When in NYC...

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by ONovoMexicano, Nov 10, 2014.

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  1. ONovoMexicano

    ONovoMexicano Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2012 New Mexico

    I'm about a month away from a 3-week visit to NYC, my old home. I love visiting and get drool on my face thinking about what I'm going to do and where I'm going to visit while there. Thus this thread nearly a month before my visit.

    I've been going through numerous threads about NYC and the surrounding areas and that will explain why I've like people's year-old comments in threads and such; you guys have some useful discussions.

    Anyway, I'm trying to cook up at least two beer-centric days while in NYC in which I leave my daughter and wife behind and go nuts, hit up great spots, drink lots of good beer and enjoy company with my friends back east. In the past, I've led our group from Torst to Brouwerij Lane to BK Brewery and on many occasions I've hit up Pony Bar, Proletariat, Good Beer, Top Hops, Blind Tiger and so on (sorry if that sounds like a humble brag, but I'm just trying to give a sense of what I'm familiar with), so I've decided this year to be a bit more ambitious.

    I proposed to a friend hitting Captain Lawrence, Rushing Duck, Peekskill and Ommegang and at least on paper that seems awesome to me. Would others endorse this as a good way to spend a day?

    Another option I've thought of is visiting Kane and Carton, although for whatever reason it seems less of an adventure, I guess because "upstate" feels different than the Dirty Jers.

    I also considered (and hell, I may just do this as a second day during the visit) hitting Transmitter, Alewife, Big Alice and Single Cut.

    So which of these would y'all consider to be the most fun, lively, adventurous and offering the best AND most unique beers (I'm a sucker for weird, different and interesting, love IPAs but get tired of them)?

    I appreciate any advice and any polite nudges towards one plan over another AND/OR other suggested brew-driven day adventures.

    Thanks to all and I do enjoy reading your threads. Love my New York heads.

    PS.. I love Other Half and have been to the brewery, but it felt like such a mission to get there, so I don't see myself going out of my way to get there again this trip. I also passed by Sixpoint while out there only to find it closed on the same trip, that was a bummer.
     
    #1 ONovoMexicano, Nov 10, 2014
  2. Kanger

    Kanger Initiate (0) Sep 3, 2013 New York

    Will you have access to a car?

    Captain Lawrence and Peekskill are your best bets for a brewery day trip. Rushing Duck is a little further north. Ommegang is a nearly 4 hour drive from NYC so if you plan to spend the night in Cooperstown, then it's not worth it.

    Going to both in one day is a great time since they are not that far away from each other. Both are worth visits.

    So it's a choice to drive North to Captain Lawrence etc or drive South to Carton etc - either way will be about a 90 mins drive.

    I think this is your best bet for a good beer day with friends since all of these spots are easy to get to by subway. I would suggest going to Finback Brewery as well.

    I think Other Half is one of the easiest breweries to get to in the city, esp compared to Single Cut. But I guess it all depends where in the city you are.

    Yeah Sixpoint's taproom hasn't opened and no recent news of it opening soon.
     
    #2 Kanger, Nov 10, 2014
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  3. jrnyc

    jrnyc Grand Pooh-Bah (3,012) Mar 21, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    That Mid Hudson agenda seems very aggressive. A trip to OH is a walk in the park compared to that. With all that drinking I hope you have a DD. Beauty of NYC places is you can get around without having to drive. I highly recommend Peekskill though, you can go there without a car.

    3 weeks here, only two beer centric days :slight_smile:!!
     
    #3 jrnyc, Nov 10, 2014
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  4. ONovoMexicano

    ONovoMexicano Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2012 New Mexico

    Forgot to mention, if I leave the city, I'll be driving, if I head to Queens, I'll rely on trains and taxis.

    I looked at Finback and it seemed quite distant from the rest of the sites I mentioned in Queens. Wouldn't you agree?
     
    #4 ONovoMexicano, Nov 10, 2014
  5. ONovoMexicano

    ONovoMexicano Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2012 New Mexico

    Haha. Well, the more ambitious beer centric days. I'll still try to get to Proletariat, Good Beer and some of those other places when I can sneak away, but it will be sneaking away.

    My second home of sorts is in Washington Heights and from there to Other Half is an hour plus trek.
     
    #5 ONovoMexicano, Nov 10, 2014
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  6. abkayak

    abkayak Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2013 New York

    NEBCO 1st..Peekskill on the way back and take it from there
     
    #6 abkayak, Nov 11, 2014
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  7. sobeleg

    sobeleg Savant (1,098) Jun 29, 2011 New York
    Trader

    I live in South Harlem and have found the trip to Other Half to be fairly reasonable. Just hop on the A/C to W4th or Jay St. and switch to the F. Takes about 45-50 mins for me, so from Wash Heights it would be about 15 mins longer than that. Definitely easier then getting to pretty much any other brewery in the NYC area, even from Wash Heights in my opinion.
     
    #7 sobeleg, Nov 11, 2014
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  8. Kanger

    Kanger Initiate (0) Sep 3, 2013 New York

    Yeah if you have a car then hit up Carton and Kane.

    Yep you're right - out of the way for the rest of those breweries.

    Then let me add if you go to Alewife hit up Beer Closet beer store which just opened nearby.

    http://www.yelp.com/biz/beer-closet-long-island-city
     
    #8 Kanger, Nov 11, 2014
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  9. ONovoMexicano

    ONovoMexicano Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2012 New Mexico

    NEBCO is New England Beer Co? Worth a visit? Heard the beers are great but don't know much about the taproom.
     
    #9 ONovoMexicano, Nov 11, 2014
  10. abkayak

    abkayak Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2013 New York

    imo...this is the best close proximity 2 brewer trip a person can make from NYC and you can easily fit in a 3rd
    and the beers are real good
     
    #10 abkayak, Nov 11, 2014
  11. sjjn

    sjjn Pundit (852) Jun 4, 2004 California

    Dirck the Norseman should also be on your list. If you go to Connecticut hit up Two Roads in Stanford.
     
    #11 sjjn, Nov 11, 2014
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  12. rozzom

    rozzom Pooh-Bah (2,620) Jan 22, 2011 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    @ONovoMexicano - Other Half is a "mission", but you're going to drive to Ommegang as part of an epic 4 brewery tour? Hahaha. You could walk to Other Half from Washington Heights and back, in around the same time.

    In my opinion if you used to live in NYC, and miss NYC, then keep the beer tour NYC. Especially given all of the breweries that have opened recently. I agree with @Kanger - and I'd also add that by the time you get here, Threes Brewing should hopefully have opened (see separate thread in this sub-forum), which should provide you with an extra incentive to visit Other Half, which is fairly close by.

    Even taking Ommegang out of the equation, visiting the more "accessible" non-NYC breweries (Peekskill, Barrier, CL, Kane, Carton, Rushing Duck) are still going mean a pretty significant part of your day will be spent travelling. I know Americans have a much greater ability to suck it up when it comes to time spent in a car, but still it seems like a waste to me.
     
    #12 rozzom, Nov 12, 2014
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  13. ONovoMexicano

    ONovoMexicano Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2012 New Mexico

    That up there is the difference, I can hit four different breweries that I've never visited and make an adventure of it. Plus, I'll be driving which is nice because I can just jump in the car after each visit. If I went to Other Half, which is a tiny little spot I should say, I suppose I could walk (?) to Threes, but I'm not sure about proximity and it doesn't seem there's much else in the vicinity.

    I'm not ruling it out, but I think at this point I'm leaning towards the Queens brewery crawl and then the upstate breweries. I lived in NYC 9 years and neglected all of upstate then, I'd love to take advantage now, especially with the incentive of good beer.

    PLUS, last two times I was in NYC, I found Other Half's brews at almost every bar I went to, so I'll still be able to get my fill of their goodness.

    As always, appreciate the input folks.
     
    #13 ONovoMexicano, Nov 12, 2014
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  14. mike0802

    mike0802 Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2014 New York

    tap room is small 4-5 beers on. look ahead and if they have Gandhi on tap, def worth it. Fresh Bot is one of my favorite beers.
     
    #14 mike0802, Nov 12, 2014
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  15. cosmo4u

    cosmo4u Initiate (0) Nov 18, 2010 New York
    Trader

    Peekskill is worth the trip. Rushing duck is worth the ride if they have war elephant on tap. If your coming up all this way, they just opened a new brewery in beacon. Two ways brewery I believe it's called
     
    #15 cosmo4u, Nov 12, 2014
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  16. cosmo4u

    cosmo4u Initiate (0) Nov 18, 2010 New York
    Trader

    ... also consider newburgh brewery. That is an awesome place to hang out as well as good food
     
    #16 cosmo4u, Nov 12, 2014
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  17. iamjo

    iamjo Aspirant (275) May 27, 2014 New York

    I see your point on Other Half, you'll find it in many places in the city and it's usually very fresh.
    The LIC crawl is fun if the weather is nice.
    If you drive upstate check if Plan Bee is open and try to make it your first stop.
    Carton and Kane although not the most scenic drive are both amazing and well worth the drive.
     
    #17 iamjo, Nov 13, 2014
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  18. Jacobier10

    Jacobier10 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,102) Feb 23, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    If you're doing an LIC crawl then throw Rockaway Brewing Co. into the mix. They have a small tasting room and growlers to go.
     
    #18 Jacobier10, Nov 14, 2014
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  19. ONovoMexicano

    ONovoMexicano Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2012 New Mexico

    I think I've determined I'm doing the Queens crawl. Starting at Singlecut and making my way down to Big Alice, Rockaway, Transmitter and Alewife. Can anyone vouch for the food? Or is there anything else that's great along the way or in the vicinity of Alewife (since that's essentially the last stop). I know it's Queens so there's food from every corner of the world, but I'm hoping for something close and delicious (assuming I shouldn't bother with Alewife food).
     
    #19 ONovoMexicano, Nov 17, 2014
  20. Kanger

    Kanger Initiate (0) Sep 3, 2013 New York

    The food at Alewife is good.

    If the end of your crawl is in Long Island City, you could always jump on the G train at 21st/Jackson one more stop into Greenpoint Brooklyn and hit up Brouwerij Lane and then get excellent pizza at Paulie Gee's a few doors down. Then take a 10 minute walk down to Torst.
    (You could walk over the Pulaski Bridge into Greenpoint, but it might be a little far after a day of drinking)

    And don't forget to check out Beer Closet bottle shop right near Alewife.
     
    #20 Kanger, Nov 17, 2014
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