On Monday, August 16, the skies opened up and some heavy rains washed down over New York. Walking toward the Boathouse at the Audubon House in Prospect Park, a park official cut us off. “Can’t go this way,” he said. “It’s flooded down that way.”

The reason? Brooklyn Brewery’s newest creation blew a hole in the sky.

Damp and overlooking a pond rife with fallen leaves and paddling ducks, bloggers and beer lovers gathered under gray clouds to celebrate Garrett Oliver’s newest brewmaster’s reserve, aptly dubbed Detonation Ale.

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Wednesday I had the good fortune to go to the 2nd annual Good Beer Fest, put on by Edible Magazine, Stella Artois and Brooklyn Brewery.

Adam Sivits

Consisting mostly of local breweries (as well as Palm, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, Abita, and Stella Artois/Leffe/Hoegaarden) paired with samples of local eateries, the event covered two floors at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The first noticeable thing was that they were giving people wine glasses, instead of the more common plastic sample cups distributed at most beer fests. Literally seconds after grabbing ours, my friend and I heard one break. Amazingly, that was the only one of the night.

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Quick little note, here, to say that we have truly crossed over into some very strange territory.

Please to enjoy.

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Clare Goggin

As a beer lover and an English major, any craft brew named for a literary classic appeals to me and Hops of Wrath is no different.

Dust Bowl Brewing, a small brewery located just south of Modesto, Calif., in Turlock, draws inspiration from the Great Depression and the families who traveled to California to find work. It should be no surprise that their flagship beer would be named after the Pulitzer Prize-winning John Steinbeck novel.

Since Mad Hops and I live clear across the country from Turlock, we reached out and asked nicely if the gents at the brewery would mind sharing their brews. The brewery graciously responded by sending us a 22 ounce bottle. And we drank it.

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Popularity: 33% [?]

Clare Goggin

While you and your friends were enjoying a backyard barbecue, chilling on a rooftop bar, or just hanging out inside to beat the heat on America’s birthday, the intrepid duo here at Beer Goggins was doing something much, much dumber: braving the searing-hot sun and sometimes searingly nasty skin of near-naked New Yorkers at Coney Island.

Upon arrival we realized we were only an hour removed from the end of the hot dog eating contest and the ensuing Kobayashi kerfuffle.

From there we stumbled up and down the boardwalk a bit, looking for a bathroom while dodging every weapons-grade douche missile thrown our way. You may think I’m exaggerating, but at one point I saw a couple guys wearing nothing but boxer brief-style Speedos. They found one good place to hide some, er, suspicious packages.

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Popularity: 31% [?]

Clare Goggin

and that’s when he decided to chug a giant bucket of beer. The frothy brew drizzled down his bushy beard and onto his black t-shirt, and the fact that he was wearing sunglasses inside meant that we couldn’t quite see if his eyes started watering like mine do every time I have to chug a lot of beer.

Oops. That’s kind of confusing, isn’t it? Let me explain.

Zane Lamprey’s Drinking Made Easy tour came to the Fillmore at Irving Plaza on Wednesday, June 2nd. The ticket-selling website listed first on a Google search of Fillmore Irving Plaza – and the site linked from Zane’s blog – said it started at 8:30. When we arrived to pick up our tickets at will call (that were left by Zane’s wonderful and helpful PR person, Karen) shortly after 7 pm, we were told we couldn’t leave with them. So, we left the tickets there and went around the corner to get a bite to eat.

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Popularity: 53% [?]

Clare Goggin

No one’s ever said that the NYU student-heavy area below Washington Square park needed another bar. However, if something in the nightlife family was needed there, it was definitely a beer hall. And that’s just what the neighborhood got when Amity Hall opened on West 3rd Street inside of an historic old warehouse.

Having just opened late last year, this loungey beer bar boasts an impressive brew menu. Twenty rotating craft beers, many local or at least domestic brews, are served to beer-drinking patrons. The bar also puts some emphasis on their whiskeys and bourbons. But, since this hot spot serves not only the beer loving New Yorkers but also the newbie-drinker college student, patrons can also order a drink from the full bar.

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Popularity: 38% [?]

Clare Goggin

The town of Ellicottville, New York is sometimes referred to as the “Aspen of the East” — more so for their skiing than for their beer. But that didn’t stop the founders of Ellicottville Brewing Co. to build one of the finest craft brew companies in the country. The restaurant and brewery now has two locations, the second having opened in nearby Fredonia in 2005, and they’ve received three International World Beer Championship awards.

With seven regular brews, five seasonals and a handful of limited release, oak aged and small batch series, this brewery definitely works hard to earn their high-quality reputation. Recently, I got my hands on both their Pale Ale and Nut Brown brews. I’m excited to share what I thought about these beers.

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Popularity: 25% [?]

Bobby Quillard Photography

Mikhail Prokhorov’s personal assistant. Upper-management bonus-worthy AIG employee. Ice cream taster. Twelfth man on any NBA team. Vice President of the United States. Field reporter for High Times magazine. Body paint artist for an SI Swimsuit shoot. Photographer for the SI Swimsuit issue.

These are all candidates for Best Job in the World. And they all fall just short. Why?

Because Zane Lamprey gets paid to travel all over the world, and he gets to drink while doing it.

Suck on that, Joe Biden.

For four years Lamprey has hosted Three Sheets, a cult hit TV show that flew the nest from MOJO to FLN, and now to its current home at the Travel Channel. In it Lamprey traverses the globe, learning about the alcohol and drinking customs that make each foreign city, country, or region unique (you can read an interview Clare did with him last year about the show here). Unfortunately the show is in a bit of limbo — sorry for the recurring Lost themes — as the Travel Channel decides whether or not to air a fifth season.

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Since 2004, the Williamsburg Spelling Bee has been rewarding grammatically correct adults with prizes. They’ve even started holding quarterly events at the Housing Works Cafe in Manhattan, kicking off the New York City Spelling Bee with proceeds funding life-saving services and research for AIDS and HIV victims. Even the profits from the Brooklyn brews you can purchase at the cafe go to the same charities.

Clare Goggin

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Popularity: 38% [?]