“Beer Bar Battle” is a segment where we pin two cities, neighborhoods, streets, etc. against each other to see which has the most craft beer-cred. This week: Round 2 of “The Heavy Weight Battle of the Boroughs” – Manhattan v. Brooklyn.
When the bell rang to end Round 1, Manhattan was struggling to keep up with Brooklyn’s barrage of craft beer bars. Both boroughs, however, head back to their respective corners to regroup, and Manhattan knows that it can’t wait much longer to bring out its big guns. The bell rings! “Bring it on, Fat Boy,” Brooklyn screams.
The whooping continues as Brooklyn throws an awesome left from Williamsburg: Mugs Alehouse. With an unmatched vintage bottle collection, and an annual “Split Thy Skull” party that threatens to split Manhattan’s skull, Mugs sends Manhattan into a tizzy with a multitude of 9 to 10% ABV brews that are so tasty Manhattan can’t stop drinking them. Manhattan now knows it must rear back and deliver serious pain if it plans on getting back into this match.
A cocky Brooklyn is blind sided by one of the most beer-centric bars in the city: midtown’s Rattle N Hum. Off the beaten path (which seems preposterous in midtown Manhattan), this bar includes an immense selection of drafts and bottles, as well as a separate cask bar in the back. Manhattan pops Brooklyn in the mug with Rattle N Hum’s mug club, which gets members a $1 off each beer for a year and an engraved mug (making all members look like true beer advocates - i.e., geeks).
Brooklyn loses focus and starts chatting up some nice Manhattanites enjoying a couple of post-work drinks. Realizing Brooklyn’s weakness for Manhattan’s hordes of professional hotties, Manhattan jabs Brooklyn with the nearby Ginger Man, a midtown stalwart. With a huge craft beer selection in both bottles and drafts — along with a delicious array of culinary delights — it’s easy to understand why this joint is mobbed after work. But, if you wait until 9 or 10 PM — after the last train to Ronkoncoma has left Penn Station — you should be able to find a seat and enjoy yourself.
Brooklyn fumbles and bumbles, but manages to gather itself while Manhattan is gloating and lets loose a quick upper-cup located in Carroll Gardens: Bar Great Harry. Bar Great Harry — or, as the locals call it, BGH — offers some spectacular Tuesday night beer events and delicious locally made DUB Pies, which are traditional Australian/New Zealand meat pies. At first, Manhattan is befuddled by BGH’s laid back feel and the potent combination of a steak and cheese DUB pie and Keegan’s Super Kitty. But, after downing the last drop of Keegan’s 12% American Strong Ale and deftly navigating a conversation about Indie rock trends, Manhattan feels revitalized. The bell rings, and it looks like the coronation of New York City’s best beer bar will have to wait until Round Three.
What about queens? Astoria beer garden is the best. ha ha ha.