Wow! What a way to start my trip to New York City!

So I get in late Tuesday night and of course after flying clear across the country, I’m whipped. But at least on the layover in Atlanta, I managed to enjoy several Sweetwater brews. So Wednesday started off a little slow and since it was raining outside, I didn’t get out too much except in between rain showers to walk the neighborhood I was staying in (Lower Manhattan, westside) and have some coffee at a cool cafe.

That night though, it was on! I had made plans to meet some of the local beer geeks at Rattle N Hum, a cool Irish pub with a great beer selection. So we meet there around 6 and start out with some pints. Already, I know this is gonna be good. The tap list has Brooklyn Brewery, Southern Tier, Sixpoints (who I didn’t know at the time) and many more that I could not get in LA. Seth from Beer Nation was there, as was Lee Williams (aka Hoptopia) and his girlfriend Stevie. I started the night with the Sixpoints Bengali Tiger, a very nice IPA and we were just getting started.

The party really got rolling when Rattle N Hum bar owner Patrick Donagher joined us. He brought out some bottles of various East & West coast stuff including some Russian River, Alpine, Lost Abbey, Southern Tier, Captain Lawrence, Brooklyn, Cigar City and more. I had a few bottles that I brought to share including a Bluegrass Brewing Co Bourbon Barrel Stout, a 1993 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and some Pliny the Elder. Plus, I traded suitcases full of beer with Lee so there was beer all around and it was all amazing stuff!

The fun lasted late into the night and we even did a “Beers With…” segment with Patrick. It was an amazing first night in New York and I can’t wait for more!