Standard Issues storytelling: Firsts, October 25 at 8 pm.

Standard Issues is happy to present "Firsts." An evening of stories about doing stuff you have never done before. And because its a storytelling show, likely to be stories about doing stuff you have never done before, poorly. It's not a story until someone loses an eye.

with

Peter (I thought turkeys could fly) Aguero
Nelson (you said it wouldn't hurt) Lugo
Eddie (moon landing conspiracy theorist) Gavagan
Joanne (so that is illegal?) Solomon
Brad (apply pressure) Lawrence

and your host: Cyndi (I'm sure it will heal) Freeman

And maybe you, if you are the Mystery Guest that is pulled from the hat.

Cider Week event October 20.

To celebrate NYC Cider Week, on October 20 starting at 7 pm, we'll be featuring four (maybe even five!) artisanal ciders, which you can consume separately, or, even better, get in a flight of four seven-ounce pours for only $10. We'll also have folks from the cidery on hand to answer all your questions. Cider descriptions:

1. Crispin Hard Apple Cider is naturally fermented using fresh pressed apple juice, not concentrate, from a premium blend of West Coast apples. A classically styled but untraditional hard apple cider. Fruit forward, with a crunchy apple nose and a refreshingly crisp mouth feel.

2. Crispin Honey Crisp Artisanal Reserve is a small-batch hand crafted hard apple cider smoothed with real organic honey for a rich, creamy, full-bodied taste.

3. Crispin The Saint Artisanal Reserve is a uniquely debonair and elegant cider. Naturally fermented using a premium blend of fresh pressed apple juice and Belgian Trappist beer yeasts, The Saint boasts a sweet floral bouquet that develops a yeasty, herbal complexity. The Saint is smoothed with pure organic maple syrup for a silky, sustained mouthfeel that develops complexity on the palate.

4. Crispin Lansdowne Artisanal Reserve is a confident and imposing cider. It is fermented from a premium blend of fresh pressed apple juice using Irish stout ale yeast. It produces a slight hint of butterscotch, balanced by a subtle fruitiness, a slightly dry crisp finish, and a uniquely full and buttery mouthfeel.

October cocktail of the month!

This month (and don't worry, folks, we've kept our now-famous John Daly on as a permanent menu item) we're featuring a brand new cocktail: the Gail Collins. It's a writerly concoction of whiskey, orange vodka, sweet vermouth, lemon, and sugar, topped with Sprite. You can pick one up at the bar for $8, or for only $7 during happy hours and on cocktail Wednesday. After a couple, you'll be ready to write your own op-ed!

New York Beer Passports on sale!

Craft Beer Week is over, but we still have some leftover Passports that we're now selling at a big discount. Why do I need a Passport when the week is over, you ask? You silly bird. The Passport entitles you to year-round specials (as in, until September 2012) at a zillion NYC bars. At the very least, it gets you $2 off a draft beer (and often even better deals, like 2 for 1, etc.) at all those zillion places. And we are selling the Passports for only $5. In other words, if you just go to three different bars in the next year and take advantage of the special, it's already worth it. The more you go to, the better deal it becomes. So stop by and ask your bartender for a Passport!

Mimsy Storytelling Tuesday, October 4 at 8 pm.

Mimsy knows that HEROES come in all shapes and sizes: from Wayne Gretzky, donating his blood for his team, to your pet gerbil Pebbles who was always there for you when your parents grounded you. Join us as we explore stories about HEROES, featuring two special guests, Lisa Kleinman and TJ Del Reno.

Mimsy is a monthly storytelling show in Brooklyn that works to find new ways to present stories, including our improv-based “backline” form. It's at 8 PM every first Tuesday of the month. And the only house storytelling team in the city.

Featuring:

Ben Lillie
Caitlin Brodnick
Erin Barker
Hanuman Welch
Joe Evans III
Miguel de Leon
Olivia Henderson
Sarah Jewell

Brewed Awakening book release party and Wandering Star brewery event November 10.

Save the date: on Thursday, November 10, we'll be hosting a double event. Josh Bernstein will be talking and reading from his new book about the craft beer revolution, Brewed Awakening. Since nothing goes better with a beer book release than beer, we're partnering with a brewery near and dear to Josh's (and our) heart, Wandering Star. We'll be pouring every beer they currently make, including some new ones. Here's the tentative lineup:

Zingari (a witbier with lemongrass, cardamon, fenugreek, and a touch of coriander)
Mild at Heart
Raindrop Pale Ale
Bash Bish Bocktoberfest (Bash Bish Bock but slightly altered)
Berkshire Hills 01201 (saison)
Butcher's Apron (English IPA)

We'll be offering everything at $1 off all night, and the brewers will be here. All in all, a brain-smashingly good time. More details as they come available.

Top Dogs return for all remaining Cal games!

After our wildly successful beta test of serving freshly grilled Top Dog hot dogs here at the bar, we've decided to bring them back for every remaining Cal game--and yes, in much greater quantities so we won't sell out so fast.

The deal is a dog and a beer for $12 (excepting beers priced $7 or more). You can also buy dogs separately for $7, and beer separately for whatever price it's listed at (Lagunitas is still available for the low low price of $5 a pint during Cal games).

The dogs are a lovely, juicy, spicy Calabrese and a mouth-wateringly rich lemon chicken. See you soon--the next game is against Oregon on Thursday, October 6 at 9 pm.