We hit several bars that participated in NYC Craft Beer Week, which took place from Friday, February 22 until Sunday, March 3.  In particular, we visited Draught 55 (in Midtown East), Spring Lounge (in NoLita), Guilty Goose (in Chelsea) and Sweet Afton (in Astoria).  Of those four spots, we enjoyed our time at Sweet Afton the most.  The place (same owners as The Wren and Wilfie & Nell’s, to name two other spots) had a small-but-quality craft-beer selection.  Just 10 taps, but a great variety of local and national craft beers.  Spring Lounge hosted a Kelso brewery and Empire brewery tasting event.  We very much enjoy the Kelso IPA and Empire IPA (we are hopheads here at Pub Crawl NYC).  What was your experience with NYC Craft Beer Week?  Please share your thoughts.

Recently, we had a chance to visit Pennsylvania 6 (at 132 West 31st Street in Manhattan’s Chelsea), Dead Rabbit (at 30 Water Street in Manhattan’s Financial District) and LCL Bar (at 212 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan).  All three were good spots; all three had good craft beer selections.  We liked Dead Rabbit the best of the three.  Pennsylvania 6 and LCL were places to drop by if you’re nearby those neighborhoods, but not places to go way out of your way for.

For a piece of very welcomed news, we learned recently that The Paris Cafe will re-0pen sometime later in 2013.  The Paris Cafe is our favorite spot in the South Street Seaport section of Manhattan and was badly damaged during Hurricane Sandy.  The major renovations include moving the bar, which has taken some time.  We are just so happy to know that the Paris will re-open!

Today begins NYC Beer Week!

We were dismayed to learn of the following news story: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/02/17/state-lawmaker-seeks-to-ban-pub-crawls/

We’ve written on this topic before.  We doubt that any actual legislation will be passed that bans pub crawls.  Such a law would be too difficult to enforce.  Either way, our questions are these: Why are the calls for bans on NYC bar crawls growing louder of late? Is it because there are more families living in Manhattan versus a generation or two ago? There have been pub crawls in Manhattan for decades, if not centuries. Why is it becoming a quality of life issue only now?

What are your thoughts on this issue?  We want to hear from you!

The long weekend is upon us!  We’ll be sticking around town and hope to get some NYC bar hopping completed before Monday night rolls around.  A few spots on our radar around Manhattan: Pennsylvania 6 at 132 West 31st Street, The Headless Horseman at 119 East 15th Street and Hudson Common at 356 West 58th Street.  The Hudson Common is supposedly a new beer hall within the Hudson Hotel, which seems to be re-creating its bar themes every few years.

We are very excited about these new bar/brewery openings in Astoria and Long Island City in Queens: http://www.timeout.com/newyork/food-drink/the-new-queens-suds-buzz-new-beer-bars-shops-and-breweries

Today, February 14, marks the anniversary of statehood for both Oregon and Arizona; our co-beers of the day: Rogue Brutal Bitter and Four Peaks Kilt Lifter Scottish Ale.

Lastly, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Why is an NYC bar and pub crawl site marking this occasion?  Well, regular readers of this space know that not only do we enjoy pub crawling, but also enjoy delicious American craft beer.  One can argue that the craftbeer revolution we’ve been witnessing around the U.S. for the last three decades began with Samuel Adams Boston Lager, which got its start in Massachusetts.  So, if you have a chance today, raise a glass of Sam and toast to Massachusetts and the craft beer revolution.

Maybe it’s just us, but we feel as though since 2013 began, more new spots have been opening than usual.  Perhaps it’s just a seasonal thing, or a glut of liquor licenses at the New York State Liquor Authority only recently got approved.  Whatever the case, through our usual sources, we are learning of three new bars per week in Manhattan versus the usual rate of one to two.  Some new spots we’d like to pub crawl to include The Headless Horseman (near Union Square), Pennsylvania 6 (near Penn Station) and the new location of Milk & Honey (near Madison Square Park).  We’ll keep you informed of our progress!

We came across a recent article in the New York Times (full article available here: http://dld.bz/caF3R).  This article discusses how a few bars opening across the United States (and beyond) plan to donate all profits to charity permanently.  The article did not mention any bars in the five boroughs, though we hope this idea gains momentum and that such bars are able to keep their word.  As the NY times articles mentions, it’s hard enough running a profitable business in the food/beverage industry, it’s probably even harder when profits cannot be reinvested back into the business.  Here’s hoping that they succeed and that the model is copied numerous times over in the five boroughs.  We can imagine a day when we do a NYC bar crawl where we hit many such pubs!

We’ve heard good things about West Soho’s Houston Hall (222 W. Houston Street).  This location neighbors The Brooklyneer, which is our favorite spot in that immediate area (of course, there’s not much else right around there besides ridiculous nightclubs).  In addition to Houston Hall, the Upper East Side’s The District has piqued our interest.  It sounds as though it’s a gastropub/beer bar type place.  The District could be a nice addition to the UES NYC beer bar crawl.  We’d also like to check out Dead Rabbit in Manhattan’s Financial District.  However, we understand that it’s not yet open for business.  Any day now is the word.  If you have any suggestions on bars to hit this weekend, please leave a comment!