Established in response to the large artisanal movement in New York City, The Good Beer Seal has become a symbol of craft, quality, and community. In fact, because of The Good Beer Seal efforts, Mayor Bloomberg declared July NYC Good Beer Month. A bar only earns “The Good Beer Seal” if it is independently owned and operated, and offers 80% craft domestic and/or special imported beers. Also, the business must be active within the local community through responsible stewardship and charitable actions.

FoodieLink is very excited to have interviewed one of the co-founders of The Good Beer Seal, Jimmy Carbone, owner of Jimmy's No. 43. Located in the heart of Tribeca, Jimmy's No. 43 exemplifies the best of The Good Beer Seal.

Carbone also hosts Beer Sessions, a program on The Heritage Radio Network.

"If The Good Beer Seal is on the door, good business practices, good atmosphere, and good beer is inside."

When and why was The Good Beer Seal established?

I co-founded The Good Beer Seal in the Spring of 2009 with Ray Deter of d.b.a. Bar and Gary Gillis of Burp Castle Bar. At the time, so much of the media focus in the craft beer community was on breweries, distributors, and larger operations. We wanted to focus on the local, small, independently owned good beer bars, which we consider to be the “tasting rooms” for the best breweries.

How did your bar, Jimmy's No. 43, become involved with GBS?

We were inspired by the first New York Craft Beer Week (Fall 2008) to create an organization focused on supporting the small, independently owned beer bars like Jimmy’s No. 43. Other beer bars like d.b.a., Burp Castle, Blind Tiger, Spuyten Duyvil Bar, Great Harry and others also realized the need for such a group. Jimmy’s No. 43 is the co-founder of The Good Beer Seal.

What types of events has GBS held or sponsored? What events can FoodieLink members look forward to?

The Good Beer Seal organizes the annual July Good Beer Month in New York City. We reach out to the mayor, coordinate events with local breweries like Sixpoint, Kelso, and Brooklyn, and work with the media, such as Edible Manhattan/Edible Brooklyn, to plan the month. Good Beer at BAM Cafe has been the featured event of the month for 2 years now. In 2010, we created an outdoor BBQ and beer event, Meatopia, for five thousand people on Governors Island.

Looking forward, The Good Beer Seal will continue to grow through new ventures like Beer Sessions Radio. We will also be co-hosting a New York craft beer week event, NYC Brewer's Choice, on September 30 at the open house gallery in Nolita. In 2011, look for us to add some new members (some restaurants and beer shops may be added to the list, as well) and of course we'll host the annual The Good Beer Seal Awards at a member bar in May 2011! Maybe FoodieLink could start soliciting suggestions for restaurants and beer shops that might be worthy of The Good Beer Seal.

Why is it necessary for bars, their customers, and the progressive food community to support craft domestic and special imported beers?

Beer is one of the reasons we have a civilization! Agriculture in many regions developed around beer making. Craft beer creates local jobs as well. Ideally, the specialty brewers would be buying locally grown hops and grains; something we can all try to encourage and a great way for the progressive food community to collaborate with the craft beer scene! Grow some hops!

Can you describe your show, "Beer Sessions Radio"?

Beer guys talking about beer! But more than that, Beer Sessions Radio is the love of my life! I've wanted to host a conversation format radio show for a number of years. We have several guests each show. Whether beer bar owners, brewers, home brewers, beer reps, etc., we all bring in really good beers, drink them, and talk. My job is to keep the show candid and the conversation flowing. It's also not your typical group of beer geeks.

When and why was it launched?

It launched on March 2010. Patrick Martin’s Heritage Radio Network seemed like a great fit, plus they didn’t have a beer show! The Good Beer Seal was the initial sponsor, Ray Deter and Sam Merritt have been cheerful co-hosts, Bree O’Connor eagerly agreed to be co-producer and booker. Starting the show was a win. It seemed the next step for The Good Beer Seal to be behind a radio show. We are networking every week, as well as creating content. If you take a big picture approach, it all makes sense!