Hey, NYC: It's Time to Drink Schlafly, Pyramid and Wild Onion

Beer

May 23

So far, this has been a very good year for New York craft beer. New breweries such as SingleCut, Radiant Pig and Bridge and Tunnel are pumping out lip-smacking local beer, while taverns such as Tørst, Skinny Dennis and Dead Rabbit are raising the bar on, well, bars.

While I've been so focused on the city's homegrown talent, I've barely noticed the slow, steady wave of beers flowing into town. It's time to take pause and recognize the newcomers to our fair metropolis. Here are three of the newest breweries to know and, more importantly, drink.

Wild Onion Brewery Head northwest of Chicago and you'll hit Lake Barrington, Illinois, which since 1996 has been home to Wild Onion. The brewery and brewpub may lack the Midwest cachet of, say, Goose Island, but Wild Onion cranks out dependable, session-focused beers sold by the can. With the weather starting to heat up, you'll want to start with the orange peel–driven Summer Wit or the well-hopped Paddy Pale Ale. Don't worry, double IPA junkies: the Hop Slayer will soothe your bitter heart.

Pyramid Breweries Pyramid is one of the sage old brands of the craft beer revolution, having been born way back in 1984 as Kalama, Washington's Hart Brewing. After the early '90s success of its Apricot Ale, which helped kick off the burgeoning fruit-beer category, Hart rebranded itself as Pyramid—named after its flagship Pyramid family of beers. Though the brewery is now owned by Cerveceria Costa Rica, Pyramid still makes dependably delicious beers such as the refreshing Hefeweizen, floral Thunderhead IPA and the Outburst Imperial IPA, which is flavored with of-the-moment Falconer's Flight hops.

Schlafly While St. Louis may be synonymous with Budweiser (well, before Anheuser-Busch was bought by a sprawling international company), the city's most beloved brewery might just be Schlafly. Since 1991, the independent craft brewery has won over the local citizenry with its stellar lineup that ranges from a delicately fruity Kölsch to a silky, coffee-influenced Oatmeal Stout, aromatic Dry Hopped APA. Add to that an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels and one of my favorite barrley wines in the county and you'll understand why Midwest expats celebrated the brand's May arrival. Schlafly is one of America's most versatile, vastly underappreciated breweries.

This story was originally published on my Craft Beer New York app. Click here to check it out.