NOT A REAL DIVE BAR (Barrier Brewery’s Uncle Lee’s Christmas Ale at Dive 75)

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

Dive 75, which is part of the Dive Bars, a group of three bars in upper Manhattan, is really not a dive bar at all. The dark atmosphere, free candy bars, and Bud Light on tap is not enough to justify the dive moniker. This place has two beers on tap that are brewed exclusively for the bar. How many dive bars can claim that?

The bartender (who probably last worked at a real dive bar) argued with me over the use of my NY Craft Beer Week Passport. I have coupons that are good all year long and this particular one said I get $2 off any NY state beer. When I tried to use it for one of their exclusive beers, he told me I couldn’t because it was too expensive ($8). But the beer is made for them by Barrier Brewing Company which is on Long Island clearly in the Empire state. It didn’t take much to convince him, but he didn’t seem too happy about it. Ok, maybe this place is divier than I initially thought.

The beer is called Uncle Lee’s Christmas Ale and I was really surprised to hear that it is only available here and at their sister bars. Barrier is making so much beer of their own, how did they have time to brew this for these bars? I’m glad they did because this strong sweet ale brought me back a few months to the most wonderful time of the year.

It poured a pretty dark amber with a very tight head. The nose was full of wonderful aromas – some I had difficulty placing right away. I certainly got fresh cherries and sweet floral, piney notes. Perhaps some chestnut and sugarplums? Somehow they ended up dancing in my head.

Not all the flavors immediately revealed themselves upon tasting the beer. It wasn’t as sweet as I had expected, but I did get some nutty cherry notes at the front and then it finished with a stronger alcohol bite. It had a medium body with a nice level of hops and a balance of smoky roast flavors. Those continued to emerge and it eventually started to taste like a savory holiday dinner – mildly reminiscent of short ribs or pot roast. The umami sensation played surprisingly well with the sweet spices of Christmas.

This complex beer, which was commissioned by (and named after) Lee Seinfeld, the owner of the Dive bars, is more interesting and flavorful than anything I expect to get at an actual dive. Ultimately, this is a dive bar that’s trying really hard to be a dive bar, but with beer this fancy slipping through the cracks, it will never fully live up to its name.

Is Barrier Brewery’s Uncle Lee’s Christmas Ale the best beer in NY? It gets an 8 out of 10 for being a wonderfully, complex and unusual holiday beer that transports you to a time and place regardless of where or when you are.