Beer Table

41. Beer Table
427B 7th Avenue between 14th and 15th (Park Slope, Brooklyn)



My first trip into Park Slope was for a friend’s Halloween Party last year and as I walked passed Beer Table, I noted to my girlfriend that I would want to come back to check it out. After its spot on the TONY list was revealed, my roommate and I headed down to Brooklyn to sample the 13th Century Grut Bier ($13) from their extensive list of bottles that start at $11 and go all the way up to $95, with draft selections rotating daily. On Tuesdays, Beer Table offers a 3-course menu that changes often for $25 with an optional beer pairing for an additional $15 and with only 24 cramped stools around 3 wooden countertop tables we were lucky to wait only a few minutes before being seated. The Grut Bier had pronounced ginger and rosemary flavors that made for a smooth and savory beverage. An order of pickled fennel gave us something crunchy and vinegary to enjoy with the beers. While it’s not the cheapest place, it’s certainly worth going to for a new beer or to try their Tuesday night dinners.



Text from the Grut Bier label:
"Before the German Purity Law "Reinheitegebot" of 1516, it was common practice to use any kind of different spices, herbs, fruits and other plants to provide balance to beer. Hops was not yet well known at this time. Grut Bier has roots in many cultures and each culture had its own "special ingredients": Egyptians, Native Americans, Arabian Tribes, Gualles, Germanic Tribes and the Vikings. This interpretation of traditional Grut Bier is spiced with bay leaves, ginger, caraway, anise, rosemary, and gentian. It is brewed with water, wheat and barley malt, pollinated wild hops and fermented using top fermenting yeast."