Brooklyn Born at Threes Brewing

Brooklyn Born events have quickly become the events I look forward to most. This event introduced us to a small brew pub located south of Atlantic terminal that I would have been oblivious to. Threes Brewing has transformed the one time furniture manufacturing building into a welcoming coffee shop, event space and dining area. We were welcomed and ushered upstairs, where our event was held in a room overlooking the pristine brewing. Two long tables were set up for us, each setting with one of four cups already poured and a menu of the selections picked for us that night. We were introduced to Brendan and Greg who were whole heartedly interested in their jobs and our questions. They gave us a quick overview of the basic brewing process, their ideas and plans for the brewing company and began our tasting by placing large plates of bread and cheese in the centers of the tables.
We ran through three beers with complimentary cheeses that were picked out by the experts in the kitchen. The first beer was the Table Beer, a simple but delicious sasion. It was paired with Butterkase, a very creamy and subtle cheese. Once we finished that, they poured Wandering Bine which was fruity and a bit tart. I loved this one. Our third beer was Mechanical Spring and while enjoying, we learned that many of the flavors that come out in beer are derived from the yeast and hops, not necessarily the addition of the specific ingredient. After our third pairing, we got a quick tour of the actual brewery. The shocking thing about the room itself was the lack of associated smells usually found in breweries. It didn’t smell strongly of the wort or fermentation process. It was bright and clean and lacked the usual cat. We got to sample a taste of uncarbonated pilsner. It was actually quite nice to enjoy while we unintentionally split into two groups to discuss the beer and process with our guides.
Lastly, we were brought to the bar area to wrap up our talk with a apple pie moonshine cocktail which was warm and delightful. We got to see the currently closed backyard. It is large and seems to be a great spot to come hang out in the warmer weather. Im looking forward to returning in the spring. Thank you to everyone at Threes for the tour and tasting and of course a big thank you to Pete and Unilocal for making it all happen!

This was my first Brooklyn Born event, but hopefully not my last. Brooklyn Born is a great concept — a way to highlight things being made IN Brooklyn, so kudos to you Peter D. for coming up with the idea and running with it.
Funny enough, my friend and I passed this place, albeit in a car, earlier in the evening not knowing that it was our final destination and both were intrigued by what we could see in the windows (triangles…plants hanging… reclaimed wood) and vowed to go back sometime to see just what was in there. As it happened, about 1.5 hours later (ahem, dinner) we ended up right back there for the brew tour and tasting.
Brendan and Greg were terrific hosts — Brendan being more the marketing managing person with Greg as one of the head brewers. Each answered our group’s numerous questions (ranging from «Do you really use antifreeze in beer?» to «Why are beers served at different temperatures?») with ease and enthusiasm.
At the communal tables, we sampled 3 beers well-​paired with 3 cheeses and freshly toasted bread thanks to the current in-​house resident restaurant, The Meat Hook. The beer tastings started with a light «table beer» — at which its base is a saison — wheat-​forward and low in alcohol content. The second beer «wandering bine» also was classified as a saison yet this one was a mixed ferment version, less wheat heavy and more fruit flavored (this was my favorite). Lastly we tried the «mechanical spring» — another hybrid but this one was more a smash up of a saison and an American Pale Ale — and the strongest of the group from an ABV perspective.
After these three samples in the smartly designed event space, Brendan and Greg took us to where the magic happens — the actual brewing room. After a crash course in brewing, we tried some of the not-​yet-​fermented pilsner style beer made with Czech hops. Such an easy going beer — a crowd pleaser and also not very alcohol heavy.
Lastly, we sampled their house-​made apple pie moonshine. I must be honest, this is the only moonshine I have ever consumed (didn’t anyone else hear the old wives’ tale that it might make you go blind?) and thank goodness the strength of the liquor was masked by the sweetness of the apple pie! I didn’t finish mine (perhaps that is why I can still see) but for those who can handle the strong stuff and who like the concept of drinking a winter warmer, this one’s for you!
Thank you Unilocal & Peter D. for making this happen. I am thrilled to know of a new, quality brewery in my own borough that I can check out in the future. And I mean… they said Roberta’s is next on the guest restaurant spot? I’m sold!

So I have to start this review with a huge shout out to Peter D; these Brooklyn born events are an amazing way to get a behind the scenes view of local producers at work, I am super grateful of the continual opportunity to check these places out. OK recognition given out where it’s due, let the regularly scheduled review begin.
Threes Brewing is a soon to be Brooklyn icon taking shape before our very eyes in Gowanus. This place is soon to be as recognizable with other icons like Six Point, Dough, and BAM; and for a very good reason. If even half of the staff at Threes is as passionate as Greg and Brendan were on Monday night Brooklynites will have a new staple brewery to proudly call their own. The dedication and energy these guys brought to the table was obvious as they described the process of brewing to a room full of beer geeks. I really got the sense from them that their main mission was to make a product they truly love first and share it with others second, this is the number one reason I see these guys becoming such a big deal. They really seem to care about what they are doing, and if that’s not the hallmark of future success I’m not sure what is.
We walked into the brewery/​coffee shop/​restaurant/​bar, and were welcomed into the event space (oh yeah it’s all those things plus an event space that can be used for small musical performances) by our fearless leader. There were two long wooden tables (that fold into the wall when a musical performance is on), which had beer glasses on them, waiting to be filled. And filled they were, with a melody of tasty brewed in house saisons that are absolutely worth describing. So let’s do that:
First up was the Table Beer (4.2%): A light bodied low abv beer, really akin to what a sasion traditionally should be. I really enjoyed how easy it was to drink, when paired with the creamy butterkase cheese (perfect name for it) I could see it becoming one of my new favorites.
Second on the list was the Wandering Bine (5.3%): The fruitiest of the beers, they brew this with traditional brewer’s yeast, and a strain of wild yeast that gives it a more rustic flavor. I’m a big fan of lambics (traditional ones, not the sugar filled ones we get here in America), and this beer had some of the qualities I look for in a good one. Paired with the Corsa cheese, this was a really solid beer that I look forward to trying again in the future.
Last but not least was the hard hitting Mechanical Spring (7.2%): This saison is more typical of a modern one you find around the city these days (like Brooklyn Breweries’ Sorachi Ace); really rich flavor, on the hoppy side, and definitely on the upper middle/​low high end of beer’s ABV spectrum. I have to give this one serious credit for its drinkability; In my opinion when you start pushing seven percent alcohol in beer things tend to get a bit on the bitter side (all that hop), but not this one. It was really easy to drink, and when paired with the Raclette de Savoie, you could easily picture it be beloved by many (many) people.
Post tasting we took a quick tour of the brewery, and had a taste of an non-​carbonated pilsner which was a fun experience (Brett? I LOVE that guy!!!). We got to take a look at their amazing back yard (I will absolutely be hanging back there this summer), had a bit of apple pie moon shine (NBD), and wrapped things up. Huge shout out to Brendan for his enthusiasm, and Greg for his philosophical and knowledgeable answers to our questions (and his skills as a brewer — seriously man that is some great stuff you have going on).
Couldn’t be happier that my 100^th review lined up with a new place poised to be so great, I’m sure we will be talking about Threes for a long time to come.

Despite the fact that something was described at «musty basement funk», people cut cheese, and Peter D opened up by telling us he touched all of our hands, this event surprisingly didn’t stink. Both figuratively and literally. We all had a great time, and most breweries have some sort of bad stench. (Oh the process of fermentation)
I began by entering Threes Brewing Brewery, pretty swanky for a brewery. They have a large bar area, a coffee stand, an upstairs event space, huge backyard, and of course a spot for all the magic to happen.
There was no instruction on where to go, luckily I ended up in the event space where the tasting was starting off. I sat down in the front amongst friends (After getting some new chapstick of course. Unilocal Passion Fruit is what’s up), and started peeking at our menu.
I was glad to see we were going to have our brews paired with cheese. All of which complimented them well. We started off with a Belgian style beer, which was light on the ABV side compared to most Belgians I’m familiar with. The second was a more fruity, but pleasant beer. The last was a little on the bitter side, similar to a pale ale. Strong though, at 7.2. I have to say, all the beers were pretty good.
After the tasting we were brought to where they create their beer. We even got to try an uncarbonated Pilsner, which was unique but pleasant.
Our hosts were most gracious. They had a great presentation and fielded all questions thrown their way. And they most definitely did not serve us Apple Pie Moonshine. That did not happen.
I’ll be back to check them out again, especially once the weather gets nice and I can check out that backyard.
Great way to kick off the Brooklyn Born series in 2015, Peter D.

My first Brooklyn Born event, making me seriously late to the party. Still, it set the bar very high!
Brendan and Greg were great hosts — friendly, knowledgable, and humorous. It was very kind of them to guide us through the different beers, as I was worried that my status as a «whiskey guy» would make all this beer talk unintelligible to me. That said, I really enjoyed everything I tried — Meat Hook chose some excellent cheeses to pair, along with some tasty fresh bread!
Unfortunately I can’t talk much about the individual beers, since A) I’m not great at describing beer flavors and B) Ending the tour on apple pie moonshine doesn’t help with recollection. I can say that getting to tour the brewery proper and try some new beer was a very cool experience!
To wrap it up, I leave you with the wisdom of sages, passed down to us by our guides:
«Do you find beer tastes better from a keg?»
«…beer.»

Fun times sampling beer in a brewery. Who doesn’t like beer tasting coupled with cheese and baguettes the size of your torso cut in half? The dank basement cheese and the others were very good. Their Apple pie moonshine is dangerous.
The space is plentiful (yay 4^th ave gowanus/​park slope space) and they have a backyard that will host many a people in the summer. Wish it was warmer outside but now they’re
on my radar.
Yay Brooklyn born!

Of course, another awesome Brooklyn event. The beer was refreshing and the moonshine was a nice warming drink to send us in our way.
Unless of course you stayed too long and drank tons of beer afterwards after the moonshine.