Transmitter Brewing Bring Farmhouse Ales to NYC
As we discussed in this very space yesterday, we may need to get used to the fact that some of the more obviously Brooklynish things are going to start happening outside the borders of Brooklyn itself and in other nearby places with more and cheaper available space. Case in point, Transmitter Brewing, a Long Island City-based operation that opened its doors just a few months ago.
Owned by longtime friends Anthony Accardi and Rob Kolb, Transmitter specializes in farmhouse ales, a style of beer that’s caught on big-time in craft beer circles nationwide, but has been slow to take hold here in the city. It’s a classic Belgian style (though there are well established French and American versions as well) that’s characterized most often by its cloudy appearance, the presence of spices like pepper or coriander, relatively high carbonation and a pronounced and distinctive yeast character. Accardi and Kolb at Transmitter have developed a “library of traditional Belgian, French, English and American yeast” strains to go along with 20 different varieties of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus, wild strains that provide sour/and or fruity notes. Brooklyn Brewery’s Sorachi Ace is a stellar example of the style, but that’s about it when it comes to year-round offerings from local breweries.
At Transmitter, though, there’s a full, rotating lineup of them, available at their newly opened tasting room. I recently tried their F1 Farmhouse Ale, a classic Saison brewed with Brettanomyces (brett if you’re fancy), and it’s an absolute joy: the corked-and-caged 750mL bottle is beautifully designed and it feels substantial, as does the liquid it contains: at 8%, F1 is nothing if not substantial, but it’s also fairly easy drinking. There’s a pleasant fruitiness thanks to the brett–which, with some age, should develop into something more mouth-puckering–and a ton of carbonation that keeps it lively on the palate.
One of the other more interesting aspects of the brewery is their CSB program. Like the very popular CSAs, where members pay to receive different kinds of produce every week for a set amount of time, Transmitter is offering members two 750mL bottles per month, along with two Transmitter-branded glasses, a t-shirt, and discounts on additional bottles.
The brewery and tasting room is located at 53-02 11th St, in Long Island City. Tasting room hours are Friday 5-7:30pm; Saturday and Sunday noon to 4pm.
[metaslider id=20399]
All photos by Robert Caputo.
Follow Mike Conklin on Twitter @MikeConklin.