This past Tuesday, The Stag’s Head and Sixpoint Craft Ale threw an event help the school teachers of New York City cope with the rapid, inevitable end to their summer. The event, dubbed Sixpoint Back to School Night at The Stag’s Head, offered an impressive selection of Sixpoint’s finest brews as well as a $1 off every beer if you had a NYC DOE ID. This is an event that this Beer Friends was sure not to miss at an interesting bar that we have been heading to more and more often these days.
The Stag’s Head is a neighborhood bar where you wouldn’t expect a neighborhod bar to be. The Upper East Side has been void of these types of places for a long time now right? Apparently not.
This is the kinda bar where the bartenders know every other person that walks in…and their choice of poison. It wasn’t even close to being dark out and they dimmed the lights…hard. Then they turned up the music, which was rockin’, just so you’d know they meant business.
The craft beer flowed with expertise, despite the glycol problem, which was solved quickly and all the brews were served up deliciously. In between multiple levels of conversation with up to five or six different people at a time, the bartenders would find you just in time to refill your refreshment and chat about the brews at hand. Let’s see what we had…
Graham’s Brews:
Bengali Tiger – I started with a personal favorite on this one, Bengali Tiger IPA. I have been sorely deprived of hops recently so you could be in for a theme here. I would be totally happy except it seemed like it was served a bit above temperature. The hops were warm and slightly muted. Not my favorite Bengali pour ever, but it’ll do. Hey, maybe we’re too far from Red Hook up here and the kegs got warm on the long journey…
Otis – so turns out there was a bit of an issue with their glycol system earlier that is not chilling the brews enough, but they are getting colder! So I decided to mix it up with a brew that I won’t mind tastes a bit warmer: The Otis! And you know what? The temperature is cooler, but having it still a bit above perfect works with this one. The roasted malts are way more up front giving you a nice burnt flavor with hints of coffee. It’s also a tad smoother. This is a good brew to have while the others are (hopefully) cooling.
Double Sweet Action – Yeah! It’s cold again and the double sweet action tastes great! Like the regular Sweet Action but double in every way. A bit hoppier and bit maltier and just the right amount sweeter. The ABV is bigger too, but with something this tasty you couldn’t even notice.
Autobahn IPA – When drinking Bengali’s interesting sister I can only compare them using two words: Bengali = citrus v. Autobahn = herbal. This strong herbally hopped brew is a fantastic IPA and only pales in comparison to Bengali by personal flavor preference. However I think this solidifies one thing: Sixpoint knows, maybe better than anyone else, how to use hops.
I also had a chance to talk with some of the Sixpoint guys and they were nice enough to pour out a couple samples of their favorite Sixpoint brews for me: The Apollo Wheat and the Signal Ale.
The Apollo Wheat is an incredibly easy drinking wheat. With touches of citrus sweetness this brew goes down with a golden, soda like flavor. Perfect for any warm summer day with enough flavor to keep you going well into the fall.
The Signal is an ale made with a bit of smoked malts. Think something in the citrusy nature of Bengali but with a background hint of smoke. Not nearly as hoppy as the Bengali or Autobahn, but the flavor profile keeps you enticed and interested in ordering another.
As always, The Beer Friends love it when Sixpoint throws and event and you will always find at least one of us their enjoying their offerings. We also recommend that you head on up to The Stag’s Head (51st between 2nd and 3rd ave’s) and enjoy their ever changing, but always delicious, selection of craft beer. Thanks Sixpiont and Stag’s Head for a great event!
Filed under: Beers
