Good Beer
When it comes to beer I’m not that picky. There’s beer and then there’s good beer, and I drink the good kind. Good beer can be almost anything: a sour lambic, a chocolate stout, even the odd IPA. Something from a local or craft brewery that looks new or different is always worth a try. Just as long as it’s not a watery lager, which is what you’ll find trickling from the taps of most of the bars in America.
In the East Village your options for places to get bottles and six packs of good beer are usually Indian-owned delis, but: they’ll hardly ever rotate their selection, there’s a markup and there’s no sampling or growlers. New Beer Distributors on Chrystie Street has an amazing selection, but they close at 6pm and aren’t open on Sundays. The opening of Whole Food Beer Room on Houston St. provided a solid option, and now we have Beer Street.
At the opening weekend last Saturday, Good Beer looked promising. About 400 varieties lined the shelves, much smaller selection than Whole Foods’ 800+, but the owner says he’s planning for 600 and will grow from there. Domestic craft brews were well-represented, among the tastier options were Pretty Things Saint Botolph’s Town and Dogfish Head Chickory Stout. The Belgian selection was smaller, although Good Beer had their bases were covered with my current favorites, Gulden Draak and Tripel Karmeliet. Prices seemed about on par with Whole Foods Beer Room, and probably cheaper than what you’ll find at the deli down the street.
The pleasant surprise of the evening, however, was that Good Beer had a total of 12 brews available on draft, among them Ramstein Winter Wheat, Arrogant Bastard, and Captan Lawrence Kolsch. Pints ran a reasonable $6, and a flight of four sample-sized beers was $8. Growlers are for sale for $7, and a fillup costs anywhere from $10-$15. Cheese and charcuterie are available (you’ll catch a whiff as soon as you walk in), and there are a few tables and chairs near the back. So it looks like they’re aiming for more of a hangout than Whole Foods, although most of the space is devoted to bottles. If their selection grows as planned this will be an essential stop on the East Village beer-shopping circuit.
Good Beer
422 E. 9th Street between First Ave. and Ave. A
Mon-Sat 11am-10pm, Sun 12pm-8pm