UPDATE
With the COVID-19 Shutdown in effect in NYC, obviously all these pubs are closed. When pubs and restuarants are allowed to open sadly some of the places listed here will not. We have withdrawn the apps from the Apple and Google App stores but are leaving this website up for historical reference.
Stay safe and stay well!
Welcome!Welcome to A New York Beer Guide. It is "A" beer guide rather than "The" beer guide because it in no way intended to be comprehensive. It is a "curated" site, which just means these are the pubs that a couple of beer geeks happen to like. We have one focus with this guide. That is craft beer, and nothing else. The aim of this guide is largely to assist the beer traveller with finding the best craft beers in the best places around the five boroughs of New York City. We refer to places as 'pubs' as Jezza and Alex are from the U.K. and this is a sister site to 'A London Beer and Pub Guide', but in the US places are generally referred to as 'bars' or 'restaurants'. Or even 'gastropubs' in the current age.
Who is this site for?
We've designed the site with the craft beer tourist in mind, but it is also just as useful for locals who want to find the best craft beers and the best places to enjoy them in. Irrespective of whether you're a local, or are in New York on a dedicated beer trip, or you are in town for other reasons (business, family trip, etc.) and just want to try some good craft beers, our pub guide will help you find the best places.
Navigation and general notes
You can browse our database by name, zipcode (e.g. "11249"), geographical area, bus route (including sightseeing routes if there is a stop nearby), subway station, and also by a specific feature shown by an icon (e.g. 'cask', 'brewpub', 'top pick'). There is also a city-wide map. Each name is shown as it appears on the signage. Twenty-four hour clock, or 'military time', is used for clarity. Regarding the numbers shown for how many beers are carried, we only count the number of craft beers as defined by the Brewers Association. We do not include anything that doesn't meet that definition - namely beers from former craft breweries which have been acquired by global industrial beer manufacturing corporations (Leinenkugel, Blue Point, Goose Island, Elysian, Lagunitas, Ballast Point, 10 Barrel, Breckenridge), and also 'faux craft' imposters from the brewing giants such as the Shock Top and Blue Moon brands. Imported beers are counted only if they are not brands of a large corporation, basically we look at what would be the equivalent of the Brewers Association's definition. Cider, perry, sake, and kombucha are not counted in the tallies. The tallies feature four fields: 'Handpumped Cask Beers' for manually pumped cask-conditioned beers, 'Gravity cask beers' for cask beers pouring straight from the vessel where the secondary fermentation occurred, 'Craft Keg Taps' for dispensing from pressurised craft-brewed kegs, and 'Craft Bottles/Cans'.
News
We'll try to keep you up to date with new pubs opening and existing pubs closing (or being downgraded) in our news section.
Mobile version
We've redesigned the site (before officially launching) to display better on your smartphone and tablet. Or you can download our app from your favorite App Store for your smartphone or table.
We're big fans of Twitter and you can follow us at https://twitter.com/BeerGuideNYC.
Please like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BeerGuideNYC/, and please spread the word to your friends.
About us
Jezza lives in London, England, but often travels to NYC. You can follow him on twitter as @bonsvoeux1. Click on the yellow star
for more, plus his top picks in the city.Alex is from Brighton, England, but has been living in New York City since 1999. You can follow him on twitter as @imbiber. Click on the blue star
for more, plus his top picks in the city (note there are no blue stars or blue ticks assigned to brewery taps or tied houses for the reasons that the beer origins are predictable - and there would be too many 'top picks' which would dilute the impact of the top beer bars with a free reign on ordering. Some brewpubs are included though where considered very worthy all round).Fred lives in Los Angeles, and is the IT guy behind this site and its sister guides. You can follow him on twitter as @fredwaltman.
Jezza and Alex are both full members of The British Guild of Beer Writers.
While we endeavour to be as accurate as possible, things are forever changing so we can't guarantee everything on this site is up-to-date. We're just doing the best we can.