New Beer Distributors

BKBassist

New York

3.41/5  rDev -20.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $

Essentially a warehouse/distribution center that also has a massive selection of bottles and cans.

Much of what has been said here is accurate. The selection is pretty incredible, from domestic craft to international macros and micros. The issue is freshness and storage conditions. The bottles are simply sitting out on shelves in a big warehouse. Definitely check your bottle dates on your IPAs and anything else you want fresh. But for your heartier styles this can be a true diamond in the rough.

I've never needed any service other than checking out, so I can't speak to that.

Overall, if you know what to look for, you can find great deals at this store, just don't go in blind.

05-22-2013 17:13:32 | More by BKBassist

cw577enfield

Virginia

4.39/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75 | $$

WOW! One of the hugest craft beer selection I've seen in a long time. It's basically a warehouse of tall racks filled with beers that seems to reach up to the sky. Reasonably priced and it's where I got Black OPS at $19 each. I would advise to check dates for IPA since they don't exactly keep track of them. I found an IPA that's been on the shelf for two years after its original bottling date! Also, it's not exactly climate-controlled. No coolers, just bunch of tall racks. Nevertheless, it's a great place to hunt for hard-to-find bottles.

05-12-2013 17:28:28 | More by cw577enfield

Nrbelex

New York

4.81/5  rDev +12.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75 | $

A gem. Lisa and Harry are great, and the selection and pricing can't be beat, plus you're invited to break apart six-packs. Good hours, and occasional tasting events on their drafts. Wide selection, especially internationally. Extremely reasonable growler prices. More of a warehouse than a store, New Beer is truly one of the best beer spots in NYC.

01-16-2013 02:42:24 | More by Nrbelex

brystmar

New York

3.71/5  rDev -13.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

*Was* my go-to beer store in NYC until I got more into the hobby. Regardless, the selection here is simply unmatched anywhere in Manhattan (and arguably in NYC), and their prices are rock bottom. It's not unusual for me to peruse the shelves at Whole Foods Bowery right up the street, then walk a few blocks down to New Beer to find the same bottles selling for 10% to 20% less. And compared to the ridiculous markups at places like Bierkraft, it isn't rare to save 50%!

However, there's no climate control anywhere in the store which means their arsenal of beers are subjected to significant temperature swings on a daily basis. For this reason alone, I will never purchase an IPA from them. Even worse, their inventory doesn't seem to turn over very often, and that means finding fresh beer is tricky (if not impossible).

Case in point: Founders' 2012 batch of Breakfast Stout arrived at most NYC retailers last week. New Beer had a few 4-packs of it on the shelves over the weekend, but upon closer inspection, *every* bottle in each of their 4-packs was from the 2011 batch. No fresh FBS anywhere in the store. I purchased a single 2011 FBS to try alongside the fresh stuff; it was oxidized to hell and vastly inferior to the recent batch. Shame on you, New Beer.

HUGE selection of Scandinavian imports. Tons of Belgians, including some sours. They typically have 4-5 taps for growler fills with brews ranging in quality from decent locals (Southampton, Capt Lawrence, Kelso) to highly-coveted gems (Founders KBS), but again, who knows how their kegs are stored...

Unprompted service is below average, but when you ask questions they typically know their stuff. Seems like a family business, and I've noticed they become more helpful after chatting with me on a few visits.

I prefer Top Hops. You might pay a few bucks more here and there (though not significantly!), but everything is properly stored, the service is a million times better, and Ted supports the beer trading community.

09-17-2012 19:47:03 | More by brystmar

Guylefleur

Lebanon

3.88/5  rDev -9.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Industrial layout, but it enables them they put a lot of beer on display. They have a very good selection of American Craft Beers, Belgian Beers and a decent selection from the rest of the world. Misses out on being world-class because they don't have any of the hard to find American craft beers. The Staff is willing and helpful. A couple of beers on tap and a toilet in the store which comes in handy if you plan on looking at their entire stock. Overall, worth the trip to New York's Lower East Side, a piece of history to toast your beer to.

09-08-2012 12:01:32 | More by Guylefleur

akorsak

Pennsylvania

4.21/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

In town for the Whigs reunion show and New Beer is only a few blocks away.

Atmosphere: Look for the green awning. Once inside, expect a dimly lit store with checkout right upfront. Further towards the back, the cans lead things off. After that, and the can listing is impressive, the ales and lagers are segregated by country. Heavy focus on the US but the store amply stocks both.

Quality: A no frills, shop yourself store. At least one manager was walking the floor.

Service: The manager and two staffers were stacking, cleaning and running the place. I was greeted on entrance and didn't need any further help.

Selection: Top notch, rivaling and even surpassing the Whole Foods that is only a block and a half away. I can't really pinpoint which is better: the domestic or the imports as there are plenty of both. The can selection, including a few Japanese beers I'd never heard of. The bottles are plentiful and deep, if you can't find something here (and there is too much to start rattling off names) you are in trouble.

Food: The store smells snack food to go but this isn't a place that you'd eat at.

05-28-2012 22:59:34 | More by akorsak

LeoPanna

New York

4.8/5  rDev +11.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $

How can people talk about Whole Foods in the Lower East Side without mentioning New Beer Distributors?!... This place is a craft beer drinkers OASIS.

I will tell you why this should be your go-to place.

#1 Prices.... you can't beat distributor prices combined with the ability to pull out single bottles from the pack. Old Rasputin for $2.50 a bottle? I'll take 3! Sam Smith pint bottles for $3-3.50? how can you say no? A whole wall full of rare and reasonable priced Belgian/Norwegian/Canadian beers? Hell yeah!

#2 Selection.... This place has it all. Well, not everything under the sun, but enough to try something new every time you visit. They have Eisbocks, Cans galore, plenty of Imperial Stouts, all the Trappists brews, Geuze and Lambic selections, rare beers from popular breweries (i.e Sierra Nevada, Troegs, Dogfish Head). . .

#3 Location... my favorite thing to do before visiting New Beer Distributors is go to Vanessa's Dumplings right around the corner. This is the best food deal in New York (8 dumplings and a Sesame Pancake for $3? come on)... If you like to budget and save money, this is a knockout duo, cheap good food and craft beer at distributor prices...

#4 Service... this place is family owned and treated as such. The main guy (don't know his name), isn't a beer snob. He knows about beer, but isn't a beer nerd/geek. This is actually great because it's humbling and brings you down to earth... He'll even order in beers if you request them. . .

#5 Temperature... nothing in fridges, everything is on the shelf, but the place is like a cellar (concrete walls, no heavy lights shining on the bottles). You get what you should as far as bottle temp.

The only downside? There is none. I don't have to deal with hipsters (BierKraft) or over-priced brews (BierKraft) or shitty snobby vibes from employees (BierKraft).

JUST DO IT

04-23-2012 18:00:00 | More by LeoPanna

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.18/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | $$

The store has the feel of a wholesale warehouse with slightly dim lighting, that being said I like the place. It is a little dingy and oddly organized but one of my favorite places to beer shop in Manhattan.

They have a really good selection and everything is available in singles. I have found many a beer that no one else had still available at New Beer. Also, the staff seem to be quite the beer geeks and you often find some great beers that are pre-cellared for you (especially if you spend the time to really check the bottom shelves).

The staff is knowledgeable but not pushy, they can answer your questions if you have them but they are happy to let you wander and peruse the selections.

Prices seem to be on par with other stores in the area or sometimes just a shade cheaper.

02-24-2012 19:09:48 | More by dbrauneis

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

4.34/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Low lit warehouse feel, not a ton of staff but the one or two people who were on the floor asked if I needed any help but I was more than happy to just browse around at their huge selection. All beers in 6/4 packs can be purchased as singles and a lot of beers here were a buck or two cheaper than the whole foods down the street. This was my second time visiting here and it's my favourite place to shop in NYC. Big selection of domestics and lots of Belgian and other imports. Found a few things here that weren't available at Whole Foods either.

02-15-2012 19:51:10 | More by peensteen

smakawhat

Maryland

4.18/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first walked in here. The look of the place from outside seems suited for warehouse/big bulk sales. While I am sure there is some of that going on, the selection here is quite good, but most of it standard on the East coast.

Service is pretty solid too. I was thinking walking up to the glass I was going to run into a surly NY typical attitude but I didn't. They also had answers for any product question I had.

It was quite a cool February day that I visited so items on the shelf were great temperature wise. However, noticing that the place is air condition units, it makes me wonder how the beer here holds up on a hot day.

Prices here are also slightly cheaper than the Whole Foods up the block. I suggest you purchase here first, then go to Whole Foods and get what you couldn't find.

02-13-2012 23:39:24 | More by smakawhat