(Press Release)

NEW YORK—The New York City Brewers Guild pulls out all the stops for the “6th Annual New York City Beer Week 2014” beginning with the Opening Night Bash at the historic Vanderbilt Hall (Grand Central Terminal) on Friday, February 21, 2014! A spectacular setting for New York City’s premier craft beer spectacle of the year, Vanderbilt Hall’s magnificent 48-foot ceiling with five gold chandeliers shines against the original pink marble surfaces offering NYC beer enthusiasts a rare drinking experience amidst its Beaux Arts grandeur. The 6th Annual New York City Beer Week brings together 16 NYC craft breweries, standout nationally and internationally renowned breweries, over 250 NYC beer destinations, celebrity chefs, and acclaimed restaurants for 10 days of craft beer madness. Tickets for the Vanderbilt Hall event can only be purchased in advance at www.nycbeerweekopeningnight.eventbrite.com, and please visit www.newyorkcitybrewersguild.com for up-to-date information regarding NYC Beer Week 2014.

Two signature Beer Week events include: Opening Night Bash at Vanderbilt Hall (Grand Central Terminal; Feb. 21) and the Closing Beer Brunch at Houston Hall (March 2). The following breweries are confirmed to pour at Vanderbilt Hall:508 GastrobreweryBronx BreweryBrooklyn BreweryChelsea BrewingCity IslandConey IslandDyckman BrewingEataly BirreriaGun Hill BrewingHarlem BrewingHeartlandKelsoOther HalfQueens Brewing,Rockaway BrewingSixpoint21st AmendmentAllagashDogfish HeadEmpireFinbackFoundersGoose Island,LagunitasOmmegangPeekskillShelton BrothersShmaltzSierra NevadaSmuttynoseStillwaterUinta VictoryWandering StarWeyerbacher and more!

Below you will find detailed information for the two Signature Events, as well as a list of additional special events happening during the 6th Annual New York City Beer Week.

6th Annual New York City Beer Week 2014 – Signature Events:

*Fri., Feb. 21, 2014: NYC Beer Week Opening Night Bash @ Vanderbilt Hall (Grand Central Terminal; 89 E. 42nd Street, NYC, 7 pm – 10 pm, $75)
-A spectacular setting for New York City’s premier craft beer spectacle of the year, the New York City Brewers Guild hosts its Opening Night Bash at the iconic Vanderbilt Hall featuring rare and obscure beers from more than 30 breweries from NYC and friends around the region and across the country. Ticket price includes an official NYC Beer Week 2014 tasting glass, and unlimited beer tastings. To purchase advance tickets, please visit: www.nycbeerweekopeningnight.eventbrite.com

*Sun., March 2, 2014: Closing Beer Brunch @ Houston Hall (222 W Houston Street, NYC, 12 pm – 3 pm)
NYC Brewers Guild hosts the final event of the week at Houston Hall, featuring beers from select Guild breweries served alongside a standout brunch.

NYC Beer Week 2014 – Special Events: 

*Fri., Feb. 21 – Sun., March 2, 2014: Downeast Beer Dinner For Two @ Luke’s Lobsters (All Three NYC Locations)
-Share a lobster roll, crab roll, shrimp roll, two small soups, and a sampler of three Maine craft beers all for $50. Available throughout Beer Week, during all open hours.

*Sat., Feb. 22, 2014: The Brooklyn Brewery Mash Bash with Dinner Lab @ Brooklyn Brewery (79 N. 11th Street, Brooklyn, 7:30 pm, $65)
-Brooklyn Brewery Chef & Culinary Director, Andrew Gerson & Dinner Lab present a multi-course beer feast in the middle of Brooklyn Brewery’s Tasting Room with chefs the acclaimed brewery met on the road during their year-long food & arts festival tour, The Brooklyn Brewery Mash. This is the Voltron of dinner parties, fusing the spontaneity of Southern pop-up experts Dinner Lab with the beer-pairing talents of Chef Gerson and the Ethiopian cuisine skills of Hiyaw Gebreyohannes.

All-inclusive reservations treat you to multiple courses, each matched with a Brooklyn beer, in the spirit of culinary harmony. Expect some of Brooklyn’s most popular beers as well as some surprises. Guests are seated at one long communal table, weaving throughout The Tasting Room, flanked by a projection art installation by their friends NBNY. (Here’s a video of the first Mash meal Brooklyn Brewery did with Dinner Lab in New Orleans.) Tickets are available atwww.brooklynmashbash.eventbrite.com. A portion of proceeds help support Slow Food USA, co-founded by Brooklyn’s Brewmaster, Garrett Oliver.

*Sat., Feb. 22 – Sat. March 1, 2014: Launch of Brand New NYC Brewery Tour – Urban Oyster Tours @ Paulaner Brau Haus (Tour starts at Paulaner Brau Haus; 265 Bowery, NYC, $105, advance purchase required, no walk-ups)
-Urban Oyster launches New York’s First Bus Tour visiting only Craft Breweries. With the explosion in craft brewing in NYC, let the craft beer experts at Urban Oyster take you around town to see and taste straight from the source. Urban Oyster has been leading craft beer themed tours of NYC since 2009 so they are perfectly positioned to be the ambassadors for this rapidly growing industry. On the tour, attendees visit four different breweries where they’ll meet the brewers and the people producing the beer, get behind the scenes tours and even access to some breweries that are not even open to the public. The tour visits both small and large breweries, and each tour goes to different ones. Oh, and of course there’ll be lots of delicious beer. The tour also includes lunch. Price includes all beer, food, transportation, guide, and tickets can be purchased at www.urbanoyster.com.

*Sat., Feb. 22, 2014: Jimmy’s Homebrew Jamboree 2 @ Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E 7th Street, NYC, 1 pm, $35, SOLD OUT)
It’s a fact: Local homebrewers are making some of the best beer in the Big Apple. To celebrate their creations, author Joshua M. Bernstein (who runs the NYC homebrew tours) has enlisted 15 of his favorite brewers (many of whom are planning to go pro) to make special beers for the event. Expect IPAs, double IPAs, Belgian ales, saisons, stouts and the odd sour. In addition to unlimited beer, you’ll be well fed too. Jimmy’s is providing a smorgasbord of goodies including: mini cheeseburger sliders, kielbasa, Sigmund’s soft pretzels, grilled cheese and veggie tacos.

*Sun., Feb. 23, 2014: “CASKALOT: A Festive Celebration of NYC Cask Conditioned Ales” @ 508 Gastrobrewery (508 Greenwich Street, NYC, 2 pm – 5 pm & 6 pm – 9 pm, $40 before Feb. 14/$45 after)
-Confirmed NYC Guild Breweries include: 508 Gastrobrewery, Other Half Brewing Co., Brooklyn Brewery, Sixpoint Craft Ales, Birreria At Eataly, Bronx Brewery, Coney Island Brewing Company, HE’BREW Beer, Chelsea Brewing Co., KelSo Beer Co., City Island Brewing Co., Rockaway Brewing, and more TBA. Ticket price includes unlimited pours of cask conditioned ale by NYC Brewers Guild Members, and tickets are available via Eventbrite. Festival beers will be available a la carte on Monday, Feb. 24 and Tuesday, Feb. 25 at regular prices while supplies last.

*Mon., Feb. 24, 2014: Bacon Nation Beer Dinner with Peter Kaminsky & Wandering Star Brewing @ Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E 7th Street, NYC, 7 pm, $55)
-Jimmy’s No. 43 welcomes author Peter Kaminsky for a five-course beer dinner… with bacon! Special guests include Chris Post and Alex Hall of Wandering Star, and featured beers also from Rockaway and Rushing Duck. For more information, please visit: baconnationdinner.brownpapertickets.com

*Tues., Feb. 25, 2014: Craft Beer Dinner with Kelso Beer Co. @ Applewood (501 11th Street, NYC, 7 pm, $75 per person.)
-Special five-course craft beer dinner with pairings by Kelly Taylor of KelSo Beer Co.

*Tues., Feb. 25, 2014: “Cuzday” @ 508 Gastrobrewery (508 Greenwich Street, NYC, pay as you go)
-While every Tuesday is “Cuzday” at 508 Gastrobrewery, this Tuesday marks a very special one! On Feb. 25, 508 features a series of collaborative beers on all six taps between brewer Chris Cuzme and local homebrewers. The six beers were brewed with Brooklyn Homebrew, Bitter & Esters, Pour Standards, The NYC Homebrewers Guild, The Brooklyn Brewsers and Brooklyn Brewshop. Cuzme performs on saxophone from 8 pm – 10 pm.

*Tues., Feb. 25, 2014: Industry Ladies Happy Hour @ Brooklyn Tap House (590 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, 4 pm – 7 pm, $3 Craft Beers)
Brooklyn Tap House hosts a Happy Hour for ladies of the beer & bar industry. It’s a great opportunity for ladies in the beer and bar biz to hang out, talk shop and celebrate NYC Beer Week. $3 select craft beer drafts, including featured beers such as KelSo Cabernet Aged IPA, Sixpoint High Res, and more TBA.

*Tues., Feb. 25, 2014: Tuesday Tasting with the Culinary Muse @ Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E 7th Street, NYC, 6:45 pm, $45)
-Join guest chef and Culinary Muse Annette Tomei for a classic beer and food pairing menu; one seating at 6:45 p.m. For more information, please visit jimmysno43.com.

*Wed., Feb. 26, 2014: “Books on Tap: The Craft of Writing about Craft Beer” @ The Strand (Rare Books Room; 828 Broadway, NYC, 6:30 pm – 8 pm, $15)
Moderator Jeremy Cowan (President of NYC Brewers Guild, proprietor of Shmaltz Brewing Company) discusses the craft of writing about craft beer with NYC’s top beer authors; all participating writers to sign copies of their newly released books at The Strand, and a beer tasting is provided by Coney Island Brewing and Shmaltz Brewing. Featured authors include: Joshua Bernstein (The Complete Beer Course), John Holl (The American Craft Beer Cookbook), Giancarlo & Sarah Annese (Beer Lovers New York), and moderator Jeremy Cowan (Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah).

*Wed., Feb. 26, 2014: NYC Brewer’s Choice 2014 @ Wythe Hotel (80 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, 6 pm – 9:30 pm, $60)
-Join Beer Sessions Radio, The Good Beer Seal, Jimmy Carbone (Jimmy’s No. 43) and Dave Brodrick (Blind Tiger, Worthy Burger) for the 4th Annual NYC Brewer’s Choice. This year’s all-NY-State focus features brewers using local grains with proceeds benefiting Grow NYC’s Local Grains Project. Keynote Speaker Jeff O’Neil of Peekskill Brewing joins more than 25 of the region’s best brewers pouring their own favorite and select brews. The all-inclusive ticket gains access to the brewers plus food from the likes of Luke’s Lobster, Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse, among many others. A full list of participating brewers and food purveyors, along with ticketing information, can be found at nycbrewerschoice.com.

*Wed., Feb. 26, 2014: Ghost Bottle Night — Tasting Room @ Brooklyn Brewery (79 N. 11th Street, Brooklyn, 7 pm, free, RSVP required: GhostBottleNight.Eventbrite.com)
-Brooklyn Brewery makes many beers that are unseen. Some are experimental. Some they make just for themselves. In fact, some are so rare, and they like them so much, that they can’t bear to sell them. However, for one hour, on Ghost Bottle Night, the unseen become visible, and even tastable. Join Garrett Oliver & the Brooklyn Brewing Team at 7pmsharp on Wednesday, February 26th in their Tasting Room and taste these rare beers with them. A free tour of the Brewery is included as well. No waiting in line, no handing over scads of cash — just a bunch of brewers pouring you some of their favorite stash. Just be a scintillating conversationalist and they’ll be glad to see you. Get there on time — at 9 pm, Ghost Bottle Night will vanish as suddenly as it appeared. Additional beer tokens available for purchase. RSVP is required.

*Wed., Feb. 26, 2014: Brooklyn Brewery Tasting @ Top Hops (94 Orchard Street, NYC, 6 pm – 8 pm)
-Sample new releases Wild Streak & Hammarby Syndrome alongside some perennial favorites.

*Wed., Feb. 26, 2014: Brooklyn Brewery Tasting @ The Sampler (234 Starr Street, Brooklyn, 6 pm – 8 pm)
-Sample new releases Wild Streak & Hammarby Syndrome alongside some perennial favorites.

*Thurs., Feb. 27, 2014: Industry Night with Beer Union Book Launch @ Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E 7th Street, NYC, 5 pm)
-Jimmy’s No. 43 features more than a dozen of the city and region’s best breweries during a book signing with Beer Union’s Giancarlo and Sarah Annese, authors of Beer Lover’s New York: The Empire State’s Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Beer Bars. More information can be found on jimmysno43.com.

*Thurs., Feb. 27, 2014: Chocolate Dinner @ 508 Gastrobrewery (508 Greenwich Street, NYC)
-508 pairs up with Clay Gordon, the chocolate critic and founder of The Chocolate Life, to host a beer pairing dinner with a chocolate theme. Chocolate in some form to be included in each course. More details to come at www.508nyc.com

*Thurs., Feb. 27, 2014: Brooklyn Brewery Tasting @ Stinky Brooklyn (215 Smith Street, Brooklyn, 7 pm – 9 pm)
-Sample new releases Wild Streak & Hammarby Syndrome alongside some perennial favorites.

*Fri., Feb. 28, 2014: Sommelier vs. Cicerone @ Benoit (60 W 55th Street, NYC, 6 pm – 8 pm)
-An exclusive Sommelier vs. Cicerone event in the Benoit private dining rooms featuring Chef Philippe Bertineau (Benoit, New York) and Fabienne Eymard (pinch American Grill). The acclaimed chefs team up to prepare small tasting bites to be paired with wines selected by Benoit’s new Sommelier Gina Goyette and craft beers selected by pinch’s certified Cicerone James Tai.

*Sat., March 1, 2014: Cold Comfort: Lagers in the Historic Nassau Brewery Lagering Caves (Atlantic Ave @ Washington Ave, Brooklyn, $45, SOLD OUT)
-Brooklyn was once a borough of blue-collar industry that made ships, Sweet’N Low, and, above all, beer. By the end of the 1970s, though, the brewing industry had vanished. Majestic brick structures fell into disrepair, and though the buildings may have since been renovated, many of the lagering tunnels sat untouched and sealed. Until now!

In Crown Heights, the old Nassau Brewery has taken on a new life. At long last, the 1860s-era lagering tunnels have been uncovered, and stairs installed. Join host Joshua M. Bernstein (author of The Complete Beer Course and host of the NYC homebrew tours) as he heads down into the lagering tunnels; the group will be among the first people to venture underground in a century. Learn the history of the brewery and drink lagers by Brooklyn Brewery, KelSo, SingleCut Beersmiths, Bitter & Esters, several homebrewers and Maine’s Bunker Brewing.

*Sat., March 1, 2014: “Back to the Future with Peekskill Brewery, Captain Lawrence & Shmaltz” @ Fourth Avenue Pub (76 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, 4pm)
-It is true that you don’t know where you are going until you know where you have been. Join us as we celebrate some of New York’s finest craft beer purveyors with a trip down memory lane (Delorean not included.) The event features some vintage gems including Ithaca Brute 2011 (from Peekskill’s Jeff “Chief” O’Neil’s days as brewmaster), Shmaltz’s first batch of Funky Jewbelation, and the collaborative effort from all three, Geektoberfest 2010. Several new brews from all three breweries amp it up to 1.21 gigawatts!

The mission of the New York City Brewers Guild is to advocate for and promote awareness of its local brewing members; to increase the visibility of local beers through innovative events, programming, and consumer education; and to foster a healthy, ethical, and growth-focused craft beer industry throughout the city. The 6th Annual New York City Beer Weekcontinues a beloved citywide celebration of the breadth of exceptional craft beers from around the region and around the world!

The Village Voice partners with The New York City Brewers Guild for the 6th Annual New York City Beer Week. The official Beer Week website will launch in connection with The Village Voice in February 2014.

About the NYCBG:
The New York City Brewers Guild is a 501[c]6 non-profit founded to advance New York City’s brewing industry – and thereby lessen human misery. Guild breweries include Bronx Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery, Chelsea Brewing Co., City Island Brewery, Coney Island Brewing Co., Dyckman Beer Company, Eataly Birreria, Gun Hill Brewing Co., Harlem Brewing Co., Heartland Brewing Co., KelSo Beer Company, Other Half Brewing, Queens Brewery, Rockaway Brewing Company, Sixpoint Brewery, and 508 GastroBrewery