John Soto wrote on 17 Apr 2004:
Hey All -

Can anyone recommend a good beer shop in NYC ? The only beer
place I know of is New Beer Wholesaler on Chrystie Street.

Anyhow, I'm not a beer drinker myself but what is a GOOD beer
that I can pick up that is not normally found in the local
supermarket. My contractor that's been working for me is working
overtime for me as a favor and I want to swing by the house
(current one buing built) one Friday and BBQ some food & Beer for
the crew !

Try B&E on 23rd off 10th Avenue. It's well out of the way, granted,
but the prices are fairly good and they stock a fairly good selection
of imports along with a nice American micro assortment. Special
yesterday when I walked over, was SNCA for $6.50/6. They apparently
have extra.

New Beer is, yes, a nice one too. The Happy Deli at 44th and 8th
has a good selection but are amazingly overpriced. Delis along 1st
Ave. on the Lower East Side seemingly gather up hundreds of good
beers, too. I've found some good bargains on my way out of d.b.a.
before.

If you want to venture into Brooklyn (it's not far - look 'em up),
Bierkraft (200 5th Ave) is excellent for single-bottle purchases;
they have hundreds and hundreds of different beers. Thrifty Beverage
is also very good.

As for what you can pick up for your contractor, not knowing a thing
about his tastes I'm loath to recommend anything. If he's a
stereotype, he'd throw Yuengling out for having too much flavor, for
instance.

Aw, what the hell, buy him some Chimay Red as a training-wheels
Belgian beer. If you're staying American, Brooklyn's bottled
products, besides Monster, are inoffensive and uniformly GOOD.
Smuttynose is making a nice push into the city, and they make a GOOD
to ****ING GOOD range of ales, and a basic lager, that won't hurt
your friend.

Witzel

I would go to the Happy Deli and buy him a six pack of Anderson Valley Boonts
Amber. Amazing, Amazing beer (smooth be that willne belief not too hoppy ) get
a person into good beer. What an amber should be!!!!!!

Davidlown wrote:

I would go to the Happy Deli and buy him a six pack of Anderson Valley Boonts
Amber. Amazing, Amazing beer (smooth be that willne belief not too hoppy ) get
a person into good beer. What an amber should be!!!!!!

I'll second the Happy Deli. Not necessarily over Boonts amber, which I
find kind of "meh", but because, here you are, next door to Times
Square, at some run of the mill looking bodega with skater kids and
Japanese tourists coming in off the street, and you can buy any variety
of beer from Bud tallboys to Synebrychoff to Westvleteren to Stone
Vertical 03.03.03. All at premium prices, but somehow worth it.

--NPD