Cheers NY, Where Everyone Knows Your Name

The Brooklyn Chamber of Congress brought us Cheers NY this past weekend — two days of 40 vendors beer, wine, and food from Brooklyn and New York all housed at Industry City. All staff and attendees were extremely friendly and the vibe was a lot more chill than some other really busy and crowded festivals I’ve seen.

Some attendees from both last year and this year’s festival noted that this year’s festival was a lot more empty in term of vendors and attendees. In many ways, I was hoping this was a plus for everyone as mathematically, this just means more alcohol per person, including me.

Waters Crest Winery of Northfolk brought a few different wines for attendees to taste and Adam Slater, regional sales manager for Waters recommended I try the Cabernet Franc. (You don’t have to twist my arm, Adam.)

Waters’ Cabernet Franc tastes like the wine Jesus made from water — the taste of a sacred holiness. It was so deliciously sweet that I asked Adam why some wine connoisseurs I know don’t like Long Island wine. Adam clarified that west coast and east coast wine is just different. Climates are hotter in California so they are better for say, a Zinfandel, whereas a cooler climate like in NY is better for a Riesling. Also, the reason there is no burn in the Cabernet Franc I tried is that it has around a 13 percent alcohol level versus an average 16 percent alcohol level in California wines.

Michelle Waters, daughter of owners Jim and Linda Waters, also attended Cheers NY, as she just moved to the city and was helping to move the winery’s distribution to the city. It’s getting very popular and I’m not even mad about the thought of something so cool getting mainstream.

It’s also worth noting that The Clean Air Act from the 1960’s and 70’s was purely focused on cleaning air in urban environments. There was a huge focus placed on New York City in particular, and that is why we actually have some of the cleanest air in America. That’s why urban farming is so popular here.

My second stop was the Coney Island Brewing Company. I’m familiar with their Mermaid Pilsner (you’d like it if you like Stella) but they had a slamming Freakoberfest (talk about seasonal). It’s interesting because while CIBC has been around since 2007, it wasn’t until 2013 that they started to add new styles to their mix, and become more distributed. Other breweries and microbreweries were also present but the staff of Cheers NY seemed to recommend CIBC the most.
Treatment for erectile dysfunction The only treatment hop over to these guys discount levitra for this particular disorder as soon as you get to know that a person is suffering from ED.

Brooklyn Brew beer kits were also present. You might know them from Smorgasburg or The Union Square Holiday Market. I tried their DIY Jalapeño Saison brew. It wasn’t my favorite but everyone should learn how beer is made just like everyone should know how everything is made. Apparently, according to the instructions you start off by making it like oatmeal and then let it sit. Easy enough.

Ciders stole my heart of everyone present at this event. McKenzie’s Pumpkin Cider of West Seneca, NY was literally sweet pumpkin pie in a cup and Kaneb Orchards Hard Cider was like a tart apple (they also had a cider mixed with cranberry juice).

Taras Hrabowsky over at Standard Spirit from near Bed-Stuy was the one table with both moonshine and absinthe. Since absinthe became legal in 2008, I’m happy our borough has jumped on that bandwagon.

Skeery Jones from Z100 made a guest appearance; he’s from Brooklyn College – fun fact.

The food was a little scarce at the event but there was amazing bread from Orwashers Bread, made with grapes and liquor, and bomb Mac and Cheese, homemade and fresh.

I ended the event playing big Jenga by NY Social, but there was also giant beer bong, and this “hacky sack.” Of course, my team won. Blame it on the alcohol.