Published on
September 3, 2009 in
Beer and Events.
What was three nights of cask ale to celebrate the Ithaca Brew Fest, is now two. It seems the yeast at Empire Brewing are a little feisty and managed to pop the bung right out of the cask. We do, however, have both their nitro cream ale and summer ale on draft this week and they are both very tasty.
Tonight (Thursday, Sept. 3), Ithaca Beer is releasing their seasonal beer Cold Front. Brewed with a Belgian saison yeast, this dark amber beer is subtly spicy, flavorful and reminiscent of the St. Bernardus / Pierre Celis Grottenbier we had on draft. I keep coming up with excuses to stop by the brewery to try it. Cask is tapped at 7PM and will last until I finish it.
Tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 4th), Sly Fox is bringing the old school. Their British Pale Ale is brewed with British Maris Otter malt and a small amount of Crystal malt. Short of football hooliganism (well, I know one might show up) and a cheap chipper, this is the closest you’ll get to a UK pub night.
( facebook event )
James and I are pouring in the VIP at the brew fest this weekend. If you’re one of the lucky few who got tickets before they sold out, come on over and say hi to us and the tasty tasty beer. Otherwise, we’re partying it up after the fest at Pixel with a number of the brewers. It will be dangerous.
We’re maniacally optimistic…and thirsty. For Ithaca Beer’s Cask Ale Night tomorrow (Thursday 4/16) we’ll have a cask of dry hopped Flower Power AND a cask of CascaZilla. So we need your commitment to beer, drinking local and not letting a drop of this tasty brew go to waste at the end of the night. First cask gets tapped at 7PM. Let’s kill the first cask before Happy Hour runs out at 8PM.
( facebook event )
Published on
March 31, 2009 in
Beer.
So, as part of our ongoing plan to get y’all more free booze and beer, Magic Hat will rock Pixel this Thursday 4/2 at 9PM. We’re not exactly sure what they’re going to do, but they’re definitely bringing beer. So, we’ll let ‘em.
Published on
November 20, 2008 in
Beer.
We have a bunch of new stuff in this week. For starters, we have Ithaca’s Oaked Nut Brown on draft. This beer was born over several experimental cask nights at Pixel and tuned to just the right level of toastiness. While our weekly cask ale event has been put on hiatus while Ithaca Beer focuses on growth, we will have a special cask event on December 4th celebrating their 10th anniversary. More on this later… Save this date!
Also new on draft is the St. Bernardus Grottenbier. Created by Pierre Celis, the milkman turned master brewer who founded the Hoegaarden Brewery and brought wheat beers back from the dead in the 60s, this beer is a nice dark brown Belgian ale that’s perfect for the winter ahead. Yum! If the darker style isn’t your thing but you still want something to challenge Ithaca’s weather, we have the Avery Salvation. This is a kickin 9% ABV pale Belgian style ale from the boys in Boulder, CO. This one is big but smooth. Tasty.
Published on
November 7, 2008 in
Beer.
We have new beer, eh? We’d like to welcome two new breweries to Ithaca and our bellies. A favorite of Pennsylvanians for years, Troegs is starting to trickle in. At the moment, we have their HopBack Amber. This is nice, malty and smooth with complimentary but not overwhelming hops. Quaffable. Also just in from Battle Creek, Michigan are two new brews from Arcadia Brewing. The Cocoa Loco Triple Chocolate Stout is very drinkable even at 7% ABV. It’s slightly nutty and very chocolate. Go crazy? Don’t mind if I do! (And we kinda did during the release event.) The HopMouth Double IPA has a great balance between its 8.1% ABV and 76 IBUs of hops. Unlike the San Diego style (Damn you Green Flash Le Freak), this beer has a familiar east coast balance that you can drink all day. Well, you’ll pass out before your palate will anyhow. Check these beers out and welcome them to the neighborhood.
We have a special treat from Ithaca Beer this Thursday at 7PM: cask conditioned and wet hopped Outdoor Harvest Ale. This limited and draft only brew is packed with New York State Cascade hops from the Pederson Farms in Seneca Castle. The hops are used as is and without kiln drying; imparting a rich floral aroma without the usual bitterness of a highly hopped IPA. Combine this with a tasty malt base and you have a very drinkable beer. Drinkable here while the cask lasts, from growlers filled at the brewery and on draft at Pixel soon.
If you haven’t already heard, the second annual Ithaca Brew Fest is this Saturday at Stewart Park. You should definitely check it out. However, if you want to make a full weekend of it, you should be at Pixel this Friday at 7PM for a Jim Beam bourbon and bourbon cocktail tasting. This means free cocktails, snacks and a slightly academic tasting of Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Basil Hayden’s and Knob Creek. They’re also bringing white dog, which is straight out of distillation, uncut and with no barrel aging. White dog is a Team Pixel favorite. Free whiskey! Free whiskey!
Published on
July 31, 2008 in
Beer.
So we just stopped by to pick up a Flower Power cask for tonight and found out Ithaca Beer has another future award winner again with their new release Brute. A “Golden Sour Ale,” it was aged for 9 months and slowly fermented with “wild” brettanomyces yeast. The result is akin to champagne with a nice balance of fruity sour and honey sweetness. The bad news is that we can’t get any at Pixel yet. The good news is that they’ll have it for sale at the brewery on Friday so drive on down to grab some for yourself before the limited 250 case release is gone. Ithaca Beer’s Executive Brewer Jeff O’Neil writes up this new brew on his blog here. We’ll let you know as soon as we get our paws on this unique and tasty release. It is awesome work.
Published on
July 31, 2008 in
Beer.
We’re going a little saison crazy, but the weather calls for it. Designed to be a refreshing beverage for harvest workers, it’s a great summer alternative to usual summer wheat beers. Saisons on tap at the moment are the Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale, Slyfox Saison VOS and the tasty splurge Saison Dupont. There’s no absolute style of saison. These are all different takes on the genre and great for comparison. Check ‘em out.
