First night in town we (Joe, Ashley and me) had Negro Modelo and margarita's at a Mexican restaurant in Astoria at Broadway and 38th. The food was better than the beer. Afterward we split a Westmalle Tripel. I'm sure I've had this beer before but it was my favorite of the week.
Monday afternoon Joe and I split an Elysian Immortal Ale. Rather bad. It was overly bitter and a little rotten tasting. Joe's band rehearsed Monday night - Tecates were drunk. Later in the night we had a Lagunitas Maximus and Lagunitas IPA. I can't remember how they tasted - it was well into Tuesday morning at this point - but I do remember being unimpressed by either one.
Tuesday I was on my own during the day, so I hit Central Park and then walked down to Heartland Brewery at Union Square and a place called Banjo Jim's in the East Village. At Heartland I tried the IPA and Farmer Joe's Oatmeal Stout. The IPA was good+ and the Oatmeal Stout was great. At Banjo Jim's I had a Smuttynose IPA, which was good, but as I type this post, I'm drinking an Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale and it seems just as good as I remember the Smuttynose being. Smuttynose has a better name, but Dale's Pale comes in a can, so I call it at even money. At Banjo Jim's I passed on having an 'Amarula', which was probably a mistake.
Tuesday night Joe and I went to the Belgian Room on 8th Street and First Avenue. Cool place. The bartender was excellent and the place itself was good. In short the Belgian Room was very clean, they had good music (blues on XM) and it wasn't overly crowded. We tried (in no particular order):
St. Bernardus 12
Westmalle Tripel
Gruut Amber Ale (tap)
Delirium Tremons (tap)
Cantillon Rose' de Grambinus (lambic)
The Gruut Amber was absolutely awful. The Westmalle didn't hit the spot quite as well as it had earlier in the week, and I was a little upset by that. The Delirium, which we've all tried, tasted better to me on tap. I enjoyed the Cantillon and St. Bernardus best. Joe noticed that the Cantillon tasted like Cheerios, and he was right on the mark.
Then the bartender went over to the Hop Devil Grill and poured us each a small glass of Kuhnhenn Tenacious Cassis, which the Hop Devil has been aging for five years. 18% by volume, extremely smooth with flavors of grape and grapefruit.
Wednesday I had a few Stellas and Lone Stars. Neither is anything special, but the Stella Artois is better. Joe's gig on Wednesday at Rodeo Bar was rockin'.
In conclusion, the beers and taprooms of New York City are varied and range in quality in flavor. The end.
Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout - I think this is an imperial milk stout. The aroma is pure creme brulee. It is absolutely uncanny. How they make beer that smells like this is beyond my comprehension. The taste is very sweet. Creamy, with lots of vanilla and butterscotch and bitter on the way down the hatch. Brilliant craft brew.
Yes. 
Round three brings us the Sly Fox's Pikeland Pilsner, which you may notice is served from a can. On a side note, the big glass really comes in handy when aggressively pouring a twelve ounce beer. Cheers to milwaukeeclassic.
Next up is the Troegs Sunshine Pilsner. The first thing I noticed was how clear in comparison the Sunshine is to the Prima, which really means, I guess, that the Prima is rather cloudy for the style. The next comparison is that the Sunshine is much drier than the Prima and tastes more like a Sauvignon Blanc or Champange. (It does not have the same bite as a Chardonnay.)
Victory Prima Pils is my favorite new beer over the last month. Big aroma and a lot of hops perfectly matched to the malt profile. The hops are not typical of an IPA (American) but prominent. Probably more German hops. 
Next up: Short's Huma-Lupa-liscious. Another great Malty IPA-not a double, but pretty high in alchohol and flavor so it might as well have been. Very tasty, also highly recommended. Not quite as good as the hopmouth but I liked it. 4.3/5
Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura, Dawn Dawn Stout - This beer was kinda annoying. It produced more head that any beer I've ever seen (see pic). It took ten minute to pour that. The aroma is pure sour goodness. The taste is a mix of malt bitterness and sourness. I don't think that it worked perfectly, but it was certainly interesting and was good. Jolly Pumpkin is an interesting brewery that I'm looking forward to trying more of.
Tried a couple of brews at Zeno's Pub tonight. The first was Southampton IPA. My cell phone notes say that it tasted light and well balanced with spicy grapefruit and watermelon flavors. Probably my second favorite of the night. (On tap)
Surly Furious - I've been wanting to try a beer from this brewery for a long, long time. Luckily, Barry (or one of his friends) hooked me up with one. Mainly piney and little citrusy aroma. Wonderfully balanced for a regular IPA. Color is a perfect red. Drinks bigger than the 6.2% ABV. I think this is much better than Two Hearted or Stone. Maybe the best IPA I've had. Like the can indicates, I was pissed when the beer was empty. The malt balance is the key for an IPA to taste good to me and this one comes through in a huge way. This one and the Hop Rod Rye are probably my favorite IPAs.
Oskar Blues has my vote for best beer in a can. And they are quickly gaining status in the best overall brewery list.
New York tomorrow to visit my friend Joe. Since I'm taking the bus, there shouldn't be any malparking infractions, or run-ins with parking officer Steve Grabowski.
