The Showdown: Queens vs. Manhattan vs. BrooklynThe Best Beer Halls in NYC

QUEENS Brewery hub before Prohibition

Roaring back with new beer bars, shops, and makers

Centered in Astoria and Long Island City

The Strand Smokehouse Est. Nov. 2012; 9,000 sq. ft. space

The American, indoor answer to European inspired beer gardens

16 regional brews; offers BBQ-friendly (ie. smoky & refreshing) quaffs

All pints: $7, All pitchers: $21

Serves different types of BBQ (vinegary North Carolina, saucy Tennessee); specialty is rotating pastrami plate

Banjoists play on most nights

25-27 Broadway between Crescent and 29th Streets, Astoria, 718-440-3231

Astoria Bier and Cheese 1,100 sq. ft. curds and brew haven

Bathroom mural of Kim Jong-il milking a cow

Marble bar with 10 seasonal (mostly local) drafts

More than 200 bottles and cans can be purchased to go or opened on-site ($2 corking fee)

More than 100 types of cheese; some cheese is worked into a sit down menu

Aspire gourmands can get schooled with the pairing plate, which matches 4 5-oz. pours with cheeses

34-14 Broadway between 34th and 35th Streets, Astoria, 718-545-5588

Manhattan Downtown vs. Harlem

Downtown: grungy, but potentially pricy depending on where you do

Harlem: uptown’s once-legendary supper club scene has transformed into craft-beer halls

Proletariat Tight quarters; narrow bar with 12

stools and old-timey tattoo flash art

Specializes in rare, new, and unusual brews

11 rotating drafts ($7-$11) from cult brewers

View 60-item bottle list by scanning QR code on smartphone or scoping it on the barkeep’s iPad

Prices are steep; pours are short

102 St. Marks Pl. between First Ave. and Ave. A, 212-777-2017

Harlem Public Est. Sept. 2012; 60-seat saloon

Serves fizzy pints to a packed room of Hamilton Heights locals

Mostly American suds on the bar’s 16 taps; pours change multiple times a week

Wanna mack on someone?: Send a round his/her way and the bartender will put your names and the drink up on the “PDA” chalkboard as an introduction

If the chalkboard didn’t work, you can eat your feelings with gussied-up pub grub

3612 Broadway between 148th and 149th Streets, 212-939-9404, harlempublic.com

Brooklyn Don’t you live there?...You know what Brooklyn’s

like!

No explanation needed.

Greenwood Park 13,000 sq. ft. beer garden with 3 bocce courts;

onetime auto-body shop (still has roll-up garage doors and vintage car lift)

Welcomes everyone (toddler-toting yuppies, fixed-gear enthusiasts, neighborhood hop-heads)

60 draft lines dispense 20 local and international microbrews; commercial favorites are also on tap

24 suds are available in bottles

Bar bites for everyone (wings, sausage hero, etc.)

Fireplace and 6 flatscreen TVs show sporting events when it’s cold outside

Seventh Ave. at 19th Street, Park Slope, 718-499-7999

Rosamunde Sausage Grill Bay Area-style boozing in South

Williamsburg

More than 24 domestic and international craft drafts; revolving picks

Always 2 Nitrogen taps; nitrogen is added to CO2 in the keg to create a creamy head

24 sausages (all come on brioche rolls with house-made toppings)

‘Burg locals can order grub and growlers for delivery

Flannel-shirted lads line the zinc bar

285 Bedford Ave. between Grand and South 1st Streets, Williamsburg, 718-388-2170, rosamundesausagegrill.com

Honorable Mentions Queens:

Rockaway Brewing Company: 5-01 46th Ave. at 5th Street, Long Island City, rockawaybrewco.com

SingleCut Beersmiths: 19-33 37th Street between 19th and 20th Aves., Astoria, 718-606-0788, singlecutbeer.com

Manhattan: Alphabet City Beer Co.: 96 Ave. C between 6th and

7th Streets, 646-422-7103, abcbeer.co

If You Ever See These, Try Them…

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple ale, 9.4 oz. bottle $16.99 Uses sweet porky doughnuts Available at Brooklyn Beer & Soda, 507 Flatbush Ave. at Lefferts Ave., Prospect-

Lefferts Gardens, 718-622-8800, bkbeerandsoda.com

Flying Dog Pearl Necklace stout, 12 oz. bottle $2.09 Uses raw oysters Available at Good Beer, 422 E. 9th Street between 1st Ave. and Ave. A, 212-677-4836,

goodbeernyc.com

Birreria Calabrona, 16 oz. bottle $10 Uses yeast from a hornet’s stomach Available at La Birreria, 200 5th Ave. at 23rd Street, 212-937-8910, eataly.com/birreria

Dogfish Head Birra Etrusca Bronze, 25 oz. bottle $14.99 Uses Etruscan tomb microbes Available at Whole Foods Bowery Beer Room, 95 E. Houston at Bowery, 212-420-1320