This document compares and summarizes the best beer halls in the boroughs of Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn in New York City. In Queens, Astoria is highlighted as a brewery hub with popular beer bars like The Strand Smokehouse and Astoria Bier and Cheese. Manhattan locations include the rare beer-focused Proletariat in the East Village and Harlem Public in northern Manhattan. Brooklyn spots that are summarized include the large outdoor beer garden Greenwood Park in Park Slope and Rosamunde Sausage Grill in Williamsburg known for its sausages and draft selections.

1. The Showdown: Queens vs. 
Manhattan vs. Brooklyn
The Best Beer Halls in NYC

2. QUEENS
 Brewery hub before Prohibition
 Roaring back with new beer bars, shops, and
makers
 Centered in Astoria and Long Island City

3. The Strand Smokehouse
 Est. Nov. 2012; 9,000 sq. ft. space
 The American, indoor answer to
European inspired beer gardens
 16 regional brews; offers BBQ-friendly
(ie. smoky & refreshing) quaffs
 All pints: $7, All pitchers: $21
 Serves different types of BBQ (vinegary
North Carolina, saucy Tennessee);
specialty is rotating pastrami plate
 Banjoists play on most nights
 25-27 Broadway between Crescent and
29th Streets, Astoria, 718-440-3231

4. Astoria Bier and Cheese
 1,100 sq. ft. curds and brew haven
 Bathroom mural of Kim Jong-il milking a cow
 Marble bar with 10 seasonal (mostly local) drafts
 More than 200 bottles and cans can be purchased
to go or opened on-site ($2 corking fee)
 More than 100 types of cheese; some cheese is
worked into a sit down menu
 Aspire gourmands can get schooled with the
pairing plate, which matches 4 5-oz. pours with
cheeses
 34-14 Broadway between 34th and 35th
Streets, Astoria, 718-545-5588

5. Manhattan
 Downtown vs. Harlem
 Downtown: grungy, but potentially pricy depending
on where you do
 Harlem: uptown’s once-legendary supper club
scene has transformed into craft-beer halls

6. Proletariat
 Tight quarters; narrow bar with 12
stools and old-timey tattoo flash art
 Specializes in rare, new, and
unusual brews
 11 rotating drafts ($7-$11) from
cult brewers
 View 60-item bottle list by scanning
QR code on smartphone or scoping
it on the barkeep’s iPad
 Prices are steep; pours are short
 102 St. Marks Pl. between First Ave.
and Ave. A, 212-777-2017

7. Harlem Public
 Est. Sept. 2012; 60-seat saloon
 Serves fizzy pints to a packed room of
Hamilton Heights locals
 Mostly American suds on the bar’s 16 taps;
pours change multiple times a week
 Wanna mack on someone?: Send a round
his/her way and the bartender will put your
names and the drink up on the “PDA”
chalkboard as an introduction
 If the chalkboard didn’t work, you can eat
your feelings with gussied-up pub grub
 3612 Broadway between 148th and 149th
Streets, 212-939-9404, harlempublic.com

8. Brooklyn
 Don’t you live there?...You know what Brooklyn’s
like!
 No explanation needed.

9. Greenwood Park
 13,000 sq. ft. beer garden with 3 bocce courts;
onetime auto-body shop (still has roll-up garage
doors and vintage car lift)
 Welcomes everyone (toddler-toting
yuppies, fixed-gear enthusiasts, neighborhood
hop-heads)
 60 draft lines dispense 20 local and
international microbrews; commercial favorites
are also on tap
 24 suds are available in bottles
 Bar bites for everyone (wings, sausage
hero, etc.)
 Fireplace and 6 flatscreen TVs show sporting
events when it’s cold outside
 Seventh Ave. at 19th Street, Park Slope, 718-499-
7999

10. Rosamunde Sausage Grill
 Bay Area-style boozing in South
Williamsburg
 More than 24 domestic and international
craft drafts; revolving picks
 Always 2 Nitrogen taps; nitrogen is added
to CO2 in the keg to create a creamy head
 24 sausages (all come on brioche rolls with
house-made toppings)
 ‘Burg locals can order grub and growlers
for delivery
 Flannel-shirted lads line the zinc bar
 285 Bedford Ave. between Grand and
South 1st Streets, Williamsburg, 718-388-
2170, rosamundesausagegrill.com

11. Honorable Mentions
 Queens:
 Rockaway Brewing Company: 5-01 46th Ave. at 5th
Street, Long Island City, rockawaybrewco.com
 SingleCut Beersmiths: 19-33 37th Street between
19th and 20th Aves., Astoria, 718-606-
0788, singlecutbeer.com
 Manhattan:
 Alphabet City Beer Co.: 96 Ave. C between 6th and
7th Streets, 646-422-7103, abcbeer.co

12. If You Ever See These, Try Them…
 Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple ale, 9.4 oz. bottle $16.99
 Uses sweet porky doughnuts
 Available at Brooklyn Beer & Soda, 507 Flatbush Ave. at Lefferts Ave., Prospect-Lefferts
Gardens, 718-622-8800, bkbeerandsoda.com
 Flying Dog Pearl Necklace stout, 12 oz. bottle $2.09
 Uses raw oysters
 Available at Good Beer, 422 E. 9th Street between 1st Ave. and Ave. A, 212-677-
4836, goodbeernyc.com
 Birreria Calabrona, 16 oz. bottle $10
 Uses yeast from a hornet’s stomach
 Available at La Birreria, 200 5th Ave. at 23rd Street, 212-937-8910, eataly.com/birreria
 Dogfish Head Birra Etrusca Bronze, 25 oz. bottle $14.99
 Uses Etruscan tomb microbes
 Available at Whole Foods Bowery Beer Room, 95 E. Houston at Bowery, 212-420-1320