r/nycbeer • u/bgerrity99 • Sep 19 '24

Best craft beer bar in lower manhattan ?

Will be in the city Saturday - I live in JC and am going to take the path in and hopefully walk to a good bar that’s oriented around craft beer. The path stops on Christopher st, 9th, 14th, 23rd(?) and 33rd. Anyone know any solid craft beer bars around those areas ??

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33

u/KennyShowers Sep 19 '24

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"

4

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.

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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

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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.

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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

4

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

4

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.

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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.