First there’s the Brooklyn Pour Craft Beer Festival on Saturday:

Featuring over 100+ craft brews from New York and beyond, The Village Voice is proud to present our second annual curated Brooklyn Pour craft beer tasting event. The event will take place at the home of the original Williamsburg Savings Bank in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Over 3,000 craft beer aficionados will sample the best seasonal, micro and reserve brews from breweries located in the country with a pinpointed focus on the tri-state area. The best of best craft brews will be represented, along with demonstrations, meet & greets, beer talks, food court and more.

Visit villagevoice.com/brooklynpour for more info and tickets.

And then on Sunday:

Brewery, Winery, and Distillery Tour
Beer, Wine, Liquor Oh My! Taste Your Way Through the Boom in Craft Fermentation in New York on This Walking Tour of Williamsburg

Visit the Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Winery, and New York Distilling in Williamsburg, Brooklyn all in one afternoon on this Urban Oyster tour. You’ll meet the people behind these artisanal businesses, learn about their crafts, and of course, taste the final products. You’ll also learn about the history of beer, wine, and liquor both overall and specifically in the city. Did you know NYC once was home to America’s most popular wine and that many of the city’s founders were in the distilling business? Learn all of that and more while you sip delicious drinks and get a behind the scenes look at these amazing local businesses.

Also, on Sunday don’t miss Rocktoberfest:

Come down and help put an American spin on Oktoberfest with Rocktoberfest at The Richardson on October 7. All Brooklyn Brewery beers will be $5, and each beer will come with a brat from The Meathook (while supplies last). The event will also feature Brooklyn Brewer Al Duvall playing 1920′s banjo punk rock at 3pm, followed by a very special bourbon barrel ghost bottle tasting with Brewmaster Garrett Oliver and his brewers. This is one event you can’t miss. Prost!

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New York Distilling Company's Perry & Parker Gins

Brooklyn has a proud history of brewing, and the craft is making a comeback in a major way, with breweries and distilleries dotting the borough. In fact, seven are within walking distance in Red Hook and Sunset Park, and three others are a short hop away in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. To highlight this enterprising spirit, Cacao Prieto, a rum and dessert maker on Conover Street, helped develop the Brooklyn Spirits Trail, which winds past rum, rye, whiskey, gin, sorel and beer-makers and offers participants delectable samples of food and drink. “Wear comfortable shoes,” said Jackie Summers, 44, who owns Jack from Brooklyn distillery. “Plan on having terrific food and sampling some really unique liquors and seeing how things are done.” The self-guided tour kicks off at Red Hook Winery. Maps can be found at the distilleries and breweries and Dry Dock Wine and Spirits in Red Hook.
THE BROOKLYN SPIRITS TRAIL
10 stops, 12.4 miles

New York Distilling Company
Where: 79 Richardson St. in Williamsburg
Tours/Tastings: Monday through Thursday at 5 and 7 p.m. The distillery’s cocktail bar opens at 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Cost: Free
Contact: 718-412-0874, nydistilling.com/
Must Try: Dorothy Parker American Gin, $33 per bottle. For $3 more try the 114-proof Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin
“The Shanty” at the New York Distilling Company is where to sample its critically-acclaimed American and 114-proof Navy Strength gins. The bar serves cocktails and craft beers in addition to the distillery’s own spirits, is open every night. (more…)

c/o 3rd Ward

Good news for people who like to drink while shopping! Loreley Williamsburg will be using their spacious beer garden to host a holiday gift market over the next two weekends. As you can see from the list of vendors below, there will be something for everybody on your gift list, from natural cosmetic users to comic book fans and all those chutney lovers in between. More importantly, you can sip on Loreley’s mulled wines and hot cider drinks while you scope out the goods. If those drinks aren’t your thing, there’s always Loreley’s extensive list of German beers to wet your whistle. Feeling ambitious? Pick up a beermaking kit from Bitter & Esters so you can make your own brews all winter long. Oh, the possibilities! (more…)

We’ve been eating the amazing brunch at Le Comptoir for months and have eagerly been waiting for the day that they’re allowed to legally serve booze, which has finally arrived. In addition to the free flowing booze, dinner will also be offered (who can eat dinner without liquor)! Below is a sneak peek at their dinner menu, although it’s season and often changes.

Mushroom barley soup & slow poached egg 6
Autumn salad 6
Haricots verts, radicchio, blue cheese & toasted almonds
Warm goat cheese crostini 7
Mixed greens, shaved fennel & herb vinaigrette
Tuna tartare Japonais 8/14
Artichoke heart & goat cheese 8
Sauteed chicken livers, baby arugula, croutons & fig balsamic vinaigrette 8
Beef tongue, pickled chanterelles 7
Steak tartare “comme au bistro” 10/18
Charcuterie tasting & condiments 12
Cheese sampler from the first colonies 14
Tumbleweed, Hudson Red, Shaker sheep blue

Homemade potato gnocchi, shrimp, bacon, spinach 15
Seared pork tenderloin, sweet potato & Brussels sprouts 17
Shepperd’s pie, braised beef Bourguignon & mashed potatoes 16
Pan seared natural NY strip steak & chanterelles 26
Organic salmon “a la plancha”, braised lentils & sausage 17

All desserts $5 Floating island, chocolate mousse & tuile, poire Belle-Hélène, crème brulée

Hendrick’s Gin takes over Gallery 151 Space next Monday for a five day-long event. “Fireside Chats in the Enchanted Forest of Curiosities”, as the soiree is dubbed, promises nights of intrigue centered around food (co-sposonsors include the nonprofit Share Our Strength and Eater) and comedy (“performances” from UCB and The Onion) inside an “enchanted indoor forest”. There will also be trays of artfully crafted cocktails for the taking. As AP Smith said, “Say word?” Word.

RSVP here while you can.