A place like no other and a definite must-see if you're visiting Manhattan or Brooklyn in NYC.
Located off the Bedford Stop (L-Line) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on 11th avenue you will find the Brooklyn Brewery. This year they are celebrating their 25th anniversary as they have now become the 11th biggest brewer in America with beers and lagers going out to countries all around the world.
I first had my Brooklyn Brewery Lager at
Byron Burger in Manchester and when I knew we were coming to Brooklyn on this trip, I had to pay a visit.
Tickets for the Brooklyn Brewery Tour
If you turn up at the weekend, I have read that you can get free tours. However, this also means that more people go and less beer is given out. Their is an option to purchase tickets for what they call the small batch tours. We opted for this option as it was only $15 and meant you were given more tasty beers in a smaller and more intimate group of 10-20 people maximum
Here's a little more information on their tours www.brooklynbrewery.com/visit/visiting-the-brooklyn-brewery.
If you do opt for the small group / more beer option, then these tickets need to be purchased in advance and you also need to wear shoes that cover your toes. I wore sandals and had to change into a fetching pair of yellow Crocs style shoes for our tour around the brewery.
What to expect from a Brooklyn Brewery Tour
The big red doors open at 5pm and you're then greeted by a friendly group of Brooklyn Brewery employees who will show you around the brewery and take you through the tasting.
After showing our IDs the tasting got under way and the operations manager talked us trough all the different types of malts and hops that went into the beers. We tried 5 different beers all together and I have to save my favourite had to be the one that tasted like bubblegum and was also 8.9%.
We then ventured into the different types of processing rooms where he told us that last year they made over 100,000 barrels of Brooklyn beer to be shipped out to bars across the world. This didn't include any of the individual bottles that were created also.
At the end of our tour, you are welcome to continue drinking until 7pm and can buy beer tokens of 5 for $20 or 1 token for $5. All of their beers are pretty strong and range from a variety strengths.