Monday, December 21, 2009

First missive from New York - Rattle n Hum

Last night, as New York City experienced its first snowfall for the winter (and what a dump it was), Kel and I visited Rattle n Hum, one of the city's best beer bars.

I had earier arranged to meet Patrick Donagher, the main owner, a passionate Irishman who opened RnH 15 months ago in the shadows of the Empire State Building.

It's a fantastic bar with a great vibe and an everchanging list of craft beers on their 40 taps. There is also a cask bar (4 engines) which currently has Dark Star (UK) on.

Patrick gave me a real insight into the New York craft beer scene as well as a tour of his place, including the coolroom which is tiny given their needs (space in Manhattan is obviously at a premium)..

We also met Warren Monteiro aka the Beer Sensai who writes for Ale Street News "The Most Widely Circulated Beer Newspaper in America!".

I got through 12 of the tap beers (pathetic effort I know) by drinking tasting samples and there wasn't a bad one (not sure about the hefe I tried though) with most being excellent. There were also some very big ABV ones in the mix too. Here's the list:

Smuttynose IPA 6.9%
Cigar City American Brown Ale 5.5%
Nogne English Porter 8.5%
Kelso Chocolate Lager/Schwarzbier 6.5%
Rodenbach Grand Cru 6%
Kulmbacher Eisbock 9.2%
Magic Hat Hefeweizen 5.4%
Brew Dog/Stone American Strong Ale 8.6%
Jenlain Biere De Garde 6.8%
Stone Smoked Porter 5.9%
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 13%
Captain Lawrence Belgian Strong Dark Ale 11%

At the end of the night, we wobbled outside to a blizzard and 10 inches of snow underfoot. It looked like a gorgeous winter wonderland!

Thanks to Patrick and his wife Ros for their hospitality..

More reports coming..




Patrick, the Beer Sensai and self.




40 taps snuggle up on the back bar.

Planning the tasting!

5 comments:

  1. I'm picking you know the bars to check out, but all the same I recommend Pony Bar, Blind Tiger Ale House, Dba and in Brooklyn: Brooklyn Brewery itself, Spyten Dyvil, Fette Sau for real BBQ food and Barcade. I also went to Gutter Bar which you might find fun.
    Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cheers for that.

    I've been to Spuyten Dyvil, DBA, Barcade etc on past trips. But I still have a list of about 15 other places I want to see. Blind Tiger and Pony are on the agenda for Monday or Tuesday night.

    What a job huh?!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You Lucky Buggers!
    My fav Pale Ale was the Anchor Liberty and my fav IPA was the Smuttynose.
    Love to see them at Darlo Taphouse sometime.
    (You know about http://www.beermenus.com/
    right?)
    Have a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah, I keep an eye on beermenus from Australia!

    ReplyDelete
  5. that sounds like the best job in the world!!.. whilst you are over there try the Moose Drool from BigSky Brewing, Montana

    ReplyDelete