Manhattan's Best Craft Beer Bars - Shecky's Nightlife Hot Lists

Just 10 years ago, back when women still liked to pretend they were Sex & the City characters and men bought overpriced bottles of booze to try to impress them, Manhattan was not a craft beer town. It wasn’t really even a beer town, unless you count your typical corporate macro-brewery swill, which was only enjoyed at dive bars, Irish pubs, happy hours and strip clubs. Nowadays, Manhattan is one of the best craft beer places on earth and even corner bodegas, diners and the baseball stadiums have a fairly commendable selection. As for the bar scene, everyone knows about legendary mainstays The Ginger Man (opened in 1996) and The Blind Tiger (1995)—both still as good as ever—but here are 10 other spots on the island to wet your highly discerning whistle. Each have beer lists changing so rapidly, it would be foolish to note any tap selections as of this second in time. Just be happy you're no longer buying $300 bottles of Absolut to round up those Mirandas and Samanthas.

-Aaron Goldfarb

	Rattle n Hum, Midtown In a mere two years, Rattle n Hum has become Manhattan’s best craft beer bar, bar none. Owner Patrick Donagher is the P.T. Barnum of brews, always putting on a show by loading up the drinking week with crazy event after crazy event (The Stone Brewing Total Tap Takeover, Cigar City Unleashes Everything and Beers Gone Wild are some recent highlights). But, even on “normal” nights, Rattle lives by a staunch “no crap on tap” ethos (it’s even written on their wall—nearby a brewmasters wall of fame no less!) and there’s always something interesting to drink. Luckily, they offer four-beer flights so you can try it all!
	The Pony Bar, Hell's Kitchen If you can multiply by five, you’ll always be able to settle your bill at the Pony where literally every single beer on tap is just $5. Higher gravity and rarer releases come in smaller 8-oz. pours, but you’re still getting a steal. Twenty taps, two casks, no bottles, very little booze, great sandwiches and TVs that are rarely turned on, this neighborhood hot-spot is all about the beer-drinking. They even award “All-American” status and special prizes to those skilled enough to polish off 100 different beers (over time, not in a single night!).
	David Copperfield's, Upper East Side The Upper East Side is a flat-out craft beer wasteland, but, luckily, David Copperfield’s is a singular oasis. Even still, you’ll have to work a bit to get to that oasis, by walking nearly to the river (it’s all the way on York) to locate it. Once there, you’ll find a large, friendly spot with 30 taps and one cask, a solid bottle list and some great grub. Too lazy (or cool) to hit the UES? Copperfield’s has a terrific sister bar in the East Village, The Hop Devil Grill, which is more Tex-Mex-centric food-wise, but offers the same terrific and constantly rotating beer selections.
	George Keeley, Upper West Side While not quite as bad as the east, the UWS is by no means a craft beer mecca, but the unassuming George Keeley reigns supreme. Amidst all the loud and highly besotted college bars of Amsterdam Avenue, Keeley’s is a slightly more mature and quieter place. Then again, the ceilings and walls are covered in drawn-on dollar bills as per tradition, and the joint also offers highly-competitive darts matches. You can make sure that dart elbow is limber by sampling from some of their unique 23 taps and a dozen or so bottled offerings. Don’t forget to salt your tongue with an endless supply of free popcorn courtesy of a bar-side machine!
	Amity Hall, Greenwich Village You’d have to be insane to try to compete with the craft beer scene in the West Village, but upstart Amity Hall is making a strong, strong push. A two-level, wood-rich beauty of a bar with the “better” stuff upstairs, Amity also offers amazing food (notably their signature “stuffed” burgers) and a Beer 101 Club for frequent tipplers. Even newer sister bar Feile in Midtown has a similar feel and atmosphere, and the same terrific service, to make it a much better option for happy hour bridge-and-tunnelers waiting for their Penn Station trains back to the ‘burbs.
	Spitzer’s Corner, Lower East Side The one and only gastropub on the list, Spitzer’s Corner takes pub grub to the next level, so much so that it would be easy to not realize that you are at a—say it slowly—TOP. BEER. BAR. Oh, but if you pull your head out of the delicious signature truffle mac ‘n’ cheese and braised pork belly sandwich, you’ll quickly notice a spot with 40 different craft beers on tap. The frequently open-air, picnic-table seating pub is a perfect place for big groups, big meals, and lots and lots of high-quality drinking. And, Spitzer’s is one of the few places in town you can pull the classic “Irish goodbye” by just stepping through one of the many giant floor-to-ceiling windows.
	Good Beer, East Village What could be better than shopping while drinking beer? Shopping for beers while drinking beer. Humbly named Good Beer feels like getting the keys to the beer kingdom—a jam-packed bottle shop (geographically arranged) where you can casually wander around loading up on brews for the 2012 apocalypse, while drinking delicious pints from one of the shop’s 11 taps. There’s cafe seating in the back too if you need to take a load off to nosh on some pretzels, charcuterie or cheese, but don’t forget to fill your growler before heading back out into the real world.
	The Stag's Head, Midtown If you’ve ever been parched while standing behind tourists at the Apple Store, you probably thought you were screwed. No craft beer anywhere close (I doubt FAO Schwarz will ever open a bar in the basement, but we can dream). Luckily, the nearby Stag’s Head is a lifesaver in Midtown East. An oddly shaped, tight-squeeze bar in the round with plenty of restaurant seating and even a garden roof deck, The Stag’s Head always offers some adventurous selections on tap with a pretty nifty chalkboarded bottle list as well. Plus they host weekly tasting events with free thematic grub, because you just can't sample Pittsburgh beers without a hearty portion of scrapple.
	Earl's Beer and Cheese, East Harlem If you had to think of one of the oddest spots in Manhattan to locate a hip craft beer bar, it might be 97th Street and Park. Earl’s Beer and Cheese is minuscule, even by Manhattan standards, but the regulars have already built a great esprit de corps in the neighborhood. The four beer taps and several bottle and canned options are reasonably priced and hard to find elsewhere (“Genny” Cream for only $3!). Meanwhile, the food menu offers some great snacking choices (seasonal pickle plate, $6) or even larger meal options (pot pie, $12)—there’s even free ground beef-covered hot dogs on Mondays! This place welcomes all sorts, so bring your dog, bring your baby and bring an empty liver.
	Little Town, Gramercy This large “brewhouse” isn’t just a salute to the little town of Manhattan, but, rather, an attempt to offer a whirlwind tour of all the beers New York State has to offer: from Western NY’s Southern Tier Brewing Co. to Cooperstown’s Ommegang to Ithaca’s, er, Ithaca, all the way out to Long Island’s Southhampton to nearby offerings from Captain Lawrence, Brooklyn and Sixpoint. Even the food menu gets into the spirit with Hudson Valley grilled cheese, Rochester’s “Garbage Plate,” Long Island oysters...and Buffalo wings, natch. Sixty-plus beer offerings, all “local,” if you’re willing to call seven-hours-away Southern Tier nearby, constantly changing. A fitting end to your tour of Manhattan’s best in craft.