Wining and dining is all well and good, but who wants to live off of a diet of cheese and crackers? With beer, you don’t need to have a deep knowledge of Italian soil types to enjoy yourself. Thanks to the recent upswing of local breweries and distributors in Brooklyn, fine beer has never been easier to find. It’s all here, from beer halls to speakeasies.
Greenpoint Beer and Ale | Ricardo Z. via Yelp
Greenpoint Beer and Ale (Williamsburg)
Greenpoint Beer and Ale (formerly known as Dirck the Norseman) is an authentic German beer hall — an embassy for German breweries. Their kitchen serves delicious comfort food: pierogies, schnitzel, and apple crumble. All the drafts are priced the same, so there’s no need for over-the-top calculations to find the best deal. For the metrically minded, they serve beer in half-liter and liter mugs.
Bar Great Harry | Raven M. via Yelp
Bar Great Harry (Gowanus)
Bar Great Harry’s mixture of casual atmosphere, the finest quality ales and a couple of pinball machines in the back is great for when you want a laid-back night (or afternoon). Typically, going to your favorite dive might mean you’ll have to settle for PBR in a can, but at Bar Great Harry you don’t have to choose between good beer and a quiet room. And with their website’s automatically updated beer list, you’ll never go searching for that one draft that was tapped the day before you walk through the door.
The Sampler via Facebook
The Sampler Bushwick (Bushwick)
Compared to the other bars springing up in the neighborhood, The Sampler is an old Bushwick standard. The bartenders pride themselves on their beer expertise, in case you don’t recognize something in their dizzying array of options. Whether you’re going in to get a growler of their most recent find or sitting down with friends, The Sampler is sure to please.
The Spuyten Duyvil selection | Malcom K. via Yelp
Spuyten Duyvil (Williamsburg)
With a motto of “Rare and Obscure”, Spuyten Duyvil knows what it wants to accomplish, and the beer list succeeds. Their curated selection of craft beers will impress even the most skeptical critic. Let the Knitting Factory next door cater to the crowd, while you sit in the courtyard next door and savor a foreign microbrew.
Brooklyn Brewery Beerhall | Lynsey H. via Yelp
Brooklyn Brewery (Williamsburg)
As the name suggests, Brooklyn Brewery and the Brooklyn beer scene are closely tied. Although they distribute all over the Northeast, their famed brewery is located right in Williamsburg. Stop by the beer hall for one of their famous beers, or take a tour of brewery, with tastings along the way.