The Well

Bar, Eatery

272 Meserole St
Brooklyn, New York, 11206-2242
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.68
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
21
pDev:
5.13%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by sunofneurot:
Photo of sunofneurot
Rated by sunofneurot from New York

4.31/5  rDev -7.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25

Oct 06, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.43 by SkiBum22 from New York

Jul 07, 2019
 
Rated: 4.56 by CreightonSM from New York

Jan 03, 2019
 
Rated: 4.87 by alexsergio from New York

Nov 10, 2018
 
Rated: 4.75 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Aug 10, 2018
Photo of mjco04
Rated by mjco04 from Connecticut

4.54/5  rDev -3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.25
Great place!
May 25, 2017
 
Rated: 4.87 by eawolff99 from Minnesota

Apr 06, 2017
 
Rated: 5 by SebastianMandeville from New Jersey

Mar 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.44 by Gkruszewski from New York

Feb 18, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by paulish from New York

Feb 01, 2017
Photo of Kainen
Reviewed by Kainen from New York

4.93/5  rDev +5.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5
Easily the best beer bar I've ever been to, in NYC or otherwise! 60 taps of pure joy and a massive selection of bottles and cans that will make even the most cynical of us beer nerds salivate. It's a must if you're in the neighborhood!
Jan 31, 2017
 
Rated: 4.86 by rjp217 from Massachusetts

Jan 24, 2017
Photo of NBSF
Reviewed by NBSF from New York

4.93/5  rDev +5.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5
This place is absolutely amazing!! 60 taps. 100 some bottles. And it's ALL good beer! From local greats Other Half & Grimm to Italian Del Ducato's. Great Whiskey & Tequilas too. And it is ENOURMOUS!!!!
The bartenders are pretty knowledgeable & friendly too. Go see John (or Sean, can't remember) , he is very helpful!!
Dec 07, 2016
 
Rated: 4.53 by Zekenyce from New Jersey

Oct 22, 2016
Photo of Meyers1023
Reviewed by Meyers1023 from New York

4.86/5  rDev +3.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5
A great bar that's a little off the beaten path. Has a huge selection oaf great craft beers both on tap and in bottles or cans. Had my first Hill Farmstead beer here(society & solitude #8)! Tons of local options to choose from on tap from Other Half, Grimm, Finback, and LIC Brewing. The staff is very knowledgable and friendly, great with recommendations! Large place with tons of good seating, long bar, and huge outdoor area for live events or just enjoying fresh air. I will make this my regular spot, you can't beat the selection, service, or value!
Oct 12, 2016
 
Rated: 5 by IanWell from New York

Jul 06, 2016
Photo of Damian
Reviewed by Damian from Massachusetts

4.94/5  rDev +5.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
My wife and I were checking out the BeerMenus app on our recent trip to New York City and The Well came up as having the best overall draft offerings, so we decided to take a visit here. Located on a quieter side street in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, The Well is a bit off the beaten path. Upon entering, we were immediately blown away by the enormous industrial (yet refined) space, complete with thirty foot tall vaulted ceilings, concrete columns and cushy leather sofas and tables lit by candlelight. Later, I found out that this place used to be a turn-of-the-century brewery. No surprise.

Our first visit was on a Tuesday afternoon and there were only a few patrons sitting at the bar. The bartender, Sean, was super welcoming and lead us through the lengthy, amazingly curated beer menu. Before he left, he took us on a tour of the facility, which includes an outdoor area for drinking during the warmer months and a performance space known as The Wick.

The draft and bottle list was one of the best I have ever seen at a beer bar. Some of the fifty-eight draft offerings included Stillwater's Gose Gone Wild, Prairie Artisan Ale's Bomb and Christmas Bomb (on nitro), Hill Farmstead's Foster, Grimm's Cloudbusting DIPA, Finback's BQE Barrel Aged, and Other Half's Passiflora and Forever Ever. According to our bartender, they always have two taps pouring Other Half beers. The bottle list was perhaps even more impressive. There were one hundred thirty-seven offerings, many by small and hard-to-find breweries here on the East Coast including Almanac, Crooked Stave, LoverBeer, Oxbow, Pipeworks, Prairie and Westbrook. The beers we ordered were served in proper glassware and were appropriately priced, especially for New York City. The Well also offers beers to go, in the form of both bottles and growlers. I grabbed bombers of Pipework's Mosaic Imperial IPA ($14) and Westbrook's Mexican Cake Imperial Stout ($30).

Because my wife and I had such a great experience here on our first visit, we went back again on our second night in the city. Ian, the bartender that night, was also super friendly and helpful. We had a great time picking his brain on the NYC beer/bar scene. We also discovered a side room off the main bar area that had two pairs of cornhole boards. Score!

The one thing that worries me about The Well, however, is the apparent lack of patrons due to its out-of-the-way location. I really hope that people see the light with this place and make an effort to get out here because it is truly is one of the best, if not the best, beer bar in New York City and perhaps the entire East Coast. Between its jaw dropping architecture, outstanding draft and bottle lists and fantastic service, this place has the makings of a destination beer bar.
Dec 31, 2015
Photo of Mr_Moe
Reviewed by Mr_Moe from New York

4.51/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 3.75
Huge location, was only one Bartender that night (a quiet Tuesday), have a huge selection of bottles and drafts. Had like 3 Hill Farmstead that night alone.

they have Wood fired pizza guy in the back wasn't bad at all.
Dec 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.69 by Eman17 from Illinois

Jul 16, 2015
Photo of slander
Reviewed by slander from New York

4.51/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
Bushwick, eh? Are you sure? I mean, ‘Bushwick’, right? And where the fuck is Meserole, again? Oh, off of Morgan on the shadybag side of Grand. Anybody surprised that (Evil) Davo knows how to navigate the ‘hood? Yeah, me neither. Sunday beer play in 'burg and beyond. Well, Well, Well...

Unmarked unassuming place on the hill, vestibule and in. From the entrance, you let your eyes adjust and take in the room before descending the stairs. Mad vaulted ceiling of rafters and dark plank wood beams with dark blended ducts & red piping. Concrete floors and dark painted walls. And a row of large concrete ‘Total Recall’ style pillars down the middle of the room and on the far wall somewhat sunken in. Pan lamps on the pillars here and on the far wall. Beer barrel decor, and you know what, I just noticed that far pillar is done up with a Banksyesque stencil of a kid doing something something.

Loooooong concrete poured topped ‘C’ shaped bar with a steel trim & base, and piping foot rail off to the left running the length of the room. Seating for 2 dozen on red velvet squared stools. Barback wall holds industrial hinged doors to I don’t know where when or why, over the long row of taps on stainless steel on barback center. Slight booze tiered on one end, and a shelf with glassware above between them crazy doors. A set of 4 triple-wide glass front coolers below displaying their many bottled selections; the tops of which are lined with pint and other glassware below the counter.

Light lighting, single bulb mounts down the line and large angled speakers above cranking some great 70’s (I had to talk Davo off the ledge when ‘Believe it or not’ came on. He is not The Greatest American Hero, and singing the theme song won’t make him so). 3 hightop tables on the far wall for shared groups on mix & match chairings, and 4 shorty low low tables with cushy cushion seating.

60 taps, roughly 2/3 of which are American craft beer with a good focus on New York State offerings; the remainder being import play. I was looking for an IPA. Iantender (you know, from Alex’s bottle shares; small beer community that we are), suggested the Omnipollo Zodiak. Followed up with the Other Half Southernhopalistic, and my third beer was the Off Color Troublesome Gose.

Beer menu lists beer, ABV, & price. 20 of the 60 entries are printed in red, indicative of 2 for 1. And a bottle list 8 dozen strong. Lots of goodies there and not painfully priced. (Lovely) Orval runs $10 and the Hanssens Oudbeitje is $14. Okay, 1 more beer. I returned to the Omnipollo Zodiak and then was all hating 1) you, and 2) the world, for having completely forgotten that they had put up the Other Half All Green Everything while I was sitting there.

Small room to the rear with a few picnics and then you’re outback outside. A food truck there with upwards of 40 picnic tables in rows and a stage area for the warm weather music venue. Your neighbors must loooooove you. What? Oh, zoned industrial and no resident residences? Well that doesn’t suck. Oh, and you know, there used to be a brewery here, the real brewer’s row, yo. Lagering caves below, I really need to see. I welcome the denger. They do food. Snacks, soups, salads, & meals. Didn’t get to it as lunch was excessive today.

Returned a few weeks later for their first beer dinner (Barrier). They did it up in a little side room, I think it was 4 beers with 4 bites. Good show. I would do that again. And having rolled in a few times since… Thursday evening drinks with the work kids, that night I went on the hunt for an Allagash Mattina Rossa, and post Timmy kid’s ‘Where The Wild Beers Are’ event next door at The Wick; the attached event venue just across the patio where stupid Benface went and saw Spoon three nights ago without his cool friend (me), and then yesterday post Summer Solstice event at the swine.

Good beer people who have an easy time making recommendations throughout their large tap & bottle list. They do trivia some nights, it turns out I know little to nothing about anything and suck at it. Sigh. You know, at first blush, I thought the room felt like a staging space for the venues out back and next door, but as I’ve been there a good few times, I can say it’s really cool in and of its own. I’ll be interested to see what goes on there for events and warm weather backyardings. I dig it.
Jun 20, 2015
Photo of REY_CORTEZ
Reviewed by REY_CORTEZ from New York

4.41/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4
Huge spot with lots of seating and very long bar. Huge selection of fine craft beers. Location not the most desirable but was worth the trip to get my first taste of Firestone Walker Parabola. Thanks WELL people!
Apr 21, 2015
The Well in Brooklyn, NY
Place rating: 4.68 out of 5 with 21 ratings