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heading over to nyc next weekend and as luck would have it i'm staying not too far from the gingerman so will have to check that out. was also thinking of heading to the brooklyn brewery as they have an open-house on a friday night and i may end up going to a gig in brooklyn that night anyway.
hopefully i'll be able to report back the week after.

I made it to The House of Brews last time I was there, massive selection, other than the SamiClaus lager I can't remember any of the beers that I had. (Though that initial choice may be the reason.)

Lots of those weird American sports on the box though, which was distraction.

Well worth a visit.

Both The Gingerman and House of Brews are worth a visit but if you only have time to visit one the former wins hands down.

well that was fun!
the gingerman is a great great spot, the selection of beers is astounding and they do nice food too. the one thing that disappointed me about it was that you either have to order a 'pint' or you can get a flite of beers 4 small 4.5oz glasses and these are only available outside rush-hour times ie before 6pm and after 10pm. had one of the nicest pints ever yesterday lunchtime -heavy seas loose cannon hop ale on cask, floral delicious mouthfeel slightly sweet but very quaffable fantastic. something that surprised me and i'll see if i can figure out a way of putting the menu on the site was the total lack of an ABV indicator beside the beer, i was under the impression that many americans are all about the stronger the better in terms of beers, not so it seems from this.
one other great discovery was sierra nevada pale ale on tap in the bowery ballroom being able to drink quality beer at a great gig venue was a first, usually the best i can get at a music venue in dublin is bottles of budvar!
a pub i would have liked to spend more time in was the village pour house <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="www.pourhousenyc.com/">www.pourhousenyc.com/
which had a great selection of beers but was jammed with people watching the american football division championships.
ended up here <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="www.swiftnycbar.com/">www.swiftnycbar.com/
instead which while an 'irish' bar i didn't feel too bad going into when i saw the beer menu. the magic hat number 9 was pretty interesting an apricot flavoured palish ale.
the weirdest beer i had was new england wet willy scotch ale - was almost soupy in texture with a slightly ciderish quality, wouldn't have another but interesting all the same.
new york is a great city for beers.

Thought I'd add to this old thread as I'm just back from my first visit to NYC. Places I visited:

The Pony Bar (Upper East side, 75th) - great little bar with about 20 taps (plus two cask handles which were not in use). All beers were American - no imports. Highlight was the Southern Tier imperial stout. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="ues.theponybar.com/">ues.theponybar.com/. There's also one in Hell's Kitchen I believe.

Rattle N Hum (14 East 33rd) - called in here for a few before dinner. Will definitely go back next time (and possibly for dinner too, food looked good). Very lively atmospheric place with a huge draught and bottle menu which seems to be updated constantly. For example, while we were there, a pumpkin cask ale was added to the menu - must've been a late night delivery! The menu here also shows the ratebeer.com rating for each, if you're interested in what others think. Again, loads of US breweries, supplemented by plenty of Europeans.

The Gingerman - while I thought the bar itself lacked a bit of atmosphere, the beer selection is exceptional. A must visit, as pointed out by others. Lost the run of myself when I was leaving and bought one of their special edition 2L growlers <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="www.flickr.com/photos/fearthethreetoedsloth/5566294509/">www.flickr.com/photos/fearthethr ... 566294509/, will look great for showing off my homebrew though!

Heartland Brewery - stopped in here (the one between Times Square and Bryant Square) for 2 pints after a long day's sightseeing. Had the Bavarian Black Lager which was great, and the Farmer Jon Oatmeal Stout, which was probably the best beer I had all weekend. It's more of a restaurant than a bar, but worth a visit. I think they brew and re-brand for numerous restaurants around Manhattan.

Brooklyn Brewery - called in here on a Saturday. The Mon-Thur tours are smaller and more detailed I believe, weekends are basically a one-stop tour, a 20-25 minute talk from one of the brewers. Still though, it's free and entertaining. The large on site bar is a no-frills place but absolutely jammed, and I would happily spend a few hours there, great craic. Obviously all the Brooklyn beers are on tap. My favourites were Blast (strong pale ale) and Sorachi Ace. The nearby Smorgasburg food fair is also well worth a visit, a great day out overall.