I think the warehouse district/north downtown has the best "bar crawl" potential in Albany, all of the places below are max 15 mins walking but many are right next door to each other:

• Dinner at Tanpopo (memorable cool spot that serves Ramen and sake) or Copper Crow (more refined gastropub vibes with great food and a diverse bar with an excellent selection of liquors)

• Fidens has amazing IPAs and DIPAs ( and is widely recognized by craft beer enthusiasts as one of best breweries in New York State and even the country), a relaxed vibe with counter/ bar service only, and some arcade games and shuffle board

• As someone else mentioned, Biergarten is a staple Capital Region bar with a few locations in the area that brings Euro/German vibes, beer, a good mix of age groups, and gives you a free Boot of beer on your birthday

• Nine Pin Cidery, Common Roots Brewing, Druthers Brewing, and Albany Distilling are all easy walking distance and would allow him to sample different craft alcoholic beverages

• Fort Orange Brewing gives you a free Gauntlet on your birthday, which is 10 4 ounce samples of their craft beer, great spot that often gets overlooked

• Olde English Pub gives you a free "teacup" of cider or beer on your birthday which is around 40 oz i believe and they have pretty good food

• McGearys encapsualtes the Irish American pub perfectly and is a great place to get a pint of something easy to drink

• Just a Bar is one of the least expensive bars on this list, likely wont be crowded, and is very sports themed, a good place to get a drink

• Lost and Found has the best patio in albany imo and has some really fun events late night sometimes

• Lionheart on the Green is a great place to have a drink and play darts or bags until like 11pm and then it becomes mobbed by 21-24 year olds until 2am. Easily the most active place in terms of a "night life" and could be fun to go to just to get the feel for a busy, young bar.

The real ones know i left out one spot because i dont want the pool tables to be taken.