FREAKTOBERFEST BOUTIQUE BEER & MUSIC FESTIVAL

CHANUKAH vs. CHRISTMAS: THE BATTLE ROYALE OF BEER + BURLESQUE

2011-12-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

Friday, 12/23

SHMALTZ BREWING, SOUTHPAW AND SMUTTYNOSE BREWING present the 4th Annual

CHANUKAH vs. CHRISTMAS: THE BATTLE ROYALE OF BEER + BURLESQUE

Also celebrating the 46th birthday of Mr. Patrick "Dirty Santa" Fondiller!

Hosted by Miss Astrid

Performances by Lil' Miss Lixx, Grandma Fun and Gal Friday

with DJ Mikey Palms on the dreidels

and Domzo on the bar with the Latkes

Prizes, Delicious Beer, Drink Specials, More Delicious Beer… and pictures with Dirty Santa!

Help Shmaltz Brewing and He'brew Beer celebrate their 15th Anniversary of Award-Winning Beer and Delicious Shtick as they take on Smuttynose in the Annual Battle Royale of Holiday Beers where everyone wins!

Admission $8 Advance / $10 Door

door time: 8 pm

Beer Trails: Freaktoberfest Kicks Serious Ass

2011-10-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

—by John Fortunato, October 14, 2011

Found at The Aquarian Weekly

An eclectic array of hardened beer enthusiasts converged at popular Park Slope, Brooklyn, music club Southpaw to try some of the best offerings ever available under one roof. From the righteously stylized to the diligently experimental, Freaktoberfest 2011 had something for everyone this breezy Friday evening. Trendy Black IPA’s and sour ales generally took a backseat to prodigious dark ales, autumnal pumpkin-spiced concoctions and some frolicking, fruited fare.

As expected, the real story here at the third annual Freaktoberfest had to be the contagiously incessant do-it-yourself spirit of Shmaltz Brewery host Jeremy Cowan, whose two successful product lines (Shmaltz’s expansive Hebrew series and the ensuing sideshow-inspired Coney Island lagers) habitually astound ardent beer geeks. Selling over 10 million beers since ’96, Cowan’s bi-coastal contract brewing company has regaled San Francisco and New York City and many cities in-between from its auspicious inception ‘til now.

Another seasoned DIY-spirited maverick perusing Southpaw at this gathering was Gotham Imbiber web host Alex Hall, a ‘real ale’ fanatic, promoting not only cask conditioned libations but also a new Massachusetts brewery whose inspirational English-styled ale got the party started for yours truly. I immediately make my way through the crowded front hall at around 7 p.m. with fellow beer enthusiast Dennis Flubacher.
Making me feel like a privileged rock star, New York City Homebrewers Guild President Chris Cuzme recognizes me upon entering and welcomes us to the main open area post-haste. Now lobbying for Massachusetts’ newly operational Wandering Star Brewery, the long-time beer maven (and professional musician) proudly serves us samples of the perfectly rounded Wandering Star Mild At Heart—a creamy schwarzbier-like English dark mild with crystal-malted dried fruiting and caramel-burnt chocolate spicing.
“There were three licenses supposedly readied for brewers,” Cuzme says as we work our way over to the opposite side of the table to quaff Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA, a wet-hopped dry body with peach, pear, orange and tangerine fruiting emanating from Illinois. “But Massachusetts’ ridiculously antiquated laws could be a drawback to getting a brewery started. The state changed the way to determine what qualifies as a farmhouse brewery. Sam Adams and Harpoon qualified previously. At court, we argued that growing hops and barley on premises should let us qualify.”

Opened June, 2011, Wandering Star’s all-star crew includes above-mentioned cask ale expert Alex Hall, whom I didn’t get to speak to even though our elbows rubbed during dangling conversations.
Between sips Cuzme declares, “We’re really proud of our traditional mild ale. We try to give our beers extreme flavor without extreme alcohol. At the moment, we’re working on a Lemongrass Wit brewed with cardamom and lemongrass. Then, there’s a spelt-grained Saison and an Alpha Pale Ale that hasn’t been tapped.”

After cheering it up with Cuzme, Dennis and I head downstairs to the dank catacomb-like cellar, where a copper-topped corner bar serves a cornucopia of fascinating bottled beers and Shmaltz’s latest one-time seasonal, Geektoberfest Sour Brown Ale. A vinous, cherry-soured, raspberry-tart, grape-dried, high-octane ale made in coordination with respected New York brewers Captain Lawrence and Ithaca, its elegant bourbon theme caressed chocolate-malted marzipan sweetness and ginger-spiced, fig-raisin tartness.
A few previously untried libations that were bottled got examined next. The collaborative Shmaltz/Terrapin Reunion Ale ‘11, a succulent Imperial Brown Ale with advertised chili-peppered cocoa nibs and vanilla adjuncts, retained a creamy chocolate-milked Kahlua, coconut and chocolate cake sweetness. Dry-hopped Belgian-styled golden ale The Bruery Mischief used sour brettanomyces yeast to punctuate the farmhouse-wafted, basil-thyme seasoning and lemon-rotted bittering of this persuasive Californian. Pretty Things Baby Tree, cleverly formulated herbal-spiced, citric-hopped, floral-accented Massachusetts-based ale replicated Belgium’s finest Abbey quadrupels.

As we trek back to the main floor, the crowd has doubled in size, but the sampling tables are still easily accessible. I finally get the chance to try a few of Greenport Harbor’s well balanced, eager-to-please brews. The newest Long Island-based brewery to pop up since 2009 (alongside Great South Bay and Barrier) proved it’s not necessary to make only ‘big beers’ for snooty aficionados. Greenport’s Harbor Ale brought crisp Amarillo-hopped wood dryness to light, wheat-cracked dried citrus bittering. Leaf Pile Pumpkin Ale’s creamy, cinnamon-toasted pumpkin pie sweetness contrasted leafy hop foliage above allspice-cardamom-nutmeg spicing. Black Duck Porter wrangled cocoa-powdered, soy-milked black chocolate creaminess out of brown-sugared grain toasting and dark-roasted hops.

Next table over, I found a few herbal-spiced Belgian-styled pleasantries. Sour-fruited Saison farmhouse ale Sly Fox Grisette Summer Ale may’ve bettered the equally upscale citric pepper-spiced Empire Golden Dragon (a Belgian golden ale utilizing garden-grown Thai basil).

Excitedly, I encounter the Shmaltz homebrewer table to taste a few one-of-a-kind ‘gypsy brews.’ These so-called gypsy brews, generally local craft beers with no permanent home base made at the whim of adventurous zymurgists, prove the entrepreneurial American spirit hasn’t died yet.

A true gypsy brewer, Jeremy Goldberg started up Cape Ann Brewing Company in 2004. Last year, the Gloucester, Massachusetts, company presented a musty, caramel-glazed pumpkin beer that had Freaktoberfest ’10 patrons dazzled at Brooklyn’s smaller Rock Shop venue. This year, Goldberg brought down an eccentric potion known as Cape Ann Fisherman Tea Party, a fig-dried, ESB-like barleywine with earthen hops and smoked peat malting appeasing black and green tea adjuncts.

Next up was Smuttynose’s latest edition to its established Big Beer Series, a casually splendid Belgian IPA dubbed Homunculus. Its tart lemony orange tang lingered through apple, apricot and pear fruiting as well as earthen grassy-hopped leathering and floral jasmine-honeysuckle herbage. Nearly as rewarding and not far removed taste-wise, Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA saddled its mild woody-hopped, grapefruit-peeled bittering with bright peach, pear and orange rind illusions that grazed a leathery alfalfa-hay earthiness.

Shmaltz loves to promote home brewers. And a few scored high. The most ‘active’ amateur brewer at this evening’s event may’ve been Fritz Fernow, whose cool website, fritzbrew.com, features a Beerography and Beerjoints section. His Shmaltz-sponsored Horny Ryenocerous Rye IPA was aimed at “people who like to geek out on hops,” Fernow claims. “There’s Chinook and Magnum bittering hops. Then, for flavoring, Centennial hops were used. Aroma hops include Citra and more Centennial. Then it’s dry-hopped with Simcoe and Amarillo,” the cordial Fernow explained like a well-versed pro. For me, the final product loaded lemony grapefruit rind bitterness atop caramel-roasted crystal rye malts.

Also worth investigation was Zomerfest, a homebrewed Dutch twist on a German ale. Its crisp lemony entry and almond-toasted easement picked up citric-floral nuances from Sorachi Ace hops, leaving a nifty gin and tonic finish.

For dessert, I choose a tremendous cocktail-like elixir from a tiny Detroit suburb and a magnanimous barrel-aged tonic celebrating Shmaltz’s 15th anniversary.

I’d met the Kuhnhenn family (father Eric and sons Eric and Brett) at their intimate Warren, Michigan, brewery several times in the past. And it was great to have them here in New York, even if they didn’t know where their serving table was assembled. Though I did find Kuhnhenn’s station unmanned, a leather-jacketed dude thankfully started pouring Dennis and I a few samples of the excellent Kuhnhenn Extraneous Ale. Months of aging changed the profile, complexion and complexity of this wonderful ‘big beer.’ While its original tapped version provided a heady bourbon piquancy and Cassis-like blackberry curdle, tonight’s vintage tasted like a Mai Tai with its coconut-pineapple conflux, caramelized whiskey malting and candied apple sash.

Lastly, the stimulating Shmaltz Genesis 15:15 Barrel-Aged Barleywine gave its pomegranate-juiced fig, date and Concord grape adjuncts a fantastic rye whiskey malting atop smoky hop roasting. Red-wined chocolate liqueur, Kahlua, and brown chocolate illusions settled beneath the profound dried fruiting, finishing like an awesomely full-bodied, brandied barleywine.

As mustachioed emcee Donny Vomit proceeded to juggle knives and swallow a fake sword in honor of Coney Island Sword Swallower Pale Lager, I finished up my samples and grabbed some Chinese food across the street before heading home. Without a doubt, this was one of the best beer-related gatherings I’ve ever attended. Can’t wait for next years’ shindig, wherever it’s at.

Donny Vomit @ Freaktoberfest Video!

2011-09-26T18:03:00.001-07:00

Article from Drink Me magazine!

2011-09-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

http://drinkmemag.com/2011/09/freaktoberfest/

NY Craft Beer Week Begins: Freaktoberfest

by Allegra Ben-Amotz

NY Craft Beer Week kicked off this Friday with Freaktoberfest, a party hosted by Shmaltz Brewing Co. that featured representatives from over 20 breweries, a bevy of Coney Island freakshow performers, 2 floors of live music, and a mustachioed emcee named Donny Vomit who juggled knives and swallowed balloons between sets. The third annual celebration went down at Southpaw, a raucous music venue in Park Slope, Brooklyn where beer geeks boogied and sipped unlimited tastings alongside soul singers, industry types, and burlesque dancers.

The spirit of the event was embodied by its highlighted beer and official drink of NY Craft Beer Week: Geektoberfest, a collaboration between Captain Lawrence, Ithaca Beer Co., and Shmaltz Brewing Company, is a blend of seven barrel-aged sour brown ales. The beer, only available on draft during Craft Beer Week, is a spirited, tart ale with hints of raspberry, a kitchen-sink project that brings together sours with history all over the state.

We sampled the national launch of Genesis 15:15, Shmaltz’s new barrel-aged harvest barleywine ale with a whopping 13.4% ABV, brewed with pomegranate juice, fig juice, date & grape juice, aged in rye whiskey barrels – the perfect tipple for the Jewish New Year!

Shmaltz also celebrated the recent launch of the world’s tiniest craft brewery, Coney Island Brewing Company, who welcomed five of the guest brewers they had at their facility this summer (we especially liked The Horny RYEnocerous, a dry-hopped rye IPA, brewed by Fritz Fernow). Other notable participants were Greenport Harbor, a two year old Long Island brewery who served up a double IPA; Ommegang with a palate-cleansing, summery Belgian pale ale; Speakeasy, who shared a two-month release from their Bootlegger Limited Series (Butchertown Black Ale, a roasted but light-bodied IPA-type brew); and Goose Island, a Chicago-based brewery who featured Matilda, a dark, fruity pale ale targeted at wine drinkers, and Sofie, a tart, Belgian-style farmhouse ale aged in wine barrels with orange peel.

Freaktoberfest had all attendees in high spirits, ready to embark on a week-long celebration of New York’s finest brews.

More Freaktoberfest Photos

2011-09-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

from Metromix.com

Thanks guys for coming out!!!

All photos by Metromix.com!

Shout Out On Bloomberg News!

2011-09-26T11:18:00.001-07:00

Beer Week
New York’s fourth Annual Craft Beer Week started Friday at Southpaw, a converted 99-cent discount store in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with the Freaktoberfest Boutique Beer and Music Festival. Some 20 breweries pour samples of their best beers, supplemented by burlesque dancers, sideshow performers and indie-rock bands.
Revelry continues at 110 bars and restaurants throughout the week. Avoid the “I’m Lost and I Can’t Find My Beer” syndrome by downloading the event’s smart phone application, with a GPS component. Information: http://www.nycbeerweek.com/.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-16/wall-street-drama-beer-week-pig-clown-class-de-kooning-n-y-weekend.html

CIBC GUEST BREWERS @ FREAKTOBERFEST!!

2011-09-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

We were so psyched that Coney Island Brewing Company's three most favorite guest brewers of the summer could make it out to Freaktoberfest to pour their delicious brews.

Andrew Said Thomas - Zomerfest
Fritz Fernow - The Horny Rynocerous
Ryan Ritter - S'WHEAT!

Thanks guys - wouldn't have been nearly as awesome without you there! Woot!!

Andrew Said Thomas, Fritz Fernow and Ryan Ritter

FREAKTOBERFEST PHOTOS & THANKS

2011-09-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

Photos courtesy of BeerUnion.net !!

UPDATED BEER LIST

2011-09-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

FEATURED BREWERIES

Shmaltz Brewing Company - Freaktoberfest, Geektoberfest (w/ Capt. Lawrence and Ithaca), Genesis 15:15, Reunion '11, Mermaid Pilsner, Genesis Ale, Messiah Bold, Origin, Coney Island Lager, Albino Python, Sword Swallower, Barrel-Aged Human Blockhead, Vertical Jewbelation

Smuttynose - Hommunculus, Farmhouse Saison, "Finestkind" IPA, Robust Porter, Pumpkin Ale

Goose Island - Matilda, Sofie

Stone - Ruination, 15th Anniversary

Founders - Old Curmudgeon

Cigar City - Humidor IPA

Bear Republic - Hop Rod Rye

Speakeasy - Butchertown Black

Kuhnhenn - Extraneous

Harpoon - Imperial Rye, Imperial IPA

Pretty Things - Baby Tree, American Darling

Redstone Meadery - Nectar of the Hops

Hoppin' Frog - Frog's Hollow Imperial Pumpkin

Mad River - Serious Black Madness

Captain Lawrence

Ithaca

Ommegang

Lagunitas

Victory

The Bruery

Allagash

Greenport Harbor

Oskar Blues

Left Hand

Ballast Point

Two Brothers

Sixpoint

Cape Ann

Sierra Nevada

Sly Fox

Southampton

Kelso

Empire

Brooklyn Brewery

Dogfish Head

Avery

Wandering Star

Barrier

CONEY ISLAND BREWING COMPANY GUEST BREWERS

The Horny RYEnocerous - Dry-Hopped Rye IPA, 6.5% (Brewer: Fritz Fernow)

Zoltar the Magnificent - Cardamom Porter, 4.6% (Brewer: Eby Harvey)

Zomerbier - German Export Ale with Rose Hips and Juniper Berries (Brewer: Andrew Said Thomas)

Korndog Kolsch - Kolsch, 4.35% (Brewer: Aidan Collins + Adam Jernejec)

S'Wheat - Wheat ale w/ Honey Kaffir Lime Leaves (Brewer: Ryan Ritter)

Marty Markowitz's The Big Cheese(cake) Ale - Cream Ale (Brewer: Phip Shelton)

Donny's English Strong Ale - English Brown (Brewer: Eby Harvey)

BANDS AND PERFORMERS

2011-09-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Along with all the amazing beer, we have the bands and performers lined up for the festival.

Performing up stairs on the big stage:

The Green Lotus Project

Otis Funkmeyer

Workout

Plus Donny Vomit Your Humble Host and World Famous Human Blockhead

The Gorgeous Gams of Legs Malone

The Dirty Dancing of Nasty Canasta

The Sultry Sway of GoGo Amy

Performing Down South:

Alex Skolnick

Donny & Friends

FREAKTOBERFEST IV EVENT DETAILS

2011-08-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

We look forward to hosting the official meet and greet opening day rager to kick off Craft Beer Week! We will have 2 floors of music, burlesque, freaks, oddities and human curiosities... and of course, BEER! Admission is $50 which includes a tasting glass and unlimited tastings for the duration of the festival. All ticket holders this year will have access to all that FREAKTOBERFEST has to offer in both the main floor and VIP.

Here is the list of attending breweries:

Shmaltz Brewing Company, Smuttynose, Captain Lawrence, Ithaca, Ommegang, Lagunitas, Victory, The Bruery, Allagash, Greenport Harbor, Oskar Blues, Left Hand, Ballast Point, Two Brothers, Pretty Things, Sixpoint, Cape Anne, Sierra Nevada, Goose Island, Stone, Founders, Cigar City, Bear Republic, Speakeasy, Harpoon, Sly Fox, Southampton, Kelso, Empire, Brooklyn Brewery, Dogfish Head, Avery, Wandering Star, Barrier.

Just added: Kuhnhenn and Uinta!

There are only 400 tickets available, so get them in advance, and we'll see you at Southpaw on Friday, September 16th. Thanks and Cheers!

PHOTOS FROM LAST YEAR!

2011-08-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

NY Craft Beer Week kicked off with live music, burlesque dancers and, of course, beer at the festival's official opening party at The Rock Shop in Brooklyn. Over 35 breweries were pouring, including Captain Lawrence, Founders and event sponsor The Shmaltz Brewing Company—who were unveiling their seasonal Coney Island Freaktoberfest lager. Were you snapped?

Photos By: Kelly Neal

FREAKTOBERFEST 2011 AT SOUTHPAW

2011-01-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

Step Right Up and join us at the official kick-off party for New York Craft Beer Week. Come and drink some of the finest American craft beers in the country with representatives from over 20 different breweries. 2 floors of music, New York's finest burlesque, freaks, oddities and human curiosities! Admission is $50 which includes a tasting glass and unlimited tastings for the duration of the festival. Tickets on sale now through Ticketweb. Limited capacity of 400, so get your tickets well in advance and don't miss out!

21+ w/ ID

Door time: 7pm - 1am

Sponsored by Shmaltz Brewing Company, Southpaw, Smuttynose and Beertender Brooklyn

FREAKTOBERFEST 2010 WRAP-UP

2010-09-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

We would like to thank all of you that participated and attended last years festival. We are looking forward to 2011!

2010 Participating Breweries: Shmaltz Brewing Co., Captain Lawrence, Ithaca, Smuttynose, Lagunitas, Founders, Bear Republic, Cigar City, Troeg's, Flying Dog, Avery, 21st Amendment, Ballast Point, The Bruery, Two Brothers, Stone, Speakeasy, Dick’s, Harpoon, Hair of the Dog, McNeill’s, Sly Fox, Southampton, Sixpoint, Brooklyn, Victory, Arcadia, Ramstein, Cape Ann, Fire Island... with more to come!

2010 Performers: Hosted by Donny Vomit - MC of the Coney Island Side Show

with performers Ravi the Scorpion Mystic, Remy Vicious, Legs Malone and Nasty Canasta

Bands: Lambic Jones, Al Duvall, Captain Ahab and the Sea Cracken, and Workout

FREAKTOBERFEST 2009 WRAP-UP

2009-12-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

First, we would like to thank all of those who participated in FREAKTOBERFEST 2009. There was great brewery representation, and the beers were incredible! The bands rocked and the burlesque was some of NYC's finest. We're already planning for next year and will continue to try and make it the best festival of it's kind. Please join the Shmaltz Brewing mailing list to receive updates on this event, and all the other events we have going on around the country. Look forward to seeing you next fall. - Matt, Jeremy, Ben, Mikey, Pat and Erica