Taking my wife to NYC late December, wanted to know good Craft Beer bars in Manhattan or midtown area. Our hotel is near lower Westside of Central Park. A million thanks everyone. Cheers.
there's a bunch of other threads with answers to this, but solely in Manhattan, Blind Tiger, Good Beer, Top Hops, Proletariat, Pony Bar.
There are many great beer bars in Manhattan but getting to them will depend on how far you are willing to walk or how close you are to a subway or if your willing to pay for a cab.
Use my craft beer map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=zwC6ezBHVgzI.kyMuRsydhsSU Good craft beer bars everywhere in Manhattan.
A lot of this answer is also going to be dependent on the tap list at the time. Use beermenus.com to check current tap lists at bars and see what catches your eye. Note that not all bars update beermenus (Blind Tiger doesn't really), so also check Untappd if you use it. You're bound to run across great tap lists almost anywhere you go in Manhattan though.
Take a stroll down 33rd Street between 7th and Madison Avenues. One after the other, you will find great craft beer: Stout NYC, Feile, Foley's, Rattle and Hum.
In Midtown, Ginger Man, The Jeffrey, Rattle N Hum (now 2 locations so one should be convenient), and Tap Room 307. As others have said, depends on where you are staying and how far you are willing to venture. Kanger's map (posted above) is the most useful post on the Mid-Atlantic forums and Google Maps works very well for public transportation in the city.
DBA has always been a great bar for craft beer. I haven't been there since the tragic death a couple of years ago of DBA founder (and old childhood friend) Ray Deter, but I've been told that the overall spirit of the place hasn't changed. You won't find 50 tap sin this cozy little place, but the selection had always been well curated and even offered the occasional rare surprise. In the past, there was also a very fine whiskey selection available. I should probably stop by there myself again next time in the city, and lift a glass or seven to Ray. DBA is in the East Village, at 41 1st Ave.
This is a more complicated question that you might think. Do you prioritize tap list over all else? How far would you travel? What time do you plan to go? For example, if you want to hit up Blind Tiger, going after 5 p.m., especially in December, is not a great experience. You'll enjoy the beer (eventually), but you'll be swamped by crowds, often with little space. Rattle n Hum and the Ginger Man can be like that too. So just some words of warning. It really depends on the type of experience you want and what neighborhoods you're visiting and/or willing to travel to.
I agree with this, there is no end all be all best. I check beer menus and untappd and then make a decision based on that and how crowded I think they will be.
Hard question for reasons that have been articulated, but heading over to One Mile House / Fools Gold in the LES would be my recommendation. Both bars have some of the best tap lists in the city and are generally not super crowded. They're also super close to each other and close to Top Hops / WF Bowery for your bottle shop needs.
This is why I like the new Google "Popular Times" feature. You can view the busy times for most businesses in NY and have a better chance of avoiding crowds.
If you are lower West Central Park & are looking to stay in the area there are plenty of options with good tap lists. (Prices vary wildly however) and use Kangers map. Valhalla (9th and 54th) Alfie's (53rd and 9th) Columbus Circle Whole Foods on Tap 9th Avenue Vintner - (47th and 9th) Beer Culture - 45th btwn 8th and 9th) Pony Bar West and Kiabacca (44th and 10th) Cheers!
I second Valhalla. It's probably closest to where you are, and they always have a huge and great tap list. It's a bit pricy, and it can get rowdy in the evenings, but it's a great spot.
DBA (Manhattan) is still open, however it was sold some months ago following another tragic death - of Ray's former business partner Dennis Zentek. The new owner runs a number of low end dive bars in the area, none with a decent craft beer menu. Despite initially saying nothing would change with regard to the beers, the list has been considerably dumbed down (the beer buyer from the old regime was abruptly laid off around three months ago in what appears to be a penny pinching move). But by all means raise a glass there to Ray and Dennis to the memory of better times.
I'll certainly do that. What happened to Dennis??? Sad to hear that news, as well as news of the negative changes to DBA under the new regime. Thanks for the update.
