NY City Craft Beer Week

New York City is an amazing place to be a beer drinker

The diversity of the city is mirrored in our drinking establishments and the neighborhoods they occupy. We have many great bar options that feature outstanding beers crafted by our local breweries.

And there is always a good reason to stop in and enjoy a pint, be it for culinary exploration, watching a game, meeting friends, enjoying music, taking a date, playing games, testing one’s knowledge through trivia, or seeking some good ol’ fashioned solitary reflection.

It is not only the city’s large population that has produced many great places to have a beer, but a lack of space that has created the need for a bigger living room to host friends. For better or worse, most of our private living spaces are so small and cramped that we extend all facets of our lives into the public world around us. And as many different styles of living rooms that exist, an equal number of bars stand in to fill the need.

New York Craft Beer Week is an idea born to fully appreciate the quantity and quality of the bars around us and the beer that they serve. There is good beer to be had all over the city, and this is your opportunity to try it all and experience our great city, and the beers to be found within its borders. It is as much about civic pride as it is about taking value in the splendors available to us. Ten days of events have been scheduled to provide for non-stop craft beer appreciation.

Use the activities of the week to better acquaint yourself with beer. See what new styles or offerings are out there from the local breweries, and get a first taste of them at the NY Brewfest. Next, seek out some of your favorite new discoveries on tap at bars participating in the neighborhood beer bar crawls around the city. Make time for a special brewery night or beer dinner at one of the top-notch restaurants hosting events, and taste local food and beer pairings that not only showcase local craft beer, but the bounty of summer’s end. Attend one of the special events and learn a little more about the finer points of beer. Tour a local brewery and discover how your tasty libations are made. At the end of the week, partake in one of the country’s largest presentations of cask ale, all in one place at the same time. The Manhattan Cask Ale Festival will treat you to a nuance in taste that differs from the same beers when available on draft or in bottles and cans, as well as a few beers not generally available in New York City.

When all is said and done, hopefully you will have new favorite breweries, beers, and bars to add to your regular repertoire. But the fun doesn’t have to stop there. Use your NYC Beer Passport to visit all of the city’s best beer bars in each of the neighborhoods you might have missed during the week. Collect the stamps available at each participating bar and see if you can become a new local expert in anticipation for leading your friends and family around town at next year’s New York Craft Beer Week.

Above all else, have fun, enjoy your beer responsibly, and plan to leave your vehicles safely at home.

Josh Schaffner
Director, NY Craft Beer Week

Click Here for a complete list of events