BeerParc
845 Sixth Ave., nr. 30th St. 646-600-7140
Jeffrey Chodorow’s foray into outdoor drinking is as outsize as the man himself: A 12,000-square-foot plaza behind FoodParc, Chodorow’s futuristic food hall, has become a beer garden serving a quintet of crafts on draft (crisp Radeberger Pilsner, lemony Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen), plus fare from Edi & the Wolf, Fatty ’Cue, and Harold Dieterle.
t.b.d.
224 Franklin St., at Green St., Greenpoint; 718-349-6727
There’s rarely a battle for seating at this underrated Greenpoint beer specialist’s 5,000-square-foot outdoor expanse, which is landscaped with gravel, grass, and more than two dozen picnic tables. Beneath sunlight or string lights, enjoy locally focused crafts (Captain Lawrence, Blue Point), which cost $3 from 4 to 7 p.m. weekdays. Foodwise, find creative burgers such as the ’bama ($8), topped with barbecue sauce and pimento cheese.
The Lot on Tap
30th St. at Tenth Ave.; no phone
Tom Colicchio finally hopped aboard the beer-garden bandwagon with this parking lot that just popped up beneath the High Line’s new northerly stretch. The 350-seat seasonal bar stocks domestic wines and local beers from Sixpoint and Brooklyn Brewery, which created a Brooklyn High Line Elevated Wheat ($7 for sixteen ounces) just for the occasion. For sustenance, food trucks such as Red Hook Lobster Pound and Taïm Mobile line the adjoining block.
Killmeyer’s Old Bavaria Inn
4254 Arthur Kill Rd., nr. Sharrotts Rd., Staten Island; 718-984-1202
Overshadowed by the better-known Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden in Astoria, Killmeyer’s is a pilgrimage every beer-loving New Yorker must take. The dark-wood, taxidermied digs date back to the nineteenth century, with voyagers to Staten Island’s southern tip being rewarded with schnitzel, wursts, and a dozen drafts of German and Belgian beer (plus oompah bands on the weekend).
d.b.a.
41 First Ave., nr. 2nd St.; 212-475-5097
The East Village beer bar is a perennial after-work favorite thanks to its spacious covered patio and an impeccably curated roster of more than sixteen rotating craft brews, from piney IPAs to creamy stouts, poured by barkeeps well versed in hops and grains. The wait for picnic-table seating can be epic, so ditch the office as early as possible.
Spuyten Duyvil
359 Metropolitan Ave., nr. Havemeyer St., Williamsburg; 718-963-4140
Beer-geekdom and sun idolatry collide in Spuyten Duyvil’s gravelly backyard expanse, where you can easily lose an entire weekend sipping through the bar’s collection of German, English, and Belgian offerings, each served in the appropriate flavor-enhancing glassware. Don’t miss the Bayerischer Bahnhof Leipziger Gose ($8 for twelve ounces), an offbeat German beer made with salt, which sharpens the tart lemon flavor and adds an electrolytic jolt.
Harlem Tavern
2153 Frederick Douglass Blvd., at 116th St.; 212-866-4500
Tonic co-owner Stephen Daly and his wife, Sheri Wilson, have transformed a onetime auto-body shop and parking lot in Harlem into a handsome, high-ceilinged bar with a stamped-concrete patio covered with plenty of shaded, shareable tables. The twenty taps dispense a rounded mix of craft drafts from the likes of Lagunitas, Ommegang, and Stone, while the menu of uptown-themed bar food includes flatbreads topped with fried green tomatoes.
Hot Bird
546 Clinton Ave., at Atlantic Ave., Clinton Hill; 718-230-5800
Last year, extinct Prospect Heights chicken restaurant Hot Bird was resurrected—in name only—by Rope owner Frank Moe, who reconfigured an auto shop located beneath one of the eatery’s fading billboards. The lure is an enclosed patio packed with elongated picnic tables, where patrons sip a dozen rotating craft brews such as Pretty Things’ prickly Jack D’Or saison. When the grill gets going later this month, you can snack on Meat Hook sausages, though, strangely, no fowl.
Birreria at Eataly
200 Fifth Ave., at 23rd St. 212-937-8910
The icing atop Eataly is its new 150-seat rooftop brewpub, which delivers on its sky-high hype thanks to its excellent house-made sausages and seasonally influenced, cask-conditioned artisanal ales created by a trio of American and Italian brewers, including Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione. The chestnut-flavored Wanda and the peppercorn-spiked Sofia are especially lovely to savor when the retractable roof opens up.
Pilsener Haus & Biergarten
1422 Grand St., nr. 15th St., Hoboken, N.J.; no phone yet
Next month, Radegast co-founder Andy Ivanov brings brats and beer steins to Hoboken with his nearly 400-person venue conveniently located by a NY Waterway taxi stop. Hudson-crossers will be greeted by a 4,000-square-foot garden filled with trees and massive communal tables. The 21 European drafts—including the Haus Bier ($7 for 16.9 ounces), a crisp, well-balanced pilsner made exclusively for the bar by a German brewer whose name Ivanov is jealously keeping under wraps—are complemented by sausages, pretzels, and the occasional pig roast.
Franklin Park
618 St. Johns Pl., nr. Franklin Ave., Crown Heights; 718-230-0293
The centerpiece of Crown Heights’ megapopular indoor-outdoor brewtopia is its 1,300-square-foot garden surrounded by leafy plants. Seating consists of steel patio furniture and long picnic tables, both of which are ideal for downing one of a dozen varying drafts, including lemon-scented Hoegaarden. Sandwiches and fries are available at the adjoining Dutch Boy Burger.
Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club
89 South St., nr. Beekman St. 212-896-4600
Arising from the sandy grave of South Street Seaport’s Water Taxi Beach, the month-old Beekman is a waterside rec room outfitted with lit-up couches, foosball, Ping-Pong, billiards, and dual bars built from driftwood. It serves sun-friendly suds such as fruity Magic Hat #9 and Ommegang Witte, which twin nicely with Buddakan vet Jason Mayer’s menu of lobster-and-crab rolls, oysters, and a La Frieda burger.