At 20,000 square feet, Half Time in Mamaroneck is the world’s largest beer store (housing, by the way, North America’s largest cooler dedicated solely to beer—150 ft. long, with 50 access doors). And the Poughkeepsie location, at 12,000 square feet, isn’t far behind.
Which got us thinking, there must be a slew of offbeat, or at least little-known, beers stocked inside those walls. COO Jason Daniels, whose father Allen Daniels is CEO and opened the original store in Poughkeepsie in 2001, and General Manager John Green gave us five worth trying.
1. Grimm Artisinal Ales’ Action Adventure Grimm Ales is a nanobrewery based in Brooklyn, founded in 2013 by Joe and Lauren Grimm. It’s a nomadic brewery, meaning there’s no single “home” brewery. Rather, the Grimms hone recipes in their Gowanus, New York kitchen, and then travel to existing breweries to “guest brew” them into limited edition batches. |
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2. Cascade Brewing’s Cascade Blueberry Ale Based in Portland, Oregon, Cascade is known for its sour ales. Says Green, “It’s very limited production,” hard to come by. It’s aged in oak barrels, and strict precaution is taken during the brewing process—brewers are asked to change clothes each time they enter the brewing space to avoid contaminating it with rogue airborne yeast strains. |
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3. Evil Twin Brewery’s Aun Mas Café Jesus - Partner Content -
This is an imperial stout, meaning “high octane with a big kick,” according to Green. Like Grimm, Evil Twin is known for guest brewing at established breweries, but this one is brewed at Evil Twin’s home base in Demark, and it’s done so with an infusion of coffee beans that lends it an espresso flavor. At 12 percent alcohol-by-volume, it’s not for the faint of heart. |
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4. Founders Brewing Company’s Bolt Cutter 2012 If “Bolt Cutter” sounds extreme to you, it is. This Michigan-brewed barley wine from Founders is a whopping 15 percent abv. It’s aged in bourbon barrels, and can age in your basement for up to 10 years, says Green. You might want to try it: “[Aging] mellows it out. Right now, at 15 percent, it’ll be a little bit hot—you’ll get the flavors from the alcohol. Letting it age would mellow it out. You’d get more of that bourbon and some more of the malt character, which would make it a l little bit sweeter, a little bit smoother. Much more dangerous.” |
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5. Cisco Brewers’ Shark Tracker Light Lager Based in Nantucket, Cisco Brewers partnered with Ocearch, a nonprofit that researches Great White Sharks and “other large apex predators” to preserve, educate, etc. When you buy Shark Tracker, you get a code that grants access to Ocearch’s shark-trackers, so you can see where tagged sharks are marauding at any given moment. - Advertisement -
This one is a preview—“Coming soon,” says Jason Daniels—and it should be out by mid-August, so call ahead if you’re interested. |
Half Time
139 Hoyt Ave, Mamaroneck
2290 S Rd, Poughkeepsie, New York
www.halftimebeverage.com