Editorial
New York's craft beer scene is the deepest in America by sheer volume of options. The list below shows what serious beer drinkers in the city actually go to.
Burp Castle has shushed the East Village since 1992, a Belgian beer bar where bartenders sometimes wear monastic robes and patrons are hushed if they talk above a whisper. The taps rotate through La Chouffe and the like, backed by Chimay and other bottles. It is the antidote to a loud New York night. Go for a quiet, serious Belgian pour.
Blind Tiger has held legendary status on Bleecker Street since 1995, a West Village beer bar with a tightly curated draft list and some of the best bar food downtown. It runs from 11:30am to 4am daily, so there is no wrong hour. Regulars rate the cask and rare keg events. Get there early evening before the small room fills.
The Jeffrey sits under the Queensboro Bridge on the Upper East Side, a craft beer bar and cafe with a heated, year round beer garden. The taps lean local and rotating, and the espresso keeps it useful by day. It is a rare serious beer room this far uptown. Best on a mild evening with the garden open.
Tørst runs 21 taps and over 200 bottles from a marble bar on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, the most carefully kept beer list in Brooklyn. The room is spare and Scandinavian, the pours precise, the prices a match for the ambition. Go for a rare Danish or West Coast keg, and stay for the bottle list. Best midweek when you can read the board in peace.
d.b.a. has anchored First Avenue in the East Village for years, with 16 rotating drafts, a deep bottle list and a wall of American whiskey behind it. The year round, heated back patio is the draw, and dogs are welcome inside. It is a proper drinkers' bar with no frills. Go for the beer, the whiskey and the patio in any season.
Covenhoven keeps a calm beer bar on Classon Avenue in Crown Heights, with a focused tap list, a serious bottle fridge and a large back garden. It is a neighbourhood local that takes beer seriously without the fuss. The garden does the work in warm months. Go on a sunny afternoon, grab a bottle and claim a table out back.
Keg & Lantern has brewed on Nassau Avenue in Greenpoint since 2009, with a dozen house beers plus guest taps and a heated backyard. It leans into foeder fermented sours and hazy IPAs, served alongside wings and burgers. Monday and Wednesday bring 50 cent wings. Go for the house brews and the backyard, not for a refined night.
Torst is a Greenpoint beer bar with a rotating tap wall of rare Scandinavian and American craft brews in a spare, blond-wood room. The list changes constantly and the pours are precise. Go early evening before the small room fills.
Burp Castle and Blind Tiger are essential. Most peak between 8 and 11 PM.
Tom Callahan covers craft beer, pubs and live music. Value conscious, suspicious of anything overpriced, always one eye on the match.