Back in February I took a one-day business trip to mid-town Manhattan. I took the Amtrak Acela - a great way to travel. Amtrak's high-speed, business class service is quite, comfortable, and very scenic. It's actually a great advertisement for visiting the Connecticut coastline. It takes you right to Penn Station, in the heart of mid-town.
After work I had some spare time before my evening train back to Boston. So I walked from my meeting at 55th St. to 33rd via Fifth Avenue. This part of Fifth Ave. is an area that most folks who have visited the Big Apple as tourists are pretty familiar with. I walked by St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockafeller Center, the New York Public library - all familiar landmarks, making for a very pleasant twenty-block stroll.
As I reached 33rd St. I saw the "Heartland Brewery & Rotisserie" in the ground floor of the Empire State Building. Though I knew the place was undoubtedly a tourist trap, it was right on my way, and as I said, I had a few minutes.
I was unprepared for just how touristy the crowd actually was. I don't think one patron was from within 150 miles of the city. (The twenty-something couple next to me at the bar was reading the Lonely Planet guide!)
That being said, the beer list was impressive. I went with the Indy 500 Pale Ale. The were serving it via "Nitro Tap". According to Spokane7.com:
"Nitro - or nitrogen - taps get rid of a lot of the carbonation, leaving behind tiny bubbles and making for a silky-smooth beer with a rich mouthfeel and a milkshake-frothy head."
My helpful bartender explained it pretty much the same way. The ale had a light amber color, and was a little cloudy. It had a very subtle toasted aroma. Hoppiness was medium to light, compared with other IPAs - noticable, but not overstated. Similarly, the aftertaste was gentle, with less of the bitterness you would expect. I liked the nuances that the nitro-tap brought to the brew.
I would love to go back and try some more of their beers, tourists be damned.
P.S. Their printed beer list was much more helpful than their website, which is less than unhelpful.
