The best craft beer bars in NYC

Since its arrival to Manhattan Avenue in early 2013, this sleek beer bar has been mobbed by suds fanatics willing to shell out a few extra bucks for rare, varied brews from across Europe and North America. The rotating, 21-tap draft menu features heady Evil Twin pours, alongside unique sips such as barley wine and smoked stout.

Over the past few years, Superfund site-adjacent Gowanus has overcome its primary association with pollution as it’s welcomed an ever-growing number of hip eateries and drinkeries. And noshing and sipping in the area became even easier with the arrival of Threes, a 5,000-square-foot brewery, cafe and event space serving its own excellent craft brews.

This Long Island City charmer is a destination for beer lovers across the boroughs willing to make the trek to the industrial ‘hood to sample a well-balanced selection of serious American brews and Old World classics.

While plenty of serious pint-pourers opt for a “the more the merrier” approach to their tap lines, this Williamsburg classic prunes its selection to just six drafts and one cask, so that no brew goes stale. There’s plenty more variety to be found by the bottle, though: more than 100 choices, with a focus on European microbrews. Grab your quaff and settle with friends in the spacious, leafy backyard.

Of all the reasons to make the schlep up to the Boogie Down, perhaps the most compelling is this world-class beer bar, offering a finely curated selection of 16 domestic-leaning taps, one rotating cask and more than 30 bottles. Beer lovers who live in the ‘hood will want to take advantage of the Alehouse’s Beer Club: sample 100 different types of beer, and get your name added to the pub’s wall of fame.

Anheuser-Busch sales executive Ted Kenny gave up his corporate gig to follow a beer-nerd dream—running his own craft-brew shop on the Lower East Side. Fill your growler from one of 20 draft lines, or choose from more than 700 bottles. Aspiring beer connoisseurs can pop in on classes and brewmaster tastings. The space also features a casual standing bar, where drinkers can sip on the shop's selections and nibble on cheeses and charcuterie.

Appealing to two of mankind’s most deep-seated cravings, this Flatiron retail-restaurant hybrid serves a drool-worthy combo of beer and meat. The latter, in the form of heaping platters of terrines, pates, and cured cold cuts, go down easy when chased by suds from eight draft lines and 350 different bottles.

This West Village mainstay is one of the OGs of the craft beer bar scene, serving up sudsy pints of Lagunitas, Founders and 26 other on-tap domestic microbrews since way back in 1995. The cozy pub is still a favorite among hopheads, who come out for fun weekly events and the stellar bar menu.

The spot is full of happy dudes drinking beer from large wineglasses while surrounded by Scandinavian decor, potted succulents and iPad Square Stands. There’s a reason everyone’s euphoria levels are so turnt up: The taproom finally allows Grimm’s followers to sample new flavors and buy freshly canned brews from the ex-nomadic beer darlings. Not only that, but the husband-and-wife owners allocate 160 oak barrels—one-fourth of the brewery’s space—toward aging sour beer, unheard of in NYC.

Hell’s Kitchen bars historically tend toward the fratty, but sophisticated beer palates will find respite from the cold Coor’s Lights at this spacious, handsome paean to American microbrews. 20 taps dispense gentle brews like Shipyard’s Melonhead all the way up to potent, 9.0% ABV Victor from Allagash.

One of the world’s most mysterious brewers set up shop in Queens, bringing a Euro influence to the city’s beer scene. It's the East Coast taproom debut of the lauded, Denmark-based beer with a 10,000-square-foot brewery and a restaurant. 

This snug barroom fits just 10 stools and is half hidden away amidst the craziness of St. Marks Place, but it’s worth seeking out for its eccentric menu of brews from across the country and the world. Belly up to the tiny bar for one of ten rotating drafts, or share one of about 30 bottles with friends. A nice selection of ciders from Normandy, the Basque Country and New Hampshire rounds out the beverage menu nicely.

The hulking, stainless-steel fermentation tanks are more savvy than steampunk, with the largest pieces hidden behind floor-to-ceiling glass windows for the kind of intimate transparency usually only seen on brewery tours. Add the blue-and-white bunting strung alongside dangling Edison bulbs and the salumi pizza served with grilled cauliflower steak, throw in a shuffleboard table, and you’re in hipster Brooklyn’s industrial version of a German biergarten. (Brookgarten has got to be a thing, right?)

Operating on a “more is more” principle, this steadfast Herald Square beer geek destination boasts a full 70 beers on tap that have ranged from a savory Salted Caramel Stout from Portland, Ore.’s Breakside Brewery to a light ‘n’ easy pilsner from Bavaria’s storied Weihenstephan. Dark wood, low lighting and handsome vintage posters make for a sophisticated drinking experience: bring your dad next time he’s in town.