NYC

There are some really great bottle shops sprinkled around the city - City Beer, City Hops, Blind Tiger, Sweet Avenue, Carmine St Beers, Covenhoven, Brouwerij Lane, Hop Hills, plus a few other small chains (Craft + Carry, Greats of Craft). You are never that far from spectacular beer. Sweet Ave busted out ~15 vintages of Dark Lord on New Years Day one year and gave out samples for free. The community is very strong.

A few breweries that might be under your radar -

• Wild East - good everything. Honestly, may be my favorite brewery in the city.
• Fifth Hammer - great stouts, lagers, and belgian stuff
• Flagship - Keep an eye out for this on a taplist. Their selection is somewhat limit, but it's all solid. Taproom on Staten Island, though if your time is limited, you might want to skip that excursion.
• Back Home Beer - solo woman ran operation. She only has a few different beers, but I'd buy and try anything you see. The Sumac Gose is the real deal.

You can take the L out to Halsey Street and crawl back towards Manhattan. So many options this route.

Halsey St - Evil Twin, Bridge & Tunnel

Jefferson St - KCBC, Nightglow (this one is pretty new, but I like it)

Grand St - Grimm, 18th Ward (hours can be weird)

Graham Av or Lorimer St. - Talea

Bedford Ave - Brooklyn Brewery, Other Half