Josh G.
Yelp
In the United States, there are plenty of cultural aspects that can be explored. Whether it's holidays or events or food or drink or...well, while speaking of drink, let's just focus on that for a bit and talk about the culture of beer. Better yet, let's go visit Beer Culture, a nice little beer bar snuggled in the city that never sleeps.
You see, my buddy and I had about a half hour to kill before heading up to Terminal 5 for a concert and so the Yelp search began and quickly returned with Beer Culture. Looking at a couple of images, I immediately knew I was going to like this place, but more on that reason in a little. Just a few minutes later, we located the tiny sign and storefront, entering into a bustling craft dive bar.
I use that term because Beer Culture encompasses both those ideas under one roof. Seating of varying styles from high tops to barrels, beer stickers all over the walls, a tap list of local brews and other quality choices, and a grungy feel just emanating from the dim lighting, quirky signs, and loudness due to the crowd. None of this was a turn off, though nothing seemed out of the ordinary to other bars that rock craft beer...until you notice one enticingly important piece: the refrigerators.
In a similar style to Milk and Hops or even Brew Cheese on Long Island, Beer Culture let's you choose a can from their fridge (a bartender has to open it) and drink it there. Not similarly to those other places is the vast selection of brews BC has collected. It was super impressive to see cans from Evil Twin NYC, Interboro, KCBC, and Transmitter, just to name a few. If we had more than thirty minutes there, I probably would've dove even further into exploring their fridges and drinking plenty of what they had...well, maybe not.
I mean, the concept is awesome and the selection is solid, though once I picked my beer can, I realized a mild flaw. I was still in an Evil Twin NYC mindset stemming from a recent trip so I chose a can of one of their beers. The friendly bartender gladly cracked it open and casually told me $10. Yeah, I shouldn't scoff at a 16oz can of craft beer costing that much, but I did. The aura of excited curiosity for what other beers were in the fridge turned into more of a nervous curiosity for how much they might set me back. I suppose that's the price you pay for quality, but that's not always the case.
One more quick mention before I sum up the experience. When we walked in, I did noticed a guy walking to a table with a giant Bavarian pretzel, which looked amazing. This led me to believe they had some food to go along with their drink which is always a nice touch. Though the oddity that occurred was while I grabbed my can of beer, my buddy saved a barrel top for us to stand at. I returned and he said some employee put down utensils and napkins, even though my buddy told him we weren't eating. Once done with my can, we both went to the bathroom and on the way back, the same guy quickly said something about our food being at our barrel. My buddy tried to yell to him that we didn't order anything, but he was gone. As we walked back over, there were two plates each holding a huge burger and chips sitting there. Needing to get going so we could get to the show on time, we left the burgers there. For all I know, they sat there for hours (joke), but what I also know is we didn't order any food, and I'm glad I paid for my beer with cash so we weren't wrongfully charged for anything. A comically weird moment on the way out, just worth nothing.
Overall, oddities aside, Beer Culture is a pretty cool spot with a concept that definitely makes any craft beer aficionado salivate with excitement. The prices, though not perfect, aren't a deal breaker and they definitely have at least some visually appetizing food options. It all adds up to a place I'd totally check out again in the future. When beer is part of your culture, who wouldn't?