July 4

we will be open at noon, as usual, and celebrating our country's independence with patriotic beer-drinking. We might have a special or two, as well. If you're in town for the weekend, it should be a good time to come out; the crowds will be much smaller here in Brooklyn and everyone will be in a good, long-weekend mood.

Date of Obama raffle/prizes to be awarded.

Good news--we've talked with Sixpoint, and they're planning on selling Hop Obama indefinitely, and at least through the Democratic convention. So we've settled on August 28, the day of Obama's speech at the convention, as the date for our Baraffle. That gives everyone plenty of time to collect lots of tickets, and gives us time to decide on big, fancy prizes. Ideas include a bike (environmentally friendly!) or one of the limited-edition art prints the campaign is selling. Smaller prizes will include Obama and Sixpoint t-shirts, among other things. If you have any prize ideas of your own, let us know.

Hop Obama: A New Hope.

Citizens, rejoice--Sixpoint has finally made a new batch of Hop Obama, and we're one of the first NYC bars to get it. Our keg arrived approximately 10 minutes ago, and will go on (with our bobblehead tap handle) as soon as another beer kicks, probably tonight or tomorrow. We're doing a different Obama promotion this time, and those of you reading this blog are the first to know how to take advantage of it: each time you order a Hop Obama, use the code word "hope" (as in "I hope this Hop Obama will be as good as the last one I had"). Every time you do, you'll get a ticket for our Baraffle, where we'll be awarding customers Barack and Sixpoint t-shirts, as well as other related merchandise. Date of the raffle and exact prizes TBA, but until then collect as many tickets as you can.

Robot alive and drinking, but, as usual, delayed.

The most recent robot update: Alex, an intern at our robot-building company, Tellart, who had been making major progress on several mechanisms, left over the summer, which has delayed us by another couple months. But before he left, we resolved the major sticking points in the robot project, namely the arm/wrist and the drinking mechanism. Now it's just more minor problems to sort out. Current robo-picture:

Pass the Pigs has arrived.

One of the best games of all time, Pass the Pigs, has arrived at Pacific Standard. Remember this one? You have two molded plastic pigs which you throw like dice. The attitudes in which they land score you points. For instance, a mere "sider," with the pig on its side, is 1 point, but a "leaning jowler," where the pig lands butt in the air with its jowl to the ground, is 15 points. We encourage you to play here at the Standard as soon as possible. We may give you a free beer if you manage to roll a leaning jowler in front of the bartender.

Sixpoint Emasculator on tap.

We just got the newest Sixpoint creation, and only the second lager they've ever done: the Sixpoint Emasculator Doppelbock. It's a malt blast, with a bunch of German strains you don't often see in these parts, as well as German lager yeast and hops. It's a perfect example of the Doppelbock style, sweet, roasty, malty, with a solid hop and alcohol backbone. Due to all the specialty grains, it's super-expensive, but worth a try anyway; this lager won't be around for long.

Opening early Wednesday and Thursday for Euro 2008.

As many of you already know, we've been showing the Euro 2008 games, and have had a large and enthusiastic audience. We'll open early to show the semifinal matches Wednesday and Thursday, and of course we'll have the final on Sunday. Dates and times:

Semifinals:

Germany vs. Turkey 2:45 pm Wednesday
Spain vs. Russia 2:45 pm Thursday

Final:

Germany/Turkey vs. Spain/Russia 2:45 pm Sunday

See you then(s).

Stone event lots of fun, still beers here; future Stone event preview.

Thanks to the Stone folks, Jeremy and Mike, who made it out for the event today, and thanks to all of you who got here too. Much 10th Anniversary and Levitation was enjoyed, and we still have plenty to pour all night and beyond. Get here in the next day or three if you want to try some extremely unique and rarely seen Stone beers.

Mike, Jeremy, and I also talked about creating a Stone event here at the Standard in the late summer/early fall. Stay tuned for details about that--it promises to be a complete blowout, with no less than 8 Stone beers on tap, including rare caged beasts from Stone's murky past.

Beer and Cheese Night III (finally)

Okay, we've settled on July 23 as the date for our much-belated Beer and Cheese Night III. Isn't it only appropriate that this event has been aged, like a fine cheese? By the time it actually happens, I imagine it will have developed rich, smoky flavors that it never would have had on its original date. More about the specific cheeses and beers as we approach the event, as usual.

Kitten pictures, again.

Their eyes are kind of open and look eerie!

Bottled beer is back.

We've now replenished our stocks of bottled beer. Our new list is a bit smaller, but more focused on the beers that were popular favorites the first time around. We've also included the very rare AleSmith Old Numbskull barleywine, a great barleywine to share with a couple friends, since you get 750 ml. Here's the list:

Alaskan Stout (Juneau, AK; $7/12 oz; 5.7%), AleSmith Old Numbskull (San Diego, CA; $20/25.4 oz; 11.0%), Anchor Small Beer (San Francisco, CA; $10/22 oz; 3.3%), Anderson Valley Hop Ottin’ IPA (Boonville, CA; $7/12 oz; 7.0%), Deschutes Bachelor ESB (Bend, OR; $7/12 oz; 5.3%), Deschutes Black Butte Porter (Bend, OR; $7/12 oz; 5.2%), Deschutes Inversion IPA (Bend, OR; $7/12 oz; 6.8%), Full Sail Session Lager (Hood River, OR; $7/11 oz; 5.1%), Hair of the Dog Ruth (Portland, OR; $8/12 oz; 5.6%), Harviestoun Ola Dubh (Alva, Scotland; $14/11.2 oz; 8.0%), Lost Coast Indica (Eureka, CA; $10/22 oz; 6.5%), Midnight Sun Sockeye Red IPA (Anchorage, AK; $12/22 oz; 5.7%), Ninkasi Total Domination IPA (Eugene, OR; $11/22 oz; 6.7%).

Mix CD contest winner(s).

We're now done listening, and re-listening, to your submissions. As we've said, all of them are already proving to be excellent additions to our playlist. But there were a few that went above and beyond the call of duty to add some really original material. Most conspicuous of those was Robert Silva's mix, which was entirely composed of songs that we not only don't have here, but that we've never heard in our lives. Which could have made it horrifying, but the songs themselves were great picks for a mellow weekend day or weekday night, a bunch of understated, underrated folk and blues. Congratulations, Robert: we'll be giving you a $20 bar tab for your efforts. We'd also like to mention two honorable mixes by Sam Neely and Shawn Thomas that came very close to being winners. Come by sometime, Sam and Shawn, and we'll get you a beer on the house.

Again, thanks to all! Your music has injected steroids into the tired running back that was our list. Feel free to keep bringing in mixes--we're not doing another contest for a while, but we're always looking for new and interesting stuff to play.

More kitten photos.

Warning: they're getting cuter.

Summer movie schedule

PACIFIC STANDARD’S MONDAY MOVIE NIGHT – SUMMER SERIES 2008

Every other Monday this summer, Park Slope’s microbrew mecca will be screening
- THEMED CULT MOVIE DOUBLE FEATURES -
with NO COVER CHARGE!

June 23rd, 2008 – THIS TOWN WILL KILL YOU!
8pm: The Warriors Dir. Walter Hill (1979) 99 mins
10pm: Escape from New York (1981) 93 mins

July 7th, 2008 – BEACH PARTY!
8pm – Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) 96 mins
10PM – How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965) 93 mins

July 21st, 2008 – DRIVE! DRIVE! DRIVE!
8pm – Duel (1971) 90 mins
10pm – Vanishing Point (1971) 98 mins

August 4th, 2008 – LET’S ALL GO TO SUMMER CAMP!
8pm – Meatballs (1979) 92 mins
10pm – Wet Hot American Summer (2001) 97 mins

August 18th, 2008 – SURFIN’ SAFARI!
8pm – Step into Liquid (2003) 87 mins
10pm – The Endless Summer (1966) 90 mins

September 1st, 2008 (Labor Day) – WE’RE BLINGING YOU…WITH SCIENCE!
8pm – Real Genius (1985) 108 mins
10pm – The Adv of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) 100 mins

See you soon!

Monday Movies return on June 23!

THIS TOWN WILL KILL YOU!

8pm: The Warriors Dir. Walter Hill (1979) 99 mins

10pm: Escape from New York (1981) 93 mins

The Warriors (1979) 99 mins – D. Walter Hill; S. Michael Beck, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, David Patrick Kelly, & James Remar. “Let’s get down to it, Boppers.” Cyrus is the one man who can unite 100 NYC gangs and take over the city, but he’s wasted by the leader of the Rogue’s at a conclave in the Bronx. Blame falls on Coney Island’s The Warriors and “war chief” Swann (Beck) must lead his small band of “warriors” home to safety with every gang and cop in the city hot on their tail. Great fight choreography is the highlight of this fast-paced thriller. And you’ve gotta love the comic book nature of the gangs, including the multi-racial skinhead Turnbull A.C.’s of Pelham Parkway, the bat-wielding Baseball Furies of 96th Street, the roller skate wearing Punks of Union Square, and, of course, The Lizzies (you figure it out). Bonus points to PHD candidates for comparing Swann’s long journey home to that of Odysseus in The Odyssey.

Escape from New York (1981) 93 mins – D. John Carpenter; S. Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Adrienne Barbeau, Isaac Hayes, & Harry Dean Stanton. “The rules are simple: Once you go in, you don’t come out.” It’s 1997, and Manhattan Island is a maximum security prison. S. D. (“Call me, Snake.”) Pliskin (Russell) is a decorated war hero on his way to doing a life sentence in NYC for knocking over the Federal Reserve when Chief Hauk (Cleef) makes him an offer: a full pardon for rescuing the President (Brit-born Pleasence) whose plane crashed in Midtown thanks to a terrorist attack. But Snake will only have 22 hours to succeed before the surgically implanted bombs in his carotid arteries explode! He’ll need the help of a group of misfits inside the prison, including Brain, Cabbie, and Adrienne Barbeau as the requisite “Hot Babe”, in order to outsmart the Prez’s captor: The Duke of New York (Hayes)! This Sci-Fi classic features a glider landing on top of the World Trade Center (!), gladiatorial contests, and a great Stick It To The Man-ending!

Kitten photos.

Yeah, they're cute, and they number four, and one of them is mottled. Behold the glory of Madame Fuzzybottoms' babies! Hopefully they shall be the first of many births helped along by Pacific Standard.

Bottled beer update.

We've been both terrified and pleased by the ferocity with which our patrons have assaulted our initial store of rare bottled West Coast beers. Many of the bottles are already sold out. But we've ordered lots more, and will try to maintain stock as best we can given our limited refrigeration space. Look for some more in a week or so (we'll send out a notice, too), and until then, enjoy the several excellent bottles remaining (Anchor Small Beer! Midnight Sun Sockeye Red! Lost Coast Indica!).

KITTENS!

Fuzzybottoms gave birth today to four healthy kittens! Yay! If you're interested, come in tonight to see pictures and/or video as they become available.

Jon Stan won the kitten birth pool in stunning fashion, correctly guessing both the date and number of kittens. Everybody owes him a beer.

And: if you're interested in a kitten, e-mail us (even if you've come told us before, just so we can confirm that you're still interested). We have a few people on our list, but one or two kittens may still be available. It'll be about 8-10 weeks of nursing before they're ready.

In any case, let's all toast Fuzzybottoms and her numerous progeny. See you all soon.