Where to find great beer in NYC

January 14, 2008 8:21 AM

What brewpubs are there in NYC? What bars have good selections of beers brewed by local breweries?

Apologies for yet another NYCBarFilter question, but I have found that this is not easily Googleable due to the wealth of out-of-date information out there on the internet. Apparently 'brewpub' is not a sensible business model in NYC and these places don't stay open long.
Anyway, I have a friend visiting from overseas, and he'd like to sample some high quality local beers. Are there any brewpubs currently in business? What bars are good places to drink local beers (I know there are plenty of good breweries on Long Island, but really 'local' could extend to the whole continent, I guess).
Location: East Village, LES, Williamsburg, or near obligatory tourist landmarks would fit in best with our other plans, but tell me everything that's accessible by subway. Bonus points for the place not being crammed full of hollering nincompoops even on a weekend evening, and for available seating. Further bonus points for unusual stouts, porters and dark ales.
(Yes I know I live in NYC and should damn well be able to answer this myself, but I spend most of my time tolerating mass market beer in places where I like the music).

posted by nowonmai to travel & transportation (19 comments total)

McSorley's Old Ale House
posted by mds35 at 8:28 AM on January 14, 2008

Like BBQ, beer brewing is something that's just not done very well in NYC.

Avoid Heartland Brewery, which is overpriced, touristy, and very middle-of-the-road.

There's the Brooklyn Brewery, but honestly I don't know if they have a pub there or just tours.

DBA, oft-mentioned here, is reliable for a great selection of beer, local and otherwise.
posted by mkultra at 8:29 AM on January 14, 2008

Of course, McSorley's! How could I forget! :P

Their beer is far from a local showcase, but it's worth the experience.
posted by mkultra at 8:30 AM on January 14, 2008

In Williamsburg, Spuyten Duyvil and Barcade have loads of beers, usually some of them local.
posted by dame at 8:32 AM on January 14, 2008

Oh, also, you can drink at the Brooklyn Brewery, though I would recommend going for an early afternoon tour and drinking the afternoon away, because it does get crowded, with long lines.
posted by dame at 8:32 AM on January 14, 2008

May I recommend The Peculier Pub in the West Village. They have a huge selection of beers split up by country and a few of my favorites on tap including: Magic Hat's #9 as well as a bevy of Brooklyn Brewing Company's offerings.

Its very unpretentious and it has all the merits of what I think i good pub should be - friendly service, awesome jukebox and smelly bathrooms.
posted by AsRuinsAreToRome at 8:46 AM on January 14, 2008

Like BBQ, beer brewing is something that's just not done very well in NYC.

Seriously? Have you been to Hill Country, Dino, Pies N Thighs and Fette Sau?
posted by atomly at 8:51 AM on January 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Seconding The Peculier. Huge beer list that contains just about everything you can think of. The only issue is that on weekend nights it becomes an NYU bar so beware the frat boys. I've found that going earlyish, around 6:30-7 is great, you can get a table, have some cheese fries and a bunch of beers before any college kids show up.
posted by hobgadling at 8:58 AM on January 14, 2008

Here's a starter.

Also, now is the time when Brooklyn's Monster Ale is on tap at various locations throughout the city. Here's the Brooklyn website. They're making some of the finest beer anywhere---and there is quite a bit more going on at the Brooklyn Brewery than simply the (fabulous) Brooklyn Lager on tap most places in New York. My number one suggestion to you is to get to happy hour at the Brooklyn Brewery, which happens on Fridays and Saturdays. You should probably call for details.

The Atlantic Chip Shop has great beer events now and then with locally made beer.

There are a ton of places in Brooklyn serving fresh beer, and cask-conditioned ales are making a huge comeback all around these parts.
posted by kosem at 8:59 AM on January 14, 2008

Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate provide excellent listings and maps. Ratebeer's maps for New York and Brooklyn might help, as well as the text listings. BeerAdvocate's list also has quite a few reviews.

From what I've heard, I would second dame's recommendations: Spuyten Duyvil and Barcade – everyone's raving about them.
posted by kepano at 9:01 AM on January 14, 2008

Also meant to add Beer Mapping's map of New York and Beer Maps of the World. Good luck!
posted by kepano at 9:04 AM on January 14, 2008

I will third Barcade!

Plus, they have Robotron, so don't forget to bring some quarters...
posted by Phoveo at 9:11 AM on January 14, 2008

I highly recommend the Blind Tiger Ale House, which carries a number of locally brewed beers as well as microbrews from all over the US. It's one of the few places in the world you can find the Dogfish Head 90min IPA through a Randall filter (at least, they had it this past August!) They also often have two specialty casks. It's a great bar, though it can get pretty packed.

Another place that carries a lot of microbrews is the Ginger Man which has a great selection of beers on top from around the world, including a lot of American and Canadian microbrews.

And there's another bar called stout which has a surprisingly large menu of bottled beer (including stouts from around the world), as well as many taps with local brews and microbrews. Unfortunately, the atmosphere is that of a sports bar ... which is extremely irritating when you're going there for good beers but most of the crowd is watching a football game drinking Budweiser ... :-o

(And to echo kepano above, I found out about these bars from BeerAdvocate, so that's definitely a good place to look)
posted by DrSkrud at 9:13 AM on January 14, 2008

^^ Oops. I totally linked to the wrong Ginger Man above. The Ginger Man in NYC is here.
posted by DrSkrud at 9:14 AM on January 14, 2008

Nthing McSorleys and Peculier.
Also in Brooklyn, 4th Avenue Pub (where you'll find me almost every night) and The Gate.
posted by rmless at 9:34 AM on January 14, 2008

The BeerFly guide to NYC might be helpful...
posted by grateful at 9:59 AM on January 14, 2008

Not a brewerie, but the Hop Devil Grill -- and next-door Belgian beer room -- has an amazing selection of an incredibly diverse amount of beer, on tap and in bottles. Saint Marks Place and Avenue A.
posted by designmartini at 10:00 AM on January 14, 2008

Radegast, a biergarten that just opened at N. 3rd and Berry, in Williamsburg, has a nice selection and a retractable roof for summertime. Last time I was there I enjoyed the St. Bernardus Tripel.
posted by j3s at 6:50 PM on January 14, 2008

Thanks for all the suggestions; we didn't make it to everywhere on the list this weekend and last night certainly wasn't biergarten weather. Hop Devil was in the middle of a festival of heavy winter ales, which was a big win, and Barcade provided a perfect combination of excellent local beer, retro videogames and blaring heavy metal.
posted by nowonmai at 8:20 AM on January 21, 2008