In what I hope becomes a venerable tradition, Shake Shack once again unveiled Shacktoberfest for the first ten days of October. The menu features a bunch of sausages blah blah blah… and beer! A big glass stein filled with beer for a good price! So naturally I had to avail myself of the nearest location to home and see if it’s worth the fuss.
No line outside on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I purposely went at a nonstandard hour in order to avoid long lines, and I was rewarded: 7 minutes from getting in line (at the top of the stairs) to placing my order, a shackburger and a Shacktoberfest stein filled with 24 ounces of Kelso Kellerfest. The purpose of ordering this big beer was to keep the stein, so for my $17 ($8 for the stein, $9 for the beer) this ought to be worth it, no?
My order took another thirteen minutes to be ready, but the beer was freshly poured. It would be nice if the beer portion of the order could be filled immediately while the burger sat in queue, allowing me a head start on my drinking, but alas, no such luck. There is, however, a C Line now at this location, so I could have ordered the burger separate from the beer.
Kelso Brewing is one of the three breweries currently in Brooklyn (along with Brooklyn and Sixpoint). Their capacity has been filled to the point they no longer brew beer for other breweries but concentrate on the Kelso beers and, their original intent, brewing beer for the Heartland mini-empire of brewpubs in Manhattan. Kelso allows head brewer Kelly Taylor to try some things he can’t do for the corporate accounts, and he’s shown he’s really quite talented when it comes to brewing lagers. The Kellerfest is a Marzen, or Oktoberfest, in style; historically these beers were brewed in March and lagered through the summer in a cool place, like a cave, to be brought out in late September for Oktoberfest. I don’t know if Kelly brewed this six months ago, but I do know what I like.
My beer, in all its glory. By the time I sat down, the head had dissipated somewhat, but you can see a little of the creamy head remaining atop a somewhat hazy amber beer. Keller translates to “cellar”, so think of a kellerbier like this as a beer straight from the cellar, i.e., an unfiltered pour from the tanks.
It’s a little grainy in the nose, but that’s coupled with a solid bready, melanoidin-laden aroma that’s a little sweet but not sugary, just full-on Oktoberfest. This carries into the taste, too, with the bready, cookie-dough like qualities mingling with what might be a bit too much bitterness and grassy flavor from the hops for the style, but certainly manageable. The finish is more of a malt explosion than the initial impressions, and I just can’t help taking another sip.
I’m really pleased that Kelso managed this style so well, but then I’ve never had anything of theirs that I wouldn’t drink again. I might be going back shortly to get a companion stein!
No trip to Shake Shack is complete without some sort of meaty sustenance, but I limited myself to a regular Shackburger, since I would be touring Flushing later that evening.
Doesn’t that look tasty? Plenty hot, and the standard potato bun hadn’t soaked through (yet) with beef juices.
Obligatory cross-section. Everything in its place, a little saggy, granted, but tasty, char-grilled meat with the right quantity of toppings.
While finishing off the beer, I gazed out of the “garden” just to marvel at what a lovely space Danny Meyer carved out from the Upper East Side for his newest New York City Shake Shack. The outside area used to be a skate shop and linen store years ago, and I’m glad a good use has been found for the space. You can enter and exit the Shack via the street instead of going inside, too, so if all you need is C-line provisions, you can more easily be accommodated from this direction.
I think you can tell what me recommendation will be: go to Shacktoberfest! I have a few favorites in the supported beer lineup. Besides the Kelso Kellerfest, the Penn Kaiser Pils on the Upper West Side (not a festbier, but very tasty) is well worth filling your stein with. Otherwise, the Southern Tier Harvest Ale at Madison Square Park, the Southampton Pumpkin Ale on the Upper West, and the Dogfish Punkin on the Upper East, in 12-ounce bottles, would be my choices to celebrate the season. It’s a great stein, and a great way to enjoy a beer from Shake Shack.
T.C. says
Cool stein, Boor.
And I def. want to eat a shackburger soon.
T.C. says
Cool stein, Boor.
And I def. want to eat a shackburger soon.
TT says
more of a mug than stein. no?
BeerBoor says
No. The liter mass you see in every Oktoberfest picture is a stein. Steins don’t have to be ceramic or lidded, just hold a lot of beer, and be thick and handled.
But if you want to call it a mug, go right ahead.
lisaeats says
Its mugish…
CheeeeEEEEse says
I got a mug too….not at Shacktoberfest though.
Radeberger promotion at my local. 1 liter mug (Which was supposed to be filled with Radeberger) filled with Becks Oktoberfest for 15 (Yay to being a regular) and 10 dollar re-fills. Best. Deal. Ever.
BeerBoor says
I like the style of your local. Classic German cut-glass stein with a Radeberger logo?
CheeeeEEEEse says
Like this: http://www.amazon.com/Liter-Dimpled-Glass-Beer-Stein/dp/B001NZQI66/ref=acc_glance_k_ai_-2_t_3
BeerBoor says
Classic! I want to own these, but I don’t want to pay for them, nor do I know where I’d store them. But that’s the mass to own and love.
Also, you can out-Begbie Begbie with one of those.
CheeeeEEEEse says
My bar has been doing the deal the last 2 years, so last year my roomie and I both got one. This year we picked up 4. The bar even just gave us one after we bought 3 beers.
Our beer garden, when it opened also had them, but I’m assuming the legions of drunk people broke a shit ton of them because they went to really thick plastic ones 🙁
BeerBoor says
You’re making that beer garden seem more and more attractive there, Sparky. Polycarbonate steinmugs and clumsy/stupid clientele (present company excluded)? Hope the prices are year-round pleasant.
Feisty Foodie says
Question: am I hallucinating, or did I ask you nicely to please pick me up a Shack-stein last year, and you obliged? This is important because I am considering going to SS tomorrow and I don’t know if I “need to” get a stein or if I already technically have one. Thanks!
BeerBoor says
I did indeed purchase two steins of beer at two Shake Shacks, intending that one of those steins would be yours. The stein sat in my apartment lo these many months, untouched and presumably forgotten. It’s now been a year. You really don’t seem to want it, but it’s still there and I certainly didn’t get two for my personal use.
Though, as I commented on the post that brought you here, you’re a girl, you shouldn’t have to pay for your beer. I think adding a stein to that shouldn’t be much of a problem.