Drinking Buddies

Not these guys:

But, how fun would THAT be!?!

After the Party Ready event, I headed over to The Ginger Man to meet a few drinking buddies.

I first fell in love with The Ginger Man back in April when Theordora and I spent the afternoon carb-loading for the More|Fitness Women’s Half Marathon. It’s a chill, laid-back place with a ton of amazing beers on the menu—what’s not to like about it?

Within seconds of arriving at The Ginger Man, Gracie walked in the door to join me for a beer. She works right around the corner, so our timing worked out perfectly.

My first beer of the afternoon was a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley Style Ale, which was rich and malty with aromas of caramel, toffee, and a little bit of citrus. The flavor was really interesting. I guess bittersweet is the best way to describe it. At first, the flavor was sweet and malty, but then hoppy and somewhat bitter at the end.

Gracie and I talked non-stop for about an hour until she needed to go back to work. I drank alone (for about 5 minutes) until my friend, Matthew, joined me for a beer.

My second beer was a Pretty Things December 6, 1855, which was malty, hoppy, and delicious.

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
As some of you know, or don’t know at all, we here at Pretty Things enjoy our history. Yes folks, and we like our history and we like it weeds and all. This is why when we were faced with the option of teaming up with Ron Pattinson (our very favorite brewing Historian), we jumped at the chance. After all, Ron’s “afflict the comfortable” brewing research style takes assumed beer styles and flips them on their heads. This time around Ron’s taken us back to colonial India of the 1850s where the rum-drinking troops (or “squaddies”) are dying at alarming rates. A beer figured into their survival but it isn’t what you’re thinking. The recipe that we’re using dates back to a brewsheet from December 6th, 1855. To be specific, this was a beer brewed at Barclay Perkins in London. 4.5 pounds of hops per barrel! That’s a double IPA people. That’s more than some of the hoppiest MODERN IPAs out there. Our Once Upon a Time 1855 EIP is dry, malty good with a substantial pipe-tobacco bitterness, dark garnet colour and 6% abv.

A little while later, Ali joined us for a beer. I love that I had so many drinking buddies in NYC! I had a great time chatting with Matt and Ali, but, before I knew it, it was time to head back to Boston.

On my walk to Penn Station, I stopped by Pret to buy a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, which was actually really good. I’m still surprised by its amazingness. I didn’t expect a to-go sandwich to taste so delicious.

Now, I’m on the train headed home. I’ll write a full recap of the Party Ready event tomorrow. After a busy day and drinking two beers, I don’t think I could do it the justice it deserves!

Tagged as: New York City Restaurants, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley Style Ale, The Ginger Man