NYC liquor store

Where in NYC are you staying? It's a huge place....

 

Take note- beer is not sold in liquor stores in the state of NY.

 

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...t-and-brewery-list.200513/page-3#post-2855818

Most complete list of beer shops and bars in Manhattan. If you are in midtown, I'd definitely suggest hitting up The Ginger Man (a bar) on 36th st between 5th ave and madison ave. They always have an extensive beer list, and if you are lucky, every so often they get kegs from some smaller breweries that don't even distribute to NY (ahem, Hill Farmstead). Expect a crowd if you are going after 5pm.

 

And, if you pay close attention to that map, you'll notice that to hit up any decent beer store in Manhattan means leaving Midtown to some extent or the other.

 

I would recommend you to visit the WholeFoods Bowery on Houston St. Also a few blocks from there you have New Beers Distributor, they have a decent selection of beers (check the dates), also Top Hops is a short walk from there, very good selection. All of this places are not in Midtown but just a short subway ride away.

 

Whole Foods Columbus Circle is in midtown and walking distance to Times Square, but you will probably be better off at some of the other shops mentioned.

 

I'd also recommend checking out the Whole Foods Bowery location, best selection and prices in NYC IMO.

ETA: If you go make sure you look at the actual beer room and not just the random stuff they have scattered throughout the store. The beer room is located on the opposite side of the main entrance, as you exit where the cash registers are.

 

Just use my beer map - lots of places to get beer - look for the yellow shopping carts:

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/viewer?mid=zwC6ezBHVgzI.kyMuRsydhsSU

Near Mid-Town you have Beer Table, Beer Culture, Whole Foods, and Brewtique.

 

You can, you just can't get it in "liquor stores." Supermarkets, bodegas, beer shops, etc will have beer.

Also, Midtown is a pretty big place. Ninth Avenue Vintner also has beers, but check the dates... more often than not their stuff is very old.

 

If it's only one night, I'd suggest just hitting a few bars in the area you're staying. Finding a store in midtown can be a challenge.

 

If "midtown" means "midtown west," you could do worse than Beer Culture at 45th & 8th. Great selection of bottles to go.

 

Beer Culture and Whole FOODS Columbus Circle are near where you're staying. If you feel like going to the upper east side you can find all the new stuff at city swiggers and noble grains. Those two places are close to each other too.

 

Word of warning when shopping for beer at whole foods. If they get limited and in demand bottles they don't put those on the shelf. You have to ask for it specifically.

 

It really depends at WF CC - they had Velvet Merkin sitting out on the shelf unlimited, but had 120 minute behind the counter (though they had a sign out letting customers know that they had it).

Seeing as this is a pretty low time for "big releases," though, I don't expect this will be an issue. Come BCBS/KBS/BlackNote/Etc. season it gets crazy again.

 

Their beer section got reduced by 80%. It's a joke now. Chelsea Whole Foods is better. New Beer in LES is good

 

Wow- that's too bad. They did something similar to the one in Paramus. I hope they don't touch Brooklyn these days.

 

Are WF changing their beer business? Bowery isn't as good as it used to be either (more fridges is great, but selection has definitely come down overall). And although WF Brooklyn is solid, it's not really the beer mecca I think some people were expecting prior to opening. Same goes for WF Tribeca. Used to be great when I worked nearby, but selection has dwindled there as well.

 

The WF in Midtown East is still doing a solid job (although selection was always smaller than the rest, due to size).

I can see why selection may be dwindling -- there really just aren't that many beer geeks out there. I'm guessing most people that buy craft will buy what they see most often (Dogfish, Capt. Lawrence, Lagunitas, Bluepoint, etc.). Case in point: WF shopper asks the guy stocking beer what a good pumpkin beer is. WF employee recommends Southern Tier Pumpking and a few others, but sees guy hesitate, so offers up Dogfish Punkin. Shopper buys Dogfish because he knows Dogfish.