BEER REVIEW: Grimm Artisanal Ales’ From the Hip at Bar Great Harry

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

It’s mighty expensive to open a brewery in this city. The amount of physical space you need to produce a profitable amount of beer is almost impossible to come by . That’s why most breweries are either located in the boroughs or they contract brewing with a large facility somewhere outside of this confined island.

Grimm Artisanal Ales is taking a different approach all together. They’re a husband and wife team who have started brewing beer at whichever brewery will let them use their equipment. Their first beer was unveiled in July and it was brewed at the Paper City Brewery in Massachussetts. Notice I said at and not by. 

The duo (Joe and Lauren Carter Grimm) perfect the recipe at their Gowanus apartment, then brew the beer themselves in small batches at their hosting brewery, and then make it available for a very limited time around Manhattan and Brooklyn.

I got a taste of their From the Hip, that debut brew, at Brooklyn Pour. It wasn’t my favorite of the day since I detected an astringent soapy floral quality. But I didn’t judge them too harshly since I had been drinking lots of eclectic high alcohol beers and perhaps my palette (and brain cells) got a bit overwhelmed.

At Bar Great Harry, I found it on draft once again. This might be some of the last of that beer, since they’ve moved on to two other Belgian-inspired styles I’m eager to try and From the Hip won’t be available again once the taps run dry.

But I’m glad I was able to taste it again with a clean slate. I enjoyed the Belgian blonde ale much better this go around. The pink-hued golden beer was quite strong at 7%, but was still pleasantly drinkable. The addition of rose hips complemented the sweetness of the citrusy yeast flavors.

The Grimm brewers have overcome obstacles of brewing in NYC and figured out a way to get their beer on tap at great local bars. And I am excited to try their future creations, the most recent one being a Tripel brewed with wildflower honey.

Is Grimm Artisanal Ales’ From the Hip the best beer in NY? On second taste, I appreciated its citrusy, floral qualities and strong backbone. It’s a creative and pleasant concoction earning an 8 out of 10.