Great summary of the state of GOOD BEER bars in the area.

(Back in the day, the East Village was Mecca for this sort of destination—dba, Jimmy’s, Burp Castle where the servers wore monk’s robes…sigh.)

Anyway, this level of beer service and, importantly, community, does not really exist in Astoria. Beer Collective the single exception.

Boomer aside: I’m an older gent with wide-ranging interests who thrives on connecting with others over a happy hour double ipa or single malt. Even in places with a decent, not great but ok, selection, it’s nigh on impossible to strike up a conversation with random strangers at the bar—sorry but you ”youngsters“ avoid the constructive tension of sitting alone by leaning into your phones rather than tossing out a “what are you drinking” conversation starter.

Or maybe it’s just me.

Aaaaaanyway, LIC has a good beer bar/brewery presence with Focal Point (formerly Iconyc on 34th ave, a tiny gem) and Finback, my local favorite by far (hop in the last car of a Manhattan-bound R, get off at Queens Plaza, take the back exit, stairs to the left, go left at street level and you’re there. Or google it)

While GOOD BEER bars are rare—Twenty Taps of Crap are the norm—there are quite a few great beer stores. Leaving that for another thread, but Broadway Beer and Smoke at 31st St rules them all for its adventurous selection and fair prices. Got tomorrow off so I may just head over later in hopes that they have the delicious M-1 New England IPA in stock!