The Hop

slander

New York

4.18/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

So, this is Beacon; can’t say I’ve ever been. 9D’d indeed, and the length of Main Street driven, I’ve seen what sights are. Spun a U turn in some mill thing near the train tracks and parked streetside out front in the strip of strips; galleries, eateries, and the like. Lunchtime Wednesday, let’s go to the hop...

Okay, it’s a beer store, first & foremost. In the center of the room, a long rectangular wood display piece; 22’s & 750’s displayed on both sides across the top inlayed below plexi in 4 sectional panels, each showing 9 beers. And 12oz bottles underneath, 3 to a shelf and 3 shelves deep, their 6 pack versions available shelved below. Small place cards describe each beer name, style, ABV, IBU’s, aging, color, tasting notes, etc. Very nicely done. A large shelving unit against the wall to the left displaying wares with growlers lined above, and slat wine store style rack to both sides. A pair of doublewide coolers with potted plants atop to the right, and a shelving unit past there with beer (oh, hello full line of Maine Beer offerings) & provisions (pickles, jelly, jam, marmalade, preserves, chutney, Bloody Mary fixings, vinegar, soda syrup, mustard, chocolate, salsa, garlic, hot sauce, relish; mostly just one or two of each). The unit is lined atop with an old lunch pail, a potted plant in a watering can, a growler, and figurines.

Wood plank floors, and white painted ceilings with a pair of fans forward. Track spots to both sides, copper colander drop lamps over the center unit, drop colored lanterns in the front windows, and a mosaic cheese wheel lamp over the bar. The walls mostly of brick and some gray painted places with a few prints, light brewery tins, the quintessential framed Timothy Dalton pic, some brewery neons, and a cool vintage Mt. Beacon incline railway print of awesome.

Up front, 3 keg based roundy tables to one side, and 2 across the other side, and raised window platforms to both sides of the door displaying Autumny harvest hay bales and barrels in the large logo front windows. Colorful hop pieces, and alt colored stained glass panels to both sides of the door and the window piece above.

And a small small bar to the rear with a wide top of slat wood panels and a sheet metal base, seating for 3 on hightop chairs to the left, and some bottles on the counter to the right alongside of a display case with cheese, sausages, terrine, pate, rillette, etc. Behind the bar, a wall of vertical wood plank, with a walk thorough to the kitchen proper. Glassware & growler shelving to the left, and a kitchen pass through window to the right. 3 boards up atop. Food menu board in the center, consisting mostly of the contents of the display case and a few sandwiches. I went with the grilled cheese (on wild hive sprouted wheat bread) and soup (cream of mush-a-room & leek). I was hesitant on the soupside, it’s true; I generally dislike all booms except the silly-cybins, but dared to and it was a real damn good soup; the sandwich, too. And then a tap board to the left listing glass & growler pricing, and a board to the right with bottle service rules, wines & ciders by the glass, sodas & gluten frees.

3 upright bar towers with 3 taps each along the bar with non descript handles. 9 beers on tap; a mix of craft regional (Sixpoint Spice of Life Riwaka IPA, Victory Prima Pils, DogFishHead Punkin), and not (Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam, Founders Breakfast Stout & Porter, Midnight Sun Panty Peeler Belgian Tripel), and a pair of ciders (Original Sin Newton Pippin Apple Cider, Doc’s Hard Pear Cider). I drank the Founders Breakfast Stout & Porter because I'm a reasonable man. They were both lovely and in good shape. Flight of 4 of your choice for $9, and litre & 2L growlers available.

Am jawing with the bartender and the folks around me; beer, Brooklyn, brewpubs, etc. Apparently, they’re now calling Beacon “NoBro” (North Brooklyn), all ink & strollers that it is. Comfortable place, although again, it’s more of a beer store with a few bar seats and a handful of tables, than a bar. Tunes are excellent, lots of Dylan, Stones, Donovan, Love. A very nice selection of bottles for the buy, and the draught stuff for glass or growler was up to snuff. Nice folks, good house.

12-30-2012 16:03:42 | More by slander

JoeBloe

New York

4.31/5  rDev +2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.75 | $$

I'm reviewing this place after one visit (actually 2 - arrived @ 7pm, bought a round for me and my wife, went down the street for dinner, came back for another round @ 10pm) , the morning after a Saturday night jaunt - a previous review describes the layout of this place perfectly, so I wont go into it here - This place seems to be the heartbeat of Main St in Beacon on a Saturday night - this 'beer store' and 'tasting bar' was as crowded as any happening bar I've been to -the place was bustling and loud, with a nicely mixed crowd, old and young -the central display 'counter' and the shelves along the left wall gets used as 'bar-space' for patrons to lean on and place their beers, coats, pocketbooks, etc., making it hard to view the bottles available for retail purchase - but again, it's Saturday night - the small bar/service counter had a haphazard line to order beer and food, beer was served in appropriate glassware -
The tap list of 9 beers was incredible - the list is nicely written on a on a chalkboard over the bar - stating the brewery, state, abv, price of glass/growler,along with special notes (aged 1 year, etc.) - on this particular night they had BCBS,DFH 120 min IPA, St. Bernardus Abt.12, Saison DuPont, and a couple of offerings from the Peekskill brewery, Lagunitas, Rushing Duck, and a cask conditioned Green Flash Palate Wrecker -
From what I could see of the retail bottles were impressive selections, including offerings from Jolly Pumpkin, Alesmith, Ommegang, Goose Island (6 bottles of the much sought after Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout just sittin' on the shelf) and many, many others -as well as some hard ciders - most have descriptive cards on the shelves with BA scores - nice!
The Hop is in the midst of celebrating it's one year anniversary, and appears to be doing well - I'm sure to return, and look forward to trying the food next time - we anticipated the crowd and lack of seating last night and went down the street to Max's for dinner after enjoying a round, and came back for another afterward, and the place was still jumping - good tunes playing a little louder than before -
I imagine this place being a more functional craft beer/artisanal fare retail establishment by day, and a happening night spot otherwise, located on a nice looking main street with shops and galleries -
- quick comment on the chilling/corking fee($7) - that only applies to large format bottles bought in the establishment to be consumed in-house (12oz. bottles/cans cannot be consumed in-house) - $7 !! - for a beer I just paid top $$ for in your establishment and then have to wait for it to 'chill' so I can drink it in the same room I just bought it in ?? - I don't think so -
Looking forward to our next visit!!

03-03-2013 15:06:41 | More by JoeBloe

Googs

New York

3.9/5  rDev -7.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Stopped by The Hop while taking a trip upstate.

A mix between a beer store/and a place to grab a pint. Reminded me a lot of Good Beer in NYC except in a bigger space. Not bad, but I would have preferred it if it was a little more comfortable. Not really somewhere I wanna sit my ass down for hours at and drink beer. Leaning more on the store side. They had a corkage free of $7 and only for select bottles..eh.

Their bottle/can selection is pretty great but I wish they had a few more beers on tap. I believe they only had four or five. Had a couple pours and picked up some bottles I wanted. Had some stuff I wasn't able to find in NYC.

They have a small menu of food, with a nice cheese selection. Plates of cheeses, meats, vegetables, nuts and pickled things. Food was pretty tasty but a little steep. Seemed like most of it, if not all, was local. I liked that. Also had some package stuff to go.
Service with the food wasn't great but once again, it's really not a restaurant. I guess I shouldn't expect much.

I liked this place, it has a good bottle selection and had a few nice things on tap. I'd change the layout of the place bit and make it more comfortable for people to enjoy their beer there. If I'm back in Beacon, I am paying it another visit.

09-15-2012 03:07:06 | More by Googs

shueyy

New York

4.4/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

I meet up with some friends after hearing some good things about the new beer bar in Beacon. It's a combination of retail/bar the cans and small bottles are for to go service only and the 750ml bottles they will chill for you to consume on premise for a $7 corking fee. The corking fee is a little step but the selection of beers is first class. I started with a bottle of AleSmith Speedway Stout that I picked from the shelves of beer that lined the side and middle of the store. John one of the owners chilled the beer as I looked over the food menu which looked great all local ingredients and made on premise. They had a great selection of local cheeses that paired well with the 6 taps that cover the range of beers IPA, Stouts,Porters,etc. which were all first class from Mission Dark Seas to Hofbrau. I was pleased to find that they had a hard to find on the East Coast Founders Better Half bottles. They had 4 high top chairs at the bar area and some tables in the front of the store. Overall the place is a great addition to Beacon with first class beers and a great food menu. I wish they were able to sell the small bottles to consume on premise as I would have enjoyed the Serria Nevada Hoptimus well I was there. Overall worth the visit if you are in the area the taps change regular as they are having an Oskar Blues tap take over in a few days.

04-26-2012 01:42:01 | More by shueyy