Exploring the Beer Bars of New York City

While craft beer may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of NYC, the city's craft beer presence is growing and makes for a quick and easy weekend trip out of Philly. Whether you choose to hit the road or ride the rails, an hour and a half north you'll find a city full of great beer bars waiting. If you're arriving by train into Penn Station, your first stop is just a few blocks east where you'll find two fabulous craft beer bars located just three blocks apart. The Ginger Man, on East 36th St. is an upscale bar with an old school feel that features an incredible 70 beers on tap as well as 160 bottles! With high ceilings, dark wood, old bank-style lamps on the bar and a cozy nook in the back with couches, sitting down to a beer here is truly a pleasure. Stroll three blocks south to East 33rd and you'll find the phenomenon that is Rattle'n'Hum Bar. With 40 craft beers on tap, a separate cask bar in the back, an extensive bottle list spanning the country and  globe and regular brewery nights, Rattle'n'Hum is a pint of beer heaven. The impressive tap list, recently featured The Bruery's Two Turtle Doves, Pretty Things' Babayaga, 21st Amendment's Monk's Blood and the Brew Dog/Stone Bashah!

Local brew pubs in one of the most dynamic and exciting cities in the world.

Let me lay down the facts: In Turkey, an empire ruled by tea and Raki, good craft beers are hard to come by. A huge majority of the market – over 80% - is ruled by macro-brewing giant Efes Beverage Group, which aside from its own namesake beers also has contracts to brew Tuborg, Foster’s and Miller, to name a few. As a bartender told me, “Turks drink a lot of beer, but they don’t have a beer culture.” There are just a handful of microbreweries in Turkey, mostly based on an American or German brewpub model.