Beer Hall Near Me in Greenpoint: Spritzenhaus33 Across From McCarren Park

Spritzenhaus33 fills 6,000 square feet of a former industrial building at 33 Nassau Avenue, on the corner of Guernsey Street in Greenpoint, directly across from McCarren Park. It opened in May 2011, it takes walk-ins without a reservation, and it asks only groups of ten or more to fill out its events form first. If you searched beer hall near me on the Greenpoint and Williamsburg border, this is the hall with a curved marble bar and garage doors that roll open to the street.

Before it was a bar, 33 Nassau Avenue was a vacant industrial building on the edge of McCarren Park, and the conversion was followed closely by local blogs for months before opening day in spring 2011. The owner, Robert Shamlian, already ran Spitzer's Corner and Fat Baby on the Lower East Side, and he brought the same communal-table instinct to a much bigger room. At launch the hall was known for its tap count, reported at 100 lines, and for a wood-burning oven.

The name nods to the German word for a fire station's hose house, and the room still looks industrial. Red sprinkler pipes and steel beams run across a concrete ceiling, bare-bulb pendants hang on long cords, and floor-to-ceiling glass panels with steel frames line the street sides. In autumn the staff stack corn stalks and pumpkins in the corners, which turns a big, plain space into something that feels seasonal without trying very hard.

The centerpiece is a long curved marble bar ringed with metal swivel stools, and it is the best seat for anyone drinking alone or in a pair because you can watch the taps and talk to the bartenders. Around it, marble-topped tables with slatted wooden bistro chairs run along the glass walls, and those window seats look straight across Nassau Avenue to the trees of McCarren Park.

The back of the room is where groups gather at long tables. In warm weather the glass panels roll up and the hall turns into something close to an open-air beer garden, which is why the venue calls itself one of the best-known beer gardens in the area. In late fall and winter the doors stay closed, so the window tables are the coziest spot to sit when the light is going down over the park.

The draft list mixes local New York craft beer with international bottles and kegs, and German styles have a permanent place given the name. Start with a German pilsner or hefeweizen, then move to a local IPA. The bartenders change kegs often, so ask what went on most recently rather than relying on what you drank last time. There is also a full bar for anyone in your group who would rather have a cocktail.

Food stays within beer hall territory: the house describes it as some of the best brats and burgers around, with salty snacks such as pretzels to share. Treat it as a place to eat while you drink rather than a dinner destination; for a full meal, eat a plate of pierogi on one of Greenpoint's Polish strips first, then come here for the long session.

Spritzenhaus33 is a walk-in bar first. For groups of ten or more, the website asks you to fill out its events form with the date, time and group size, and the team will set aside space. Weekday evenings are the easiest time to find a whole table; on Monday the hall opens at 3pm and runs to midnight, so a late afternoon visit after work gets you a window seat before the after-work crowd from both neighborhoods arrives.

Weekend evenings are the busy stretch, with birthday groups claiming the long tables at the back. If you arrive on a Saturday night and every table is taken, take a seat at the curved bar instead of hovering by the door; with stools on every side of the oval there is usually a gap somewhere, and you can move to a table once a group settles up.

The nearest subway is Nassau Avenue on the G train, about a five-minute walk along Nassau Avenue from the station. The Bedford Avenue stop on the L train is roughly 12 minutes south through McCarren Park, which is the nicer route in daylight. Citi Bike docks line the park's edges, and the bike lanes on nearby streets make it an easy ride from north Williamsburg.

The building sits on the north side of Nassau Avenue at Guernsey Street, between Dobbin and Guernsey, so if you are coming across the park, exit on the Nassau Avenue side and look for the glass-walled corner building. The phone number is +1 347-987-4632, and the official site lists the address as 33 Nassau Ave, New York, NY 11222, although the hall is in Brooklyn.

McCarren Park is right outside the door, with a running track, ballfields and the McCarren Play Center pool building along Lorimer Street. A loop around the park takes about 20 minutes and works well between rounds on a mild afternoon.

For something sweet, Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop at 727 Manhattan Avenue has been a family-run neighborhood staple for more than 60 years; it opens at 4:30am on weekdays and closes at 6pm Monday to Wednesday and 7pm Thursday to Saturday, so go before the beer, not after. Manhattan Avenue north of Nassau is also the heart of old Polish Greenpoint, with bakeries and delis worth browsing on the way to the hall.

Address: 33 Nassau Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11222, at Guernsey Street, across from McCarren Park. Phone: +1 347-987-4632. Walk-ins are welcome; groups of ten or more should use the events form on the website. Take the G to Nassau Avenue or walk through the park from the L at Bedford Avenue. Sit at the marble bar if you are two, grab a window table on a weekday, and eat a proper meal first if you plan to stay.