Gowanus Goes from Burgers to Brine

We were surprised to see paper up and learn that Root Hill Burger closed on Sunday. The burger offshoot of popular Root Hill Cafe opened less than a year ago on 4th Avenue, around the time Gowanus welcomed Runner & Stone and The Pines, but a sign hanging in the front door reads: "We thank you for your wonderful response, but for a variety of reasons we have decided to close this location. Look for an exciting new concept in this space in late August."

The new concept is going to be called Brooklyn Brine Pickle Shack - an expansion of Brooklyn Brine, which opened around the corner in April last year. Founder Shamus Jones plans to serve pickles, sandwiches, and beer exclusively brewed by Dogfish Head in the former Root Hill Burger location at 256 Fourth Avenue. On the collaboration with Dogfish, Jones tells Park Slope Stoop, "We were so happy when Sam [Calagione, Dogfish Head founder] contacted us a year ago, and this is our love letter back to them. There’s no bar in New York City that serves only Dogfish. It was a no brainer.”

The team is shooting to open next month, and if beer and pickles aren't enough to lure you in, there's a huge backyard with bocce ball. [PSS]

There's a New Pickle in Town

photo by craig cavalloShamus Jones started Brooklyn Brine in 2009. Their blog refers to the brand as the "Green Market of pickles." Always a locally driven brand, Brooklyn Brine relied on different commercial spaces around the city to make their products. Jones recently acquired a space in Gowanus and now Brooklyn Brine is a locally driven brand that works exclusively out of 574A President Street, where they make Curried Squash, Moroccan Beans, Chipotle Carrots, and a wide variety of pickles all under one roof.

Some of the pickles at Brooklyn Brine are barrel-fermented, which takes place in spent barrels courtesy of Finger Lakes Distillery. The signature whiskey sour pickles are made in old McKenzie Rye Whiskey barrels. BB currently has gallons of garlic scapes and ramps fermenting that will revealed when the venue begins holding classes in the coming weeks.