12 Beer Spots to Beat the Summer Sun in NYC

Summer has officially arrived in NYC. And despite the torrential downpours, stifling subways, and din of ice cream trucks, there are good things that come with summer in the city — and drinking a cold beer outside just might be the best part. It’s time for the outdoor spaces of some of the city’s best beer bars to come alive. In a city where indoor space is at a premium, outdoor space can make a bar practically double in size.

So grab a craft beer and check out these 12 places where you can drink in the great outdoors.

Bierstrasse NYC (Harlem)

Perfect For: When you want to try some place new

This year’s summer jam may very well end up being this booming new beer hall and patio in West Harlem. Open just this week, Bierstrasse will specialize in German brews from the likes of Erdinger, Krombacher,Spaten and more on draft, plus American brews by the bottle and can. Pretzels and sausages will pair well with all that beer, and the atmosphere — communal tables in the summer sun — will pair even better.

Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden (Astoria)

Perfect For: Drinking at a true classic

It wasn’t the first beer garden in New York City, but it’s the only one that survived Prohibition and two world wars. While they were serving mainly German and Czech-style beers back in those times, they’ve added craft beer in recent years, because times change. But for those looking for something more traditional, rest assured that they’ve got authentic food, an authentic vibe, and authentic beer. Even after 105 years, you simply can’t beat this experience.

The Bronx Brewery (Port Morris)

Perfect For: Drinking under the tracks

Why wait for your beer to get an outdoor drinking spot when you can just drink outdoors at the source? Bronx Brewery opened its backyard in late April this year, complete with visiting food trucks, cornhole, plenty of seating, occasional live music, and lots of seating to sip some beer, enjoy the warmth and watch the trains pass by above you.

Cardiff Giant (Clinton Hill)

Perfect For: Drinking local beer outside

Spring brought the arrival of this new spot on Myrtle in Fort Greene, and the warmer weather brought crowds flocking to the patio at this new beer-centric spot that exclusively features New York beer, wine, and spirits. Get a brew from Other Half, Grimm,Transmitter, or Peekskill, among other local breweries they pour loyally here — preferably a sessionable one for those hot summer days.

Covenhoven (Crown Heights)

Perfect For: When you want to feel like you’re drinking in someone’s back yard

This beloved spot in Crown Heights always feels homey, but Covenhoven feels especially so during the warmer months when their outdoor space opens. Low-slung chairs and small patio tables on a back lawn make you feel like you’re crashing a low-key backyard barbecue… with a really, really good draft beer list.

The Gate (Park Slope)

Perfect For: Park Slope people-watching

Being planted on a busy corner along Park Slope’s 5th Avenue makes the patio at The Gate a great place to watch the world pass by while you sip on a beer. With nothing but a park to the West, the patio gets lots of sunshine, too, so it’s even worthy of a visit on a cool sunny day for a couple of theirtwo dozen draft beers.

Greenwood Park (South Slope)

Perfect For: Beer and Bocce

If you prefer your craft beer paired with bocce, this block-long indoor and outdoor space just south of the Prospect Expressway is exactly where you want to be. This spot pours 24 craft beers in the bays of an old auto repair shop. When things heat up, you want to stay in the massive outdoor area up front, which offers plenty of communal seating for drinking, an outdoor bar in a repurposed shipping container, and lots of benches for kicking back and drinking beer while you cheer your friends on at bocce.

The Jeffrey (Upper East Side)

Perfect For: When you thought it was too crowded during the winter

The Jeffrey draws crowds to their two narrow bars during the colder months, but once this time of year comes along, their back patio greatly expands the bar’s space on any sunny day. Now, you can drink one of the bar’s 30 beers in the shadow of a Queensboro Bridge overpass… and feel a bit less claustrophobic.

LIC Flea & Food (Long Island City)

Perfect For: Taking a break on your brewery crawl

It’s the fourth season for this market in a vacant lot near the East River, and the addition of beer to wash down the great food served by vendors has made a weekend visit to an already bustling beer neighborhood even more appealing. Brews from Finback, Queens Brewery, Big Alice (just a few blocks away), and Rockaway (their neighbors across the street) are available here, and both Transmitter and LIC Beer Project are in the neighborhood as well, making this an ideal stop as you visit LIC’s breweries.

Mission Dolores (Park Slope)

Perfect For: When day-drinking turns to evening-drinking

We called Mission Dolores “this year’s summer jam” six years ago, and it still sets the bar high for outdoor craft beer drinking. The bar is mostly outdoors, so it comes alive in the warmer months and its 20 rotating taps turn over even quicker, with options from Narragansett Lager to lots of local options and a plethora of German and Belgian imports to keep you cool and hydrated.

Sycamore (Ditmas Park)

Perfect For: Getting away from it all

It’s a bit of a trek down the Q Train to this flower shop/bar, but the sweet two-level backyard space bound by ivy-covered walls makes it worth it. Inside, grab a beer from a tap and bottle menu that boasts local brews and nationally-known craft. During the summer, Sycamore’s backyard heats up even more when they host local food vendors in their Flatbush Food Court. Eat, drink, and be merry.

Threes Brewing (Gowanus)

Perfect For: When drinking beer inside a brewpub just won’t do

It’s Threes Brewing’s second summer, and they’re already packing ’em in on weekends for the house-made beer and rotating food vendors. A 22-ounce pour of their crisp Vliet Pilsner (it’s the “Summer of Pilsner,” they say here) will help keep you cool as you soak up some rays. And things get even hotter on June 5th as they host their second annual Crawfish Boil at the brewery.

The List:

Bierstrasse NYC
2346 12th Ave, at 133rd St
Harlem

Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden
29–19 24th Avenue
Astoria

The Bronx Brewery
856 E. 136th St., at Walnut Ave.
Port Morris

Cardiff Giant
415 Myrtle Ave, at Clinton Ave
Clinton Hill

Covenhoven
730 Classon Ave, at Park Pl.
Crown Heights

The Gate
321 5th Ave., at 3rd St.
Park Slope

Greenwood Park
555 7th Ave., at 19th St.
South Slope

The Jeffrey
311 E. 60th St., at 2nd Ave.
Upper East Side

LIC Flea & Food
5–25 46th Ave., at 5th St.
Long Island City

Mission Dolores
249 4th Ave., at Carroll St
Park Slope

Sycamore
1118 Cortelyou Rd., at Westminster Rd.
Ditmas Park

Threes Brewing
333 Douglass St., at 4th Ave.
Gowanus

Originally published in Brew York New York