New York Limited: Brewed to Savor

Some of the beers from the Brooklyn Brewery. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Honey and coriander, lemon verbena and hops, local barley malt and wheat: these are some of the ingredients in New York Limited, an exclusive craft beer.

The New York Limited is the result of teamwork between three brewmasters from famed New York breweries: Saranac Brewery, Ommegang Brewery, and Brooklyn Brewery.

Garret Oliver (Brooklyn Brewery), Mike McManus (Ommegang Brewery,) and Rich Michaels (Saranac Brewery) first put their heads together to create New York Limited more than a month ago. The beer is to be served and offered to each visitor at SAVOR, a beer and food pairing event, on June 14–15 at the Altman Building and the adjoining Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan.

The result brings together the strengths of each brewery. Saranac Brewery is known for its German lagers, so the brewmasters made the New York Limited a strong wheat lager. Ommegang Brewery uses a variety of spices in its Belgian ales, so the brewmasters added coriander, honey, and lemon verbena for their the sweet, fruity, and spicy hints. Finally, Brooklyn Brewery is known for sourcing locally, and the brewmasters picked New York State barley malt and wheat for the brew.

You can only taste the New York Limited at this summer’s SAVOR. The event is the national benchmark for food and beer pairing events. Brewers from all over the United States submit their beers several months in advance. Chefs then taste the beers and prepare complementary dishes to be tasted alongside each.

“I go to a lot of beer events all over the country,” said Michaels. “This is by far the best one.”

Each brewery attending the event can present only two beers. For example, Ommegang is bringing its “Three Philosophers,” a strong ale with caramel, chocolate, and cherry notes. Ommegang’s secong selection is the Fleur de Houblon (Hop Flowers), a fruity Belgian blonde summer ale made with whole cone and bravo hops.

Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery is no stranger to beer as a culinary object. He wrote “The Brewmaster’s Table,” a companion book for pairing beer and food. Oliver said that beer offers a great diversity of taste, making it a perfect companion to any meal.

Oliver missed the last SAVOR in event in Washington, D.C., but made sure to arrange his schedule to make it to this year’s event in New York.