NYC Craft Beer Spring Seasonal Festival: A Preview

Last winter’s NYC Craft Beer Festival proved to be an event filled with wholesome food and warming brews. But as the warmer months roll around, it is time to think about spring seasonals. Thanks to the folks behind NYC’s Craft Beer Festival Winter Harvest, March presents itself with a fine opportunity to sample some of the finest spring offerings from a rather impressive collection of the finest breweries. With that, look out for the Spring Seasonal Festival, which goes down on March 30 at Lexington Armory in New York City.

For those not as well-accustomed to the styles of beer that become available once the flowers start to bloom, here is a brief review of what you should expect. While there will certainly be a plethora of standard styles like IPAs and blonde ales, expect to see some imported greats like the delicate yet spicy Belgian-style saison, or the German spring seasonal, bock. Many of the breweries present at this year’s festival will be domestic, though, so be on the lookout for some varying interpretations of these classic styles.

And with over 60 breweries in attendance, you are more than likely to find something you’ll love. For those just looking to get their feet wet, perhaps starting with local offerings like Bronx Brewery’s Pale Ale or Shmaltz’ Coney Island Mermaid Pills would be wise. Both of which will be easy on the palette, but appetizing enough to keep you wanting more. For the more seasoned veteran, there are some exciting brews to look forward to like Founders’ All Day IPA, River Horse’s Brewmaster Reserve Smoked Scotch Ale, and Green Flash’s Hop Head Red.

Speaking from experience in last year’s Winter session, a great smaller brewery worth checking out would be Maine Beer Company. Their beers, while seemingly small, pack a massive punch of flavor. This time around, they are bringing the MO and the Peeper. The first of which is a zesty Pale Ale, while the latter is a deceptively hoppy American ale, that happened to be one of my favorites from the Winter Harvest.

Tickets for the NYC Craft Beer Spring Seasonals Festival are available now for purchase. For those of you willing to up the ante, you can get some tickets for the Connoisseurs Lounge, which will sport unique offerings from Uinta, Brooklyn Brewery, Coney Island Brewing Company, Founders, Sixpoint and more. Not to mention a stacked list of unique food offerings like slow roasted pork belly and prosciutto-wrapped burger bites.