Food & Drink

How to drink cheap at the best new bars in Bushwick and beyond

the graham
The Graham: It’s new in the beer book, and it’s awesome. Photo by Sarah Gainer

In case you haven’t heard, the newest edition of our Beer Books are on sale now. Since we’ve split them between Upper and Middle Brooklyn, we thought we’d take a second to highlight some the awesome new bars in our Upper Brooklyn Beer Book. Specifically, bars in Bushwick and East Williamsburg, where you might live or you have friends you feel the need to begrudgingly visit. Whichever it is, these bars will provide plenty of entertainment for you.

Beer Book 5 has some of our tried and true favorites from Bushwick/East Williamsburg this year too, places like Heavy Woods, Miles and Bodega, but here are some bars you might not be as familiar with.

We’ve got Tradesman (222 Buswick Avenue), for instance. A cozy oak bar that will fill you with warmth, happiness and delicious cocktails and beers, it’s a place you need to see in the summer, owing to its 2200 square foot backyard. It’s great year-round though, especially with their happy hour which goes until 9pm (!) and includes $4 drafts and rotating cocktail deals.

Then there’s The Graham (151 Meserole St.), which has some crazy nice bartenders and a $2-off-everything happy hour until 8pm. This is a great place to first try, and then start frequenting as a regular, especially since over 30 tap beers to choose from, it’ll be hard to pick what to drink.

You can’t really go wrong with Sweet Science either (135 Graham Ave.). Fried pickles and a smoked chicken quesadilla and will help you soak up a beer. Thinking your time there has come to an end? Incorrect. Head to the small secretive speak easy in the back room brought to you by an incredible team including Johnny De Piper from Weather Up. Enjoy a cocktail here while taking in your night in your new favorite part of Bushwick.

Looking for more of an M train Bushwick experience? We got you. You don’t even have to wait for nighttime to start your night at Skytown (921 Broadway), because this spot off the Myrtle J/M stop opens early as a coffee shop and transitions to neighborhood bar as the day goes on. Grab one of their Skybowls (def try with feta and bacon), a $5 beer and a shot combo, because it’s never too early for a shot and a beer. We love this place any day of the week, but especially on Fridays when they break out their homemade cheese menu!

Finally, there’s Happyfun Hideaway (1211 Myrtle Ave.) – one of the coolest places to pop up in Bushwick this past year. They are usually showing obscure B movies or video art, all while a DJ spins music at the bar. They have an awesome vegetarian comfort food menu and really cool bartenders who are all local artists, musicians and promoters. Enjoy your drinks, I suggest their dark and stormy, although you also can’t go wrong with $3 Franzia, while playing some Jenga or pinball late into the night.

And those are just a few of the new spots in the Upper Brooklyn Beer Book. So what are you waiting for? Grab one before your friends all have one and start having drinking adventures without you.

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