Alphabet City Brewing Company - Alpha Male

Golden copper with a robust and persistent head of tight-bubbled foam, this IPA made a good first impression in our glasses. On the nose, look for some nice citrus notes, conjuring grapefruit and orange, along with an herbal character, a touch of pine, and dried flowers. These hoppy notes hit hard on the palate too, delivering pungent herbal notes, citrus zest, pine, and more than a little spiciness. When building an IPA, you can’t forget the malt, otherwise you end up with hop water. Thankfully, there’s plenty of pale and Vienna malts forming this brew’s backbone, providing a medium body and helping round out the mouthfeel. Nevertheless, at 70 IBUs, Alphabet City wasn’t shy with the early kettle hop additions. There’s a pretty sizeable dollop of hop bitterness and citric acidity which easily overcomes the mild malt sweetness and clings to the palate in the finish where it lingers with notes of grapefruit zest. Spicy dishes are always a go-to when pairing IPAs with food, and Alpha Male has enough bitterness to easily stand up to some pretty bold spice and heat. Thai chicken with a spicy citrus sauce would make a great complement, as would burgers topped with aged cheddar, jalapenos, and grilled onions, for a sweet and spicy interplay. Cheers!

Alphabet City Brewing Company is the brainchild of co-founders Jason Yarusi and Jeffrey Simón. Both men moved to New York in 2001 and met while working as bartenders at The Frying Pan, a former floating lighthouse which now serves as a floating bar at Manhattan’s Hudson River Park, where they worked for almost a decade. During this time, the duo became roommates, sharing an apartment in the Alphabet City neighborhood of the East Village. While considering going into business together, perhaps by starting up their own bar, they began homebrewing in their kitchen after receiving a kit as a gift. What a fateful move that turned out to be. With a mutual love for beer and brewing, it was a natural step for them to decide to launch a new NYC-based brewing company.

Jason and Jeffrey focused their attention on creating and perfecting a recipe for kölsch, a German style of blonde ale. Their goal was to craft a food-friendly beer which people would love to drink with a meal or on its own – and in large amounts. In 2012 the pair, and their beer, was ready; they launched Alphabet City Brewing Company with Easy Blonde as their flagship, cornerstone product. Leveraging their extensive experience in NYC’s hospitality industry, they were able to build and grow personal relationships with local bars and restaurants. Now, in 2016, in addition to Easy Blonde, Alphabet City offers an Unfiltered Lager as well as Alpha Male IPA. For more info, visit their website at www.acbcnyc.com.