A Brooklyn-based art cooperative called United Photo Industries is going to create a little village out of shipping containers in Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 3 Uplands this summer, and they promise that "central to the Village will be a communal beer & food garden serving chilled brews and artisanal snacks." Details of vendors are "coming soon," but we were told this afternoon that "Brooklyn Brewery will be providing Ice cold beers (served by our friends at Water Street Restaurant in DUMBO) and we have teamed up with the amazing NY Food Truck Association. We are working on the schedule right now but we will have at least 4-5 food trucks every day in the beer garden." more ›

Beer halls are like the cupcakes and meatballs of drinking establishments: so trendy right now! And soon a new one will be coming to Bushwick, housed inside the 4,000-square-foot Danbro Studios building, and sporting an 11,000-square-foot outdoor garden—making it the city's biggest beer garden to date. more ›

You spend enough time stuck inside reading Gothamist at work; why should you be imprisoned by walls and roofs all over again on your free time? It's summer, and you are entitled to drink and eat outside, with nothing separating you from the stars but a thin layer of gabardine. With that in mind, we've put together this handy guide to some outdoor dining and drinking spots to hit this summer. Some are old standbys, some are new arrivals, and none of them feature any of that B.S. sidewalk seating. They are, in order of appearance, Bohemian Hall, B Bar, Faustina, Ardesia, The Summit, Hot Bird, The Upstairs, Luckydog, Blackout, Traif, Sky Terrace/Private Park, and The Rock Shop. more ›

Of course it's not literally the mother, for several obvious reasons—for one thing, there's the well-established predecessor Bohemian Hall, to the north in Astoria. But at least in terms of size, Studio Square in Long Island City is now king of New York, boasting a colossal 18,000 square feet beer garden that officially opens today at 4 p.m. The full beer and food menu is below. more ›

A long time ago in New York, there were hundreds of beer gardens where sausages grilled copiously and beer poured liberally. If you’re of the mindset that these two things combined are the remedy for our economic malaise (and other assorted bad times), consider yourself buoyed by the fact that the previously-delayed “boisterous sausage parlor” of Red Hook— called Grindhaus— has officially gone into high gear on Van Brunt Street: The Brooklyn Paper reported last month that owner Erin Norris’ permits are in place and construction is imminent. Per the story, the menu "will consist of five or six sausage varieties made on the premises, plus classics from around the world and newfangled concoctions that Norris will rotate into the daily offerings.” Grindhaus is scheduled to open in March; in the meantime, there seems to be a behind-the-scenes blog to help rally the masses. more ›

Matthew Roff isn't just the co-owner of Park Slope venue Southpaw, he also recently opened up Crown Heights's first beer garden, Franklin Park. Not satisfied with that, he also went in as co-owner of the (soon to be) old Galapagos space -- where he'll be opening a new venue called Natural Selection. He recently told us a little about what to expect from the latter space, as it reopens under his control. more ›

Southpaw owner Matt Roff is awfully busy opening new bars and venues lately (hopefully not nearby any nit-picky neighbors). As he works on the Galapagos space transformation, he somehow fit in opening up a beer garden last Friday in Crown Heights. more ›

Itching to jump back into Liberty City yet? The New GTA IV website has been launched, in preparation for the quickly approaching April release. The previews so far have been somewhat light on details, but the site finally sheds some light into what kind of trouble you can expect to get into while traversing a virtual NYC. more ›

The “Beer Kir” at Marco Moreira’s 15 East is a Japanese beer-based mixed drink: Sapporo is floated on a shot of honeyed sweet potato vinegar, adding a sweet-sour edge to the dry lager. For the purposes of home experimentation, we found Benímosu ($11.35 for 4 oz.), the same artisanal vinegar used in Beer Kir at Katagiri, a Japanese food store on 59th Street. Made in Kyoto from purple potatoes and koji rice, Benímosu has clean, rounded flavor that’s meant to be added to beer in a 1:5 ratio, which means a 4 ounce bottle of the stuff won’t even last a 6 pack. For more budget beer-vinegar drinks, Katagiri has a whole shelf of (mostly) fruit-based vinegar for cocktail mixing. There’s even one made from sake lees, the unfermentable dregs collected from the bottom of sake brewing tanks. more ›

The long-awaited opening of Radegast Hall & Biergarten, Brooklyn’s first old-timey beer hall, is finally upon us, just in time for… winter. The 2,000 square foot establishment is designed to feel like a turn-of-the-century Austro-Hungarian beer hall, with a retractable roof canopy, 32-foot high ceilings, communal tables made from 150-year-old barn wood, a seasonal grill and 13 varieties of beer on tap, as well as a wider array of exotic-sounding bottled beer, such as the... more ›

No news is bad news when it comes to the long-delayed opening of Radegast Hall & Biergarten, the new 2,000 square foot Williamsburg bar owned by the savvy Czechs who run Astoria’s Bohemian Hall. The establishment, designed to feel like a turn-of-the-century Austro-Hungarian beer hall, has been physically ready for business since Oktoberfest, but owners have been hung up on various permits and paperwork. The last hurdle was supposedly the certificate of occupancy, which... more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a commercial robbery on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, a suspicious fire on Renwick St. in Manhattan, and an "air-mail incident" at Union St. and Franklin Ave in Brooklyn. We can't wait to hear what that possibly means. Six men were murdered Saturday morning in New York City. Separately! The Times reports that patrons of the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden don't know what they're enthusiastically drinking to at a... more ›

“this is GOTHAMist. can't you cite a good NYC brew to spotlight?... how dare you, gothamist!!!” more ›

Last week, Clinton Hill Blog founder Robin Lester posted her findings of a trip taken to the Greenpoint Beer Works, a large brick industrial tucked away on Brooklyn’s Waverly Avenue between Fulton and Atlantic. She and another blog reader met up with operations director and brewer Kelly Taylor, who revealed that in addition to filling Greenpoint’s regular daily work order for Heartland Brewery, he has also been developing his own small batch beer, Kelso of Brooklyn. Currently, Kelso is only available by the keg, in three lager varieties: Nut Brown, Chocolate, and Kelso Hop. Taylor’s web site features a list of local restaurants and pubs that serve Kelso; his ale was also served at last week’s unveiling of the world’s eighth wonder, the new Whole Foods on the Bowery. more ›

Close your eyes for a moment (Crap, I guess this doesn’t work as well in print – maybe have a friend/co-worker with a soothing yet textured voice read the first paragraph to you). Ok, now imagine a magical land where each place you went, greeted you with a frosty beverage. Turn right and there’s a fine crafted, small production stout, straight ahead a zesty, refreshing Hefeweizen and perhaps a nutty, spicy ale and behind you, well most likely a line of people waiting for you to make a decision (people get antsy when beer is involved). As you walk through this magical land of beer salty snacks are scattered like clovers, refreshing your palate and prepping it for its next destination. Just over the hill are clusters of IPA’s so good you’re almost hesitant to move on but the glistening lights reflected off of Lager lake beckon you for a quick dip. Ok, now open your eyes. We bet you’re pretty thirsty, aye? Yeah, us too. Good thing Brewtopia is only a few weeks away. more ›

If you were thinking about a fun afternoon at the Bohemian Beer Garden in Queens, think again, sucka! Joey in Astoria says the line has been around the block for the last few weekends: more ›

We know that all back gardens are not created equal. They are useful for for pretending you aren't still addicted to cigarettes or can keep your hands off your date in front of your friends. Some, like the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria are nearly always packed, others, like Commonwealth in Park Slope are a welcome addition to an established great neighborhood bar and yet others, like the promised back garden area of Sortie don't exist at all. There is an outdoor area in the front on West 51st Street but the steps down from the street don't allow for more privacy or any kind of garden experience involving plants. more ›

September 12: Save New Orleans Cocktail Hour more ›

When the weather turns warm (finally!) Gothamist heeds the cooling call of tiny bubbles. Champagne? Heck, no! more ›

This week's food events have a heavy Brooklyn emphasis -- get out there and represent, yo. more ›

Jessica Lappin, City Council Candidate more ›

Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden was highlighted in this weekend's NYT Travel section, as a great option for places to visit in the city (other than midtown) during the Republican convention: more ›

Gothamist imagines that Apollo was trying to get the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria, or perhaps the new Lee Bontecou exhibit at the MoMA Queens. We wonder what would have happened if Ming the tiger had escaped his Harlem apartment - a trip to Sylvia's, perhaps? more ›

Whitney Pastorek, Writer/Etc. more ›