"jimmys no 43" news and stories

The Good Beer Seal of approval. Photo: goodbeerseal.com.

Earlier today, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially proclaimed July to be "Good Beer Month." The declaration came at the request of a local collective known as "the Good Beer Seal."

Founded earlier this year by bar owners Garry Gillis (Burp Castle and Standings), Ray Deter (d.b.a.) and Jimmy Carbone (Jimmy's No. 43), the group strives to "recognize establishments that pride themselves on serving quality, craft beers." With only 15 recognized bars in a city of more than 8 million people, the Seal has yet to become the definitive icon for the city's best spots for suds, but Carbone admits things are still getting off the ground. "We really didn't expect the mayor to make the proclamation," he humbly admits.

For a nascent organization, receiving a mayoral decree after simply writing him a "nice letter" is quite a feat. Carbone believes GBS's support of programs for sustainable food and insistence that members have an "active community presence" was an important factor. "A lot of bars don't make such a good community impact," he told us.

To put it mildly, Norway is not known for its beer.

"About 98 percent of the beer consists of light lagers," sighs tall, bearded Kjetil Jikiun, cofounder and brewmaster of Nøgne Ø, one of Norway's scant microbreweries. "Norwegians," he laments, "don't know much about craft beer."

Jikiun is the exception: Since launching Nøgne Ø (naked isle) six years ago, the gregarious, bespectacled Norwegian has begun altering his country's carbonated landscape. He crafts bold, flavorful beers more in line with American microbrews than Norway's watery lagers. "Most bars there just have one beer on tap," he says, holding court in New York City's multi-tap beer bar Jimmy's No. 43. "You just order a beer-no choice needed." But Jikiun, an ex–airline pilot who sampled suds wherever he landed, liked choice. He began homebrewing, looking toward American microbrewers for inspiration. "Everybody I served my homebrews to liked them, so I though there'd be a market," he says of launching Nøgne Ø.