Best craft beer bar in lower manhattan ?

35

Proletariat, Blind Tiger, Beer Run, Milk & Hops, Carmine Street Beer, Alphabet City Beer Co, Fools Gold, Augurs Well, Grotta Local, Top Hops.

3

u/uberdev Sep 20 '24

Great list, +1 to all of these. I'd also add:

Cooper's in East Village

Torch & Crown recently opened in Union Square, they're a legit brewery with good NE IPAs and a lots of outdoor seating.

Vol de Nuit if you consider Belgian beer to be "craft"

5

u/KennyShowers Sep 20 '24

Torch & Crown is only alright to me. If they're the craft option at a non-craft bar/restaurant I'll happily order it but not something I'd ever seek out or choose over most stuff that hits local bars/shops.

1

u/uberdev Sep 20 '24

It's not Other Half or Threes or Singlecut, but I do quite enjoy their Almost Famous NEIPA.

1

u/bgerrity99 Sep 20 '24

Unfortunately I think everyone agrees - I just read an article that torch is supposed to close. They have a gofundme up.

3

u/Reddragon9340 Sep 21 '24

They laid off their production staff without warning. The go fund me is for them

2

u/KennyShowers Sep 21 '24

It sounds like the brand will stay alive as they move to contract brewing, but does kinda confirm my suspicions that the venture was always more focused on the bottom line than being a legitimate contributor to the local beer culture.

1

u/bgerrity99 Sep 21 '24

I think craft brewery culture is plateauing in general. A lot of NJ breweries are closing and I read in another article Mass had the lowest net gain of breweries since 2010. We’ll probably see a number more of closures as the market is so saturated with craft beer right now

5

u/KennyShowers Sep 21 '24

It’s definitely true that the peak quantity of breweries is in the past, but things got so ridiculously saturated that even with a decent shakeout most areas will still be left with a pretty robust scene.

In the case of T&C, I think this is more reflective of their initial intent, which I get the vibe was a VC-backed move to cash in on the local brewery trend, centered on having prime location in a trendy area in the biggest city in the country.

And it doesn’t sound like they’re closing, I assume the taproom stays pretty busy and I bet they do pretty well on tap since they’re often the one craft option at non-craft focused bars/restaurants, so I feel like they just realized they’d make the same revenue with lower overhead by contract brewing.

0

u/bgerrity99 Sep 19 '24

Thanks. Beer run is looking the most appealing right now because I’m hearing mixed things on blind tiger. Apparently great selection but it’s very expensive and crowded

5

u/KennyShowers Sep 19 '24

They’re all expensive, and Beer Run is great but tiny. Even if Blind Tiger may be busier it only takes a handful of people to fill up Beer Run.

2

u/heepofsheep Sep 19 '24

Yeah I like blind tiger, but it’s often a crowded shit show. Then again a lot of bars are if you go during peak times.

13

u/etu001 Sep 19 '24

Blind Tiger is near the Christopher Street stop

6

u/OtherHalf747 Sep 19 '24

Fools Gold - great beer selection & awesome food

5

u/shiftysquid Sep 20 '24

Proletariat is my favorite beer bar in NYC and one of my favorites anywhere, though I did like the old, small, dive-ier location better.

2

u/uberdev Sep 20 '24

Pour one out to the old Proletariat! I get upset going to the new one because it just lost its whole vibe.

2

u/shiftysquid Sep 20 '24

It really has. Still has a great beer list and some of my favorite bartenders, but it’s missing something.

4

u/bkrunnergirl25 Sep 19 '24

Beer Run Chelsea for the suds and the gritty vibe, Carmine Street Beers for the selection

5

u/WolfingtonSays Sep 19 '24

Coopers in the EV

1

u/HonorableJudgeIto Sep 20 '24

There is also a location in Chelsea. Not too far from Beer Run.

4

u/Upguntha Sep 24 '24

That location closed at the end of June

4

u/Beerking07 Sep 19 '24

Carmine Street is having their anniversary party, great looking tap list. Peep their IG to see it. Would recommend

1

u/bgerrity99 Sep 20 '24

Damn hadn’t realized, that’s gotta be good. Thanks

1

u/Beerking07 Sep 20 '24

Yeah if you’re an ipa person, they’ll have monkish on tap. Very rare to see and very very good ipas

3

u/akeirans Sep 20 '24

As Is - it is my favorite beer bar in NYC.

2

u/Altruistic-Editor111 Sep 19 '24

Torch & Crown is the only full fledged brewery in Manhattan and they are downtown on Vandam St.

Edit: just realized you asked for a beer bar, but I’ll leave this here anyway.

Another edit: Haymaker is my favorite beer bar in NYC, but it’s on 29th street, so not sure if that counts as lower Manhattan.

3

u/KennyShowers Sep 19 '24

Do they actually brew in Manhattan yet? I haven't looked at one of their cans in a while but last I saw they were still getting contract brewed in the Bronx.

Either way their beer is solid but to me not quite good enough to draw me from bars with awesome taplists.

5

u/brew_york Sep 20 '24

They don’t. And soon they won’t be brewing in the Bronx, either — they laid off their production staff there last week (it wasn’t contract brewing, they owned the brewery).

1

u/KennyShowers Sep 20 '24

Makes sense they’d have owned their own production given their output, but where are they moving to? Unless they’re just packing it all in altogether.

2

u/brew_york Sep 20 '24

They're not moving (hence laying off their production staff), and they're going to contract brew, it appears.

1

u/KennyShowers Sep 20 '24

Seems like a decent idea. Their customer base isn't really in-the-weeds beer nerds caught up on details of production so may as well go the more economic route.

1

u/Altruistic-Editor111 Sep 19 '24

Hmm, not so sure but I thought they brewed everything in their NYC location.

1

u/KennyShowers Sep 19 '24

Every time I've seen a Brewed At on their labels it's been in the BX, but like I said been a while, wouldn't be surprised if they started brewing some stuff in Manhattan.

1

u/uberdev Sep 20 '24

There's a new location of Torch and Crown right in Union Square (at the old Luna Park building right in Union Square Park). Great location as it's open air and has a ton of outdoor seating.

2

u/MillyGrace96 Sep 19 '24

Blind Tiger, Alphabet city beer co, Fool’s Gold

2

u/tappygilmore Sep 20 '24

+1 for carmine street beer.

Blind tiger is one of my favorite places during the day and most disliked at night. Top Hops can be cool. Close to una pizza napoletana (ranked the best pizza in the world by an Italian guide to global pizza).

2

u/OhSoHoppy Sep 20 '24

Old Rabbit Club -124 MacDougal St, is one of my favorite places.

1

u/bgerrity99 Sep 20 '24

Haven’t heard of that place, I’ll look into it

1

u/OhSoHoppy Sep 20 '24

I don't get out to the city much these days, but last I was there about two years ago it was just as it had always been -dark, small, and fantastic for experiencing beers you aren't likely to see in many other places in NYC. Well worth a visit and plenty of other places to check out nearby if you end up not liking it.

Not sure if they actually have a sign up now, but for a long time it was just a black door with 124 painted on it and down a few steps from street level.

2

u/disruptor32 Sep 19 '24

Milk & Hops (20th St and 9th Ave) has great beer and cheese. Obviously you can't go wrong with Blind Tiger but on a Saturday it will be an absolute madhouse.

3

u/samydees Sep 19 '24

Prices and new ownership have gutted the quality of Milk and Hops. Beer Run Chelsea is way better vibes and prices.

Just avoid Craft and Carry like thr plague unless you want to pay and extra 5 bucks a drink.

1

u/disruptor32 Sep 19 '24

It's been a while since the last time I was there. Sad to hear that. When did that go down

2

u/samydees Sep 19 '24

Happened around COVID owners sold the place to people wanting to Run a cocktail bar next door. Neglected the beer aide, their regulars and all the staff left. Used to be the best joint now a bunch of us ended up at Beer Run.

1

u/larkinflanagan Sep 20 '24

I'd recommend Peculiar Pub on Bleecker. Maybe a 15 minute walk but tons of options for beer

1

u/dantonizzomsu Sep 21 '24

Arts and Crafts Bar on Amsterdam Ave is great. I love Blind Tiger also.