Peekskill is Beerville

This little town, 40 miles north of NYC and just about an hour ride on the Metro North Train, has a couple of the hottest craft beer houses in the metro area.  The Peekskill brewery is across the street from the train station with a view of the Hudson River.  I happened to walk in with a software developer named Ken Johnson, who is developing an iphone app called Brew View that is scheduled to launch in October .  He intends to log all the craft beers made in the North East and superimpose them on a map so beer lovers can find their favorite beer with a tap of the screen.  

Ken ended up joining our group from the Tristate Beer Lovers Meetup .  I had called the owner, Kara Berardi, to arrange for a food pairing for our group.  We settled on a menu of a flight of four beers, one pint of our favorite, an appetizer, entre and desert for $40.  Kara was off, but her husband Keith and waitress Kate met our needs to the fullest.

The most memorable brews of the flight were a vanilla bourbon stout and a Belgian Golden Ale called Rosemary’s Baby.  The stout was delicious and strong, a little too strong for my taste.  The Ale was just right with just a hint of rosemary at the finish.

Our group shared nachos, sliders and a rarity, deviled eggs, for our appetizers.  I had the fish and chips for my entre and was too full to finish it or indulge in desert.  The bar was packed throughout our entire stay and a walk down a long hallway took me to a dining area that was just as busy.

About a mile away on nearby Main Street sits the Birdsall House.  I had read a review that raved about the bacon ice cream and could not stay away.  First the beer:  they have about 20 taps, serving many New York beers.  I ordered a flight of five 5 oz. beers for $12. 

 Working from lightest to heaviest: Sixpoint Brevity Witbier (4.9% ABV) was light in color and taste, Empire Cream Ale (5.2) was creamy and smooth but left me a little flat, Capt. Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale (5.6) had a citricy start and nice bitter finish, Sixpoint Signal Smoked IPA (6.0) was like tasting a nice smoked cheese, and Stone 15^th Anniversary Black IPA had tons of chocolaty flavor and a whopping  ABV of 10.8.   I like to support the local brews out of principle, but the Freshchester, made about 10 minutes away in Pleasantville, was simply just the best of the bunch.  It’s bitterness held up well to my spicy meal.

I went with the pulled pork nachos which were covered in shaved apple slaw and cream cheese.  The blue corn tortillas stayed crunchy under the mound of BBQ sauce and pork.  The nachos had the same dichotomy of tastes, sweet and spicy that make the Freshchester IPA so compelling.  Bacon and ice cream sounds like a bit of a mismatch but, take my word for it, they mesh well in this desert served over waffles covered with candied Pecans.

The owner, Tim Reinke, sat with me a while and spoke about his long time commitment to the craft beer movement.  He has been part owner of The Blind Tiger, a craft beer mecca in The Village, since 1996.  Tim lives nearby and wanted to open a place closer to his growing family so he chose Peekskill.  He tries to support his neighbors by using local ingredients whenever possible.  My pork came from pigs raised at nearby Hemlock Hills Farms which are fed the spent grain from Capt. Lawrence Brewery.  Talk about closing the loop.  He also tries to keep at least half of his taps occupied by New York brews.  Tim’s long standing relationship with brewers around the country put Birdsall on the short list for hard to find beers like Delaware's Dogfish Head 120 and Bear Republic Mach 10 brewed in Sonoma County, California.

As a Rockland County resident, it’s nice to know that such great craft beers can be found just a stones throw from the Bear Mountain Bridge.  Birdsall House and The Peekskill Brewery are surely putting this little town on the craft beer map.

The Lot at 30th Street

Just to be clear, the image that you see directly above this text is misleading. As far as any of you Monday through Friday, nine-to-fivers are concerned, 'the Lot' (as this awesome outdoor venue is known) will never look that empty on a Saturday or a Sunday afternoon. If any of your brave soldiers, despite forewarning, do attempt to visit, beware: you must embrace yourself for the long, long line to get in. And I mean long. But is the wait worth it, you ask? Oh, yes. Hell friggin' yes!

Many of you are probably curious as to what exactly 'the Lot' is. To give an exact definition (take from http://www.thehighline.org/the-lot): "The Lot is a temporary public plaza below the Highline with free events, family activities, an outdoor bar, food trucks and more for the summer of 2011." And that explanation, in turn, will inevitably lead to another question: "What the hell is the Highline?!" Well, we'll get to that later. But for a brief summarization, click on this: http://www.thehighline.org/abpit/faq.

Phew. That's over with. Now! On to the fun stuff...

What's on tap at the Lot?
Most of the brews served here are from Brooklyn Brewery. One in particular was conceived especially for the opening of the Lot: High Line Elevated Wheat. This was the beer I tried first and loyally stuck with. (It's also the only name I remember. Shucks.) As far as wheat beers go, this brew was smooth going down, crisp and citrusy to the last sip. Each beer, served in pint-sized plastic cups, will cost you $7. Wine, $9. But, honestly, who's coming to the Lot to drink wine?!

What's there to eat?
We all know that food trucks are a ubiquitous staple throughout New York. But a big problem that the drivers of these mobilized meals-on-wheels encounter is finding an out-of-the-way location to post up their vehicles during the day. The Lot on Tap has provided several food vendors with a solution to this former dilemma. These food truckers can now seek refuge under the north terminus of the Highline, free from pestering city cops who are hell bent on serving anyone a ticket for loitering. Not only do they receive sanctuary, but the added bonus of drunk people encirling their stainless steel window counters like zombies, looking to stuff their fat gobs with beer-friendly treats. To name a couple:

Kimchi Taco: I had the '4 tacos for $9' deal. The Grilled Korean Beef BBQ as well as the Tofu Edamame Falafel were my two favorite. The Pulled Chicken and Seared pork I could have done without. (Now that I'm reflecting from a sober standpoint, I must confess that the taco shells themselves were kind of soggy. But the spicy stuff hidden inside - as well as my beer buzzed brain - rendered me too drunk and sated to care.)

Rickshaw Dumpling: I had the Chicken and Thai Basil dumplings with a spicy peanut dipping sauce. Pretty. F'ing. Spectacular. The other two dumpling varieties available that day were the Classic Pork and Chinese Chive as well as the Vegetarian Edamame. If these two were anything as good as the Chicken and Thai Basil, I would recommend them a thousand times over. And then some.

There were three other trucks there that day - one serving pizza (that I heard was sub-par), one serving falafel (I'm still pissed about not getting to try this truck), and one serving ice cream (that a friend of mine who I hadn't seen in 4 years was enjoying for a good hour before finally licking her fingers clean. I am still amazed that her ice cream sandwich ended up mostly in her mouth and not all over her chic tube-tob dress. It was really hot that day.)

The best part about finishing up an afternoon at the Lot (or the most challenging, depending on how drunk you are) is climbing up the stairs to the start of the Highline, a roughly 2-mile long stretch of walkway that was, before its conversion, an abandoned railroad. Now, there is a generously wide cement-laid path that can easily accomodate 5 to 6 bodies walking side-by-side at some of its more scenic sections. You are surrounded on both sides by greenery galore, and the occasional bench here and there. Words really do it no justice. To see for yourselves, click here: http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highline/photos.

I know, I know. This is supposed to be a blog about beer. And instead, I chose to write more about a place that serves beer rather than the beverage itself. Sue me. I just had to get the word out there before the Lot vanishes forever, as often happens with cool and unique establishments such as this one. Get there while you still can. And don't forget to try the dumplings!