First Look at Top Hops Beer Shop

Three weeks into the year, New York is already one craft beer shop richer, with the opening of Top Hops Beer Shop (94 Orchard St., at Broome St., Lower East Side) over the weekend. We scoped it out, and while they’re still working out the kinks, we can tell it’ll be a welcome addition to the LES.

When you walk in, you’ll first see a bar stocked with 20 taps. In its first week, the store has been pouring beers like Ommegang BPA, Bear Republic Double Aught, Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous, and Leffe Brune. The taps focus primarily on American beers - many of them local - with a few imports thrown in. Pints run roughly $6.50 with tax… still under that ominous $7 mark we’ve grown to hate. If growlers are more your thing, they’ll fill those, too, in both 32 and 64-ounce jugs.

If the taps don’t suit your fancy, you can grab a bottle from the bottle shop and drink it in-house for a $2 cappage fee. Even better, they’ll waive the fee if you buy a six-pack… which makes it a great way to try a bottle beer before you buy it. In addition to the beers, you’ll soon be able to snack on pretzels, cheeses and meats, most of them local.

Head to the back and it’s a beer shop, with twenty coolers lined with shelf after shelf of bottled beers. While still awaiting shipments from some distributors, Top Hops already stocks over 400 different American and imported beers, and hopes to have 800 in stock in the next week or so. There are some impressive overseas beers in stock, from the standard Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome to the obscure Lithuanian import Švyturys Ekstra. On the American side, you can find anything from Allagash Curieux to Bud Light Lime.

Suddenly, the beer snobs shout, “wait, what?!” Okay, let’s back up a bit. Top Hops’ owner, Ted Kenny, has spent time on every level of the three-tier beer distribution system, including a stint with Anheuser-Busch/InBev. So, in a nod to his former employer, two of the twenty coolers stock their products, including their imported brands and one of the most robust selections of craft brews from A-B/InBev-owned Goose Island in the city. Will that turn off some beer snobs? Sure, but we personally don’t care for beer snobs who can’t stand to see their precious beer share shelf space with these brands. Get a life, people.

What’s so bad about stocking some macro beers? Nothing. After all, if you’re going to get people in the door who typically buy that sort of beer, but see a store dominated by a huge craft beer selection, they could be willing to try something new or different. Beer is a big tent, and market research shows a large portion of the regular drinkers of beers like Bud Light have dabbled in craft beer. And outside of the handful of specialty beer shops in New York, virtually every beer store in the country stocks macro brews alongside craft beer.

Rather than judge a store on its small inclusion of macro beer, judge it by its dedication to craft beer. Top Hops is planning to dedicate tap space to every local brewery, and has already served Greenport Harbor, Defiant, Kelso of Brooklyn, and Captain Lawrence. They’ll also be hosting local breweries and brewers for Meet the Brewer Nights and book signings. We have every reason to believe this place takes beer seriously, and think it’s a welcome addition to the neighborhood. After all, it’s etched across their facade, glasses, t-shirts, business cards, and even the floor: they are “Merchants and Advocates of Great Beer.”

Top Hops is open 2-10pm Monday-Wednesday, till 11pm on Thursday, and till midnight on Friday. Weekends they open at noon, closing at midnight Saturday, and 8pm Sunday. With the generous hours, this spot makes it easy to grab a beer or growler, yet also makes a good launching point to a night of craft-beer boozing.

A full slideshow is below: