NYC Recomendations

Why rain on someone’s parade?

 

Not at all. Wild East deserves recognition, so the next person reading this thread will check them out.

 

That's fair, next time I'll just plug Wild East from the get-go. I'll also try not to miss any breweries worth seeing in Portland, ME if I get there in February. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

It sounds like they only had a day to do beer related stuff which is just not a lot of time especially in NYC. There were a ton of recommendation s in this thread, so stuff had to get cut. I'd say they made the most of the time that they had by hitting up 6 breweries plus the 9/11 memorial. There's always next time.

@Jbrews looks like you had an awesome trip. Glad you enjoyed your time in NYC. Portsmouth has been on my bucket list to visit, so I'll be sure to hit you up for this gs to do if I ever make the trip.

 

No argument here. It felt good to know that someone from out of town would share a great experience of one of the best breweries around. I was disappointed that they cut this particular place.

 

Do... do you not see the amount of things on that itinerary? I, even as somebody familiar with NYC and how to get around, never get to do everything I want when I'm there. Literally just this weekend I didn't get to Non-Sequitur even though it was high on the list and thought I budgeted enough time.

So take the snarky Comic Book Guy comments elsewhere.

 

I just spent a long weekend down in NYC/Brooklyn from Portsmouth as well, and just reading the amount of things you guys crammed into one visit gives me a head and liver ache. Hahah

My wife doesn’t enjoy beers or breweries, so we unfortunately visited none while we where there. We did get a lot of food in over the course of 3 days though. If I was on my own, my itinerary very well would’ve looked like this one! Sounds like it was awesome.

 

Yessssssssss!

I enjoyed following your trip.

 

I'm the next person reading this thread. So, thanks!

My wife and I are coming for 5 days to NYC at the end of April to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Between Broadway shows and a day trip up the Hudson Valley or to Connecticut, she allows me to drag her breweries. Lucky man!

Any how, starting the detailed planning (have been to NYC 5-6 times). In reviewing the WIld East beers, I feel in love with the menu. My plan is to hit Finback Brooklyn, Strong Rope, and Wild East. Loved Finback Queens which we visited 3-4 years ago.

Bummed about Ginger Man closing. Loved that place.

 

My suggestion if possible would be Wild East, Finback and then head to the Strong Rope location in Red Hook. Beautiful tap room and amazing views.
Other Half is about half way in between too.

Wild East is definitely a great place with a great and varied beer menu. I live about a mile away.

The Strong Rope near Wild East in Gowanus is small and fine. The Red Hook location is a nicer option. I’d recommend their traditional styles. It seems to be what they do best but Wild East and Finback are a step ahead beer quality wise.

 

I would do it in reverse: start at Strong Rope in Red Hook during the day, optionally stop by Keg & Lantern (they have good-looking food, but I never tried it), hit Other Half, then go to Finback (optional) and Wild East.

 

Cool options! Other Half has been on my list for awhile, but haven't made it the last couple of visit. I didn't include as they have opened at taproom at the Rockfeller and I will be staying a couple of blocks away. However, if there tap list looks good/better at the brewery, I may modify. Also, it does look like Other Half opens the earliest. Nothing like starting to drink at noon! It's vacation!

Also, thanks for the food suggestion. I need to go back through the posts and evaluate against a couple of options that I have been adding to the list.

I was talking with my wife last night, and she was fine with going to the breweries. She even asked about going back to Jeffrey.

 

If your wife is more of a cocktail person than a beer person definitely make sure to make it to Finback Brooklyn. They make their own gin in house and make a bunch of creative cocktails as well as killer beer of course.

 

There are plenty of food options around. I should've said they ALSO have food. Keg & Lantern is a brewery with some interesting/odd beers similar to Evil Twin and Endless Life the owner of which used to be the head brewer at K&L.

 

Reporting back. My wife and I spent last week in NYC. As always, we had a great time and it was great to be back after three years. Apologize if the gets too long, but special thanks for all of you who provided feedback and guidance!

On Monday, we walked from our hotel (6th and 53rd) to Circle Line Tours and took a two and half hour your around Manhattan by ferry. Since we stuck with West Coast Time, we stopped by As Is for lunch and some beers on our way back to the hotel. I know you guy's had mixed recommendations, but we really enjoyed our lunch and beer selection. Service was friendly and loved the corner neighborhood 'bar" environment. It also helped that we met a beer distributor and the owners of Brauerei Michael Plank who were visiting from Germany. They had one beer on tap which was really good. I had the following beers:

• Fifth Hammer - Rare Data (ESB)
• Plank - Heller Weizenbock
• Torch & Crown - BA King Elizabeth.

On Tuesday, my wife suggested taking the subway to Other Half for the afternoon prior to going Wicker that evening. Ok, twist my arm. It was ridiculous easy to take the subway and walk a few blocks. Since OH doesn't have food (besides some popcorn and other snacks), we picked up lunch from the Burrito Spot. Since food seems limited in the area, it ended up being a good choice. I had some good fish tacos. We ate lunch, played cribbage, and enjoyed some great food. Friendly service and really got the feeling of a working brewery. Loved the diversity of the employees, and oh yeah, great beer. I had the following beers:

• Crudite - NE DIPA
• Heavy Chedder - NE DIPA
• Past & Present - Export Stout
• Deep Orbit Vega - BA Imperial Stout
• Methods of Excavation - Mixed BA Imperial Stout.

On Thursday, we did our Brooklyn brewery tour of Wild East, Strong Rope, and Finback. We took the subway to the Carroll Street Stop and walked to Wild East, making a slight detour to My Cuban Spot to pick up lunch (definitely recommended). We sat outside of Wild East, eat lunch, and had some beers while 2-3 people walked by asking for a dollar for a cigarette (along with a guy riding a small motorcycle up and down the one way street). LOL. Reminded me SF. I had the following beers at Wild East:

• ? - English Ale
• Deference - BA Quad w/cherries
• Belligerence - English Barleywine.

My wife decided she wanted to pick up Neil deGrasse Tyson latest book. So, we walked up to 7th Street to a local book store (nice that they still exist!). We then headed to Strong Rope. Enjoyed the neighborhood atmosphere, and it happened to be a night where locals came and played music. They were surprisingly good. I had one of the best brown ales that I have ever had:

• J.J. Bollerack's Brown Ale

I would have liked to stay longer, but wanted to hit Finback (been to their Queen's location). Not what I expected in a tap room. Tall ceilings with a lot of plywood and a funky mural (which I liked). Friendly service with Ok food. Beer was great as expected. I had the following:

• Oscillation - NE DIPA
• Between the Dead - Imperial Stout.

We walked back to the Carroll Street Stop and caught the subway back to mid-town. Head home the next day (forgot to mention picking up 4 packs from OH, Wild East, and Finback for the trip home). Another great beercation!

 

Sounds like a great time. If you make it back to Other Half try out Court Street Grocers for sandwiches. Right up the block.

 

Headed to town next weekend and have the following places on my list to stop at some point. Grouping them together by proximity. Any other must need stops close by? I am staying in East Village and am planning to walk/train everywhere if the weather holds up.

OH Brooklyn
Finback
Wild East
Three's

OH Domino
Evil Twin Dumbo
Torst

Grand Delancey
Augurs Well
Carmine Street

 

I’m pretty sure Torst/OH Domino would be kind of a pain to get to from DUMBO. Doing the L train stretch from ET Ridgewood to Grimm to Torst to OH Domino would be the way I’d do it. Maybe could throw in KCBC.