I had heard about these establishments before. The moment you take the plunge into the underbelly of the craft beer universe these places are brought up time and time again.
"You've never been to Rattle n Hum?", a generic beer geek would ask incredulously.
I hated telling them I hadn't. How could I possibly be taken seriously as a craft beer savant if I had never been to one of New York City's craft beer mecca's?
I had to go. And I did. This past Saturday. I took an entire day off from watching Pawn Stars and eating Fiddle Faddle to take the train into the city with Rob, Kevin, his girlfriend, and an assortment of friends.
We started off at Rattle n Hum which is located on East 33rd Street not far from the Garden (I'd
tell you the exact address but you're on a computer, look it up yourself). The waitress handed us the draft menu which was printed on a single white piece of paper. Seems archaic I know. But when you're a beer bar that has kegs being kicked, new beers coming in, old beers going out and taps being rotated on a constant basis, I'm surprised it wasn't printed on a cocktail napkin.
I'm a wimp to say the least. After being handed a draft list with a selection of over 40 draft beers, as well as a seemingly endless bottle list, I chickened out and ordered a Goose Island Matilda. A beer that I could get (although not on tap) anywhere. I don't know why I do it. Craft beer drinking is about trying anything and everything. Yet I go for old standbys constantly. "Ohhh, I've had Goose Island before! They were good. Yes, I've have it again please." Idiocy. I realized my mistake the moment the waitress plopped the drink down in front of me. At that point, I made the executive decision to do a flight of four beers.
