Tørst bottle list

they run 5-12$ for 5-8oz pours......so i imagine their bottle list looks like 3-4 figures..bring a lot

 

Bottle list is pretty pricey. Was there a few weeks ago and barrel aged IBB was $47 and even more Jesus was $30

 

Which would sound crazy at most bars, but their tap prices are crazy high as well.

I absolutely LOVE Torst. That said, I think about it like a wine bar more than a beer bar - I go for the atmosphere, for beers I'll slowly sip, and for the opportunity to try things that I just won't find anywhere else in the city. It's not the kind of place I'd go to have 5 drinks and take a cab home at 1 AM.

 

Some of their bottles are $100+!

 

I'm not sure what bars you normally frequent but 100% MU on off premise to on premise pricing is the norm in the five boroughs IME

 

The Jeffrey actually had bottles of BA IBB for $35, and I remember seeing it somewhere else for ~$35-36 (Gingerman I believe).

I think MisterBisco hit the nail on the head. Great, geat bar, but for me not a place I frequent too much due to location, price, and the fact that if I want to hang out there and have 5 or 6 beers, it is going to be pricey.

IMO the bottle menu is really great, but again, very pricey. There are some bottles I would love to try, but I can never justify pulling the trigger on due to the pricing. My suggestion would be to pick out one nice bottle, maybe one of the Evil Twin harder to find beers, and then go with the stuff on tap that you normally don't see around town.

In summary: I wouldn't expect to see the crazy stuff they had their opening week on the bottle menu, but you'll see some really great vintage stuff and some harder to find Evil Twin beers, just be prepared to shell out ($30-$100 a bottle).

 

Was just stating my experience and that the bottles were expensive. Completely agree that this is the norm.

 

Plus its NYC, prices will be inflated.

 

To match the egos.

- Joe

 

Nobody is forcing you guys to come into the city

But on the topic of torst, regardless of atmosphere or the hard-to-find nature of some of the beers, the place is severely overpriced by any city/state/country's standard

 

Insanely overpriced. I feel like I'm paying for the decor more than the beer.

$5 for an 8 oz pour of BOAT BEER? Meanwhile I can go to Lucky Dog and get a 16 oz pint for the same price.

 

have they brought back any of the crazy stuff that they opened with? I didn't make it the opening weekend and missed out on Fou Foune and Blabaer, I thought they were hanging on to some of it to occassionally bring back out, but haven't heard that they ever have.

 

I went a few times when they opened. As you mention, they had Blabaer (went quick), Fou (lasted a bit longer) and some other interesting beers.

During the initial first few weeks, you could also apparently buy beer from the "private collection", but they weren't listed, and it was super sketchy/awkward asking for it. Kind of like a drug deal. My one and only attempt went something like:

"hey, I hear you guys have some other beers for sale that aren't listed"

"maybe - what sort of thing are you looking for"

"I don't know, black tuesday or any other cool stouts that don't see NY distro. you have anything like that?"

"we might, depends"

"depends on what"

"stuff. it's like, the owners, like, collection man - let me go check"

a couple minutes later

"sorry, we don't have anything right now"


But then apparently that stopped happening alotgether, and from then on the bottle list was always interesting, but not quite the same as the craziness of the initial opening.

But to be honest I rarely go these days. So perhaps someone that does, and is on good terms with the guys that work there, may have better / more up-to-date info on what they have

 

Was just there on Saturday (for the first time). I thought it was nice, but maybe a bit overhyped. I definitely wouldn't go as far as to say it's the best beer bar in NYC. I did enjoy the option to get get 5oz pours. Allowed me to try a bunch of different things. I probably won't be making the trek back out from Midtown again for a while though.

 

They generally keep their draft list updated on BeerMenus: http://www.beermenus.com/places/8678-t-rst-torst
This bar is awesome. Great atmosphere + the ability to get 5 oz. pours makes for a good time.

 

I love the idea of 5oz pours too, but they need to be at 5oz prices.

E.g. 5oz of Sucre is $12, and Beer Culture is selling 10oz for $11. The two places obviously are not apples to apples, but that's still a crazy mark up.

 

Just for thought, Sucre was the most expensive 5gal keg I personally have ever seen listed at wholesale price. There's a bit more art than science in pricing something that's twice as much $$ by volume as bcbs. IF they have a ton of lines and bought one keg, makes sense to me. If beer culture thought they'd get some traffic in the door by selling it closer to 'cost' that makes sense to me too.

 

Fair enough. I just used that example since it was on beermenus at the time of posting, and the only ones that get listed as 5oz on BM are the ones that only come in that size. But maybe not a great example, especially as beer culture isn't really the same type of place.

But if you check pretty much any beer they have, their price will be pronouncedly higher than any other bar in the city, whether it's something like sucre, or a local IPA. Look at rodenbach grand cru for example. Several places have it, but torst had by far the highest price per ounce

 

Draft 55 had Sucre on tap for like $22/8oz pour according to beer menus. Not on there anymore.