BRAND SPANKIN’ BREW (Greenport Harbor’s The Other Side IPA at The Stag’s Head)

My search for the best beer in New York continues….

New York Craft Beer Week officially started this past Friday. It doesn’t get more perfect for my beer adventure on this here blog. I bought a Beer Passport, which is available at all participating venues (and as a Mobile Phone App), and entitles you to a list of lots of craft beer bars across the city and coupons to use both this week and all year long. So I want to thank the folks behind NY Craft Beer Week not only for getting the word out about great microbreweries, but also for saving me lots of money.

I scoured the Passport for a nearby bar that was offering an interesting local brew and I found The Stag’s Head, which was close to where I was in Midtown. Their featured beer was from Greenport Harbor, which is a local brewery on the North Fork of Long Island. All the featured beers at each participating bar are just $3.

We arrived and the place was buzzing with the patrons from their usual Happy Hour, which was $4 on select drafts. The lower level of this bar felt like a hybrid of hunting lodge and dive bar. It was comfortable and rustic and could be the place I’d choose to spend Happy Hour, if I worked around here and that was my thing. I also learned there’s a rooftop beer garden, which would probably be great this time of year.

They have 16 taps, which all consist of American craft beer. The offering for craft beer week was The Other Side IPA from Greenport Harbor. I thought $3 was quite a steal for a beer, but when the waitress presented me with the small 8 ounce pour in an Official Craft Beer glass, I started wondering just how good this deal was.

No matter, 8 ounces is a perfect size for me. I could find no information about The Other Side IPA on the web because as I learned soon it’s a brand spankin’ new beer that was due to premiere at Jimmy’s No. 43 later that night. Was I getting an unofficial sneak peek?

Greenport Harbor re-invents their IPA every so often through a program called Project Happiness and this is their newest take on the India Pale Ale. It’s a West Coast-style IPA with four different types of hops: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Warrior.

The beer had a pale golden color with quite a bit of head on top. I got some candied ginger and strong citrus on the nose. The bitterness was pronounced on each sip, but it was somehow not overwhelming. The hops were fresh and clean and the bitterness was well-rounded, with some bready maltiness at the end. I’m a big fan of West Coast IPA’s and this was a mighty tasty version.

I’m excited to see what else these coupons have in store for NY Craft Beer Week. Follow my adventures all week and throughout the next few months. Because that’s how long I’ll be redeeming these savings.

Is Greenport Harbor’s Other Side IPA the best beer in NY? It’s a great version of a west coast IPA with pronounced hoppiness and other flavors, earning it an 8 out of 10.