Restaurants, breweries team up for showcase week

TROY, N.Y. » The 2017 downtown Troy Restaurant and Craft Beer weeks returns Monday, Sept. 11, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 17.

Unlike a traditional restaurant week, downtown Troy pairs the week with Troy Craft Beer week to offer a wide selection of events, programs, discounts, course meals, drink pairings and more.

For seven full days -from breakfast to late night beer releases and bubbles -- varied specials include meals ranging from $5 to $30, themed food nights, pop-ups, two large craft beer events, and discounts with Troy retail and entertainment venues.

One-of-a-kind events include the second annual New England Clam Bake at the Shop for the seafood lover, “Friends with Different Area Codes!” -speed dating event with Shmaltz 518 and Shmaltz 838 10-Digit Double IPA at Elixir16 for Single craft beer fans, and Canvas, Corks & Forks will have Paint Nite featuring their Signature Mac n’ Cheese Bar paired with Wolf Hollow Brewing Beer options.

The official name of the 2017 Craft Beer Collaboration Brew is “Helen.” The hoppy blonde ale is a brew with Brown’s Brewing Co., Rare Form, The Ruck, and The Beer Diviner.

The Troy Pub Crawl takes place at 5 p.m. Monday. The crawl begins at Rare Form Brewing Company, and includes stops at Brown’s Brewing Company, The Beer Diviner Troy, The Ruck, Slidin’ Dirty Restaurant and Food Truck, Ale House, Ryan’s Wake, Hudson-Chatham Winery, Bootleggers On Broadway, Wolff’s Biergarten, O’Briens Public House, Superior Merchandise Company, Elixir16, and Muddaddy Flats.

Events include a Cornhole Carnival and a showing of the film “How Beer Save the World,” with daily rotating brews at the Beer Diviner, Craft Beer Rep Karaoke Night at Ryan’s Wake, Satan’s Gutt Bottle Release & food Pop-Ups with Muddaddy Flats and Field Moks Farm at Rare Form Brewing Co., and Jack’s Abby Oktoberfest and Stein Hoisting Competition at Ryan’s Wake. The Ruck celebrates its second Firkin Fest -- pouring from firkin’s, which are small batch barrels of naturally fermented and carbonated beer.

Rounding out the week is the signature event for Troy Craft Beer Week, The Collar City Craft Beer Invitational at Taak House, More than 30 hand selected breweries from around the world, around the nation and around the corner will be featured, alongside Food purveyors such as Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen.

Slidin’ Dirty will host “Take It To The Can for Charity.” where $1 of every can of beer sold during Thursday night’s NFL game between Cincinnatti and Houstonwill be donated to the American Red Cross.

For more information and a full list of events & promotions for Troy Restaurant & Craft Beer Week, visit downtowntroy.org/ restaurant-craft-beer-week.

FILE PHOTO Lee MacCrea, left, of Brown’s Brewing Co., and James Hurley, an intern with Rare Form Brewing Co., check out Helen’s Hoppy Blonde Ale as it is jointly brewed last month at Brown’s downtown Troy location especially for Troy Restaurant & Craft Beer Week.