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“Catcher in the Rye” antihero Holden Caulfield was famously preoccupied with the question of where Central Park’s ducks go during the winter. Brooklyn foodies who’ve swarmed the outdoor market Smorgasburg since its kickoff last spring might have a different query: Where do purveyors of locally sourced bratwurst and miniature maple-bacon cupcakes go when the mercury drops?
The answer can be found at Smorgasbrewery, a scaled-down version of the weekly gastronomic food fest held at the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg. Every Sunday through the end of March, a rotating selection of Smorgasburg vendors will set up shop in the brewery’s cavernous tasting room, serving food alongside the flowing taps.
Bringing a mini version of the popular weekly market to the brewery — where the tasting room was already open on weekend afternoons — was a natural move, notes Eric Demby, co-founder of Smorgasburg and its forerunner, the Brooklyn Flea. So natural, in fact, that he couldn’t quite remember who’d first had the idea.
“There’s a logical connection there — Brooklyn Flea, Brooklyn beer,” he says, adding that he’s had a longtime friendship with the brewery people.
Having a full-on indoor version of Smorgasburg during the winter was too big a logistical problem, given the need for cooking facilities, ventilation, etc. But, says Demby, “We wanted to maintain some presence,” in part to benefit vendors who’ve come to rely on Smorgasburg as their main outlet. And he doesn’t rule out continuing it into the spring and beyond, if it proves popular.
This certainly didn’t seem out of the question last Sunday, as the vast space filled with a youthful crowd that commandeered the picnic tables and lined up for food. Offerings included a fabulous smoked meat sandwich from Mile End in Boerum Hill — somehow both lush and relatively lean, and piled on miniature rye — and a superior bratwurst from Landhaus, which cried out for a beer pairing.
The stalwart Brooklyn Lager would be a good match, said tasting room events manager Erin Matson, though a prime reason to visit the tasting room is to try offerings not found elsewhere, such as the beautifully hoppy Blast, a double IPA (a great match for spicy foods, notes Matson, like the fiery sesame noodles from Shorty Tang) and Companion, a wheat wine on temporary offer as a “brewmaster’s reserve.”
Among those sampling the fare were Lori Bellusci, a Manhattan resident who works for Citigroup’s private equity department, and her friend Aishlind Hall, one of a handful of pals from Bellusci’s hometown of Floral Park, LI, who’d come out to celebrate her birthday. Looking for “something different,” they’d been lured by the promise of oysters from Brooklyn Oyster Party, which was cracking open two varieties for $2.50 apiece (and which will be the one recurring vendor at Smorgasbrewery).
Bellusci and Hall saluted the event, not only for the beer and oysters, but for the “amazing” bite-size maple-bacon cupcakes from Kumquat Cupcakery. Which, sure enough, were a taste treat — but do cupcakes really mix with beer?
Kumquat proprietress Keavy Landreth had an answer: of course. The brown ale makes a fine match for the gingerbread version, she noted, sipping on a plastic cup of it herself.
Having largely built her startup business through Smorgasburg, Landreth gave the brewery setup a thumbs-up, noting that it was getting a little cold to sell her wares outdoors. “It’s warm here, and there’s a good atmosphere” she said. “And there’s beer.”
Smorgasbrewery runs every Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., at Brooklyn Brewery, 79 N. 11th St., Williamsburg. Admission is free. Tomorrow’s vendors include Mighty Quinn’s (barbecue), Brooklyn Bangers (sausages), Sky Town (vegan fare) and Sea Bean Goods (soups).