New York, New York,

Intrepid beer hunter Zak Avery explores the city so good they named it twice.

It is said that no-one really comes from New York; it’s a city built on a perpetual influx of people who simply don’t want to be anywhere else, or have nowhere else to go. This cliché of the melting pot has created a semi-mythical city that can satisfy any desire – culinary, cultural or otherwise – all day, every day. I can’t pretend to be objective about New York; it’s a city that I love.

Returning to the city recently after an inexplicable 10-year absence, I was curious to see how the beer scene had developed. But in one of the biggest cities on the planet, where everything is on offer all the time, where do you start?

Downtown Manhattan is where all the fun happens. The East Village is no longer the edgy New York of movie depiction, but what it has lost in grit, it has gained in great specialist beer bars; a fair trade-off you might say, and you could do worse than start at dba (41 1st Ave, between 2nd & 3rd St), which ticks many of the boxes on a beer lover’s list.

It’s a down-to-earth bar, with a decent selection of draught beers, a huge collection of bottles chalked up on boards behind the bar, knowledgeable bar staff, and a tiny beer garden. The place is used by locals and beer enthusiasts alike. Draught beers rotate frequently, and you can be sure of something special; Kelso Hop Lager (firm, malty and astringent) and Sly Fox IPA (sweet, smoky and whiskyish) were both on great form.

From here, the short walk up 1st Avenue and left along 7th St brings you to McSorle.....

To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue or subscribe to Beers of the World to have every issue delivered direct to your door.

By Zak Avery

Section : Beer Journeys

Page number : 59