At one time there were over 800 beer gardens in New York City. Oh, what heaven those simpler times must have been. Now the only beer garden remaining in all the five boroughs is the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria, Queens, just a few blocks from my apartment. Known to some in the community as a place to protect, maintain, encourage and support Czech and Slovak customs by passing down traditions to the children of Czech and Slovak parents, in reality it’s an enormous outdoor drinking venue.
My girlfriend and I met an old friend of ours since it’s just about the only reason people come into Queens if they don’t live there. The inside of the joint is modest with just a few booths and a small bar. There’s a small stairway that leads down to a restaurant and some of the cleanest bar bathrooms I’ve ever been in but the outside is what makes this place special. Seating for hundreds, standing room for more, a stage and a satellite bar, this glorious place is the largest outdoor drinking venue in the city.
Keeping with the Czech theme, I ordered something I couldn’t pronounce and was served up a black pitcher of heady, deliciousness. Krusovice Black Lager is medium bodied with rich aromas of toffee and caramel. Yeasty and lightly carbonated, this Schwarzbier is nicely balanced and characteristic of other old world beers. I bought it for my girlfriend and I to share but ended up drinking the whole thing by myself.
Next to us were a group of people whose belt-loop ID cards made them look like they all worked at the same office and were blowing off some steam after a long day. The largest guy in the group was also the drunkest and he got up on stage in front of the Czech flag and started singing a song nobody knew in front of about a hundred people on a slower Tuesday night. I’m making this bar my home base for upcoming New York City Craft Beer Festival and the holiest of grails, Oktoberfest.
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