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Business & Tech

A Beer for All Seasons

At Beer Table, the iconic beverage is treated with a reverence often unfairly reserved for wine and whiskey.

If you were to list the beer selection at your favorite New York City bar, chances are it would look something like this: on the low end, Budweiser, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Coors Light, a few regional selections such as Brooklyn or Six Point in the middle, and a Belgian wheat beer thrown in for good measure. If you’re really lucky, you’ll find something distinctly German priced at the top.

This is far from the case, however, at Beer Table.

Located on Park Slope’s Seventh Avenue, this love letter to hops and barley welcomes the new, interesting and strange when it comes to the sudsy stuff.

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“I’m interested in beer because it represents such a huge spectrum of flavor, and I feel like on the commercial level, even in a market like New York, we see a pretty narrow vision of what beer can be,” said Beer Table owner Justin Philips.

According to Phillips, Beer Table is not just a bar, or a restaurant, or even a highly specialized tasting room, but an amalgam of the three, borrowing elements from each to create a space that offers up fine, robust brews without the pretension that can sometimes infiltrate other “connoisseur” beer establishments. Long, eight-person tables and simple red stools promote the loose and casual conversation of an old-style pub, a clever mask for the plentiful treasures stored in the back of the house.

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“I don’t think of Beer Table as a bar at all,” said Philips. “It’s a place where [customers] can interact with someone who has a story about the beer and where it is presented not based on branding or place of origin. What I care about is what beer can do flavor-wise and how it can accompany food,” he said.

And to Beer Table’s credit there are many, many stories to be told.

Its menus, both food and beer alike, are constantly in flux, with the former changing daily and the latter, seemingly at the drop of a hat, depending on availability and, of course, flavor profile. The location boasts eight taps, as well as a plethora of bottles, from anything-but-standard $5 drafts to $75 bottles of rare aged lambic (meant to be shared, of course).

If you’re new to the realm of craft beers, Beer Table may, at first glace, seem a bit beyond your comprehension. Thankfully, the owner and staff are there to assist with any and all questions.

"My favorite customer is somebody [who] thinks they don't like beer and they don't want to be here... they are generally the most fun," said Philips.

"For them, what I can do is offer a taste blind, that's something unlike anything that they've ever had before. I can give them an experience that will not only be shocking, but maybe can open them up to caring about beer in a different way," he said.

Beer Table’s selection spans the world over, with a particular concentration on Europe, a place where Philips spent much of his time during his previous career as an importer.

On the day of my visit, Brouwerij’s De Dolle Dulle Teve was available on tap. Pungent in aroma and dark gold in color, this Belgian tripel is light and sweet, bready and flavorful, with both heavy fruit and floral overtones. Beware, however: at 10 percent ABV, drinkers should be careful not to imbibe too much, for fear of taking a tumble on the way out the door.

Similarly BFM’s Abbaye de St. Bon Chien ‘09 (literally, “The Abbey of Good Dog”) was also a pleasant surprise. This chestnut-hued Biere de Garde packs a tart, vinegary wallop that scratches the back of the throat, before blossoming into a mélange of light spice and dark fruit flavors—an absolute, if delicate, pleasure.

To be fair, a trip to Beer Table is not an inexpensive experience; a 4-ounce tasting-size portion from the draft list can run from $4 to $7, and pints between $5 and $20.

That being said, patrons will find that they pay for what they get: an experience unlike any other in Park Slope, emphasizing the wonderful complexities of the brew. It is an uncompromising adventure that should not be missed.

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