Hill Farmstead in NYC

Agreed. I know its a nice restaurant, but his other place Aldea has Westbrook gose for $8, and wine markups are reasonable for NY (2x retailish). Wonder how they came up with that pricing.

 

$12 for a 9 oz pour gtfo

 

$12.... but i want it!!

 

Was just about to walk over to Lupulo for some Abner, but it looks like it's not listed on beermenus anymore. That was quick.

 

Had Susan at Bridgeview Tavern earlier today in Sleepy Hollow and it was dope. Granted, it was my first time having it, but it was hazy, had huge notes of tropical fruit, and was overall just an awesome, awesome beer.

Cost was $7.50 for a pint glass, which I think is very reasonable, if not excellent.

 

People are questioning the choices of establishments. I'd guess that those that are knocking John Brown haven't been there. Why does it need to be a completely beer-centric place? I was only there once, but it was great (and the food was great). They've always had great drafts. Their beer guy is active on these forums.

Regarding Westchester, I would have expected Bridge View over the Oath. The Oath is the new kid on the block. It's a fine place, but it has yet to establish itself. Personally, I think BVT is a much cooler spot. The Oath has Westy crates carefully positioned on shelves and a painting of Surly Furious in the men's room. BVT has hotdogs so huge a normal human couldn't finish them. In other words, BVT is a place where serving nice beer is an unforced component of it's identity, and The Oath is a place that is trying awfully hard to announce that good beer is it's identity. Keep in mind that "permanent tap handle" or not, BVT has served Hill Farmstead in the past, The Oath is getting Hill Farmstead kegs, and their sister bar, Craftsman Ale House is getting Hill Farmstead kegs. Everybody wins.

With the increased availability of these kegs in the area, it's only natural that: A) people will complain anyway, B) speculation that the beer isn't as good will immediately begin (regardless of whether accurate or not).

 

I just generally think that putting a constant line of HF in LIC vs. manhattan or brooklyn was an odd choice, given the number of "famous" beer bars there are in both boroughs...not a knock on john brown at all, but i think it's safe to say there's not a single person on here who would have guessed that they would be the one to get the NYC perma-line...

 

Completely pulling this out my ass and I'm probably overthinking this (and selfishly I'd have preferred this go to Double Windsor / Owl Farm of course), but my guess as to reasons would be all around the fact that there's only a limited amount of beer they'll have to send to NYC, and if they're committing to somewhere having a permanent tap, then they need to make sure that permanent will be the case. What works for John Brown's is that:

1. Although there's a solid beer element, it's sole focus is not just beer
2. It's not smack bang in midtown (somewhere like Gingerman would probably require way more volume to always stock HF)

But at the same time

3. It's very accessible from Manhattan, Queens and North Brooklyn
4. People aren't going to want to traipse out on the F line to Owl Farm/Double Windsor. I'm used to it cos I live there. But when I lived in Manhattan I found it a total f**king ballache.
5. Edit - and JB also prices very fairly

So I think it's a good balance of being both accessible, but just off-putting enough that people won't be swinging by on a whim

And if you live in LIC, well you scored.

 

I wouldn't have. I would have limited any guesses to one of the places where I've had Hill Farmstead in the past... Swift Hibernian Lounge, Mug's, Torst, Ginger Man... which range on the "famous" scale, but according to @BeerWorld , John Brown had Hill Farmstead in the past as well.

 

This is my guess too. A perfect example of this is what happened at Lupulo last night - even with their crazy high prices, it seems like Abner kicked within a matter of hours. Lupulo is more-or-less midtown, and not even a traditional beer bar, and it still flew out of there. Keeping a place like that stocked might require 1+ keg a day.

This. I live in Manhattan, and getting to Owl Farm is a pain. I really never bother. Maybe if you live near the F line it's more convenient, but otherwise John Brown's is just as accessible, if not more so. Sucks for the people who live in Brooklyn though.

 

Yeah good point about Lupolo. I actually went despite the price, as I can't stay away from Abner. I can't actually believe it kicked. Only seemed to be a couple of people drinking it when I was there (~5:45-6:15pm). Not sure when they tapped it? They didn't list it on their menu. Maybe they took it back off BM to make it last? Or did someone confirm for sure that it kicked. Not sure.

Yeah for some people in Brooklyn I guess it does suck. I work in midtown and it's two stops on the E to JB. Plus I also live off the F/G train in Brooklyn. But yeah if you live in Brooklyn, and don't work in Manhattan and/or live close to the G, then it's a bit of a pain. But not everyone's going to be happy with the location, and all in all I think they made a sensible choice.

 

That's a good point - maybe they just removed from BM so it would last. I live in the neighborhood, so maybe I'll swing by tonight and see if it's still on.

 

Correct. I had several HFs at John Brown in the past year. It was never a big deal and kegs lasted for a couple of days. John Brown also gets limited kegs from Avery, FW, Founders, Kuhnhenn to name a few. This is a great place with very decent food to boot. A pleasure every time I go there. I am happy for them.

 

I would assume that established relationships mattered more than a grand plan and consideration to borough.

 

I've always thought JB smokehouse was a bit pricey compared to some of the other craft places. I wouldn't say they are cheaper than the Jeffrey or some of the others in Midtown.

 

Susan is $8 for 14oz. Definitely not a total steal, but most of the Manhattan (plus Torst) candidates would have charged more, and I can't see anywhere in NYC charging less. If the $10 / 12oz of MBC MO is anything to go by, that would include the Jeffrey.

 

I went for an early dinner after work and can confirm that it definitely kicked yesterday.

I also concur on the absurd pricing. A 14oz pour of Suburban Beverage was $18

 

Just noticed on untappd that Abner was on last night at Blind Tiger. Anyone know if it kicked?

 

Still on tap as of right now.

 

Kicked around 4/