Brew Talk: Mr. Beerys

I've been known to go to great lengths to find, discover, and get a hold of a "good tasting" beer. When I was a first year senior at UD, my suite-mates, Dylan and Sean introduced me to a world beyond Colt 45's, Keystone, Budweiser, and etc.; a world where beer can actually taste good, have flavor, and feature many varied styles (e.g., Ales, Hefeweizens, Stouts, Pilsners, IPAs). Every other Wednesday, a few friends and me travel to Mr. Beery's (located at 4019 Hempstead Tpke Bethpage, NY 11714) for their beer club meeting to taste and experience their many different kinds of craft beers.

For $20 bucks every Wednesday, beer enthusiasts such as myself can congregate and try every beer that they've on tap. Mr. Beery's keeps a rotating collection of craft beers and at times features beer from local homebrewers. Besides being taken on a beer tasting journey by bartender Tom last week, I got another chance to guzzle down several of my newly favorite beers:

1. Captain Lawrence Espresso Stout-a stout with a strong and bitter with a hint of roasted malts, chocolate, and coffee beans.

2. Lagunitas' Hairy Eyeball Ale-an ale that's sweet at first taste and increasingly becomes bitter with every sip. It carries a carmel malt aroma and the raisins are a contributing factor to the beer's sweetness. Also a little above the average beer amount for alcohol (8.8% ABV's).

3. Smuttynose Barleywine-At 12% ABV's, it's the most alcoholic beer featured at Mr. Beery's. Although this beer is as bitter as IPA (Indian Pale Ale), it carries the sweetness of drinking a glass of wine. It features a lot of dark dried fruits such as plums, raisins, and dates.

4. Blue Point's Rastafar Rye-I was never a big fan of Blue Point and often talked trash about Long Island's premier brewpub until I got introduced to this beer. I love this beer because it reminds me of craft beers (unlike Budweiser!!!) that have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The array of malts (rye, pale, and crystal) and bountiful amount of hops creates a strong amber ale with a mild tinge of rye spiciness.

5. Paulaner Hefeweizer-This is the beer that started my quest to try different kind of beers from microbreweries. When I first tried this beer, I had a revelation and that revelation was beer can taste good, beer can have flavor. It's a very cloudy wheat tasting beer with a hint of coriander.

Honorable Mention: Sixpoint Righteous Ale

Mr. Beery's Beer Club usually meets on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month. If you're not into expanding your horizons and want to stay with same 'ol Budweiser, they do have an all you can drink special for Budweiser ($10) every Wednesday. Mr. Beery's usually plays Metal/Hardcore Punk/Classic rock music and has a very chilled and accepting crowd.

http://www.mrbeerys.com/