Craft Beer Tasting Station for New Year's Eve

If you’re a beer lover, we have an opportunity for you to sample some of the best beers in the world! On New Year’s Eve, we’re offering four hours of incredible craft beer, appetizers, and conversation with fellow beer lovers in a fun, relaxed setting. 

Brant Schweinsberg, our beer manager, will be on hand to open bottles and talk about the beers we love. We’ll have 1 A+ beer, 31 beers rated A or better, 127 beers rated A-, 96 beers rated B+, 44 beers rated B, and 17 beers rated B-, for a total of 316 bottles of amazing craft beer. 

 

Admission to our New Years Eve Party is $40 and the Craft Beer Tasting Package is $30. If you purchase the Craft Beer Tasting Package, we are discounting the cost of admission by 50% to $20. In order to assure that we aren’t overcrowded and that everyone can enjoy these beers in a relaxed atmosphere, we are limiting the number of tickets available. Please call today 201-435-5756 to reserve your spot in this unique event. 

Half-Off Growler Day!

Even if you can't make it to our New Year's Eve Masquerade, you can still get in on the Iron Monkey fun! From 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve, all of our Growler and refill purchases will be 50 percent off.

Enjoy our entire draft list, in Growler form!

New Year's Eve Masquerade

Don't forget that tomorrow night is our New Year's Eve masquerade!

We're offering four distinct packages that include a buffet, open bar, craft beer station, games and contests.

Purple Package: $40
- Buffet
-Midnight Rooftop Champagne Toast

Silver Package: $110
- Buffet
- Premium Open Bar
- Midnight Rooftop Champagne Toast

Gold Package: $130
- Buffet
- Premium Open Bar
- Craft Beer Station
- Midnight Rooftop Champagne Toast

Couple Package $200
- Buffet
- Premium Open Bar
- Craft Beer Station
- Midnight Rooftop Champagne Toast

Upgrade Purple and Silver packages for $30 to include the craft beer station. We'll be opening all of our 300+ bottles from our beer cellar for samples.

Enjoy live music with DJ MC and DJ Cool Kid playing all night long!

We'll have a rooftop champagne toast, with a special midnight surprise.

Dress to impress for this masquerade - the person who wears the best mask will win a great prize!

For more information or to purchase tickets, email Alex@IronMonkey.com or Cindy@IronMonkey.com or call 201-435-5756.

Wells Bombardier Tapping

We're tapping Wells Bombardier today. It's a real English cask ale... stop in and give it a try before it's too late!

New Year's Eve at the Iron Monkey

Ring in 2012 with the Iron Monkey at our New Year's Eve Masquerade!

We're offering three distinct packages that include a buffet, open bar, craft beer station, games and contests.

Purple Package: $40

- Buffet

- Rooftop Champagne

Silver Package: $110

- Buffet

- Open Bar

- Rooftop Champagne

Gold Package: $130

- Buffet

- Open Bar

- Craft Beer Station

- Rooftop Champagne

Upgrade Purple and Silver packages for $30 to include the craft beer station!

All packages start at 8:00 p.m.

Enjoy live music with DJ MC and DJ Sly playing all night long!

We'll have a rooftop champagne toast, with a special midnight surprise.

Dress to impress for this masquerade - the person who wears the best mask will win a great prize!

For more information or to purchase tickets, email Alex@IronMonkey.com or Cindy@IronMonkey.com or call 201-435-5756.

Glenfiddich Whisky Tasting

"What whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for." - Irish proverb

If you're like us, you love a strong, solid glass of whiskey. And we've been planning the perfect event to bring together whiskey aficionados and novices alike to enjoy this great spirit.

Join us on Tuesday, Dec. 13 for our whiskey tasting with Glenfiddich, one of the finest whiskey makers in the world.

Each ticket will allow you to sample a variety of great whiskeys and appetizers.

Tickets are $20 a piece, and we're taking reservations now. If you'd like to make a reservation or purchase a ticket, please call 201-435-5756.

For more information, visit: http://ironmonkey.com/whiskey-tasting.html

Ask the Beer Guy: Porters, Stouts, and Holiday Gifts

Brant Schweinsberg, our beer manager and resident beer expert, takes questions from our Facebook fans and Twitter followers about all things craft beer. This week, he tells us the difference between two of our favorite types of beer, and even lets us in on his Christmas wish list. 

What is the difference between Porters and Stouts?  Are they the same thing? - @TheKegTap

Stouts and Porters may not be the same beer, but their history is certainly intertwined. In the 18th century, Porters were a blend of brown ale, pale ale, and "stale" ales or matured ales. The name was derived from the English porters that favored the stronger beer.

Stouts evolved from attempts to mimic the popular porter style of beer. Once called Stout Porters or Extra Stout Porters, brevity won the day and the name became just Stout. Stouts tend to be fuller, creamier, and a bit stronger (in general). Think of stouts as the feistier, more rambunctiousness cousin of the porter. 

 

I have lots of beer lovers on my holiday gift list this year…any good ideas?

First and foremost, BEER!  Beer lovers, love getting beer. There are tons of great holiday gift sets out. These gifts sets often include a bottle or two and glassware.  In the past I've purchased sets from Chimay, Duvel, and Unibroue, just to name a few.  

Glassware is also a great gift to give, and I'm not talking about pints or mugs.  I'm talking about good quality snifters, tulips, chalices, or cervoises. I once got a set of Stone Imperial Russian Stout snifters. I have them to this day.

Books always make great gifts. If the beer drinker in your life is a budding homebrewer, I recommend The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It is the first homebrewing book I picked up.  Also, The Companion was recently released. If I remember correctly, Brooklyn Brewery is releasing a gift set that includes a bottle of Companion and the book itself.  No beer library is complete without a few of Michael Jackson's works.

If anyone is looking for gift ideas for a certain beer manager, I gladly accept beer.

There you have it! If you have any questions for Brant, you can email ironmonkeybeerguy@gmail.com.

Uinta Brewing Company

Tonight is our Meet the Brewery tonight with Uinta Brewing Company! Uinta has been brewing craft beer out of Utah since 1993, and we’re offering six of their best-loved drafts on tap, including:

Cockeyed Cooper, a Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine Ale that is rich with notes of vanilla and dark chocolate. Part of Uinta’s Crooked Beer line, Cockeyed Cooper pairs well with decadent desserts and aged cheeses.

Another brew in their Crooked Beer line, Tilted Smile is heavy in alcohol (with a 9.0 % ABV!), but has an approachable flavor and taste. This crisp Imperial Pilsner is carbonated, and delicious when you pair with it with grilled meats and seafood.

Uinta’s Detour is a bold Double IPA that combines four varieties of hops to help step up that flavor profile. Big in alcohol and character with a dry finish, Uinta suggests pairing Detour with spicy dishes to really bring out its spirited flavor.

 

Labyrinth, the fourth beer in Uinta’s Crooked Beers line, is a dark, chocolaty black ale. With notes of black licorice and toasted oak, and hints of bittersweet chocolate, this is the perfect ale to serve with rich desserts.

We’ll also be serving Uinta Dubhe, and Uinta Anglers Pale Ale. Stop in tonight, starting around 6:00, to try these drafts and more.

http://ironmonkey.com/uinta.html

Meet the Brewery: Uinta

Join us on Thursday, Dec. 1 for our Meet the Brewery event with Uinta.

Drafts we'll have include:

Uinta Tilted Smile
Uinta Labyrinth
Uinta Detour
Uinta Dubhe
Uinta Cockeyed Cooper
Uinta Anglers Pale Ale

For more information, visit: http://ironmonkey.com/uinta.html

Thank You!

This year will be our 15^th Annual Thanksgiving Dinner, when we open our doors to the community and offer complimentary holiday meals to our neighbors. It’s been a busy few weeks of planning and organizing, but we wanted to take a minute today to say THANK YOU to everyone in Jersey City who has donated their time, money and product to our cause.  

Many local businesses got in touch with us, including Made With Love, which donated a delicious (and enormous!) apple crisp. We’ll be serving that as dessert for our homebound friends. Other area businesses, such as O’Connell’s Restaurant, Puccini’s, Starbucks, Antheia Flowers, Restaurant Depot, and Highly Social Media donated products and money to the fund, and we’re grateful for all of it. 

We also had many, many community members offer to volunteer, donate pies and baked goods, and drop money in the Thanksgiving fund jar. The Lehrer family – Robert, Keith and Eric – made a huge donation, which will pay for all the homebound meals that will be delivered by Visiting Homemade Service, another great sponsor of this dinner. 

Brian McIntyre and Work Strategy have been very generous to our Thanksgiving dinner, and we can’t thank them enough. 

And Mayor Healy and Kathy Curin donated 20 turkeys…one of the most important elements of any Thanksgiving dinner!

Finally, Tara Warner has been working her turkey tail off for months to make this dinner go off without a hitch, and deserves a huge pat on the back! 

We’re so grateful to live in a community that has come together to help us serve these meals to our neighbors. Big thanks to everyone listed here, and those we may have missed. We appreciate every donation, and every volunteer, and can’t wait to celebrate the holiday with our neighbors!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ask the Beer Guy: ABV, Holiday Ales, and Proper Glasses

The Iron Monkey’s resident beer guy, Brant Schweinsberg – that’s him on the left – knows a thing or two about craft beer. And now, he’s answering your questions.

I know that drinking a beer with a higher ABV can make my night a little more interesting, but does the percentage of alcohol by volume in a beer affect the taste at all? - Mike R.

Yes. It absolutely does, and the answer lies in the brewing process. In order to get a higher percentage of alcohol in beer, a brewer must increase the amount of fermentable sugar in the beer. This is accomplished by increasing the amount of malted barley in the mash. More barley means more sugar. Since yeast converts sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide, more sugar means more alcohol. Overall, you end up with a sweeter, maltier beer. Also, if the alcohol is pronounced, you will be able to taste the alcohol. This is often referred to as a warming effect.

I love winter and holiday ales. Do you have any favorite seasonal brews I should try this year? - Katie

I love winter and holiday beers. One of my favorites is Troegs Mad Elf. It’s a Belgian-style ale that’s brewed with honey and sweet and sour cherries.  I'm also a fan of Fegley's Rude Elf. It’s a Belgian-style dark ale brewed with dark Belgian Candi Sugar and hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove. But there are tons of great holiday beers on the market. I recommend trying as many as you can.

Does it make a difference what kind of glass I use to serve beer? – Andrew W.

Yes, yes, and yes! Much like different varietals of wine are served in specific glasses, different styles of beer should also be served in the proper glassware. A proper glass is designed to exemplify the color, aroma, and flavor of the beer. Long and thin glasses display a beers effervescence and clarity while bowl shaped glasses highlight the beer's aroma and head. I could probably talk for hours about glassware, but I won't. If you have a specific beer glassware question, please feel free to ask.    

If you have a question you’d like Brant to answer, email us at ironmonkeybeerguy@gmail.com, or post on our Facebook wall at http://www.facebook.com/ironmonkeybar. We can’t wait to hear from you, and we’ll get answers up on a future blog post. Cheers!