Local 61 (located at 61 Bergen Street, just east of Smith Street) is a solid beer bar in the heart of Cobble Hill.  As its name suggests, the place focuses on local offerings.  Much of the beer menu features a selection from Brooklyn and nearby NY State, with a few from Eastern PA.  There are also some Long Island wines available.  The chalkboard menu is unique.  Shaped like a geographical cut-out of Brooklyn, it lists all of the drink offerings.  The food menu focuses on small plates.  The beer offerings rotate frequently and this spot is one of the few places I know of that serves beer from Barrier Brewing Co., a small brewery on Long Island.  Local 61 is spacious with communal and high-top tables to accommodate medium-sized groups.  Definitely worth a visit, Local 61 needs to be part of any beer-focused Cobble Hill NYC bar crawl.

In honor of IPA Day (August 4), I figured I would write a few words about my favorite style of beer.  I remember my first IPA.  It was Baltimore’s Clipper City IPA.  I remember crispness of the hops and the refreshing flavor on my tongue.  Up until that point, I hadn’t really declared a favorite style of beer.  But ever since that Clipper City, the IPA has been my favorite.

My top IPAs (in no particular order) that are available presently (alas, some breweries whose IPAs I loved are no longer around.  I’m thinking of you, Lobsterback IPA, from the now-defunct Northeast Brewing Company of Boston): Pike Place IPA (Seattle), Victory Hop Devil (Downingtown, PA), Berkshire Brewing Company Lost Sailor IPA (South Deerfield, MA), Kelso IPA (Brooklyn, NY), Six Point Bengali Tiger (Brooklyn, NY) and Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA.

No NYC pub crawl is complete without a quality IPA or three!

I came across this clip on youtube recently:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQE5qc9mqmM

My comments:

Sounds like it would have been a lot of fun to participate in this real Round-the-World pub crawl.  I wonder what type of Round-the-World NYC pub crawl could be performed a) within Manhattan only and b) including all five boroughs in NYC.  I will think about this challenge and share with you my thoughts in a forthcoming post.

What are your thoughts on this video or the possibility of doing an NYC version of it?  Please share your comments here.

An interesting article I came across concerning the Circle Line pub crawl in London:



The pub crawl is a unique (and sometimes, painful) experience and in London, it doesn’t get more unique than the Circle Line Pub Crawl. I heard about the Circle Line Pub Crawl (CLPC) when I first arrived in London more than a year ago. The thought of it was absolutely insane. For the uninitiated, the Circle line (in yellow) is part of the London Underground network (or the tube). It runs in a ring around the city, and has 27 stations.

The idea is pretty simple, if a little insane. Start at a station on the Circle line, say Tower Hill, and find a place to have a drink. Get on the tube on the Circle Line and disembark at each station, find a pub to drink in, completing the circle and finishing in the pub you started in for your final drink, in less than 12 hours.

There are a few rules; you have to drink something at each pub. You don’t have to drink beer, and you don’t have to drink pints. But you do have to drink something with alcohol in it (defeats the purpose of the pub crawl if you drink coke or water). You have to find a place to drink, even if it’s an off license or a wine shop.

Going by strict pub crawling guidelines, and drinking a pint at every stop, you’ll be consuming 28 pints (about 16 litres) of the fermented stuff in less than 12 hours. That’s a lot by anyone’s standards. I have entertained the thought of giving it a go but I wasn’t able to find anyone mad enough to do it with me. Navigating London’s underground network while drunk isn’t exactly the smartest thing to do.

So, if you’re ever in London, and want a unique London experience that you will not get from any guidebook, try the Circle Line Pub Crawl. Just don’t blame me for it. 🙂

For more related beer stuff visit http://www.beerbeer.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kennhyn_Ang

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1883181

My comments:

That’s quite a pub crawl!  The New York City subway system does not have anything like a line similar to London’s Circle line.  But, using four different subway lines in Manhattan (including the Times Square-Grand Central shuttle line), you can have a ‘NYC Circle line’ pub crawl of sorts.  Start at 42^nd and 8^th Avenue and board the C/E train southbound stopping at Penn Station, 23^rd and 14^th street.  At 14^th street, transfer to the L train and ride east, stopping at 6^th Avenue and Union Square.  At Union square, transfer to the uptown 6 train and stop at 23^rd, 28^th, 33^rd and Grand Central, where you complete the loop by riding the shuttle to Times Square.  In all, if you visited one drinking establishment per subway stop, this ‘NYC Circle line’ pub crawl would bring you to ten spots.  A challenge? Definitely!  But much more doable than the complete London version.  Thoughts?  Please share your comments.  I look forward to hearing from you!

From http://nysybarite.blogspot.com/

Appreciate neighborhoods
New Yorkers think of their neighborhood as their village. Think like they do, and try to be aware of which neighborhood you are visiting. For example, Chelsea is a neighborhood. So is the “Far West Village.” Or Soho. Or Tribeca. Or Murray Hill. Or Chinatown. Or Little Italy. Each neighborhood is unique – there is no other place quite like it on earth. You will rarely see chain stores – neighborhood butchers, bakers, fish mongers, stationers are usually local merchants with quirky offerings, and long loval histories. (With the notable exception of Starbucks.)

My comments:

I very much agree with this sentiment.  And the best way to learn about the neighborhoods of Manhattan is to do a pub crawl in each one!

Hello there.  Welcome to pubcrawlbrooklyn.com; your source for pub crawls in Brooklyn and beyond!  Watch this space for announcements of upcoming events and blogs about recent excursions.  Feel free to browse the site and leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!