The Diamond
image c/o NY Mag
43 Franklin Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Between Calyer Street and Quay Street
PHONE: 718.383.5030
HOURS: Tue-Thu 5pm-1am, Fri 5pm-2am, Sat 2pm-2am, Sun 2pm-1am
CARDS: Visa/MasterCard
MAP: Click Here
SUBWAY: G at Greenpoint Ave; L at Bedford Ave
CITY SEARCH SAYS: The owners of this Greenpoint bar are pushing the doctrine of "session beers," that is, beer that one can drink multiples of and still win at the shuffleboard table. So, strong ales like the dark bottled Oerbier from Belguim are on the menu alongside lighter tastes like the Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted from Scotland. Beer fans--especially of U.S., Belgium, German and English brews--can make friends at the bar, bring their own to the table seating, or shoot Quiots (NYC-sized horseshoes) in the backyard garden. Why the glittery interior and Van Halen on the juke box? The owners have a penchant for "Diamond" David Lee Roth. Sometimes the bar holds "vintage" tastings, which means that you can taste a 1998 version of a beer alongside its 2006 counterpart.
NYMAG SAYS:
Only a full-fledged beer geek would use the word session as a verb--as in, "You wouldn't session eight pints of Aventinus." What you would session, according to Dave Pollack, co-owner (with his wife, Alex, a New York photo editor) of the Greenpoint bar the Diamond, are beers that are lower in alcohol but no less complex than the high-butane monsters most craft-beer bars aim to annihilate you with. Pollack, who cultivated his brew obsession working for the importer B. United International, has also bartended at Williamsburg's Spuyten Duyvil. But the Diamond's list is smaller and simpler, tailored to Pollack's taste, and features a few rarities like St. Georgen Bräu Keller Bier, Pays d'Auge cider, and two notoriously temperamental Belgian brews that come with “buyer beware” caveats. Patrons can supplement their sessioning with rounds of shuffleboard and rubber-ring quoits, the predecessor of horseshoes, and a small food menu the Pollacks hope to launch.
