LOCAL CRAFT BEER

BrookJersey Redmen

BrookJersey Redmen

Well-known member
2023 $upporter
I remember a thread about beer but decided to start a new one about local, NY area craft beer.

If anyone has a chance to have a beer from Brooklyn named Other Half Brewing you should enjoy it. They sort of specialize in IPAs, with lots of hops, and they are all really good. Their non-IPAs are good too.

In Queens Finback is doing great stuff. Similar to Other Half lots of IPAs but try their BQE barrel aged stout, it is terrific.

LI has Barrier Brewing in Oceanside (I think), i've never been to the brewery but I've had their beers and they are excellent, especially Daddy Warbucks.

lower Hudson Valley in Chester NY Rushing Duck is awesome try their Divided by Zero for IPAs and Dead Moroz for stouts.

Anyone have any beers/breweries/craft beer bars they like?

My favorite spot in Manhattan is The Blind Tiger on Bleecker St. in the Village, but now there are tons of great beer bar all over, with some of the best ones being in BKLYN.
 
I remember a thread about beer but decided to start a new one about local, NY area craft beer.

If anyone has a chance to have a beer from Brooklyn named Other Half Brewing you should enjoy it. They sort of specialize in IPAs, with lots of hops, and they are all really good. Their non-IPAs are good too.

In Queens Finback is doing great stuff. Similar to Other Half lots of IPAs but try their BQE barrel aged stout, it is terrific.

LI has Barrier Brewing in Oceanside (I think), i've never been to the brewery but I've had their beers and they are excellent, especially Daddy Warbucks.

lower Hudson Valley in Chester NY Rushing Duck is awesome try their Divided by Zero for IPAs and Dead Moroz for stouts.

Anyone have any beers/breweries/craft beer bars they like?

My favorite spot in Manhattan is The Blind Tiger on Bleecker St. in the Village, but now there are tons of great beer bar all over, with some of the best ones being in BKLYN.
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My 2nd favorite topic after lobster rolls

Quick question because I'm not familiar with the brewery you mentioned in Bklyn or Queens. Do they have tasting rooms ?

Obviously most people know since I've mentioned it probably 2,000 times on this site but I love Bronx Breweries Pale Ale that they sell at MSG. I know Bronx Brewery has a tasting room but I haven't been there yet.

I've heard really good things about Barrier but I haven't been there yet but it's only about 20 minutes from where I work so my friends and I have been talking about going there after work one day

If anyone is in Northport to around there one day go to Sand City Brewing Co in downtown Northport. Excellent beers and nice tasting room

http://www.sandcitybeer.com

I like the beers from Oyster Bay Brewing Company ( known for their barn rocker that they sold at nassau coliseum with the Islanders ) but I actually hate their tasting room. It's real big and spacious but it's like drinking in a freaking warehouse. But definitely worth a stop if you are in the area

http://oysterbaybrewing.com

One of my favorite beers also is from Montauk Brewing Co. I love IPA's and they have a really good one. Their Session IPA. Also it's a nice little tasting room with some outdoor tables if you are ever in Montauk. It's about a block north of the main circle in downtown Montauk on the east side of the road

http://montaukbrewingco.com/pages/home

If anyone is ever around Glen Cove they have Micro Brewery with a tasting room open on the weekends. I haven't been there yet but I'm going to try it with some friends in the next couple of weeks

http://montaukbrewingco.com/pages/home

I'd be curious if anyone has been to any others on long island or at least not a far drive from long island

Also as far as selection in a bar if anyone is around huntington go to Stags Tap House. New place and excellent food and they have something like 40 rotating beers on tap and they do beer flights

MCNPA is a virtual expert on breweries especially now that he moved up to New Hampshire
 
Mj-jr

We share a liking to IPAs, and I'll definitely try some of the places you mentioned, and I agree with you on Mpntauk brewing, I had their beers when out there, very good local stuff.

Other Half has a small and cozy tasting room at their current site. It has a moosehead on the wall, a good sound system, and a tiny bar, but if it gets crowded they open the door to the loading dock for the actual brewery. HOWEVER, as their beer has become so popular in the 3 years they've been around, they are expanding their brewing operations and building a bigger tasting room, because it can get pretty tight in the small space.

They always have 10-12 of their latest beers and honestly every IPA they make is good. Some are rated by Beer Advocate and Rate Beer as among the best IPAs in the world. They recently landed in the top 10 craft breweries in the entire country.

The thing is they only self-distribute so you cannot buy it retail, only at the brewery and every saturday they has special releases with lines around the corner to buy their latest batches. We go about 5-7 of us to get their stuff direct, fresh, tasty, and then hit the taproom for the drafts. Fun times. Bars in and around NYC carry their stuff on draft, sadly no plans to stock it at bars in NJ.

Finback has a tasting room, and I have had a lot of their beers, real good, but haven't gone to the brewery itself.

Rushing Duck has a nice tasting room off the brewery and it is intimate and fun. Nearby is Orange County Distillery (OCD) a great spot for local craft spirits of all kinds. Killer location, warm rustic fireplaces, barn, on a hilltop. Much better than the NYS "vineyards", let's face it NYS wines are MEH.

Word to the wise: don't bother with a 'tour' of a brewery, any brewery, looking at stacks of malt, hops and water, then a bunch of stainless steel fermenters, takes two minutes and is about as interesting as my back-and-forth with Beast about Nova and Holy Cross, yawn city.

I hope there are other kindred beer enthusiasts.here.
 
Mj-jr

We share a liking to IPAs, and I'll definitely try some of the places you mentioned, and I agree with you on Mpntauk brewing, I had their beers when out there, very good local stuff.

Other Half has a small and cozy tasting room at their current site. It has a moosehead on the wall, a good sound system, and a tiny bar, but if it gets crowded they open the door to the loading dock for the actual brewery. HOWEVER, as their beer has become so popular in the 3 years they've been around, they are expanding their brewing operations and building a bigger tasting room, because it can get pretty tight in the small space.

They always have 10-12 of their latest beers and honestly every IPA they make is good. Some are rated by Beer Advocate and Rate Beer as among the best IPAs in the world. They recently landed in the top 10 craft breweries in the entire country.

The thing is they only self-distribute so you cannot buy it retail, only at the brewery and every saturday they has special releases with lines around the corner to buy their latest batches. We go about 5-7 of us to get their stuff direct, fresh, tasty, and then hit the taproom for the drafts. Fun times. Bars in and around NYC carry their stuff on draft, sadly no plans to stock it at bars in NJ.

Finback has a tasting room, and I have had a lot of their beers, real good, but haven't gone to the brewery itself.

Rushing Duck has a nice tasting room off the brewery and it is intimate and fun. Nearby is Orange County Distillery (OCD) a great spot for local craft spirits of all kinds. Killer location, warm rustic fireplaces, barn, on a hilltop. Much better than the NYS "vineyards", let's face it NYS wines are MEH.

Word to the wise: don't bother with a 'tour' of a brewery, any brewery, looking at stacks of malt, hops and water, then a bunch of stainless steel fermenters, takes two minutes and is about as interesting as my back-and-forth with Beast about Nova and Holy Cross, yawn city.

I hope there are other kindred beer enthusiasts.here.
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Great Info. Thx !

We might have to have a redmen.com craft beer night at a bar :)
 
OPuyDG.jpg

Funny I see this thread, I'm drinking this right now.

When it comes to local beers, I'll just say one thing without name dropping....I drink the LI, NYC and Hudson Valley stuff all the time now. Between that and the excellent distribution we get here in New York, it's an amazing time to drink beer. I've been to Sand City for 5 or 6 of their can drops and I've been going to Barrier every can release. It used to be just Blue Point and Brooklyn 15-20 years ago, now we can get class beers right here in our backyard. Beers that rival Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Tree House and Trillium. It's really awesome. Was drinking Bring the Noise by Interboro last night and, lol, I was like, "eh, this is ok." That would have been NY's best beer a few years ago. Even Grimm's beers aren't wowing me like they did last year.

Ok, kill me. I name dropped. I'm buzzed.
 
I'll add...I was kinda blown away by I Left My Laptop in a Bed Stuy Juice Bar, the Other Half collab with Burial. That was awesome. Also recently had an All Green Everything...one of my favorites.

You mention Rushing Duck? Imperial Beanhead porter was a wow beer for me. Coffee forward lactose porter. I have one left, I don't want it to be gone. I love War Elephant.

Sand City? What can't you say about them? Best brewery on LI. Barrier? A close second. I appreciate them because they do a lot of styles, all good. Suite, Daddy Warbucks and Suburb plus Mosaic were all top notch. They're doing a release with Sloop (Hudson valley brewery) that I'm looking forward to.

SingleCut? Recently got my hands on cans of Harry Doesn't Mind and Softly Spoken Magic Spells. Both great.

Greenpoint? I had Smash Street and Turbulence recently which were both top freaking notch. Smash Street was just about the best IPA I've ever had from a NYC brewery and Turbulence reminded me of Sip of Sunshine which is about as big of praise I can give a DIPA.

Grimm? I'm being harsh on them a little because they set the bar so high with beers like Afterimage and Tesseract but I feel they've been slacking a bit. Their last DIPA, In Mid Air, was their best in awhile, so I'm hoping they're back on the up-and-up.

Hoping I can get some of the Finback that was released today because I have loved their (D)IPAs too. LIC Beer Project is making some great stuff too.

Looking for good shops in NYC? Good Beer in the East Village, the 2 Milk and Hops locations and Beer Culture in Hell's Kitchen are all great. I used to go to Rattle n Hum and the Ginger Man a lot but I've been going to Haymaker on 29th a lot lately. I'm on the South Shore of LI so I frequent the Villager in Babylon when I do actually go out.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something but the beer scene around here is awesome right now.
 
I'll add...I was kinda blown away by I Left My Laptop in a Bed Stuy Juice Bar, the Other Half collab with Burial. That was awesome. Also recently had an All Green Everything...one of my favorites.

You mention Rushing Duck? Imperial Beanhead porter was a wow beer for me. Coffee forward lactose porter. I have one left, I don't want it to be gone. I love War Elephant.

Sand City? What can't you say about them? Best brewery on LI. Barrier? A close second. I appreciate them because they do a lot of styles, all good. Suite, Daddy Warbucks and Suburb plus Mosaic were all top notch. They're doing a release with Sloop (Hudson valley brewery) that I'm looking forward to.

SingleCut? Recently got my hands on cans of Harry Doesn't Mind and Softly Spoken Magic Spells. Both great.

Greenpoint? I had Smash Street and Turbulence recently which were both top freaking notch. Smash Street was just about the best IPA I've ever had from a NYC brewery and Turbulence reminded me of Sip of Sunshine which is about as big of praise I can give a DIPA.

Grimm? I'm being harsh on them a little because they set the bar so high with beers like Afterimage and Tesseract but I feel they've been slacking a bit. Their last DIPA, In Mid Air, was their best in awhile, so I'm hoping they're back on the up-and-up.

Hoping I can get some of the Finback that was released today because I have loved their (D)IPAs too. LIC Beer Project is making some great stuff too.

Looking for good shops in NYC? Good Beer in the East Village, the 2 Milk and Hops locations and Beer Culture in Hell's Kitchen are all great. I used to go to Rattle n Hum and the Ginger Man a lot but I've been going to Haymaker on 29th a lot lately. I'm on the South Shore of LI so I frequent the Villager in Babylon when I do actually go out.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something but the beer scene around here is awesome right now.
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Not surprising someone with the name Guiness could probably write a book on beers :)
 
Guinness 77- you seem to be the man when it comes to beers.

First, you're lucky NYC and NYS get tons of beers that for some reason don't make it to NJ. Jersey gets a few things that don't get distributed to NY Port Brewing and Lost Abbey from CA come to mind.

Second, you mention Heady Topper and Lawson's Sip of Sunshine, they got me into hop forward northeast style IPAs, which now I actually prefer to the West Coast IPAs which for a while I loved. Except Stone charges too much, at least in NJ.

I know the owners of Rushing Duck, fabulous people, so I cannot be unbiased when it comes down to their beers. Get your hands on their most recent Divided By Zero, their best one yet, Citra hops and the powder that OH uses to give their beers that great mouthfeel.

It's funny you did not mention Singlecut which I take to mean you feel like I do, their stuff is good but not great. I understand however their brewery and tasting room are superb,

I will save you some 3d Anniversary from OH's recent can release, we waited on line and got their maximum, so good, and after a week in the can, even better. Hope to meet up with you at some point soon.

I could go on and on. For example, I'd love to get your take on the sours now that have become so hot, and what you think of Bruery, Thereaux, and Cascade from the west coast.

Besides, IPAs and sours I love barrel aged stouts with things going on such as oak, bourbon or whiskey barrel aging, ancho chiles, coffees and chocolate or vanilla. Folks have to understand these adjuncts are mostly hidden in the background usually.

Excellent beer bar in Greenpoint is Torst on Manhattan Ave. Muggs Ale House on Bedford Ave., old time corner bar with a good beer selection, and decent food. Bar Great Harry on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens is great too. BK has fantastic beer bars now.

Sand City sounds like a brewery I have to get into if you put them ahead of Barrier which I love. What's Barrier's beer that is great is it Money?

Last question are you and or mjmaherjr on the Untappd app??, where using your smart phone you catalog your beers with ratings and find your friends' beers also. Very fun app.
 
BJR

I do not have an untapped account but I am a poster on BeerAdvocate now for 3 years. I lurked on the site because I was obsessive/compulsive enough about beer to begin with and was afraid I'd get worse if I joined--which I did. I follow their mid-Atlantic forum regularly which is really handy for keeping up with what's going on.

As far as the sours...not a fan. And, from what I gather, I've tried some of the best. I've tried Seventh Son, Hill Farmstead, Prairie, Westbrook...didn't like them at all.

The stouts on the other hand, I am a fan. I have a fairly decent amount of beer in my basement, mostly big stouts and barleywines, mostly from
2013 to today. I drank a Deschutes 2014 Abyss on New Year's Eve.

As far as the 3rd Anny offer, well, lol, sure. I work right in the heart of Midtown. I have some Sand City left from their release 2 weekends ago. PM me if you're serious. Thanks man.

For the record...I do like SingleCut. Most of their beers, I did mention them in my other post, I enjoy. My biggest complaint with them are their prices. They charge more than any other brewery in the city, which is saying something. Their batches seem inconsistent too. My last Full Stack wasn't the usual puffy citrus DIPA I'm used to.
 
Guinness, you have to see my stout and barleywine collection. It's pretty stocked. Big fan of IPA as well. Living in northern New England, its IPA country here. Was at Bissell bothers a week or two ago. Tons of great breweries up here. As far as NYC brews, I still love Grimm. Had a bottle of Sumi ink last night as well as a can of Zap. Still think Lambo door is one the best IPA's I've ever had.
 
Guinness, you have to see my stout and barleywine collection. It's pretty stocked. Big fan of IPA as well. Living in northern New England, its IPA country here. Was at Bissell bothers a week or two ago. Tons of great breweries up here. As far as NYC brews, I still love Grimm. Had a bottle of Sumi ink last night as well as a can of Zap. Still think Lambo door is one the best IPA's I've ever had.
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hahaha< I knew there was a poster on here that was a fan of good beer other than MJ and I guess that was you, shit memory of mine.

I had sumi ink when it first came out and I wasn't the biggest fan. I'm cellaring another, so hopefully it evolves more in the less sweet direction. The stuff from up there I would love NYC/LI to get is that Bissell Bros stuff. The city just started getting Night Shift stuff, so, maybe....I've been hearing Proclamation in RI is supposed to be good too but I've never had it. Captain's Daughter from Grey Sail in RI is always a treat fresh, and that's fairly easy to get around here.

I did an inventory check on NY's Day and I had almost 120 12/16oz bottles on hand and about 30 bombers. It's not a ton of stuff but it was a bit more than I thought I had. That's not even including the stuff in my beer fridge and the 10 or 12 cans I keep in the "real" fridge.
 
Guinness, you have to see my stout and barleywine collection. It's pretty stocked. Big fan of IPA as well. Living in northern New England, its IPA country here. Was at Bissell bothers a week or two ago. Tons of great breweries up here. As far as NYC brews, I still love Grimm. Had a bottle of Sumi ink last night as well as a can of Zap. Still think Lambo door is one the best IPA's I've ever had.
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hahaha< I knew there was a poster on here that was a fan of good beer other than MJ and I guess that was you, shit memory of mine.

I had sumi ink when it first came out and I wasn't the biggest fan. I'm cellaring another, so hopefully it evolves more in the less sweet direction. The stuff from up there I would love NYC/LI to get is that Bissell Bros stuff. The city just started getting Night Shift stuff, so, maybe....I've been hearing Proclamation in RI is supposed to be good too but I've never had it. Captain's Daughter from Grey Sail in RI is always a treat fresh, and that's fairly easy to get around here.

I did an inventory check on NY's Day and I had almost 120 12/16oz bottles on hand and about 30 bombers. It's not a ton of stuff but it was a bit more than I thought I had. That's not even including the stuff in my beer fridge and the 10 or 12 cans I keep in the "real" fridge.
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My cellar mostly bourbon stouts and barley wines. I'm celaring a Sumi ink or two as well. Very chocolatey up front. I'd guess I have somewhere in the realm of 200-300 bottles, mostly rarer stuff.. Got lots of good stuff there, including one of those 14' Abyss you mentioned.

Up here, people go crazy for Bissell, foundation in Portland. Some solid newer breweries here in NH like stone face and great rhythm, and others opening all the time.

If I want the good stuff, I hit either Bissell or Trilium in Boston which is amazing. Lots of guys also make the trek to Alchemist but I don't think it's worth it except for a nice getaway.
 
[attachment]f0877cc74d10daf45b4ac50347c331a5.jpg[/attachment]
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Forget the pony, it was the Mongoose and Diamondback I never got.
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I was happy enough to get my pro thunder bike when I was real young :) After that I had to buy my own
 
Bissell Brothers and Trillium two of my favorites. Heady Topper still great, but the thing is that a lot of these other breweries have pretty much caught up to them and these other places are a lot more convenient than driving almost all the way to Canada. Tree House awesome, but hard to find. I have a collection of maybe 75 a lot of BBA and Bruery sours that cellar well. Do not hold onto fresh IPAs, though some manage to hold up well if kept in the back of the fridge. I have a beer fridge too!

Grimm not available in NJ :-(

NJ does have some good breweries including Kane in Ocean and Carton in Atlantic highlands. Kane a bit better but both good.

Look for Kane's Head High or double IPA Overhead.

Carton has Boat beer a nice sessionable hoppy IPA.

Some of the newer breweries in NJ have to get their legs under them and up their game, Brix City brewing in Little Ferry is getting better and better in all styles.

Still love that Rushing duck in Orange County.
 
I had a couple of diffent IPA's at dinner the other night from some place in Brooklyn called Interboro. They were in cans. Really good
 
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