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August 23rd,
2011
written by Arthur

Beer Table is another one of those place that I walked by a million times before finally stopping in.  Though in fairness, the streets are packed with more amazing look restaurants than I can hope to take on.  In the mile or so walk from my apartment to the gym there must be well over 50 restaurants.  But I’m not complaining.  There are far worse things in the world than finding a hidden gem just down the street after living in a place for almost a year.  Have I mention lately that I love Brooklyn?

In July, the final hours of the dark days that were studying for the bar, I stopped in for a little dinner and a beer break.  Recently, I stopped back for a second visit.  All in all, I love the beer menu, the food is good, but might cost more than I’m comfortable spending.

Let me start by talking about the beer.  To say that Beer Table has a good beer selection is an understatement.  The draft list is 6 beers long and rotates on a regular basis.  The bottled beer list, at 25 beers long, presents a wide range of styles.  Both the drafts and bottles are beers you’re unlikely to find at a normal bar.  It’s a place that will make a beer love feel like the proverbial kid in a candy store.

One of the perks of Beer Table is that you can either get a full glass of beer (not always a pint, some of the higher octane brews come in properly reduced glasses) or a smaller taster glass (maybe about 2 or 3 shoots worth).  The small glass is great way to try a few new beers and still be able to savor the third as much as the first, with the added benefit of being able to make it work the next day without a headache.

Both times I’ve made a visit the servers seemed excited to tell me about  their beers and help me find something delicious.

On my last trip I sampled the Rogue John Juniper Ale.  As the name suggests, it has some strong Juniper elements.  (Juniper is a berry that gives gin it’s characteristic flavor.)  I was informed by the server that the beer is actually aged in barrels formerly used for gin.  And the taste?  Imagine a light and delicate gin (think Hendrick’s Gin) becoming effervescent, gaining some beer color, and not without a flavor reminiscent of beer.  It’s light and refreshing.  I wish had a few of these when the mercury was pushing its way past 100 degrees.

I also tried a small glass of Barrier Spelunker a Saison with all kinds of crazy coffee and malty flavors in the mix.  This beer convinced me that Saison’s are my current under-explored corner of beer and that I should focus these over the next few months.

The food is good.  Actually it’s really good.  The menu is small, but seems to change regularly.  One wall of the bar is lined with jars of dehydrated vegetables.  On my last visit, dehydrated tomatoes were prominent in both the “BLT” (dehydrated tomato, mustard-glazed bacon, pickled bok choy) and the spicy pork and beef meatloaf (with Tickle Sauce, potatoes, kale, and red onion).  The BLT was small, two little sandwiches with two tomatoes slices holding the pork, each about 2 or 4 bites, but packed a solid punch of flavor (with the dehydrated tomatoes lending a concentrated, almost savory addition).

And looking at the prices objectively, they are reasonable.  But I’m tempted by so many things on the menu: an entrée, a “snack”, some spicy pickled vegetables (they don’t pull punches on the spicy), and of course some great cheese.  I just need a little self restraint on my inevitable next visit and I’ll be fine.

Beer Table
427B 7th Ave. 
Brooklyn, NY 11215

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