Grimm Artisanal Ales is a craft brewery that opened in Brooklyn, New York in June 2018. It was founded by husband and wife Joe and Lauren Grimm. Joe had worked for years as a musician while Lauren worked as a sculptor and conceptual artist. They soon became very interested in homebrewing and created beer recipes out of their Gowanus apartment. In 2013, they officially launched Grimm Artisanal Ales. Because they couldn't obtain a loan to open a brewery, the Grimms decided to operate as a gypsy brewery operation and enlisted the help of established production breweries such as Buzzards Bay Brewing and Beltway Brewing Company. After five years of producing excellent brews, the Grimms finally opened their brick and mortar facility in East Williamsburg. In November 2022, the Grimms launched Physica Wines: a sister winery operation that produces natural, single-ingredient wines from grapes selected from Long Island's North Fork. In July 2023, the Grimms launched Lala's Brooklyn Apizza: their rooftop pizzeria and bar that specializes in New Haven-style pizza. Joe's fascination for "apizza" (pronounced ah-BEETZ) started during his time as a student at Yale University. Lauren had always dreamed of running a restaurant, so they named it "Lala's" (her family nickname).
I recently visited Grimm Artisanal Ales for the first time while I was cycling around NYC. I was trying out a number of Brooklyn and Queens breweries and pizzerias and Grimm was my fourth stop of the day. Not only was I excited to try their beers but also their pizza. I'm a New Haven native and was very excited to try a Brooklyn pizzeria's take on New Haven-style pizza. My visit was actually the second day that Lala's was open. I heard that the pizzeria ran out of dough in a few hours on their opening night, so I made sure to arrive early before the rooftop pizzeria opened for the afternoon. I was one of the first people inside and found a seat right by the wood-fired pizza oven. I ordered a beer flight of four samples including "Afterimage" (Double IPA), "Dihedral Synchro-Helix Actuation Door" (Double IPA), "Stowing Away the Time" (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout), and "Pictures of Your Mama Taken by Your Papa" (Single Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged Barleywine). These beers completely knocked my socks off, especially the latter! For pizza, I ordered the "Clam Pie" (local little neck clams, aged mozzarella, garlic, Physica Riesling butter sauce, fresh parsley) and the "Squash Pie" (summer squash medallions, mozzarella, squash blossoms, egg yolk drizzle, ricotta, black cracked pepper). Holy moly! These pies may not have had the char of authentic coal-fired apizza, but they were still pretty darn close to the real thing! Speaking as a New Haven native, I have to give Lala's my seal of approval! I had a fantastic experience at Grimm/Lala's and I can't wait to go back! I now consider Grimm to be one of my Top 10 favorite breweries! read more