A few weeks ago, I got a Facebook Message from Matt Rowsell, a gentleman I’ve been Facebook Friends with for a while, also an Insurance Agent at James F. Sutton Insurance Agency, asking if I wanted to come to an Industry Meet and Greet at Mikkeller NYC (Y’all know my love for this brewery already, so there’s no need for me to gush again…) followed by a Mets game at Citifield (you know, that place that’s attached to Mikkeller NYC?). He said he had ONE TICKET free.
The Taproom at Mikkeller NYC
I messaged him back, saying I didn’t want to leave Holly Kay behind, but thanks anyway for the offer. He wrote back “I’ll let you know if another ticket shakes free.” Not thinking about it, I walked away from my momentary excitement and went back to work. About 30 minutes later, he messages again “Another ticket shook free!” Whoever was shaking all these Mets tickets free, thank you, Magical Ticket Shaker, for shaking your magical tickets upon my sweet Holly Kay and I.
I texted Holly, as we hadn’t yet made plans for the evening, and she of course said YES, she’d love to join me! The fun thing about impromptu date nights is it can break the monotony of the work week. Especially on Monday, arguably the worst day of the week.
How can we get rid of Mondays? Aside from a shrink-ray that will diminish Mondays until we can just step over them directly into Tuesday, the only other thing I can think of is to get offered tickets to a Mets game and an evening at Mikkeller NYC EVERY MONDAY. It’s foolproof.
Anyway, to make a long story short, the game got rained out. My Mets-loving coworker Justin sent me a tweet from the Mets, stating the game had been postponed to another day. “Manic Monday” by The Bangles slowly crept into my head, which, by the way, is literally a song about having a dream about making out with a hot Italian dude and then having to go about your regular Monday business. “Have to catch an early train / Got to be to work by nine.” That sounds more like a REGULAR MONDAY. There’s nothing manic about this! Come on, Angela Bangle, if that is your real name (it isn’t).
The line for the restroom at Mikkeller NYC
I messaged Matt again, who said that the Mikkeller Meet and Greet was still on! Hooray hoorah! Beer and Food! New friends! Food! Beer! Regular Monday faded out of my head, and some other song took its place (probably It’s a Small World or Tiki Room because I’ve got a Disney trip coming up).
Matt is awesome, by the way. If you’re a brewery, you should use him as your Insurance Agent. He explained that he grew up with Matt and Lauri Spitz, co-owners of Moustache Brewing Co. (who, as you already know, I collaborated with on You Lucky People, You, a Dole Whip inspired Double IPA, did I mention I have a Disney trio coming up?). And It’s a Small World crept into my head again. Shut up, head, I’m trying to talk!
We got to mingle with some of the co-sponsors of the event, Dave Oksenhorn and John Ahern, of @nybeercpas, who were all lovely, and about an hour in, Richie, Head Brewer at Mikkeller NYC, offered to give us a tour of their massive brewhouse.
It’s kind of like a beer nerd’s dream in there. As a non-brewer, it was cool to see the complex system of tanks and pipes to pump the beer from vessel to vessel. A ton of science goes into the beer that’s in that glass in front of you, Insert Your Name Here.
The brew house is absolutely gorgeous, the stainless steel shines like the top of the Chrysler Building (oh, a reference to the musical theater masterpiece Annie? Cool!)
Miss Hannigan. Cruel or just misunderstood?
We spent the rest of the evening enjoying some fantastic Mikkeller Brews with the crew from Big aLICe Brewing, Allie Breitfeller from Pratt Industries, who provide all the cardboard boxes for Mikkeller NYC, and other NYC Breweries. The menu at Mikkeller NYC is extensive, featuring local restaurants like our neighborhood favorite Unidentified Flying Chickens. The beef bulgogi empanadas are a must. You like buttery, flaky crust surrounding salty meat with Korean spices? Welp, this is right up your alley, and you should probably eat it NOW.
All in all, it was an evening of community, friendship, and beer! I love being a part of the NYC Craft Beer community! Come hang out with us BECAUSE WE’RE FUN!
See? We’re fun!
Make sure you follow me over on Instagram for more silliness!
Until next time!
Cheers!
