NOT ANOTHER BEER GARDEN (Beer Parc)

My search for the best beer in New York continues….

I’ve been in New York a long time. I remember back in the day if you said you were going to the “beer garden” you really only meant one specific place and that was in Astoria, Queens. At that time, it was the only reason to travel out to Queens and the novelty of sitting in a huge outdoor space, enjoying hefeweizen and a grilled sausage was seemingly brand new. Of course, it wasn’t new at all. Germans and their neighbors have been drinking beer in gardens for centuries and the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden I’m referring to is the oldest still-active beer garden from the early days – it opened in 1910, to be exact.

But anybody who’s moved to New York in just the last few years might think of any number of establishments when the term “beer garden” comes up. There are now German and Czech-style beer gardens all over Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens (the Bohemian Beer Garden is now referred to as “the old beer garden”). It seems to be one of the latest trends in the city, especially when the weather is nice. I mean, who doesn’t want to sit outside and enjoy a nice cold beer?

Just this summer, Beer Parc opened in the back of Jeffrey Chodorow’s FoodParc. I’ve been to the futuristic food court before for lunch, but I had yet to find myself in this neighborhood late enough for a beer. This may change with my official beer search, but I’m not usually one to start drinking before the sun goes down during the week.

The system at BeerParc has been criticized in the past and I will do it once again. It doesn’t make any sense to me and really tends to complicate and disorganize the process. In order to get drinks (or food), you must first stop by a ticket booth and purchase a set number of tickets. So basically you’re waiting in multiple lines and wasting paper by using tickets. I can’t figure out why you can’t just pay the bartender (who is set up inside) with cash. I bet the bartenders also lose out on some tips because by the time you get to them, you’re no longer dealing with cash and you could easily forget to leave a little extra.

So tickets are outside, beer is inside, food is outside, bathrooms are inside, seating is outside. It’s all very confusing and frustrating.

And when we finally did get a word with the surly bartender, I wasn’t very impressed with their beer selection. Beers all run $6, which is fair for a pint in Midtown. There are five beers on tap and only two that are very local – Brooklyn and Southampton. I was feeling a little more summery so I got a pint of the Southhampton Double White.

White (or witte) beers are pretty common and popular at German beer gardens. I’ve had Southampton’s in the past and will review it again in the future. They’re located on the south shore of Long Island and I hope to get out to the brewery itself soon.

This beer tasted off. It had a very medicinal flavor with funky notes. I found the mouthfeel to be very heavy and harsh. This is not at all what I was expecting and I have a hunch that it was reflective of the tap lines at BeerParc. I tried somebody else’s beer and it too tasted a bit off.

This is not a fair assessment of the Southampton beer, but I did get a good feel of this beer garden and I’m afraid it’s not one I’ll be returning to in the evening hours. The atmosphere, staff, and beer are all slightly off.

I found it strange that the garden is completely open to the street and anybody could walk through. It’s below a very loud, clubby hotel bar and there’s a huge television up above that shows sports or news. This place seriously needs to figure out what it wants to be – a club scene, a sports bar, or a public space. One thing I assure you it’s not is a beer garden.

Is Southampton’s Double White the best beer in NY? I don’t think it’s fair to judge it from this venue, so I will hold off judgement until I make it to their brewery.