The New York region’s craft beer scene has undergone a meteoric rise over the past few years, with dedicated specialty-beer bars and local microbreweries popping up all over. Although some of the new breweries are outsourcing production to eastern Pennsylvania and the Adirondacks, others are doing things the old-fashioned way, making beer on-site. Here’s where to get your suds on:
SingleCut Beersmiths
19-33 37th St., Astoria; 718-606- 0788, singlecutbeer.com
WHY GO? Rock ’n’ roll’s the tune at SingleCut Beersmiths, Queens’ first brewery post- Prohibition, which launched in November. Owner Rich Buceta has high-voltage references plugged in everywhere, from the name (“single cut” is a style of guitar body) and the beers (all are named after famous guitar players and rock stars) to the tap handles fashioned like classic guitar heads. Moreover, the brewery was built on rock ’n’ roll — Buceta sold his once vast collection of vintage ’50s, ’60s and ’70s Les Pauls to kickstart the funding.
SPECIALTIES: Most microbreweries specialize in ales, while SingleCut focuses on lagers — crisp, cold-fermented suds. So it may be surprising then that its best brew isn’t the flagship 19-33 Queens Lagrrr! — a grassy, amply hopped pilsner that would take your grandpa some getting used to — or any of the other lagers, but the Billy Full Stack, a murky, full-bodied 8 percent alcohol by volume (abv) double IPA named for Billy Duffy of the British band the Cult. Expect a rum-barrel-aged doppelbock called Ruby just in time for Oktoberfest, and Eric More Cowbell!, an “SNL,” Blue Oyster Cult-referencing milk stout. “We made a day of it,” said Gloria Johnson, 28, a real estate agent in Park Slope, who was sipping Full Stack IPA, Kim sour lager and Jån lager with her husband as part of a first wedding-anniversary celebration. “First we biked to Forest Park and did some hiking and now we’re here sampling these great beers before heading back to Brooklyn.”
EXTRA HOPS: Wednesdays are SingleCut Vinyl Days. Bring your own records and the bartender will crank ’em up on the brewery’s high-wattage sound system. If you’re not a vinylphile, fear not — the bar has its own collection of more than 300 albums.
INFO: Just a half-mile from the N train stop at Ditmars Boulevard.
Peekskill Brewery
47-53 S. Water St., Peekskill, NY; 914-734-2337, peekskillbrewery.wordpress.com
WHY GO? Peekskill Brewery was founded in 2008, but didn’t hit its stride until a couple of years ago, when former Ithaca Beer Co. head brewer Jeff “Chief” O’Neil signed on. O’Neil, a red-bearded beer aficionado, experiments with everything from dry and refreshing sour ales to farmhouse funky saisons.
SPECIALTIES: O’Neil says Eastern Standard IPA is his most popular beer, accounting for one-third of the brewery’s production. No wonder — it’s a textbook American IPA that hits all the right bitter, spice and pine notes. But many of the brewery’s jewels are its taproom exclusives like Awesome Sauce, a hoppy pale ale, and Vaporizer, a 10 percent American imperial stout. “They don’t make a bad beer!” says Toni Senecal, a Westchester resident and host of a TV food show, who was there sampling a flight of beers with her videographer recently. “We come here all the time to unwind after a shoot.” She says her favorite here is Amazeballs, a single-hop American pale ale that’s high on flavor but low on bitterness.
EXTRA HOPS: Check out the “coolship,” a shallow 800-gallon tank in which each batch of beer is cooled and dry-hopped before going to the fermenter.
INFO: Metro-North’s Peekskill station is a fiveminute walk from the brewery’s front door. Tours run Friday through Sunday.
Carton Brewing Co.
6 E. Washington Ave., Atlantic Highlands, NJ; 732-654- BEER, cartonbrewing.com
WHY GO? Co-owner and brewery mastermind Augie Carton opened Carton Brewing Co. two years ago with cousin Chris and friend Jesse Ferguson. The trio’s directive was to create a supremely hoppy beer that they could drink one after another and not get sick of (or from). The Cartons are a sixth-generation family in the Highlands, and their microbrewery is one of a handful in the state.
SPECIALTIES: “Let me make this clear, Carton Brewing is Boat Beer,” says Augie about his brewery’s flagship beer. The 4 percent abv ale is a game-changing hybrid of light German Kölsch and American IPA. It accounts for a majority of the brewery’s output, but Carton’s far from a one-trick pony. Also try Monkey Chased the Weasel, a refreshingly sour Berliner Weisse-style beer made with fruit from the mulberry tree in the brewery’s rear parking lot (really!) or Carton Canyon, an adjunct lager brewed with blue agave nectar to pair with Southwest flavors (chilis, cumin, cilantro).
EXTRA HOPS: Ask to try what’s in the “Tippy,” a small, 20-gallon experimental pilot system the brewery uses to devise and tweak new recipes. Recent brews include Swisher, a smoky, cherry-infused porter meant to mimic the taste of a Swisher Sweet cigar.
INFO: Seastreak offers weekday ferry service from Pier 11 (near Wall and South streets) and docks six blocks from the brewery ($45 round-trip; 40 minutes each way). Weekend ferries run to and from Sandy Hook Beach and Conner’s Highlands. Take a cab from the Conner’s Highlands terminal, about two miles from the brewery.
Barrier Brewing Co.
3001 New St., Unit A2, Oceanside, LI; 516-594-1028, barrierbrewing.com
WHY GO? Long Island’s Barrier Brewing opened in 2009 along an industrial-marine canal in Oceanside. The original brewery was all but wiped out by Hurricane Sandy last October. Undeterred, co-owners Evan Klein and Craig Frymark vowed to rebuild, and two weeks ago they opened the doors of a brand-new five-barrel brewhouse. The new digs feature a bar fashioned from reclaimed sections of the Long Beach boardwalk and a tasting room with more than 10 of their own beers on draft.
SPECIALTIES: Barrier brews a head-spinning array of styles including Belgian saisons, crisp Czech pilsners and robust porters. Its forte, though, is in the hoppy American ale category, with floral pale ales, citrusy IPAs and dank red ales. The expansive draft list is always changing, but recent favorites included Bumble, a double wheat IPA with notes of mango and tropical fruit, and Bulkhead, a caramel-hued red ale.
EXTRA HOPS: Everyone gets a free flight of five samples in the taproom, but that’s about all you can drink on-premises. They’re in the process of getting a barroom license with hopes of serving pints and food within a few weeks. Growler fills ($10 to $18) are available to-go for most of the draft beers, and the brewery sells several special-release bottles such as Morticia, an inky stout bottle-conditioned with maple syrup, for off-premises consumption. Note: The brewery accepts cash only, and there’s no ATM on-site.
INFO: Take the LIRR to East Rockaway (45 minutes) and follow alongside the tracks to the brewery one block east of the station.