We purchased a case of this incredible beer about a month ago with the intention of laying it down for a couple years and letting it age, but after cracking one open we quickly realized that this Belgian-syle IPA had done enough aging in Chardonnay barrels at the brewery. This ale is a real knock out, but we only have a limited quantity. Pairs beautifully with Chef Matt's Ploughman's Lunch.
www.nebraskabrewingco.com
Other bottle additions of note:
2008 Goose Island Boubon County Stout
2010 Dogfish Head Squall
Cheers,
Tim
We've acheived our first mention in the New York Times (the Sunday Times, no less), thanks to Don Lewis of Wild Hive Farm who provides us will all of our bread, crackers, polenta and grain. Wild Hive Farm uses only local grains and mills them on site. Chef Matt Hutchins had worked with Don on a student harvest dinner at CIA. Don liked Matt's culinary stylings and when we hired him on at the Birdsall House, Matt insisted on using Wild Hive bread. Luckily, after visting the Birdsall House, Don agreed to take care of all of our bread and grain needs. If you haven't had the Deep-Fried Soft-Boilded Egg served atop a bowl of Wild Hive polenta, you're missing out. The polenta also pairs nicely with any IPA as a late night snack...
Cheers and thanks for the support.
Memorial day weekend is only a few days away and we are busy preparing for a grand ole time. Chef is as always working up a special menu for the occasion and I am getting hunger pains in anticipation. This Sunday is a special night for me as my Sister will be performing at The Birdsall House @ 7:00pm. You can check her and her tunes out at www.shannasharp.com. She totally rocks. Some of you might now her as the pleasant young lady that greets you at the door Thursday and Friday nights. So if you get tired of hot dogs and burnt burgers form the back yard grill come on over and see us this weekend. And let us not forget to raise our pints to the all the soldiers past, present and future on Memorial Day.
Cheers,
Johnny
As many of you know we get our beef from nearby Hemlock Hill Farm. But what about the bread? The polenta? The crackers? In fact all of our grains come from Don Lewis' Wild Hive Farm in Clinton Corners, NY. Don personally delivered our bread last night and stayed for dinner. He particularlly enjoyed Charcuterie Plate #2 - and of course he had to have a Hemlock Hill Burger on a Wild Hive Bun.
Don, thanks for making the best bread & polenta in the Hudson Valley.
Defiant beers on draught here!
Chef Matt has but together a beautiful menu for a beautiful day. The same menu will be running all day and all night.
Cheers.
After nearly a month of not blogging, it seams the flood gates have opened. Hopefully we've not become blogoholics and hopefully no one has tired of our blogness. Maybe this business really does make you insane? Or maybe it's the psychotrophic affects of heavily hopped beer...or maybe we just feel misunderstood. We get extremely excited about RARE BOTTLES OF BEER - anyone else out there?:
36 BOTTLES DOGFISH HEAD SQUALL IPA HAS ARRIVED AT THE BIRDSALL HOUSE!
Thanks for listening.
Cheers,
Tim
We've expanded our lunch menu! And we've been doing our best to post our dinner menu (it changes daily, ya know) the day before or no later than the morning of.
We've also added a music page and updated our events page.
Have a great weekend!
Cheers
"The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind."
-Humphrey Bogart
My fellow plebians, the streets of downtown Peekskill bustle with quite anticipation for the promises of a big weekend and an eventful coming week. The Fab Fuax is arriving in town to serenade a packed house at the Paramount with Beatle tunes from the past. And Chef has prepared an incredible menu for all you mop top fans to sink your teeth into. And speaking of Music we are hosting an amazing singer, songwriter, and poet by the name of Steve Chizmadia on Sunday evening at 8:00pm. Steve is a little bit country, little bit rock and roll, and a whole lot of good. And let’s not forget about beer, an outstanding beverage that has been the glue for civilization from the beginning of time. On Monday we have the Home Brewers Guild hosted by bartender and craft brewer, “The Yeti” also known as Kevin. The Guild talks, smells, tastes everything that is beer. Last week we tapped a firkin of Dogfish Head 75 minute IPA for the guild, and coming on Monday the 24th, we are going to tap two very rare pins of cask ale from Green Flash Brewery. But let us not get ahead of ourselves. This coming Tuesday the 18th we are hosting a beer event with the Defiant Brewery. For those of you not in the know the Defiant Brewery are our neighbors across the Hudson in Pearl River, NY. We are going to have 12 one-offs from the Brewery. What the hell is a one-off? Well, a one-off is an awesome version of a style from a brewery that you can’t get anywhere else. Cool, right! So, drop what you’re doing, and make your way to Peekskill.
We are rapidly approaching our two month anniversary and all is well at the Birdsall House. And why are we so well? Well my fellow citizens it is because of you. After many months of constructing, cleaning, and preparing we were left with a beautiful house and grand ideas, but it is due to all of you walking through the door and filling our little ship with life, love, and laughter that has made The Birdsall House what it is today. We raise a pint to you all. Now, enough with the love letter and down to business. Chef Matt, Tim, and I continue to forage the Hudson Valley with an ever watchful eye for local sustainable products to put on your plate and in your glass. Presently, all our breads are coming from Wild Hive Farms. Don and Amy, from Wild Hive, bake all our breads fresh to order using all local, organic ingredients from the Hudson Valley. You can check them out in Clinton Corners where they also operate a café www.wildhivefarm.com . We are getting most of our proteins from Hemlock Hill Farms form right here in Cortlandt Manor. They are literally a few miles from our doorstep. You can’t get much more local than that. Feel free to stop by and see John, Laura, and Oswaldo and pick up some local meats for your next barbeque www.hemlockhillfarm.com . Let us not forget about our veggies. Red Barn Distributors, located in New Paltz, delivers us farm fresh vegetables form the Hudson valley two times a week. Our to-go containers are even made from Sugarcane. Why, you might ask, do we do this? Well, to be honest saving the earth is not our main motivation. We are committed to reducing our footprint and over time we will continue strive for a more sustainable type of establishment. But for the present our main motivation is for our community. Buying local helps our community by putting our money back into the local economy. It makes our customers happier with better tasting food. It makes us healthier not eating hormone filled meats or vitamin depleted frozen veggies. And again we raise our locally brewed pint of Captain Lawrence Ale and thank you all for embracing our concept. You all inspire us to put even more local products on your plates and in your glasses.
We purchased a very old and beautiful ship. This ship had seen better days. The hull was rusty, filled with barnacles. The deck was rotted and sagging. And the paint, a ghost of its former self. On November 18th we started to fix our boat. We replaced the deck with new boards. We scraped and sanded the hull to a fine luster. We hired our crew of sailors and readied ourselves to set out to sea. On Friday the 12th the day had finally arrived, we were to set sail. The fanfare was huge. We were off. We have already found some leaks and even had a couple of high seas. But we have set sail. It is Friday, one week since we opened and lot has happened. On opening day we had a ribbon cutting with Mayor Foster and the great people over at city hall. The night was amazing, it seemed that the majority of the community showed up to wish us well. Saturday’s St. Patrick Day parade was somewhat dampened by the torrential down pour, but we had fun anyway. In the afternoon the place filled with a troop of bagpipers. The walls off the old place seemed to come alive with the memories of Gaelic songs past. And as I listened my heart soared with feelings of community and heritage. We also had our first beer event where we showcased the beers of Captain Lawrence Brewery. People from far and wide showed up to taste the various malty beverages. And I do mean far and wide. We had people that drove up from Philly as well as down from Mass all to taste the sudsy concoctions of Scott at Captain Lawrence. Each day we continue to meet our awesome community as well as being surprised how far people have traveled to check us out. We have big plans for our little slice of Peekskill and we can’t wait to share them with you over the coming days, weeks, months, and years.
Cheers,
Johnny
Peekskillians, I am broadcasting to you from the depths of the earth. We have moved the office underground. No longer do I sit at my comfy 1930’s booth above ground with the rest of the world. Instead my office has moved underground in the warmth of the basement. And if you listen very closely you can here Peek’s creek babbling underground through the heart of downtown Peekskill. We are inching ever so closer to the finish line. Not Months, Not weeks, but yes my ever so patient citizens, DAYS. We are putting together an awesome team of soldiers to attend to your every comfort. And our chef is busy hand picking cattle for fresh delivery on the 12th. And if you are vegetarian I was only kidding he is actually foraging for mushrooms in the hills. The point is we are all hard at work and we are very excited to have you all over very soon.
We searched the mountain tops, we swam to the bottom of world’s end, we crawled through the stalagmites of the deepest cave, and we even posted something on our website all in search of the perfect chef. A chef that would have the ability to make your taste buds sing and your toes curl. Our search stretched over a three month eternity that seemed to have no end in sight. Don’t get me wrong, we met plenty of good chefs. But, Peekskill, we were looking for that perfect fit. The piece of the puzzle that makes the picture pop. Quite frankly you all don’t know how close the Birdsall House came to having Johnny as the cook serving hotdogs and grilled cheese sandwiches. Enter Chef Matt Hutchins, the latest member of the Birdsall House team. Chef Matt came to us by way of the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), where he recently graduated. With fifteen years in the industry he brings a whole lot to the table and I do mean that literally. He hails from Northern Florida, that’s right folks another southern gentleman hits the streets of Peekskill. He spent some time out in Cali at Chez Panisse and lucky for us made his way to the Hudson Valley. Chef Matt applies many styles to his cooking ranging from southern to California French to Caribbean flavors, like I said he brings a whole lot to the table. He is passionate about using local, seasonal ingredients and will create menus that change daily based on availability. Dedicated to becoming increasingly sustainable, he will strive to embrace that concept through practices such as house-made charcuterie, pickled and preserved items, and composting. He also hopes in time to use herbs and other edible items grown on the premises. He looks forward to developing a menu that will meet the needs of the community and pair well with the beer selections available at the Birdsall House. We are very excited. And by the way a little birdie told me that the Birdsall House will be opening by March 12, check back soon to confirm that rumor.
In our quest to keep our food as local as possible, we visited Hemlock Hill Farms today to check out some local beef and discovered that all the cattle at Hemlock Hill is fed with the spent grain from Capatain Lawrence! Laura de Maria, who's family has farmed at this location since 1939, informed us that "as Scott grows, we grow." Meaning, the more beer CL produces affects the number of cattle that can be fed at Hemlock Hill. Cool, huh?. Luckly, Scott is brewing at capacity and expanding.
We'll be supporting both when we get this place open. We're still waiting to set a date...but the drama of our chef search may be coming to an end. Keep your fingers crossed. We'll keep you posted.
Fellow countrymen, it is Sunday, and not just any Sunday, Today is Valentine’s Day. The one day of the year when we look at that someone special and think to ourselves, “Oh Crap, I forgot to get something.” The one holiday that I think everyone wishes at one time or another didn’t exist, of course we all kind of secretly enjoy good old cupid on Valentine’s Day as long as we have that someone special to cozy up with. My special someone is presently finishing up her beautiful paint job in the ladies room. Ladies your restroom at the Birdsall House is going to be the sexiest bathroom this side of the Mississippi.
We are putting on the finishing touches and are finally able to say we will be open in weeks instead of months. I know we haven’t posted a blog in a week or so, but cleaning, inventory, interviewing, building, praying and every once in awhile sleeping has slowed my writing down. I know not a good enough excuse and we promise to be better. We will be giving you all an opening date very soon. And if you didn’t enjoy your Valentines, remember, there is always Presidents day to cozy up too tomorrow.
Johnny
Countrymen we have been swimming in glycol. You see the Birdsall Boys have it in their head that they can do anything. And nine times out of ten, they can. But ever so often some force of nature will contrive to prove the theory wrong. Like a blue jay raiding the eggs in a Robins nest, our old Perlick Glycol chiller took our day and smashed it on the ground. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong. We tried multiple scenarios, disconnecting and reconnecting parts and tubes. No matter what we did we couldn’t make it work. Jump forward eight hours later and you have two very disgruntled, tired and confused dudes. Right before quitting time we decided to call Perlick, the makers of the glycol machine that wouldn’t. And the kind fellow at Perlick asked, “Did you prime the pump?” Ten minutes later the glycol machine worked. I think the lesson here is even if you think you can do anything; you still have to read the directions.
Johnny
My fellow proletariat, the road to completion is paved with potholes. It has been a bumpy ride this week. Projects seem to creep by and their elusive finish seems just out of reach. But we must remember that the projects that are presently stealing all our time are the whole reason The Birdsall House exists. The Birdsall House, first and for most, is here to showcase the diverse flavors of the American Craft Brewer. And The Birdsall House Boys are working on their draft system. The Mahogany draft tower is almost complete. A couple more passes of oil and shellac and we will be mounting this Beauty to the bar. And just in time, because the draft line installer (Tim) is waiting for the carpenter (me) to hurry up and finish. All the beer geeks out there should be sure to ask for a tour of the system when they come by. And for those of you that don’t know what a beer geek is let me define. A beer geek is someone that takes their love for craft beer to a hobby. Many of the beer geeks out there have stuck away in a corner of the basement or garage a little handmade system to make their own brewed concoctions. And a beer geek is definitely someone that will drive 30 minutes to stand in the 15 degree cold in a line for the newest release from Captain Lawrence Brewery in Westchester. If you read Tims last posting you will now have figured out that the Birdsall House boys are beer geeks.
Johnny
We saw our friend and neighbor, Scott Vaccaro, owner & brewer of Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. in Pleasantville, NY today and we are now in possession of a few bottles of Golden Delicious. GD is one of Scott's limited release beers. This batch is an American Tripel, dry hopped with Amarillo hops and aged in apple brandy barrels. Yum. Captain Lawrence is a world class brewery and we're glad it's right in our back yard. Captain Lawrence brews will be featured on our Grand Opening (sorry, still waiting to set the date) & these bottles of Golden Delicious are the first of many bottles we plan to age in our cellar. At over 10% ABV Golden D. is a perfect candidate for our Vintage program.
The draught system should be ready to go next week, all of the lines have been run in the basement and we're now working on the Mahogany draught box that will be on the bar (she's going to be a beauty). When everything is tied together in the box we plan to hook up a keg of Captain Lawrence for her maiden voyage. I'll try and document the rest of the install with lots of pictures. As far as we know, few people have ever attempted to install a 20 line draught system from the ground up without contracting a company to do it for them.
Cheers,
Tim