It’s here and it’s delicious! This no-frills pale ale is straight to the point. After a hard day’s work, let it play on your palate and quench your thirst. Grab it in a can, or pull it from the tap. Trust me: you’ll be fully satiated.

Bronx Banner Pale Ale is more than just a craft beer; it represents a culture, one that the founders, brewers and staff of The Bronx Brewery have fostered since their arrival to the neighborhood. And their launch party, which took place earlier this month was a well-rounded representation of just how successfully a culture can cultivate collaboration.

 

The launch took place at The Bronx Brewery in their garden-like nook, nestled in the back between a pair of neighboring buildings. Its wide open space allowed for multiple tap stations, an assembly line of scrumptious summer food and picnic tables to enjoy said eats. Among the crowd of locals were several community partners (past and present), artists, musicians, neighbors and friends. Our shared seating situation sparked some great conversation, and before I knew it, I was quickly through my first round of Banner. It probably didn’t hurt that the food was so plentiful, so much so that we sat around through seconds!

   

Our dinner for the evening was grilled up by Ghetto Gastro, a Bronx-inspired and Bronx-born local business. The menu was representative of their surrounding inspiration, day in and day out. A poll from the crowd had the salmon (far right) as most favored, with my top pick being the fall-off-the-bone-slathered-in-homemade-bbq-sauce ribs. But really, how could one dish compete with the other? Purple yams, chili corn, cole slaw, jerk chicken, bbq pork, and savory salmon all fell into their own level of excellence.

Andre Trenier, a local (Bronx born-and-raised) artist, unveiled a tremendous mural he painted at the start of the night. It was not fully completed, so he pressed on after dinner, telling me he planned to have it fully finished by sunset the following day. At the moment we spoke, his focus was on filling in the actual banner than hangs across the center of the artwork. I agree with his color choice, btw.

  

This was a really exciting element of the party; everyone was able to watch Andre in action, thinking a thought and then following through with his brush strokes. One moment he was enjoying a beer and chatting with the crowd, the next he was positioned atop a ladder, giving his imagination tangibility. To see the final piece, you’ll have to check it out @ the brewery!

A natural part of the Bronx culture, or any culture, is celebration. What The Bronx Brewery has created with Banner is best described by Damian Brown himself:

For Chris and I, the concept of Banner centers as much around having a light and overwhelmingly balanced offering for people who don’t typically drink craft beer as it does making sure there is a craft go-to for those times when a super hoppy, high ABV brew just doesn’t fit the bill.  We also believe this is the ideal beer after a hard day’s work no matter what the job, which is why we like to say it’s our Banner Beer for those who make stuff happen.  We’re convinced these needs are real and our hope is that this beer plays a part in enriching people’s activities and occasions, whatever they might be.

Through The Bronx Brewery’s partnership with NYRP (New York Restoration Project), when you buy a case of Bronx BANNER, 5% of the purchase will be donated to the Haven Project. See that? Contributing to the Bronx community and other, newer communities in need of development, is as easy as a trip to the grocery store. Cheers to that!

 

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