Nestled in the East Bronx is Gun Hill Brewing Company, named one of the state’s most underrated breweries by Thrillist in 2019. The menu boasts a handful of award-winning beers — the Spirit 76 pilsner and Void of Light stout are both worth trying — along with more experimental drinks customers are unlikely to find elsewhere, like Henny Colada sour IPAs and a (Benedict) Arnold Palmer Berliner Weisse-style brew with lemonade and tea. Canned beers are available for takeout, too.

Anchoring the northernmost borough’s beer scene is the Bronx Brewery. This decade-old brewer sells its most popular beers across the city, but the taproom is worth a special visit for its seasonal releases and sprawling backyard, open seven days a week. The brewery recently opened a taproom in the East Village, too, with a downstairs food counter slinging smash burgers that are better than you’d expect.

Named after its home neighborhood, Long Island City (LIC), Big aLICe distinguishes itself with easy-drinking pours made from less common ingredients. Its rye beer is brewed with jalapenos and the restaurant has farmhouse ales made from figs and local honey. The Queens brewery operation also runs a taproom out of Industry City in Sunset Park.

Fifth Hammer joined Long Island City’s vibrant brewing scene in 2017. Beers are broken down into fun, easy to decode categories — “the bright bunch,” fruited sours, and “the hop zone,” among others — making it easy to sift through the 16 or so beers on tap. The brewery allows customers to bring outside food into the venue (we recommend Taiwanese dumpling spot Yumpling, five blocks away), while food trucks and pop-ups operate out of the space on weekends.

Torch and Crown opened this massive brewery early in the pandemic, becoming the only large-scale brewing operation in lower Manhattan. (The company previously operated out of a production facility in the Bronx.) This Soho brewery can become a bro breeding ground on weekends, but for those who persevere, smooth sours and sippable West Coast IPAs await. There’s plenty of indoor seating, along with tables out front and in a covered side yard.

Grimm is responsible for some of the city’s cutest beer cans, and in this case, it’s okay to judge a book by its cover. The taproom and brewery in East Williamsburg is a high-temple to sour ales, brewed with mango, key lime, and seasonal fruits. There are some 24 beers on tap at a given time, and don’t hesitate to ask the friendly bartenders here for a recommendation or sample before committing to a pint.

What this East Williamsburg brewery lacks in size, it more than makes up for with its menu of barrel-aged sours and single, double, and triple IPAs. Commit to a full pint, or pick out a couple four-ounce pours as part of a flight. Looking for something lighter? Try a canned cocktail, or pop open one of Interboro’s 500 milliliter beer bottles, only available at the brewery and perfect for sharing.

A restaurant manager, an advertising executive, and a molecular biologist walk into a bar. It sounds like the punchline to a joke, but it’s the founding story behind this brewery and taproom, which has been holding things down in Bushwick since 2016. Often abbreviated as KCBC, Kings County Brewers Collective serves several of its own beers on draft — a red currant and guava sour, a hazy pale ale called Penguin Pizza Party — plus a handful of pours from other breweries.

The CEO of this Gowanus beer company stepped down in early 2022, after likening the city’s vaccine mandate to the Nazi regime, but the brewery he left behind remains a top pick for Brooklyn beer obsessives. There’s a big backyard, around 20 beers on tap, and burgers courtesy of the Meat Hook butcher shop, who operates a kitchen out of the space. Cans from Threes are sold in bars and bodegas across the city, but the brewery provides a chance to try them all in one place, plus a rotating menu of limited-run ales.

Brooklyn beer nerds have been griping about the trek to Glendale, where Finback is headquartered, for about a decade. The popular brewer only recently caved to demand, opening this second taproom in Gowanus with beer, dumplings, and coffee. The brewery is known for its single, double, and triple IPAs, but you can usually count on finding a stout or kolsch on tap.

Strong Rope is a great option for those in search of excellent beer — and a calmer crowd than at Threes Brewing, down the street. Blonde ales and lagers are the move here, especially in the warmer months when customers pour out onto the brewery’s patio. Strong Rope operates a second location along the Red Hook waterfront.