OVERFLOW Fall 2011

already in the arms of one of the most impressive beer selections in Brooklyn, why would you do a thing like that?

Eagle Provisions’ beer department started from scratch just over a decade ago with a small selection of American brews. But it has expanded at the whim of customers. As people kept requesting more and more exotic beers, the brothers obliged, bringing in beers from all corners of the earth, from Maine’s Allagash and San Francisco’s Speakeasy to German selections like Ayinger Celebrator and the excellent, little seen Red Rice Ale from Japan’s Hitachino Brewery. and everywhere in between. Since then, the selection has expanded inexorably, taking over a significant corner of the store. “Anything that gets distributed in New York, we will carry. We’ll find a place for it,” says John Zawisny. It’s a mark of success for a move that started out as a gamble. “When we started stocking more and more of these bottles, we had to ask ourselves ‘Are people really going to buy a $10 bottle of beer?’,” John recalls. “Now we have bottles that go for $50, and they sell.” John is referring to the Scaldis Prestige. A 750 ml bottle of the 2010 vintage will set you back $53.29, netting you not only the bottle but the attached pamphlet, which functions as both a seal of pedigree and instruction manual for the oak barrel aged top shelf ale.

Organized by region and style, you can lay your mitts on beers from around the United States and the world, as well as more exotic tipples like sake, cider and mead and gluten-free beers including Green’s. Expensive, hard to find bottles and six packs are the order of the day. Can-oussiers can find favorites like Dale’s and 21st Amendment on hand, but less ballyhooed classics like Hite and Schlitz are also well represented. But the crown jewel is the selection of strong Belgian ales. From old standbys like Chimay and Delirium Tremens to harder to find bottles like Piraat, Fantome and Gulden Draak, the Belgian section is well appointed, thorough, and full of beers that live up to pricetags that hover in the $12 to $20 range.

From fruity framboises to potent trappist ales, Eagle’s beer aisles will provide hours of browsable brew porn for beer snobs and mere alcoholics. For some patrons, it’s turned into a local tourist attraction of sorts. “Whenever I have people in from out of town, I bring them here to look at the beer selection,” says Joan Wargo, who had just finished demonstrating what a great deal of excellent beer in one place looks like to a guest.

John Zawisny’s personal favorite is Dulle Teve, a Belgian bottle that retails for about $10 and packs a punch at 10% ABV. The potent potable, which only recently returned to shelves following a fire at the brewery, comes with Zawisny’s highest recommendation, and a word of warning more common on pharmaceuticals—take with food. Asked for a particular pairing, Zawisny is ambivalent. “Eat what you want. Something spicy is probably better,” he laughs. “I just wouldn’t have it ahead of a meal.”

Maybe something with a sausage? Just thinking out loud.

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