nyc beer bars

gonna be in nyc this weekend (manhatten). what are some good beer bars that i can hit up? I'm not to fimiliar with the area. Thanks

Rattle and hum, the ginger man are both near the empire state building and easy to find.
Blind tiger down in the village.
Pony bar hells kitchen.
Of course a quick train ride on the L train 1 stop in to Brooklyn is in striking distance to the Brooklyn brewery.

cool, i've heard ginger man and blind tiger were good. those are the only two that i know of in that area. thanks for the info.

I had a great time at the pourhouse I think it's in the village. We went there after 12 or maybe 1am and they had some crazy Sunday night 1 am happy hour with 1/2 price drinks and food. They have a huge bottled selection. Was drinking $3 raging ***** and $4 a plate wings till 3 am.

Gingerman is the best! But don't go during afterwork hours like from 4:30pm on weeknights - waaay too packed. Also, if you like Belgian beer there's a place in the village called Vol De Nuit:

http://www.voldenuitbar.com/

Also, we have the Heartland Brewery which has an awesome pumpkin on tap right now:

http://www.heartlandbrewery.com/

They have several locations. Blind Tiger as mentioned is also cool.


Rev.

awesome, thanks

This weekend is the end of craft beer week.

http://www.nycbeerweek.com/

Rattle and Hum, may be one of the best beer bars in the city.

The Pour House on 14th Street has a great selection.

I think if you're a tourist you have to hit up McSorley's. It's an old Irish pub about 7 blocks south the Pour House. It's a wild place. Like most good bars in NYC if you hit it up during happy hour or the afternoon on the weekend, it is absolutely packed. Basically they serve 2 beers: light and dark. They keep bringing them whether you want them or not. I think it's 5 bucks for 1/2 filled pints.

Another favorite is the House Of Brews on 46th and 9th. It's a bit less touristy but they've a decent selection and good atmosphere. There are a few good beer bars within 1-2 or blocks and you could spend an entire night just on one street.

I hear Manhattan is pretty devoid of bars and restraunts.... you may not have much luck finding one.

In Brooklyn:
Barcade
Spuyten Duyvil
Radegast Hall & Beer Garden
Brooklyn Brewery if that's your thing though it's never been mine
Matt Torrey's --> They still do exclusively NY state beers here, I think

In Manhattan:
Burp Castle (East Village; awesome Belgian selection)
DBA (EV)
Jimmy's No. 43 (EV)
Pony Bar (Hell's Kitchen; also wouldn't go here for weekday happy hour unless you like being crammed in with a ton of bro-ish fratboy business *****es)
Everyone is going to recc Ginger Man and Rattle N Hum but that area of Midtown is a soulless hell.

Also obviously Blind Tiger. Go in for lunch if you can; it can be a madhouse after 5p.

My overall advice would be to skip anything between 23rd & 59th streets in Manhattan unless there's a really specific reason to go there. The city has so much more to offer than what's in Midtown.

IMHO rattle and hum has the largest and best selection. Also, for the love of god do not go to heartland... As craft beer enthusiasts we cannot support a restaurant that markets it's self as a brewery. Their beer is brewed by Kelso.

Have fun!

McSorleys is not a great place, you will be harassed to drink until you leave.

Well worth the trip to Astoria, Queens is the Bohemian Beer hall -- the last true beer garden in NYC. Bring cash and go to Elias' Corner for dinner while you are there, fantastic seafood and fried feta.

+1 on McSorley's. Worth a look just to see it, but I wouldn't spend anytime there. If you want to check it out, there is a bar in the same area called Hop Devil that has a a really nice beer selection. If you like Belgian beers, the Belgian Room is next door and run by the same people. You might even think they were the same place.

www.hopdevil.com

The Beer Garden in Astoria is a favorite of mine (I live down the street). They have really expanded there beer selection over the last few years. Like McSorley's its the kind of place that just kind of takes you to another time. That being said, unless there was another reason to come into Astoria (and we do have a few nice beer bars), I don't know that I would suggest that someone who had come into city for the weekend make the trip out of manhattan for it.

It has been quite a while since I was in manhattan.... but they had this bar called "The Big Bar". It is a bar the size of a big closet. Gimmickey? yes. Good beer? I don't even remember. Fun to have a beer in this bar? yes. Maybe it is not even around anymore... but I just thought it was cool. Fun place to stop and have a drink on your way to the bar.

NeighborsBrewingCo said:

As craft beer enthusiasts we cannot support a restaurant that markets it's self as a brewery. Their beer is brewed by Kelso.

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As craft beer "snobs" maybe?

Kelso is brewed on Heartland's equipment. The guy who started Kelso, Kelly Taylor, is the head brewer of Heartland and they let him use the equipment to start his own brand. That's the arrangement to this day. It used to say it on Kelso's website, but apparently that's gone. If you go to Heartland's website, you can put two and two together.

Because of that, I've always looked at Heartland as a brewpub chain worth supporting, even though some of their regular beers aren't my favorite.

EDIT: It's actually mentioned in this article, linked off of Kelso's site:
http://www.ediblemanhattan.com/topics/wine-drinks/beer/hop-happy/

Yes I was aware of the correlation. Personally I would rather support Kelly's own venture, not a NYC chain restaurant. I don't believe this constitutes snobbery, more investment in local small business. Maybe.

brew·pub/ˈbro͞oˌpəb/
Noun: An establishment selling beer brewed on the premises and often including a restaurant.

From heartlands website: Heartland Brewery is the Finest Brew Pub in New York City with Amazing Food and Service.

I admire Kelly Taylor's business sense in being able to create a successful local brewery(Kelso). I just think that the marketing is a little dishonest, calling it a brewpub and having equipment displayed.

All I'm saying is it's not a true brew pub, the Kelso beer is more worthwhile, and there are too many great places in NYC to go to a mediocre establishment.

Of course just my opinion,

huge1s said:

It has been quite a while since I was in manhattan.... but they had this bar called "The Big Bar". It is a bar the size of a big closet. Gimmickey? yes. Good beer? I don't even remember. Fun to have a beer in this bar? yes. Maybe it is not even around anymore... but I just thought it was cool. Fun place to stop and have a drink on your way to the bar.

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It's still around. Right up the street from that is Burp Castle, though, which is far better and not much bigger.

Re: Bohemian Hall, I always had fun there, but on a weekend that place is packed to the rafters with Jersey Shore extras and thuggish Greek and Polish kids. Not really my scene.

If you are into history, check out the Ear Inn and McSorley's. The two oldest in the city. The Ear usually has a few tasty brews on tap, and the closet of a kitchen turns out some great food.
McSorley's has already been covered here. It is authentic.
This is a pic from 1942.

It looks exactly the same today.

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend spending more than an hour at McSorley's. It's just a funny and interesting place that people go to gulp down beer. It's a novelty bar I wouldn't hit up on a regular basis if I lived in the city.

That being said, whenever I bring people to NYC I like to stop by for a few pints.

Also, as you can see, I live in Connecticut and I'm still a bit of a tourist in NYC myself. Maybe one day I'll be able to relocate there.

Goatey said:

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend spending more than an hour at McSorley's. It's just a funny and interesting place that people go to gulp down beer. It's a novelty bar I wouldn't hit up on a regular basis if I lived in the city.

That being said, whenever I bring people to NYC I like to stop by for a few pints.

Also, as you can see, I live in Connecticut and I'm still a bit of a tourist in NYC myself. Maybe one day I'll be able to relocate there.

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An hour is perfect.

I'd say a single drink will give you enough time to take in the, ah, experience & ambience of the place. I can't imagine wanting to spend an entire hour in there.

slothorentropy said:

I'd say a single drink will give you enough time to take in the, ah, experience & ambience of the place. I can't imagine wanting to spend an entire hour in there.

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They sell 2 beers at a time, so, yeah.

Gingerman is great, but like someone said go on off hours. If you are downtown for some reason (close to the seaport or Fulton Street), try the Open Door on John Street - good quality on tap, large bottle selection.