Speaking of bootlegging beer from out of state, I found bottles of Schlafly beer at Eagle Provisions here in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY. For those who don’t know, Schlafly is a brewery in St. Louis (my hometown) who only distributes regionally in the midwest. I once heard founder Tom Schlafly speak at my alma-mater (Webster University) and said that they purposefully limit the scope of distribution and didn’t plan to be a national craft brewery, although it looks like Eagle Provisions was able to smuggle a few bottles across state lines.
Eagle is a neighborhood grocer here in Brooklyn, and can claim they have beer bottles from all 50 US states, so for now Schlafly is their only inclusion from Missouri…
(photo credit: Bootleg imported Schlafly, by Matt Hurst on Flickr)
What is the best place to grab to-go beers?
Sometimes you want a beer on draft, and the best place for that is in a pint glass (or pitcher) in the bar. Other times you need to take your beer along with you, and for that we need six-packs and bottles of beer. Recently LivingSocial posted a question to it’s readers to find the best to-go beers in NYC, and it got me thinking…
When I first started drinking beer I still lived in the auto-centric city of St. Louis, which meant much of my beer purchases would take place in the supermarket or convinience store. As my tastes grew a bit more specialized I spent more time in micro-breweries and bringing home growlers. Even after I moved to DC, most of my beer exploration came through the combination of grocery stores and bars, with few specialized outlets that cater to beer lovers like me.
New York City on the other hand has a unique culture around their Bodegas, the modern equivalent of the cornerstone and precursor to today’s convenience store. While the Bodegas don’t offer much in the way of groceries compared to the supermarket, they sometimes sport decent beer cases, making beer drinking at home less of an endeavor.
Of course for truly unique beer tastes, I still seek out specialty stores which offer more diverse selections of beers. A few of my favorites living in Brooklyn are:
- Bierkraft - A beer mecca in Park Slope with a refrigerator case, tasting classes, and multiple taps for growlers
- Eagle Provisions - Local Polish grocer has a large selection of beers from around the world, and from nearly all 50 US states
- Trader Joes - Sometimes you just need to pick up a quick sixer to go, you know?
What are some of your favorite places to grab beers to-go?
This weekend, make your choice: casks or cans?
Instead I’ll be sharing bottles of Dogfish Head at the new Park Slope craft beer Meetup, along with other Brooklynite’s. But here’s some other options for my fellow NYC beer geeks:
via brewyork:
You’re going to love this weekend if you’re a cask beer fan. With two big cask events going on in the New York area, you have the option of 25 different cask-conditioned ales to whet your whistle.
But if you prefer your beer cold and out of a can, we’ve got you covered there, too.
Read more on Brew York, New York (FHGGTT88BKTY)
