When in NYC...

Thought I'd give folks some thanks for all the advice on how to wisely spend my time in NYC and share the experience a bit.

I visited a lot of the places people mentioned as well as a number of others.

The first weekend I took a Saturday and I visited Singlecut, then Big Alice, then Rockaway, then Transmitter, then Alewife, then head into BK and stopped at Brouwerij Lane, tried to get pizza at Paulie Gee's (hour wait, so nixed), then ended up at Dirck the Norseman.

Singlecut was very impressive in that their beers were consistently good to great. Standouts were the Queens Lagrr, the Billy Fullstack, the TNT Bon Bon, and the Eric Rum-barrel aged (this was superb).

Big Alice was cool to visit, but I found the beers to be quite mediocre. Some seemed either infected or just bad and only one tasted good enough to justify getting another pour of. Seems like they have QC issues and/or just aren't honest about whether certain beers are good. Saddest thing is they seem to have some wild ideas for beers that could be delicious if properly executed.

Rockaway was a quick visit, mostly because they didn't have many beers that stood out to me. The Black Gold Nitro was good and I sampled a scotch ale that was decent but served from a bottle rather than a tap, so that was odd. It seems to me that they're still in the early stages producing staple beers and haven't gotten too adventurous with the brews. That's wise and understandable, but also why I was in and out so quickly as I'm always drawn to specialty brews and one-offs.

Transmitter threw me for a loop as I thought there'd be a taproom. Still, we were able to taste a few of their beers, all of which were delightful. I picked up a couple bottles of their Mahogany Saison as well as bottles of the Brandy Barrel-aged Imperial Stout. I was glad to have visited and tried the beers.

Alewife is an awesome spot. Great beer list and great food. I dipped into the Beer Closet before Alewife but found the selection limited and didn't see any beer there that I couldn't get elsewhere.

Brouwerij Lane was as awesome as always and it turns out they had a Transmitter sour on tap so I actually got to drink some more of their goods. I saw a few boxes of Finback BA BQE and was going to buy one until they told me it was $25 a bottle. Yikes.

Dirck the Norseman was an excellent stop. The food was delicious. I'm a sucker for schnitzel and they had a great one their served in a generous portion. Also had the rib on bone dish (forget the real name) and it was also delicious. I liked the beer list too, very Eurocentric but still unique and interesting. I had what I recall to be a sort of smoked helles that was delicious and also an English Dark Mild that impressed. Overall, a great end to a day of liver destruction.

 

Also during the trip made it to the following standouts:

Astoria Bier and Cheese, Finback Brewery, Fette Sau,

I'd been on a previous visit and by that time we were starving and all we wanted was food. Between the tabs at the breweries and bars, cab from Steinway to Singlecut, Singlecut to Big Alice, 4 bottles purchased at Transmitter, Luksus didn't seem very affordable. haha.

 

A couple of Saturdays later I had to return a rental car to JFK, so I stopped at Astoria Bier and Cheese for some snacks and beer that were incredible and then headed to Finback Brewery. Finback is impressive. Between Singlecut, Other Half, Transmitter, Finback, and Gunhill in the BX (which I visited along with the Bronx Ale House), NYC folks can not complain about their locally brewed beer.

After Finback, we dropped off the rental, took the LIRR into BK and then cabbed over to Fette Sau. Food was great and there were a few good beers at the bar. Crossed over to Spuyten Duyvil but found the tap list a tad lackluster and the bottle prices offensive. I did try Other Half's Beat it Nerd and that was the first beer from them that disappointed me. Something seems to have gone awry. It just didn't taste good.

From there we headed over to Barcade, which also had a weak tap list, but we enjoyed playing some games. Took the L from there into Manhattan and dropped in for a beer at Drop Off Service in the East Village (Habanero Sculpin, which is almost undrinkably spicy and this is coming from a New Mexican) before heading to Proletariat.

Proletariat simply does not disappoint, man. Great spot. Maybe the best in the city. They had Westbrook's 4th Anniversary bottles so I had to get one and man, that beer is good. Akin to chocolate coconut water or an almond joy, but either way, delicious. Proletariat wasn't playing punk that night, rather classic funk and soul that had all been sampled by hip hop artists, so I was really enjoying the vibe.

 

I asked at Finback if they had any more bottles available and they didn't. Asked what bottle prices were and the bartender said $15. I'd have paid that much.

 

To clarify, wasn't the first OH, I'd had. I visited the brewery last year. Also found Southernhopalistic on tap at Astoria Bier and Cheese, the Farm Ladder Stout on at Proletariat, and I think a few others around town. It was just the first OH beer to disappoint me.

 

Some other NYC observations which coincide with conversations going on in the Draft mag thread and others:

Rattle n Hum always has a ton of Goose Island gems, how is this possible? I just missed BCBS barleywine one Sunday. Their selection stays pretty interesting and if you go during down hours, it's tolerable.

Gingerman during slower hours is worth ducking your head into just to check what's on tap (which is what I did and was doing all around the city). They had Xmas Bomb! on. I also almost splurged on some fancy whiskey pours but talked myself out of it.

Beer Culture will never get my money ever. Tap list sucks and the bartender was a dick when I went in with my daughter and she had a meltdown out of tiredness. It was NYE and I was hoping to get a bottle of something special for the occasion, but was also trying to calm my daughter down. The bartender did not hide his contempt at my situation. If the place was just a bar, I could probably side with him, but the place is also a bottle shop, so you can't pretend it's only drinkers that should be in there.

Fool's Gold is a cool spot worth a visit. I got pours of OH Doug and Carton Gilded Lily there and they had cocktails my wife enjoyed.

I discovered there's a Barcade on St. Mark's Place, they actually had some cool beers on tap that I got pours of: Central Waters BB Imperial Stout and Newburgh Hoptron (a smoked gose).

George Keeley's on the UWS had HF Anna on tap. That was cool.

District Tap House in Midtown had Wulver on tap. That was cool.

Gun Hill Brewing in the BX is a gem. Way out there and the place is basically an open warehouse (so freezing inside) but their beers are great. Their Double IPA, 13 Star I think it is called, was excellent and the Void of Light was outstanding. I'm sure it's great BA too.

I had a bottle of Grimm Double Negative and that too was good.

Overall, aside from the high price to drink, I'd say people in NYC have it made as far as beer. Great distribution, many whales that go on tap or show up in bottle shops, and the local breweries are killing it.

 

In Albuquerque, beermenus is useless, so I don't bother with it, but I get daily emails about updates and most of them are NYC bars like Proletariat, George Keeley's, etc. I also follow and get notifications from practically every good bar and brewery in NYC, so when I'm back in New Mexico it can be painful to see some of the stuff that goes on tap.

When I arrived to NYC, I tried to map things out and have a plan, but as an out-of-towner that also wants good food, I kind of just pick good neighborhoods or pick a spot to eat and then go to whatever beer spots are in the vicinity.

The truth is, compared to New Mexico, every NYC bar should have at least one beer that's unique or worth trying for me. I think only Barcade and the Bronx Ale House had tap lists that made me decide not to have a beer. And at the Bronx Ale House, I changed my mind and got a pour of Xocoveza, which is a beer I love.

 

I was there for about two weeks. I would say I had about three days to myself to explore and bounce around to spots and then slid into a few spots together with the family.