Munch on this: A warm everything pretzel with rosemary from Bronx Baking Co., served with beer mustard from Brooklyn’s Anarchy in a Jar. It’s on the bar menu at new craft beer store Brew & Co. (sister to Vine & Co.) in Bedford Hills, the only store in the area where you can sit at a snazzy little bar and enjoy 12 beers on tap (or a tasting flight of four) or get a growler to go. The day I was there, the chalkboard menu touted Great South Bay Bayliner Weisse, several Captain Lawrence beers, Tröegs Mad Elf Ale, Southern Tier Choklat, and Applewood Winery Naked Flock cider, among others. My 16-oz growlers from Half Time, about the size of a soda bottle, provoked the usual bemused reaction.
The everything pretzel (top left) is the perfect snack to go with your choice of drink—and there’s a lot of choices from which to choose. |
The 1500-square-foot store also carries hundreds of bottled beers, including many local and uncommon ones. Mix and match a six-pack; pull a small-batch soda from the fridge (I recommend Abita root beer); follow your nose for artisanal chips, nuts, pretzels, pickles, and jams. I couldn’t resist a little box of NuNu chocolates, each made with a different craft beer. Certain folks will appreciate this big discovery: North Fork Potato Chips not only makes very good sour cream and onion chips, but the bag has an abnormally high proportion of folded ones (no more digging through the bag… but you never do that, right?). DIY inspiration might strike from soda syrups, craft cocktail mixes, beer-making kits, bitters-making kit, and books.
Brew & Co.
532 Bedford Rd
Bedford Hills
(914) 666-3600; twitter.com/brewandcompany