Joining a Brew Group or Brewer's Guild

Tonight I switched my allegiance from a brewers group that meets on E. 7th at the Burp Castle (NYCHBG) to a smaller, neighborhood brewing group that meets monthly at Dive 96 and Broadway Dive on 102nd.  Tonight we served a Pale Ale we brewed a month ago.  We tasted a very hoppy Smash IPA, a bright Saisson, and a smoky porter, all brewed in small batches by home brewers.  

I do recommend joining a group of brewers where you can ask questions and get feedback.  This is an apprentice learning kind of thing.

Broadway Dive does have a good beer selection, so I also had a Brooklyn Concoction, a nice beer with dark, roasty, smoky flavors.  

Here’s the announcement from Brooklyn Brewery’s Blog:

The next beer to come from Brooklyn Brewery’s Brewmaster’s Reserve line is The Brooklyn Concoction. Based off a delightful Scotch-based cocktail called The Penicillin and combining peat smoked malt, minced ginger, lemon juice and wildflower honey, this brand new Concoction is just what the doctor ordered.

You may recall mention of this beer being called “The Tonic”. Well, that name proved to be problematic by the standards of certain governmental regulatory boards (as did “The Penicillin”). So we’ve settled on “The Concoction”. And that’s all we have to say about that.