Flagship Brewing Company runs out of a warehouse at 40 Minthorne Street in Tompkinsville, a short walk uphill from the Staten Island Ferry terminal, and built its name on brewing for what locals call the forgotten borough.
The brewery opened in 2014 and turned a Staten Island industrial block into a tap room, with the tanks visible behind the bar and a wide garage-door front that opens in warm weather. Time Out New York frames it as the borough's craft-beer anchor, and the room draws a mix of ferry day-trippers and Staten Island regulars rather than a destination cocktail crowd.
The list starts with the flagship American Pale Ale, the beer the brewery is known for, alongside the Dark Mild and a rotating set of house lagers and IPAs. Order a flight to read the range, then settle on a pint of the pale ale or the mild, both lower-key and sessionable by design. Food runs to trucks and pop-ups rather than a full kitchen, so check what is parked outside before planning a meal.
The building leans into its industrial roots. Brewing tanks sit behind the bar in full view, the ceilings run high, and the garage-style front opens onto the Tompkinsville block in warm months, which gives the tap room the feel of a working brewhouse rather than a polished bar. Long shared tables push groups together, and the staff pour with a regulars-first ease.
Beyond the flagship pale ale and Dark Mild, the brewery rotates seasonal lagers and hoppier releases worth a flight, and BeerAdvocate's reviewers track the range as steady and improving. Food comes from rotating trucks and pop-ups rather than a fixed kitchen, so the practical plan is to check what is parked outside, or eat first and come for the beer.
The crowd is loosest on weekends, when the garage door is up and the tap room fills with groups who rode the ferry over for the afternoon. Weeknights run quieter and suit a slower pint. The ferry ride is free, which makes Flagship one of the cheapest beer outings in the city for a Manhattan-based drinker.
For more of the borough, see the best bars in New York and the full list of craft beer bars in New York, or browse the national craft beer pillar. For another New York brewery tap room, Other Half Brewing in New York pours hazy IPAs across the harbor in Brooklyn.
Who it suits: a ferry-ride beer outing, a sessionable pale-ale drinker, or a group after a relaxed tap room. Who it does not: a cocktail night, a sit-down dinner, or anyone unwilling to leave Manhattan.
Getting there is half the outing. The Staten Island Ferry runs free from Lower Manhattan around the clock, and Flagship sits a roughly ten-minute walk uphill from the St. George terminal, or a short bus hop for anyone skipping the climb. That makes a brewery afternoon one of the cheapest beer trips in the city, with the harbor views thrown in on the ride over. The tap room suits a relaxed session rather than a quick pint, so build in time for the round trip and check the brewery's hours before setting out, since they shift by day. Groups do best on a weekend afternoon when the garage door is open; a solo drinker or a pair will find a quieter counter midweek. Either way, the beer is built to drink fresh on site, and the borough setting is the point as much as the pour.
