Breukelen Bier Merchants

Breukelen Bier MerchantsBreukelen Bier Merchants
Breukelen Bier MerchantsBreukelen Bier Merchants
Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

182 Grand St
Brooklyn, New York, 11211-4207
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.9
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
19
pDev:
12.05%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.21 by Urk1127 from New Jersey

Apr 20, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by Matagal from Brazil

Nov 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by JoeMans from New York

Sep 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by gory4d from Texas

Sep 04, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by rozzom from New York

Jul 12, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by macesq from California

Jun 17, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by DGSchmitt from New York

May 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Cath from New York

May 04, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by JLapadura from New York

Nov 01, 2013
Photo of slander
Reviewed by slander from New York

4.14/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Pre-gaming Lugers, yep, I am. It’s early, and I’ve got time. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’ve pre-gamed here at least twice; that time we did ‘dinner & a movie’ at the Nighthawk (Kelso & Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind), and some other two and done time that involved dinner and/or drink elsewhere in the ‘hood. Good for me, as I play in said ‘hood…

In the mix of storefronts and storefronts and storefronts; this one with a large logo window over Grand. And in. Off to the right, a dark wood ‘L’ shaped bar with seating for none (get your beer, then stand clear; as it should be). 16 row tap tower with different shaped handle heads with their goods chalked on blackboardings. Horizontal double boards above listing tap selections, origin, ABV, and pricing for ½ pint, pint, and growler, if applicable. Two tier flight pricing further down the bar, and boards listing light food items; pressed sandwiches, cheese & meat plate, and snacks (pretzels, jerky, chips, nuts, popcorn, chocolate), easy for the nosh. Shelves with dead soldier empties over the barback between the food & drink boards, and the walls adorned with old beer prints.

4 triple wide coolers across from the bar (beer lives inside), plus shelved room temperature goods up front. It’s a beer store, you know. And they do growlers, as is the way. 3 shared long wood tables to the rear with benches and a few barrels riddled about; and the same up front.

Tick tock tick tock. Gotts get my beer on. 16 taps, a mix of local (Barrier Imposter Pils, Port Jefferson Tripel H), regional (Three Heads Skunk Black IPA, Troegs Nugget Nectar, Flying Dog Barrel Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter, Stillwater Jaded Belgian Strong Dark Ale), out west some (Founders All Day IPA, Wild Onion Paddy Pale Ale, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout), import (Evil Twin Ryan and the Beaster Bunny, Duchesse De Bourgogne, Hitachino Nest White Ale, Dupont Avec Les Bon Voeux), a single cider (Fox Barrel Pear Cider), and a pair more empty this Sunday just after opening. I had a Founders All Day IPA and another of the same, please; lunch on the horizon and all.

Always some pleasant choices up, so even I’m not here for growler fills, I can just chill over a point or three. Bottlewise, they’ve got bottles. I’m generally more about the taps, but they’ve got the goods, and you can make your own six pack, which doesn’t suck. The ladies behind the bar are always most polite & friendly, and no their game. I dig. And it’s so conveniently Grand.
Oct 30, 2013
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Reviewed by GJ40 from North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Sparse but interesting. I love their beer focus but more needs to be done with it. The taps are great. But as a bottle shop, they need a bigger selection. I love the tables and bar (though it's a bit tight when scanning the bottle selection).

This place could be outstanding. I hope they get there.
Sep 22, 2013
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Reviewed by peterlada from New York

4.58/5  rDev +17.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 3
Excellent beer store. Can consume on premises. A large selection of quality brews on tap. Very knowledgeable and pleasant staff. A large selection (for a place in North America) of Belgian stuff, includes esoterica as well.

Considering the quality prices are in check or even reasonable, but this is not where one would come for the $1 miller lite happy hour.
Jul 12, 2013
Photo of BKBassist
Reviewed by BKBassist from New York

4.49/5  rDev +15.1%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
Great spot who balances the bottle shop/on premises thing pretty well.

Taps are consistently above average. The option for a half pour is always welcome. Generally just have two pricing tiers, split on two chalkboards. Bottle selection is heavy on American craft, not overwhelming, but tough to not find something you'll like.

The cellar is the secret weapon. They have a great selection of properly cellared limited releases from years past, and don't charge ridiculous prices for them.

Food is simple (soft pretzels, nuts) but good. The mustard they use on the pretzels is really great. Priced reasonably as well.

Service is basic but good. Always had a pleasant time with the staff.

Atmosphere is super homey and comfortable. Board games and big communal tables really encourage large groups or meeting new friends.

Overall, a great spot to either pick up something to go or sit and have a few pints. Selection won't blow you away, but it's enough for what they are going for. Quality spot!
May 21, 2013
Photo of sketchpunx
Reviewed by sketchpunx from New York

4.55/5  rDev +16.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 3
What can I say... This place is my new go to beer spot in my hood.

Thirst thing First...THIS IS NOT A BAR. Not really anyway..But the staff at this particular beer store are cool enough to treat it like a nice low key spot to sip a few pints of any thing they've got on hand as well as send you home with a tap filled growl or a nice craft selection.

Honestly, I've been to all the best beer shops in Brooklyn, and this is by far my favorite. I used to Travel into manhattan to get excellent beer at a decent price but I've been going less since i found this gem. They really have the best selection of american crafts at the best prices i have found in the city. They are also cool with you enjoying a glass of whatever they sell (*cough* other brooklyn beer shops!*cough*) while hanging out, playing some of their board games, chatting, watching the tv ect. Overall an awesome vibe!

As for the Beer. Think American craft and you won't be disappointed. If you can get it in the state of NY, these guys will find a way to get it. They know their beer, and the selection shows it. Honestly, there is no better deal for hard to find American crafts in the city than this place.

If you are looking for Imports this isn't the worst spot...they have a decent amount of well selected beers to choose from, but to be fair it's really not the focus. The main draws are the constantly rotating taps, the excellent american craft selection (mostly cold!!!) and the relaxed atmosphere.

Overall, one of the best beer shops in NYC hands down and a great place to enjoy an early pint.

The rest of ya... watch out for the new guy!
Sep 22, 2012
Photo of bmerz
Reviewed by bmerz from Massachusetts

4.68/5  rDev +20%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3
It’s a bar and a bottle shop or place to get bite. They have the perfect combination of what matters about beer...a fantastic selection, spacious comfortable seating in a no pretense atmosphere, and the best value of any place I can think of to drink in NYC. You can get a half pint for a few bucks while you browse or have your growler filled. Or you can sit for hours and drink from the ~16 draft lines and 10 full fridges (room temp also available) while paying fair bottle shop rather than bar prices. The owners often work the bar and know beer really well. The selection is good enough to satisfy almost any serious beer nerd and has been steadily improving since they opened with a heavier focus on domestic. The drafts are often heavily NY or regional specials. Frequent events that aren’t near as crowded as other of the NYC’s top spots make it a standout in the NY Craft Beer scene to me. They have a bratwurst on pretzel bun sandwich that I crave. It's pretty simple food but not expensive and good. Hours are generally 2-10pm.
Aug 05, 2012
Photo of Hibernator
Reviewed by Hibernator from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5
After finishing up Full Circle down the street, we decided to check out Breukelen Bier Merchants. Unfortunately, our visit was short lived as most of the people in our group had other plans (and the fact that we only had a couple of hours until Record Grouch closed). From what I did experience during my visit, I must say I really dug this place.

There are a ton of coolers on the left hand side that feature their beer offerings. From what I remember, the selection appeared to be heavy on domestic craft beers. I recall selections from breweries like Smuttynose, Heavy Seas, Stoudt’s, Blue Point, Founders and many, many more.

You can expect about 12-15 taps available with some well thought offerings. I enjoyed a J.W. Lees Barleywine that was delicious.

The atmosphere appears to be consistent with a newer trend in NYC, the idea of combining an extensive bottle selection/draft selection for growlers & a smaller beer area to enjoy the available beers if you wish. So basically, do your beer shopping here and stay around, have some beers and relax. Sounds like a win-win to me.

The seating is located in the back of the store with long, wooden picnic tables which are conducive to a communal vibe. I thought the atmosphere here was pretty chill and relaxed. I have already made a mental note to stop by here again the next time I’m visiting Williamsburg.
Feb 21, 2012
Photo of rodney45
Reviewed by rodney45 from New York

2.51/5  rDev -35.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 1.5 | service: 1.5 | selection: 4.5
I know some other reviewers said they made exceptions, were generally pretty accommodating. Well, Not for me. l get to Breukelen bier merchants, just about 20 minutes after "opening", and the front gate was snugly in the closed position. So I figured, no big deal, and since I drove an hour from Queens, i figured i'd wait until the owner strolled on by. No one shows up until an hour after scheduled opening (1pm), and says, without apology, without courtesy, "look, im not actually opening until 4pm" (in 3 hours), and gives me no reason and just walks on in. So i say, "hey, well i drove for an hour to get here, and waited about another hour for you to get here. Can i just come in and grab something, i know you arent opening now, but i spent an hour driving and an hour waiting" She then replied in a scoff and annoyed tone, "yeah, you're gonna have to come back in a half hour and i'll open the gate for you, but youre gonna have to pay in cash, and be real quick about it." Really??? really? When it comes beer, i need my time to decide, no rushing, this is craft beer, not potato chips. So im actually taken aback by this. So long story short, i actually waited the half hour in my car, and since i didnt have much cash on hand, i just grabbed a 750ml trappist, and didnt get a chance to browse what seemed to be a great selection.

A: Pretty nice and cozy in there. Wooden benches, surrounded by glass fridges.

Q: Not worth the wait, time spent, or drive. IMO.

Service: From my experience, pretty bad.

Sel: Fantastic selection. The owners know beer, but have to be more consistent with opening times and customer service.

Value: seemed about right for brklyn.
Feb 21, 2012
Photo of tobelerone
Reviewed by tobelerone from New Jersey

4.14/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
This is a very cool bottle shop and bar with take-out, growler fills, and drink-in at both the bar and tables. They even had board games on the tables to entertain yourself with. I just popped in in the afternoon so I couldn't hang around but would love to come back and do some drinking; they have lots of events, tap takeovers, and the like, plus they do flights and more. Gotta give them extra service credit for not only being friendly and informative but for opening the doors a few minutes early to let me do my shopping so I could rush off to work!

Selection was good, nothing too rare or unusual but there were a few oddities mixed in with the regular selection of what's available in NYC. Plenty of Founders, Arcadia, HOTD, etc. Prices on single bottles were a little high but not outrageous.

I imagine that drinking in is the way to go here if you can.
Nov 02, 2011
Photo of NolaViper
Reviewed by NolaViper from New York

4.5/5  rDev +15.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
combination cool local beer geek bar,and "Good Beer Store" with great selection and atmosphere in an already crowded with great beer bars Wmsbg/BKLYN.

15 well chosen taps, a long bar across the wall from a huge long cooler and temperate bottle selection and a number of sturdy family tables spread around the place. friendly mellow vibe, looked like good food available like fresh handmade pressed sammiches and cheese platters. didnt eat though so i couldnt rate.

had smutty robust porter,great, liefmans GC kriek on tap, lovely, and picked up a growler of southern tier jahva coffee imp stout for laterer. cant wait.

i really dont want to say too much about Breukelen bier merchants, not cause its not great, it is great, but because i have a feeling that in a few months once word gets out here and around town BBM will become crowded like many of the other great beer bars in this damn town. spuyten duyvil is stumbling distance away, round the corner.

BBM was very mellow tonite/sat 7/9/11 when i went with some friends and would say go here now/soon if you truly enjoy room to move or to relax with your beer, before a place gets "discovered". we stopped in in the early evening for a few pints on our way to the brooklyn bowl, which itself could easily be called a beer geeks bowling alley with absolutely no tongue in cheek. Think i was told that BBM opened april 2011.

but do remember BBM is a "store", so it opens early n closes relatively early most nites by 11 or earlier. beers for drinking in the bar and bottles n growlers to go.food to eat while you chill. is there more to ask for? NYC beer life just gets betterer everyday with the addition of establishments like BBM.

peace all NOLA VIPER/billysburg
Jul 10, 2011
Breukelen Bier Merchants in Brooklyn, NY
Place rating: 3.9 out of 5 with 19 ratings