the ginger man beer bar

before we to the fillmore (irving plaza) to catch the riders on the storm concert, emmy and i grabbed a couple of beers at the ginger man. i'd look forward to checking this place out for a while because a few of my friends suggested it as an alternative to the blind tiger ale house. as recently as last week, it came up twice in conversations. john mentioned it at the manhattan cask ale festival at the chelsea brewing company last friday. and, the next day, at the staten island 6 hour run, it came up in conversation with brennan while we ran some of the loops at clove lakes park!

the short version: blind tiger ale house has nothing to worry about ;) first, i should mention that as someone who both lived, went to school, in greenwich village - just the location along give blind tiger the edge. second and, more importantly, the ambiance of blind tiger is more attractive. while blind tiger could probably fit into half the space of ginger man, it's a much more "corner-bar" place atmosphere (it helps that it's also located on a corner - ha). last, and not least by any stretch, both have great beer selections - so that's a wash.

the biggest drawback, of this otherwise great beer joint - with an awesome selection - is the overly corporate crowed. granted it was a early wednesday night in midtown, but the place was packed with young suits, ties, and skirts. does the term yuppie ring a bell? that, itself, isn't bad - but having to fight (elbow) our way to the bar to order beer was a downer.

i had a cask conditioned "great divide hercules double ipa" - which made it all worth the effort :D
here is a photo of that great ale in a bottle:



emmy had the just as great "ithaca ten" - which looked just as pictured (in same glass) when the bartender poured it for her!


released early this year, here is the official description from ithaca brewing company:

The second of this years Excelsior! series, TEN, is now available! This is our biggest beer ever in celebration of our upcoming tenth anniversary. It is currently available in 750ml bottles. From the label: "TEN is an Imperial American Extra Strong and Special Double Red Ale. Our anniversary beer, TEN, is brewed with too many malts to list and an excess of American hops, including several additions during fermentation. Enjoy the russet color, aggressively hoppy aroma and flavor, rich body and fiery finish." Come visit the brewery and pick up your bottle of TEN today!

while not planning to visit ithaca any time soon - if we run the finger lakes 50s next summer, will definitely stop there and check it out.

finally, brennan had mentioned a second place to check out, "rattle n hum," which - since it was only 3 blocks way - we took the time to visit on the way to the show!