Brooklyn Brewery is throwing a party for the 35th birthday of its signature beer

Accept no malternatives: A two-day event will be held at Teddy's Bar & Grill in Williamsburg, the first to sell the landmark lager

By Brooklyn Magazine Staff

Brooklyn Brewery’s flagship lager is turning 35 and and the brand can barley contain itself, to say the yeast.

The Williamsburg-based brewery is holding a “series of special events throughout the year,” which begins on March 24 with a two-day party. Fans should hop on over to Teddy’s Bar & Grill, the Williamsburg pub where Brooklyn Brewery cofounders Steve Hindy and Tom Potter “hand delivered the first batch” of the lager in 1988.

The brewery says the unique lager it helped the establish the brewery as a “pioneer of the American craft beer movement.” Since its creation, the brew has become a fixture in bars cross the United States and is sold in more than 30 countries.

“Back in 1988, most people had never seen a beer that wasn’t pale yellow and virtually flavorless — the deep color and bold flavor of Brooklyn Lager was quite a shock,” said Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver in a release. “Once people tasted a few pints, though, they never wanted to be without it again. Brooklyn Lager is still pretty much the same beer that we launched 35 years ago.”

In addition to partying at Teddy’s, the brewery is teaming up with other Brooklyn eateries to celebrate. Pizza shop Fornino is making a specialty pizza dough with the lager that will be sold at Teddy’s and at its Greenpoint location beginning March 15 through 31.

Ovenly bakery is serving a limited edition cake recipe using the lager, which can be bought online and its bakeshops. Shake Shack, which has poured its own custom Brooklyn Brewery beer since 2008, is selling a “ShackMeister Frozen Custard” and “Shackmeister Burger” at Teddy’s.

There will also be a merch drop, in collaboration with Only NY, described as an “eclectic mix of original and reimagined artwork celebrating the history of Brooklyn Lager.” Fans can buy it at Teddy’s, Brooklyn Brewery’s tasting room and on its website.

The party at Teddy’s begins at 5 p.m. through 11 p.m. on Friday, March 24 and from Noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, March 25.

Last year, Brooklyn Brewery announced it’s leaving the Williamsburg factory that it has called home for the past three decades. But, it’s not moving too far: The brewery is opening a new location in 2024 at a new development that borders the Greenpoint-Williamsburg border. The new space is roughly 10,000-square-feet bigger than its current location and will have a taproom, corporate offices and brewing operations.