Imagine a time when craft beer is exploding onto the New York bar scene. New players are getting involved, new breweries are popping up, and there are more options available than ever. A small, passionate group of drinkers are well aware of this flavorful improvement over fizzy yellow beer, but with the tidal wave approaching, the time has come to inform the New York drinking public about the craft beer craze… what to drink and where to drink it, specifically.

That time seems familiar and recent, but it was actually twenty years ago. You see, craft beer was already booming in the early 90s in much of the country, but New York was late to the game - much as it was in the craft beer industry’s early-2000s resurgence. And while New York boasted the first brewpub on the East Coast in Manhattan Brewing Company as early as 1984, the 90s brought on a much larger expansion, including some bars that weathered the storm that came with the industry’s dip around 2000.

In an October 1994 issue of New York Magazine, writer (and now film critic) David Edelstein - who was the magazine’s beer columnist in the 90s - offered a six-page spread on where to find craft beer around New York and the region. The landscape has certainly changed over that time, but it’s fun to see who weathered the storm.

Keep reading

Time for another edition of New Brews, where we tell you about the new beers arriving on draft lines and beer store shelves around the city. In this edition, we’ll tell you about the new offerings available from three New York-based brewers that you’ll see around the city soon, including a beer made with seaweed. Yes, seaweed.

Keep reading

It’s summer time, and these are the days when Citi Bike ridership goes through the roof. The bike share program, which launched last summer, gives riders 30 minutes (or 45 if you sign up for a $95 annual membership) to travel between any two of the hundreds of stations in the system. Because bikes and beer seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly, we see a big advantage to Citi Bike: you can ride to a bar, have a few beers, and not have to worry about having to ride home on the bike you rode there.

Another advantage: it “shrinks” the city. A bar that was once a 10-minute walk from the subway is now a 4-minute Citi Bike ride away. There are a few hidden gems out there that are a bit of a walk from public transit. So we’ve come up with a list of a few beer bars worth checking out that are a little off the subway’s beaten path, but are just steps away from a Citi Bike station.

Keep reading

Governor Cuomo announced this week steps that will make it easier for breweries in New York State to let the beer flow to their thirsty customers. The agreement made with Assembly and Senate leaders will relax some existing and sometimes arbitrary rules that made doing business unnecessarily more difficult for New York’s craft breweries. The agreement was a result of work done during the state’s second Wine, Beer, and Spirits Summit back in April.

Keep reading

It’s the end of an era on the West Side - Chelsea Brewing Company closed the doors on their brewpub on Pier 59. While the outpost in Manhattan closed officially at the end of March, Chelsea beer will continue to hit the market brewed elsewhere while the brewery scouts out a new location.

Keep reading

Brewers and supporters of craft beer heralded Governor Cuomo’s signing of a bill to create a Farm Brewery license in New York state in 2012. The law allowed brewers that sourced a portion of their malt and hops from New York State to enjoy relaxed restrictions on manufacture, sales, tax reporting, and tastings. Once enacted, the opportunities offered in the new law were quickly recognized by both existing and new brewers. Within less than a year, 48 farm breweries have become active in the state, and with that rapid expansion comes a new problem: how will they plan for the future?

Keep reading