- Hey internet, it's Wil from Thrillist.
I'm here at Brookfield Place in lovely lower Manhattan.
We're about to head into the winter beer garden here.
It is the site of the first-ever
Best Brews of NYC competition.
Over the past four weeks, 14 breweries from all over
the city have brought out their best stuff.
It's up to you, New York, New York, to figure out
who has the best brew in the entire city.
Let's go check it out.
- We're gonna win, 'cause we're the best.
- We're gonna win the competition,
'cause we're from the Bronx.
- I'm gonna win because Harlem always wins.
- So, these are our five finalists,
each one representing the best of the best of
the best brews from their respective boroughs.
First up from the Bronx, we have
the Bronx Brewery's American pale ale.
- We use six different varieties of hops.
We're kind of focusing on more of a restrained bitterness,
and more of the aromatics in flavor of the hops.
It's citrus-y and juicy.
- [Wil] From Brooklyn, we have KCBC Sonic Rocket
that's a West Coast IPA.
- It's a little bit cleaner and dryer than kinda the new
hazy New England-style IPAs, but it's still really
fruit-forward, very hoppy.
- [Wil] From Manhattan, we have Harlem Brewing Company,
doing a Renaissance wit -- a Belgium wheat beer.
- My heart and soul of what comes out of our beer
represents the struggles, the pain, the opportunity,
the culture, the flavor of a community that I love dearly.
- [Wil] From Queens, we have Rockaway Brewing Company,
who have their classic Rockaway IPA.
- Rockaway IPA is just super good, it's simple,
not too overcomplicated. It's just, our beer is delicious.
- From Staten Island, we have Flagship Brewery,
which is also doing the classic IPA: the Staten Island IPA.
- It's very approachable, it's not a very bitter kinda
palate-blowout sort of beer.
- I'm about to go get a five borough flight.
Little tiny cups -- I usually like bigger cups,
but for now I will settle, for these little cups.
Manhattan, tastes like the big city.
Oh Brooklyn, tastes like it's some hipster stuff.
The Bronx, Yankee Stadium.
Staten Island, Mom's spaghetti.
Queens, a little minty.
- Brooklyn IPA is really good.
- My heart is straight from the Bronx.
- Do you think you can taste the flavor in each borough?
- Manhattan definitely has a more lighter, classier taste.
The Bronx has personality, Queens and Staten Island,
it's a little bit tangy.
- Staten Island is kinda tangy --
that's what I would say to describe it.
- So I heard you just turned 21 -- happy birthday!
- Thank you, thank you.
- So here you are, enjoying your first beer ever
on camera, on Thrillist.
- It's awesome, it's great. I'm happy to be here.
- So, are you rooting for the Bronx beer to win?
- I'm always rooting for the Bronx, what do you mean?
- So, is it your favorite that you've tried so far?
- It's not.
- It's not?
So, which one is your favorite then?
- Brooklyn.
- So, while it's great to come here and eat and drink beer
and have fun, it's very important to remember we're here
for a good cause: 100% of the proceeds of all the beer sold
are going towards New Yorkers for Parks, an organization
totally dedicated to making outdoor quality space
for every nook and cranny of New York.
It's a great organization, we all love parks,
and the winning borough will receive 1,000 daffodils
to be planted in a location of their choice.
Now let's turn our attention to the all-star panel of judges
that Brookfield has assembled.
Their brains are stuffed with knowledge about all
things beer, so they're gonna shed a little knowledge on us,
and tell us not only what they're looking for in a beer,
but how we can be better beer tasters ourselves.
For the people at home, what do you look for in a good beer?
How are you gonna be judging all these different breweries?
- Well it should be hop-forward,
very aromatic, a lot of flavor.
- Ten years ago, it's all about how many hops we shoved
in a beer and make it really bitter,
and now it's how many hops we shove into a beer
and make it really tropical.
- You know, as hoppy as it can be, it could also be
balanced; balance is key for something to be great.
- How much of it is that tasting, it's just natural ability
you're born with, and how much is learned?
- I think what it is, is repetition for a lot of times,
to understand what flavors belong there,
or what flavors don't belong there.
- What do you notice that your average beer drinker at
home might not notice when you take a first sip of beer?
Any style.
- I don't think the average beer drinker realizes how
important aroma is. Ninety percent of what you taste is through smell,
not drinking something right out of the bottle,
not going right out of the can, giving it a chance to open
up and really experience everything.
Sight, aroma, finish -- all of it
makes for a much more enjoyable experience.
- We're here with Ruben Diaz Jr.,
the borough president of the Bronx.
Ruben, what do you think about the event so far?
- I think it's great. I just want to commend Brookfield
and Ric Clark for hosting this.
This is a great way for the city of New York
to come together, and I think ultimately at the end of
the day, I'm excited because I know that
the Bronx Brewery is gonna win.
You know what, I'm gonna go out on a limb,
I'm gonna call it:
I guarantee you that the Bronx Brewery is gonna win tonight.
- It's on record. Thank you Ruben.
- Where did this idea come from?
I know that maybe you were up in the Bronx...
- Yeah, you know, Borough President Diaz
invited myself and a couple of colleagues up to the Bronx,
and he showed us around, and on the way we had
an unscheduled stop at the Bronx Brewery. We thought it'd
be great, to show off our great space and have
a challenge of the best brewery of the five boroughs,
so that's where it all came from.
- [Male Announcer] The winner of
the judges' competition is...
- Brooklyn, KCBC, overall champion.
Congratulations, Brooklyn.
- KCBC, give it up.
Here's your General Champion Best Brews of NYC 2018,
give it up for KCBC and Tony everybody.
Do we have the people's choice ready?
Oh we do, that's great.
- Manhattan, we have Harlem Brewery, congratulations.
- Here you go, hold this. Are you overwhelmed?
- I got tears for beers right now guys, thank you so much.
- All the knowledgeable judges up there,
tasted every beer, and they decided
Sonic Rocket was the best.
Did you expect to win? Be honest.
- It's hard, because there's all this awesome beer.
I mean, these are all friends of ours.
It actually means a lot to get recognized as something
other than everything else in the room.
- Why don't you tell us a little bit about the beer?
- This is more of a West Coast-style IPA.
It's kind of a throwback, a little more bitter,
it's a little bit underrepresented
in the East Coast right now.
- Now that the event is over, it's run its course,
what do you think about it overall?
- This was rad. It's a cool space, people were really
interested in beer, and I was getting a lot of
cool questions, and that's my favorite part of the job:
that's what it's all about.
- Cool, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
I'm here with Celeste Beatty,
she's the founder of her company,
and champion of the people's vote tonight.
What do you think about the event and the space?
- I mean this is like beer heaven to me.
The spirit of the people here, the companies that are here,
the collaboration with the breweries: it's just really
a great source of inspiration for the brewers here tonight.
- Totally. Now I know you said on stage that you were
so happy you might of shed a couple of tears for beers.
Is that really the case, are you still feeling that way?
- That's a lot of tears in this can, just the sheer fact
that we've been around for 17 years, we're excited
that we've been chosen to be people's choice. I'm proud.
- You earned it, cheers.
- Cheers to you, thank you.
There's plenty of friendly competition among the boroughs,
but at the end of the day, what really shined through is
everyone gets along, everyone loves each other,
everyone loves beer, everyone loved this event,
so hopefully we'll see you next year.
I know I'll be here.