Alex's Top Picks
My 'Top Picks' are chosen largely by the range of craft beers on offer, but also the general experience that the bar has to offer including service, ambience, and friendliness.
Alex hails from Brighton, England, but has lived in New York City since 1999. He is actively promoting the Cask Marque quality award for cask-conditioned beer (aka 'real ale') in the NYC area, and actively encourages places to serve traditional cask ales at the correct cellar temperature. He was formerly with Dark Star Brewery in England. You can follow him on twitter as @imbiber or read his twitter feed below
Note that we regularly update what constitutes a top pick so places can be relegated from the list if their beer range dips or there are other significant changes.
Lots of unusual beers on tap and in bottle here. |  |
A tiny bar with some fantastic and unusual beers. |  |
Football (soccer) pub with a number of good taps. |  |
Excellent hybrid bar/store close to Times Square. |  |
Former bottle shop now in its second incarnation as a serious beer bar. |  |
Unique cask-dedicated brewpub on the roof of a high end Italian market. |  |
A very big “don’t miss!”, but time it to avoid crowds. |  |
An excellent hybrid beer store with on premise drinking, a central meeting place for craft beer people. |  |
Alsatian restaurant and bar with a remarkable beer list. |  |
Hybrid bar and beer store, one of the very best. |  |
One of the best hybrid bars and beer stores in the city for rare brews. |  |
Fantastic, multi-levelled bar and store hybrid (more of a proper bar than others). |  |
Excellent suburban brewpub with an Irish pub feel, beer is high quality. Cask Marque accredited. |  |
An excellent hybrid bar and beer store, the second Milk and Hops to open. Lots of unusual beers. | /thumbs/2017-04-20 13.17.31.jpg) |
Vegan snacks and craft beer in an old coffin factory. |  |
Where even the most seasoned beer geek may not have heard of stuff! |  |
Rare Belgian beers and more in a former barber’s shop. |  |
One of the very best NYC beer and food destinations. |  |
Aptly in part of the former Hittelman Brewery can be found this cavernous bar, venue (‘The Wick’), and beer garden. |  |
High end Scandinavian style craft beer bar. |  |
Honorable Mention
These are pubs I very much enjoyed but they are just a hair below the level of a "Top Pick" or I need another visit or two to confirm that they are worth a "Top Pick."
A very decent beer bar on the same block as Pacific Standard. |  |
Sizeable community space, mainly local beers. |  |
13 craft taps and two casks flow here. |  |
Subterranean beer bar, ‘the antithesis of a sports bar’. |  |
One of two similar hybrid stores/bars locally. |  |
One of two similar hybrid stores/bars locally. |  |
Industrial space with 25 craft taps and as many retro video games. |  |
One of a small chain of craft bars featuring old video games. | /thumbs/20140930_155410.jpg) |
The newest of NYC's three Barcades, mixing craft beer with retro arcade game machines. | /thumbs/2017-04-09 17.30.22.jpg) |
Small beer bar with well chosen taps. |  |
Large bar next to the world’s biggest bus station. |  |
Always unusual stuff on tap here, including a cask beer. |  |
Friendly locals’ bar that narrows into a triangular shape. |  |
An oasis in the western Bronx beer desert, worth the trek. |  |
Very well respected craft brewery with a taproom open weekends. |  |
Pleasant beer bar with good food. |  |
In a food market, lots of great bottles and 8 on tap. |  |
A high end, modern styled brewpub with good quality beer and a wood fired pizza oven. |  |
Tiny hybrid bar and beer store. |  |
A sports bar with good beer. 48 taps, the majority being craft (14 are not), including a healthy number of Belgians. Many good bottles also. |  |
Good brewpub in an old industrial space from Ed Raven of Raven Imports / Brouwerij Lane. Renamed from Dirck the Norseman. |  |
One of three Upper West Side Dive Bars (the original). |  |
There’s a good range at this popular and friendly beer bar. |  |
British and German owned craft beer bar in a former launderette space, hence the name. |  |
One of the three ‘Beerly Legal’ bars, excellent overall. |  |
Since 1997, always good stuff on tap here. |  |
Popular beer destination, hearty pub food. |  |
Very dimly lit after dark, this is a shrine to rare beers. |  |
A very upmarket classic American tavern with vintage bottles on the menu. |  |
Smart and friendly bar with an excellent range. |  |
Lots of unusual high end beers are offered in this tiny bar. |  |
Interesting beers are on tap at this pleasant bar-restaurant. |  |
One of three excellent ‘Beerly Legal’ Irish-owned bars. |  |
A subterranean craft beer bar and gourmet grocery store in one. |  |
Unique space in three sections, lots of craft beer flowing plus a cask. |  |
Great bar with a very well curated list. |  |
19 rotating domestic taps and 2 casks. | /thumbs/IMG_6759.jpg) |
Smart beer bar adjoining the Holiday Inn, newer sister to the Rattle 'n' Hum near the Empire State Building. |  |
The fourth in the small chain of 'Beerly Legal' bars in the city, plenty of interesting craft beers can be found here. |  |
Early drinking in ‘The Shark Bar’. |  |
Smart bar, 15 rotating taps. |  |
Hybrid bar and beer store near the hideous Barclays Center basketball arena. |  |
Pleasant corner bar over two subway lines. |  |
Popular corner bar with good taps and a few good bottles. |  |
Smart, easy going brewpub with guest beers also. |  |
A laid back neighbourhood bar, all taps rotate regularly. |  |
