Hell Gate Brewing Co.

You may or may not know this, but I personally love beer. Like, I really really love beer. From a cheap can of Genny Cream Ale to a glorious bottle of Dogfish Head's Miles Davis Bitches Brew, I love all beer. Well except horse piss like Corona or Bud Light. Fuck that. A while ago, my awesome brother bought me a home brewing kit for Christmas. Unfortunately, due to limited space and time in where I was living, I was never able to dive into it. Now that I have a much bigger apartment with my lady love, it was time to make some beer. The first batch was a light summery beer with some citrusy notes, moderate head retention, unfortunately almost no lacing and was unveiled a tad prematurely. However it was still a decent first beer and in September 2010, Hell Gate Brewing Co. was established with its inaugural batch the "Fuck Summer Ale".

After noting where I went wrong (well, where I can improve), the second batch will be bottled tomorrow. After a few weeks of carbonation and conditioning, the "Steinway Irish Stout" will make it's grand debut. Future brews will ensue as soon as the fermentation keg is cleared and will include the "Ditmars Roasted Marzen", "TriBoro TriHop IPA" and "Ravenswood Imperial Stout" as the next planned runs. Since the brewery is established and named for my lovely little area of Queens, all beers will continue to carry Astoria related titles.

To keep up with activity and the brew schedule, make sure to "Like" Hell Gate Brewing Co. on Facebook.

I HAVE RETURNED!

I'm pleased to announce that I have returned to the blogging world. My life has changed significantly for the better since I last posted. The new incarnation of Exploding Penguin will focus less on me getting wasted alone in my small Brooklyn apartment and ranting on how much I hate shit. Version 3.0 of EP will now focus on my appreciation of fine beers (and cheap ones, here's lookin at you Rheingold), the comforting pint at an Irish pub, seeing your favorite punk rock band from over a decade ago still put on a hell of a show and the never ending quest for the greatest slice of pizza. So join me again friends, as we await our Flogging Molly tickets to arrive in the mail, enjoy a Guinness on the house at Shillelagh Tavern, measure out how much Cascade hops to add to this new batch of home brewed IPA and scour the streets of northern Queens for a slice.

Metaphorically, that is the punk scene...

The Fest 5 - Mostly Champagne from NationalUnderground on Vimeo.

This is an "interview" (i fucking hate people who make quotes with their hands) with Ryan from Off With Their Heads and Paddy from D4 at Fest 5. Two of my favorite bands doing what they do best (aside from music), be drunk and fuck around. If you're not terribly familiar with one or either of these bands, just watch this and imagine it becoming music.

Also I just remembered Off With Their Heads is playing Death By Audio here in Brooklyn the night I turn 25. Shit rules sometimes.

Papacito's garden opens May 5th!

Who likes Mexican street style food? You're a liar if you didn't raise your hand. Who likes beer? You fucking liars, get your hands up! Well good news for all, on May 5th Papacitos will open their beloved patio and beer garden! Along with the grand fiesta, Papacitos will be unveiling new nightly specials, a daily $1.50 taco special and $ Tecate special. Not to mention they also have a great new vegan menu! Yes, Papacitos caters to eaters of all walks, and everything is delicious.

Oh and did you know they deliver? Cause they do, TIL 5 AM starting May 5th! And they've just expanded their delivery zone to even include the lower parts of Long Island City. Check out their menu on their website, but honestly you're better off just stopping by, grabbing a 32oz Tecate and kickin back with a burrito that could beat up your dad. If your dad was also a burrito...

Papacitos Brooklyn
999 Manhattan Ave
Greenpoint - Brooklyn 11222

train to Greenpoint Ave

B43 and B61 buses to India St

Lulu and Alligators

Lulu's changed to Lost & Found. No biggy. Lost & Found was an excellent neighborhood establishment in north Greenpoint. It offered a decent draft beer selection, cheap Black Label, PBR and High Life, Simpsons pinball, a photobooth, pool table, skeeball (yep, skeeball), free hot dogs and pretty much the coolest bartenders around. It was never packed unless there was a show going on upstairs. Which was fine because that's how I was introduced to one of my favorite bands right now (Bridge & Tunnel, dig em).

The one night, while severely drunk, they informed me that L&F would be closing soon for renovations due to new ownership. I was crushed. I was also shitfaced. So it wasn't too bad. Then they didn't close for a while, and I thought all was honky dory until the day I rode past on my bike, and saw the site we see documented to the left in that photo. There used to be a ferris wheel and it read "Lost & Found". Devistation.

Months go by, and finally it reopens with a new name. Now it's Alligator - Greenpoint. Owned by the same folks who own Crocodile Lounge in the city and Alligator Lounge in Williamsburg, the free hot dogs are gone, replaced by free pizza. Which I'm not against, cause its damn good. But there's so many places to get free pizza in north Brooklyn. I was drunk when I came in to check out the changes, but they were vast. All the cool stuff is gone from the walls. They cleaned off the graffiti in the bathroom. High Life prices went up, no more PBR/Black Label. All the games appear to be gone. New random seating areas. I dunno, it wasn't bad. But it wasn't great. Still the same bar staff though so I can/will enjoy that. I guess you'll just haveta see for yourself. If you're new to it, you'll probably like it. If you're used to Lulu's/Lost & Found, you'll be let down. But I'll give it a chance to grow on me.

Oh yea and they're still doing shows. Bridge & Tunnel on March 12th. Do it.

*Another notable change i realized: happy hour is now only $3 drafts from 3-6 when it used to be half priced til 8. Who the fuck can get there before 6 oclock? I do believe you've lost me now... RIP old friend.

113 Franklin St.
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
train to Greenpoint Ave

or just go somewhere better, like Tommy's or Goodman's ($1.50 Bud draft and nothin but metal).

NYC + Craft Beer = oh shit...

Beer. Anyone who knows a damn thing about me knows how much I like beer of all dimensions and qualities. I will spend $10+ on a single 120z bottle of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. I will also have no problem whatsoever riffling through all my pants for change to cough up $2.50 for a 40 of Colt 45.

It's NY Craft Beer Week and it couldn't have come at a better time of the year. Summer is ending. Fall is starting. The weather is becoming more and more bearable throughout the days and nights. So what better time to get some friends together for a good ol' fashion bar crawl?

It's a pretty simple idea. Purchase your $19 ticket for the night online (I assume you print it out?) and check out the event's website to see what bars in what neighborhoods are participating. Each bar has about 3 beers selected for the event week and will provide 8oz glasses (pictured above) to sample each one in. 8oz may seem small, but figure it's 3 beers per bar, and about 8 bars per neighborhood and you're not limited to just one neighborhood for the evening! Next weekend I'll be taking part in the Greenpoint bar crawl (excited to check out the Hop Obama from Sixpoint Brewery at Black Rabbit) which depending on how drunk we get, will trickle down to the Williamsburg bars participating as well. Check out the list of beers available at this week's celebration.

Greenpoint Bars participating:
The Mark Bar
1025 Manhattan Ave
t.b.d.
224 Franklin St
Van Gogh's Radio Lounge
147 Franklin St
Black Rabbit
91 Greenpoint Ave
The Diamond
43 Franklin St
The Gutter Bar
200 N 14th St

Proof That Alberta Cross exists in the now

Photos from Alberta Cross's performance at The Living Room last Tuesday have been posted on my Flickr page or click the Flickr link on the links section. I'll probably snap some more on Thursday night when I see them again.

P.S. random note for anyone looking for cheap drinks and eats in the Lower East Side on Tuesdays... Epstein's Bar (I know, I know) on the corner of Stanton and Allen has half priced drinks and meals from 7 til 11. I had a nice burger & fries and a giant mug (larger than a pint mind you) of delicious IPA for $6. Try to beat that.