I will be up in NYC all of next week => Sun thru Fri. Asking for suggestions on where I can find some great craft beer on tap and also cans/bottles to purchase while in town. I am staying near 37th street and 5th avenue. I plan on hitting Other Half brewing on Sunday when I get in. Appreciate any and all suggestions. Cheers!
Well, you'll be staying right near The Ginger Man, which is a beer bar with a large selection on draft. Rattle N Hum East is another great bar nearby. My favorite beer bar in the city is One Mile House on Delancey in the Lower East Side, and Fool's Gold is not far of a walk away on 2nd. Fool's Gold usually has a great tap list, and if you're interested in Hill Farmstead, they almost always have something from there on offer. Also great for watching sports. Not sure if you plan on spending the whole day at OH on Sunday, but if you're up for a little movement, Threes Brewing is not far away by Lyft and always has great beer on tap, both theirs and guest taps, as well as delicious fries. The bottle shop they have there is also pretty great -- again their beer and others -- though the prices can be a little higher on the to-go options. Mission Dolores and the The Owl Farm are also in that general area, both owned by the same group, both offering really great tap lists. In the East Village, you've got a pretty great trifecta of Proletariat (bar), Good Beer (store/bar) and Augur's Well (bar). Good Beer probably has the best prices, Proletariat the most interesting beer, and Augur's Well the most hyped beer (not a bad thing by any means). The latter also has the highest prices for their beers, often $10 for a 12 ounce pour. Their taplist sometimes warrants those prices. I do enjoy going to Good Beer, getting something on tap, and browsing their selection -- the crew is great and happy to talk beer and help you find something fun to take home. Beermenus is an app that will help you immensely as you navigate the NYC beer scene. You can see ahead of time what many bars have available on tap or for sale, though make sure to check the 'last updated' line. Untappd also has the listings for a number of venues, including Top Hops, another Lower East Side establishment that is both store and bar. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't encourage you to spend some time in Williamsburg. Greenpoint Beer and Ale has been putting out stellar IPAs recently, and they may have a release on the Wednesday you're in town (their Instagram is the best place to find out). The nearby Tørst always has an incredible selection on tap -- it's famous for a reason. Beer Boutique and Beer Karma further south are solid bottle shops (the latter is also a bar) and the people there are very knowledgeable as well. Spuyten Duyvil is another NYC establishment that is near those bottle shops that always has an interesting tap list. Head a little further east in WBurg and you can visit Interboro, another brewery making top notch beer, and The Well, a big beer bar with over 30 beers on tap. Take a walk to Roberta's for some pizza, then keep walking to KCBC for a few pints before heading back to the city. There are a metric shit tonne of other options in the city, but I tried to narrow down to some highlights. Others will chime in with what I've left out, I hope -- especially since I haven't mentioned the UES/UWS/Queens at all and the plethora of options in those places. If you have a general itinerary for your trip, that might help others make suggestions as well. Also, make sure to check the hours for the breweries you want to visit as some are closed on certain days (Interboro is closed Mon/Tue, for example). Oh, and finally, if you're looking for volume bottle/can purchases that are not brewery-only releases, the many Whole Foods in the city usually have the best prices.
If you make your way out to Long Island City (not far from Greenpoint) I’d recommend visiting Fifth Hammer and then LIC Beer Project. Throw some BBQ at John Browns in there too.
All the above info is great especially the Beermenus tip. It's an easy way to check tap lists at bars before going there if you're pressed for time/stops. It's my experience that Torst is hit or miss though no less iconic. I think The Well (different from the mentioned Auger's Well) is a bit longer to get to but has possibly the most extensive list of beers in the city. It's also the biggest space to drink craft beer in the city, though lacking in atmosphere. Look at that list! https://www.beermenus.com/places/18701-the-well The Well is near Interboro, near a solid bottle shop in Hops and Hocks, near a great food option in Roberta's Pizza, and near KCBC brewery. Roberta's usually has great draft options as well. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Int...6567852e11!2m2!1d-73.9236918!2d40.7060658!3e2 What a great trip that is! Folksbier is just a few blocks up from Other Half. You could have a great trip Saturday by doing cans at OH, then Folksbier, then Bar Great Harry, with lunch/early dinner in the area. There's an abundance of food options in that area!
The Well is truly amazing, probably the best beer bar I have ever been to. While it may be lacking in atmosphere, it has a cool history: It's not just a great bar; it's also a piece of brewing history since it's in the old Heileman/Goldenrod Brewery from pre-prohibition, and is located in what was formerly called "Brewer's Row." There's more information here if you're curious: http://www.nyfoodmuseum.org/bkbeer.htm https://bopoulsen.com/2015/07/30/brewers-row-a-history-of-breweries-in-bushwick/
