Other Half Brewing's original tap room sits at 195 Centre Street, on the seam where Carroll Gardens meets Red Hook and Gowanus, two blocks from the Smith-Ninth Street subway and built around the hazy IPAs that made the brand.
The brewery started here in 2014 and grew into one of the most-followed names in American hazy beer, with can releases that once drew lines down the block, as BeerAdvocate's profile of the Centre Street location documents. The room is a working brewery first: tanks behind the bar, long communal tables, and a counter that turns over fast on release days.
The list centers on double dry-hopped IPAs and hazy pale ales, with the rotating Green and Forever series among the regulars to look for. Order a flight to track what is fresh, then take a four-pack to go, since the beer is built to drink within days of canning. The pours change constantly, so the bartender's read on the newest batch beats ordering from memory.
The Centre Street room is unmistakably a brewery floor rather than a bar build-out: stainless tanks behind the counter, concrete underfoot, and a cooler wall of cans that turns over with each new batch. The location sits at an industrial crossroads of Carroll Gardens, Red Hook and Gowanus, a short walk from the Smith-Ninth Street stop, which gives it a destination feel away from the main bar strips.
Other Half built its following on scarcity, and release days still set the rhythm, with fresh cans dropping under the Green and Forever series names that drinkers track. The smart move for a casual visit is a weekday flight when the line is short; the smart move for the hyped releases is to check the brewery's channels first. Either way the beer rewards drinking fresh over hoarding.
The crowd is beer-forward and busiest on weekend release days, when the tap room fills with people there for the cans as much as the pints. Off-peak weekday afternoons are the calmer window for anyone who wants a seat and a slower flight. Other Half also runs a Domino Park waterfront location, but Centre Street is the original and the one beer travelers tend to seek out.
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 a Staten Island brewery alternative, Flagship Brewing Company in New York pours sessionable ales near the ferry.
Who it suits: a hazy IPA drinker, a release-day group, or anyone building a four-pack to take home. Who it does not: a cocktail crowd, a quiet date, or anyone after a full dinner.
The tap room sits a short walk from the Smith-Ninth Street stop on the F and G lines, the highest subway station in the system, which doubles as a landmark for finding the block. Release days drive the calendar, so anyone chasing a specific can should check the brewery's channels before making the trip, while a casual drinker is better off on a quiet weekday afternoon. The space is built for drinking fresh and taking cans home rather than for a long sit-down, and there is no full kitchen, so plan food around the visit. Prices land in the standard New York craft range, with flights the smartest way to read a rotating board. For a beer traveler working the city, Centre Street is the original room and the one worth the detour over the newer Domino Park location on the waterfront.
