Third Rail Beer - Manhattan's Newest Brewery

Yeah not much on the net about them, but Brew York says this:

"There’s a new brand in town later this month: Third Rail Beer, founded by a trio of native New Yorkers, will debut during the week of August 18th with two beers: Bodega, an American Pale Ale brewed with Citra and Centennial hops, and Field 2, a Belgian-style farmhouse ale. Brewmaster Loren Taylor-Raymond was previously an avid homebrewer with a background in organic chemistry and microbiology. He’ll be brewing the beers at Coastal Extreme Brewing in Newport, Rhode Island. They’ll celebrate the release of the beers with a launch party at One Mile House (10 Delancey St., at Bowery, Lower East Side) on Saturday, August 23rd at 5pm."

I'll have to add it to the NYC guide!

 

I know nothing about this brewery but hard to accept them as a NY brewery when beer is brewed in RI.

 

I am willing to try but anything that I've ever had that has been brewed at or by Coastal Extreme Brewing has pretty much been "meh". Also as the above poster has mentioned, I can't possibly consider them as a NY brewery.

 

Well there are a bunch of breweries that contract out - Alphabet City, City Island, Dyckman, Harlem Brewing, Jonas Bronks, Radiant Pig...It's still their recipes. I'll give them a try.

 

Hi all,

Larry from Third Rail Beer here. We do brew up at Coastal Extreme right now and we make sure to be upfront about the process. We completely get the hesitation around that, and the three of us spend every waking moment working toward a facility in the city. We all grew up here and are passionate about this city and could not imagine starting anywhere other than in the five boroughs.

As fellow beer lovers we recognize the passion that stems from both taking pride in one's local breweries and being able to connect with them at their physical locations. Unfortunately there wasn't a cost-effective way to open a physical brewhouse at the outset of our launch in New York City, and not going with external investors means we get to run Third Rail Beer on our terms and make the beer we want to make with no outside interference whatsoever.

The three of us were ready to chase this dream and we are really excited about our partnership with Coastal Extreme. We went with Newport because the brewing team was ecstatic to work with us on some beers that are pretty different from the portfolio that does very well for them, and they support us on our less-than-typical tenant brewing requests. When we told them we wanted to age a portion of our Farmhouse Ale batch 1 in chardonnay barrels with Brett. Claussenii they thought it was awesome! (it’s in the barrels from Paumanok Vineyards now).

This is also not a recipe-handing-off situation. Our brewer Loren not only made and pilot-tested the recipes over the last year, he brews the beers on their system and returns frequently (especially when dry-hopping) throughout each batch to monitor progress. He sources all of our yeast cultures (which differ from the Newport house strain) and scarce hops, and sets everything to precision from the mash temp, to the tank temp, to the water profile.

All that said, we cannot wait to start a facility here. The business plan is chalked up. Our hope in the meantime is to execute the brewing and self-distribution to the high standards that we hold. We look to great local brewers like Grimm, and broader examples like Prairie, Alpine (who once brewed with AleSmith), and the Bjergso brothers for inspiration.

Our first day of deliveries was a monster 17-hour day yesterday, and we are officially launching this Saturday at One Mile House with our Bodega APA and Field 2 Farmhouse Ale (you may see a few on tap sooner). All three of us will be at OMH this Saturday and would love to meet, hang out and talk beer with any and all of you. Some of our favorite beer bars have been remarkably supportive and will be hosting additional events throughout next week. Looking forward to hoisting a pint of Third Rail Beer together in the near future.

 

Got a chance last night to try the Bodega. I have to say it's a top notch APA. Hoppy goodness.

 

Thanks Kanger! As a hop maniac I can't tell you how exciting it is to hear that kind of feedback. One of our goals with Bodega was to brew a big, hoppy APA that drinks like an IPA, and after days of drinking Bodega nonstop I feel confident in saying we got there.

 

Yeah I'm a huge hophead as well. The Bodega is definitely one of the better APAs I had in a while. I find some APAs tend to be a little thin on the hops and the mouth feel, but yours definitely scores high in those departments.

I'll will be on the look out for more of your beers!

 

Either way if the beer is good, I'm more than happy to welcome them to NY.

Tried both their Bodega Pale Ale and Field 2 Saison last night at The Jeffrey and liked both of them...miles better than the beers I've had from ABC, Harlem, and Radiant Pig so far.

Found the Bodega to have a lot of citra to it and light to moderate bitterness from all the hops, and found Field 2 to be more a juicy, fruity saison (which I prefer) than a spice and pepper type of saison.

I preferred the Field 2 and found it a little more drinkable but both great starts in my opinion. Looking to try more of their stuff down the line.

 

I was at Jeffery today for lunch and asked for Bodega but was twice served the Field 2 even after making sure she poured me the right beer. Unfortunate but I did like Field 2 even though I prefer hoppy beers. I'll get around to Bodega sooner or later.

 

Did you let them know it was the wrong beer both times? That happened to me the other night as well (I got the Bodega, and then when I ordered the Field 2 I got another Bodega), but they just gave me the second Bodega on the house and went and got me a Field 2 as ordered. In my experience they are very good there about fixing things like that with a free beer.

 

I picked up a growler of Bodega today, very solid beer for the style. Definitely enjoyed it. I Don't drink APAs on a regular basis, look forward to hopefully trying IPAs from these guys, after having Bodega hopeful they can make a really good IPA.

 

Hi all,

For those interested, we did an interview with The Village Voice's Fork in the Road blog -- it's a pretty deep dive into who we are and what we're all about.

 

We also announced some news about forthcoming releases (and packaging!) in the Craft Beer New York app this past weekend.

 

Oh wow, I just "LarryK" is Larry Koestler. I really enjoyed reading your blog. Good luck on this new project.

I will definitely be seeking a Third Rail brew soon. (And BeerMenus would be the best way to find them out?) Cheers!

 

Ha, awesome, thanks Darwin. Really enjoy your Instagram photos, myself!

Yeah, best bet for our most up-to-date tappings is either BeerMenus, following us on Twitter or checking our brewery page on Untappd -- while most places are great about updating their BeerMenus pages, not everyone always does so immediately, and so oftentimes I'll have info on places that have tapped us on Twitter ahead of BM.

We have several really great events coming up over the next couple of weeks, though I'm most excited about Pony Bar UES's Class of 2014 night next Wednesday, October 8, featuring kegs from us, Other Half, Finback, Gun Hill, and several of the other great breweries that have launched in NYC in the past year. Would love to say hi in person if by chance you (or anyone else in this thread!) can make it out that night.

 

Bodega is legit.

 

Yeah another vote for Bodega being a great beer - had it last night for the first time

 

Tried Bodega last night at the Barrier/Finback/Third Rail event at Hops Hill. Super solid beer and nice talking to the TR folks. Apparently they are brewing an IPA on Friday, so look out for that in a few weeks. I know my eyes will be peeled for more Third Rail.



Also won this nifty shirt. I like the raffle concept (ticket for every beer you buy) that Hops Hill was doing. Someone got a HFS Dorothy and Convivial. BUT THIS SHIRT DOE