It's hard for me to really say I love this brewery, but after an afternoon at the tasting room with friends it was solidified. I was hoping for some special attention at the tour, I got my hopes up. After wandering around Williamsburg in Brooklyn for the better part of an hour we found a friendly Brooklynite with an iPhone to point us in the right direction. First off, this part of Brooklyn is really cool. Has a small city center feel to it, lots of activity in the parks we walked past, plenty of cafes and bars with outdoor seating and shopping too. Also lots of loft/condo conversions in the area, which I bet will change the dynamic over time, but it had a great artist, bohemian feel to it, and I liked the vibe.
We were supposed to ask for Brian once arriving at the brewery to be "taken care of." This was not to be the case. I was promptly and somewhat rudely asked "what my story was." And told, "Brian's not here, you can buy tokens for beer, and tour is at 2pm." Now, it was busy and I bet they get people asking for favors frequently, but he could have been nicer and apologized or something. Nope, typical New York attitude...which was transferred to the bar area as well.
Now, after this quick conversation I was a bit let down, but that quickly faded as we starting tasting beers, and I wandered around to take photos and dream of what a beautiful sight the building was. It's an old converted warehouse with nice lighting and features. You can tell they grew as much as they could in the brewhouse, and actually now only brew their specials and reserves at this location. Everything else, their flagship beers are brewed and bottled in Utica, NY. They had good music on the iPod and the crowd was loud and friendly. It was obvious some where there just for the $4 beers, and the free delivery from local pizza places. We had had our Brooklyn pizza experience the day before and opted to grabs some cheese and hummus and to chill and drink and wait for the tour. The tour was short, as it was one room. The speaker gave an insightful history of the brewery, and I wandered around seeing what was fermenting in the tanks as he spoke. It might have been a bit more fun or insightful, but I think at Brooklyn the tour is secondary to the tasting experience.
The tasting room and experience is right in line with what I've always envisioned Mellody Brewing being like someday. Big open room, picnic tables and community atmosphere. Loud, fun and friendly. We shared a table with a group from Chicago and chatted about beer and the difference between New York and Chicago. As we drank more, we laughed we ate and we laughed some more. It was a great afternoon, and I all but forgot about not being "taken care of" since my friends and I took care of ourselves and in the end, that's what mattered.
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