Silflay Hraka

Beer notes from a new Hraka contributor, the Skeleton Brewer.
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Sitting here in midtown Manhattan and have found a great bar for the area - The Ginger Man. I searched it out on Pubcrawler (11 E. 36th) and with 66 taps, it’s got a good selection.

I started with a Climax IPA that is brewed in New Jersey and it was moderate on hops, but had just enough to balance a wonderful roasted barley addition that seemed to hang all the way (sip) through the generous imperial pints they pour here. Although I always want more hops, I was impressed with the balance. A good beer.

Next I had one of the best cask condition pours (and I have had many) in a long time, the Henry Hudson IPA from Chelsea Brewing, a west end Manhattan brewery. It pulled with a great copper color and clean, rich hop nose with thick (rather than loose) head. It had a strong astringent hop profile that lingered, but didn’t stick to much to the tongue. The balance and malt bill was impressive for a cask….no grassy, or flat flavors. So far, two thumbs up for the urban breweries.

Next, a glass of the Corsendonk Christmas beer. It’s from Belgium and has a dark, rich flavor with a yeast undertone. Its a malty bitch, one which tends to get chewy, but has good characteristics. Seems to have the yeast sit up front to connote a “christmas” beer rather than using spice. I sampled the Delirium Noel (very yeasty) and the Rock Art Holiday Bock (more of a strong ale) but didn’t like them as much.

Based on my recent holiday sampling, it seems that the east coast has yet to figure out the holiday beer offerings. The west coast seems to do a better job of finding the balance between high malt AND hops to produce a flavorful, quaffable beer. The best examples would be the Jolly Roger (Maritime Brewery) Jubelale (Deshutes) and the Rock the Halls (Full Sail). Anyone interested in a good tasting should stumble in to the Elysian Brewery in Seattle on a January weekend when they pull out both current and aged holiday beers for tasting. Delicious. I hold out hope based on the balanced profiles of the first two beers I mentioned that more aggressively balanced holiday beers will be brewed out here–those that invite another pint when done with the first.

Okay… last beer of the night….and this is live… the Victory Old Horizontal Barley Wine. Never to pass up a draft pour of a BW from a brewery (HopDevil, Pils, Octoberfest) I’ve come to respect.
Watch out now…..new guy from behind the bar made the fatal error of not understanding what a barley wine is and pouring it in a 20oz imperial pint…..well, here we go.

Malty, fruity, hoppy and very much high on the octane. A wonderful dark, rich brew staring me down at the bar barking at me, challenging to drink the full Big Gulp portion provided to me by the beer gods. Of course I will. Barley wine is not a lawnmower beer, but when you get a good one like this, you enter the world of excess where the idea of Port seems irrelevant. A good BW satisifies all layers of the hop hungry palate.