September 23. We’ll begin disassembling the brewery and taproom shortly after that.

This past year has been an adventure for us and we’re glad we could share it with you. Now, come by the taproom and share another beer with us. And be ready to come visit us on the east coast soon!

Cheers!

Randy and Heather

Farm Creek had recently marked it first anniversary. In the year that it was open, the Janindas had turned Farm Creek into a beloved local institution, the epitome of a small, independent, hard-working and all-hands-on-deck family-owned brewery.

It is fair to say that, though we all wish them well as they relocate to Georgia, they shall be missed.

Brewpub Wicks (Lima, Peru)

By juan

On August 14, 2017

In Beer Bars, Beer Pubs, Brewpubs, Lima, Peru, Peru Beer

In July I visited Brewpub Wicks for the first time. Wicks, which is located in Barranco district, kept turning up on Untappd, so I’ve known about its existence for a year or two, and that it seemed to be a beer pub oriented primarily at English-speaking expats.

Well, it turns out that Wicks also makes and serves its own beer, and that it is rather good beer.

Wicks’ lineup of house beers includes IPA, stout, best bitter, and golden ale. On the night we visited, however, they only had the golden and the stout on hand.

The golden was slightly bitter and a bit floral or fruity. It was nice, but none of us were “wowed” by it.

On the other hand, the stout was very easy to like and very easy to drink. It was tasty and robust but without any burnt astringency. It was also really smooth. One might think that it was dispensed with nitrogen, but –at least according to the pub’s website– all their beers are dispensed via hand-pulled beer engines.

Since 2014, Wicks has been quietly doing its thing. which makes it one of the pioneer brewpubs in Lima, but without the attention garnered by other craft breweries.

According to the pub’s website,

The story begins across the ocean, in England, where the idea of ‘Wicks’ was developed, by a young couple, Vanessa and William. When Vanessa and William met, she was a Peruvian student and he was a bar manager who wanted to start his own business. They both knew the ambience of a traditional British pub and they wanted to take that feeling to Lima. The ‘Brew Pub Wicks’ was born.

The formula seems to have worked. The place was definitely packed, with expats and Peruvians alike, on the night we visited.

Brewpub Wicks
Av. Pedro de Osma 210, Barranco
Lima, Peru