Posting here as I’m interested in the thoughts of my fellow UKers, but I would of course welcome input from anyone.
Planning a trip to NY in June, my wife will be working so I’ll have two days to explore breweries/bars (I’m leaning towards breweries). I’ve checked out places but it’s a bit overwhelming, so after any advice from here.
Tentatively I’m considering Sixpoint/Other Half on one day and Brooklyn/KCBC on the other. I can fit other stuff around these but will consider other options! I’d also be interested to hear about any other, non-beer related stuff to do near beer places.
NYC and Brooklyn have moved on a hell of lot sInce I last visited (Nov 13).
The Heartland place that Bladdock mentions is fine for a tick or two with the missus if doing touristy things but if I had a day or two exploring beer on my own I wouldn’t have it on my list.
Obvious favourites are the Ginger Man and Rattle’n’hum also the Jeffery.
I’m sure @WingmanWillis who has been relatively recently can add much more substance here.
I live there. Sixpoint does not have a taproom and you cannot visit. Other Half is a must and Folksbier is right by it, which I would consider visiting. If you want to go on longer in that area Bar Great Harry is a great bar near those two. Technically within walking distance is Strong Rope, a sort of British flavored brewery, and Threes, a pilsner and saison focused brewpub. I would recommend both. If you have all day, you could do all four aforementioned breweries. In North Brooklyn I would recommend KCBC and the nearby brewery Interboro, which specializes in hefty double IPAs. Right next to KCBC is a beer bar with a Puerto Rican/ Hip Hop theme called The Sampler, which recently reopened. It has a very local focused beer selection. If you have more time in North Brooklyn, take the cab or bus to Finback. It is excellent. Bridge and Tunnel is also down the L train subway from KCBC; it specializes in dark beer and is a very small family operation. Let me know if you got other questions. Brooklyn Brewery is not really worth it in my opinion.
A lot of the Old big places i found disapointing (rattle n hum, and ginger man in particular)
Liked Torst.
quite liked Alewife Queens
but for me the please was all in the small Breweries
Fifth Hammer,
ICONYC,
Greenpoint
Otherhalf was ok, BUt i found trying almost everything on the board thats over half of them if i was to taste any 3 , shuffle them and taste again id struggle to tell one from another
The one non beer thing id go with is Statin Island Ferry. Its free and nice view of Statue of Liberty. But actually trhe best view was on NY itself
Iy your taking the staten island ferry you might as well go to Flagship or Killsboro breweries out on island. You can be one of rare folks to do so, both are within walking distance.
Also, if you do take the SI ferry, there are two breweries in Staten Island worth visiting: Kills Boro and Flagship. Both are walking distance from the ferry. As Cgarvieuk noted Long Island City in Queens is a great brewery concentration: Fifth Hammer, Rockaway, Big Alice, LIC Beer Project, and ICONYC is not far in Astoria.
Haven’t quite got my head around the reply function here, sorry.
@BlackHaddock - ta, the Empire State brewpub looks of interest
@theydon_bois - my last visit was in '07 so I imagine the beer scene is unrecognisable from then.
@mansquito - thanks for that, just what I was after. Didn’t realise that about Sixpoint but a KCBC/Interboro double header sounds excellent and Bridge & Tunnel sounds right up my street too. Will be looking into some of the other places you mentioned too, cheers!
I would add Randolph Beer (Two locations in Brooklyn) for the entertaining idea of a beer ATM, and Circa brewing for the excellent pizza choices besides their beer.
I have actually never been. I was never a huge fan of their beers. I have been to Gun Hill Brewing but that is very deep in the Bronx and probably does not make sense to travel there unless you are visiting the New York Botanical Garden.
Its a fun spot but honestly unless you have something else going on in the bronx, zoo, Arthur Avenue, botanical etc no reason to trek up there more than enough between Manahattan, Brookly, and Queens to spend your time
I once embarked on what I called the 5 boro challenge where i went to a brewery in all 5 boros using only public transportation. I don’t recommend it since its a long day and you have to have pretty good knowledge of NYC transit.
I started at Bronx Brewery at opening (Bronx)
took subway to Paulaner for lunch (Manahattan)
subway to staten island ferry to Flagship (Staten Island)
ferry to bus to Keg & Latern (Brooklyn)
Bus to to LIC Beer project (Queens)
my mistake is buying 4 pack of bronx bombers that i drank on subway and ferry which got me too tipsy for later on.
prior to moving away i visited 22 of NYC’s breweries but a bunch opened just as i left so lots of work to do if i visit again
Another question:
As beer from New Jersey is one of the last I need to complete all US States, and as a bonus get a few New Jersey place ticks we are planning a small afternoon roundtrip there. Looks easy walkable and the view of the NY skyline should be great from here to.
Had a great evening with him in Greenpoint
