November 24, 2009
I don’t believe it! For the first time in my many beer treks to the city: a beer bar that I chose to hit BEFORE Ginger Man. RNH is a wonderful beer bar. Located a few steps from the building where King Kong fell for Fay Wray, or Naomi Watts, RNH exemplifies the ideal beer bar. First, it is small; the bar area is very narrow, with a buncha high tops crammed behind you as you are sitting there. Towards the rear are tables, etc. Before you, a long array of taps, signifying that you are someplace special; and you feel special too, since the service is friendly and efficient. I know this because ot the Water Test, that criteria known only to professional pub crawlers such as myself, the test that proves that the service is exquisite because your water glass is never empty. (Any true Beer Advocate knows that one must have plenty of water - and if you must ask why, then you are not a true BA.) The taps were impressive: forty on draught, including two casks; during my visit, I enjoyed the following: Tom Sykes Old Ale, Left Hand Sawtooth ESB, Captain Lawrence Chester, Lagunitas IPA and Left Hand Imperial Stout. (Apparently, I was there during a salute to Colorado.) Every style for every taste. Excellent! If this were not enough, RNH also has an extensive listing of bottles and single malt scotch. The food? Well, they have Bangers and Mash on the menu and one can never argue with that. Did I mention that this Beer Eden is a few blocks from Ginger Man? Of course - and I can rarely say this - why go to Ginger Man when you can just hang out at the Rattle N Hum? Hmmmm? [By the way, I did make it to Ginger Man.]

October 27, 2009
If you are looking for a bar that looks like your typical NY bar with a bit of an upscale look to it but also has one of the best selections of beers in NY then this is the place. With 40 taps all written on a giant wall in chalk I don’t think anyone will have a problem selecting something different. The place is pretty big and the staff are very friendly. There really is no place better to go for craft beer in NY then right here. I would consider it about as perfect as bars get. Its always a great time at Rattle N Hum.

October 18, 2009
I’ve been to Rattle n Hum more than any other bar in NYC. To sum up RnH, this is what happens when a couple Irishmen open a craft beer bar. You can simply tell that whoever owns the place loves and appreciates beer. The selection is excellent - 40 lines - plus an additional section of the bar dedicated solely to cask beers. The decor is dynamic and fun, ranging from craft beer banners to tongue-in-cheek signs to various writings in Gaelic. There are lots of TVs, for better or worse. Lighting is ample and appropriate. RnH usually has some special or featured beer, along with a bevy of other options that 40 lines makes possible. The food, too, is superb. I’ve had the sampler platter, the mini hamburger, and the chicken wings. I highly recommend the chicken wings. Prices are about what you would expect or perhaps slightly lower, especially if you capitalize on the specials, e.g. happy hour. Some aspects of the bar’s layout can be frustrating, such as the varitable gauntlet between the length of the bar and the parallel wall, but once you settle into a spot you should be fine. Service is pretty good. Bathrooms are clean and I’ve never needed to wait more than one minute for one. To close, Rattle n Hum is an exceptional bar that keeps it fresh and does everything amazingly well.

October 18, 2009
After going to Spuyten Duyvil in the early evening, I wanted to try out this place out for later in the night. It was very close to coming through as the place I was hoping for. The main things were awesome. 40 beers on draft although it was Rogue week so about half were Rogue. Don’t get me wrong....I love Rogue (One of my favorites with dogfish head and stone), but that is also the problem...I have already had most of those, even though it was great to see them on tap. I would love to try out a week with a brewery on that I haven’t got to try as much. The food was great as well...The burger especially. The price also wasn’t ridiculous considering the quality of the beer and where it was (7$ a pint for most drafts...5$ specials for the ones towards the bottom). What kept this place from getting a higher rating from me was their service/setup for the night (ambiance). The waitresses gave us some attitude through the night on multiple occasions. Also, the yankees playoff game (the 13 inning one) was on and we were moved out of our seats in the back and all but one tv in the place was changed to the washington football game. I’m not a yankee fan at all but really? I understand business is business and some washington fan group may have rented most of the place out but that just kinda threw me off a bit. All that aside this place definitely comes through as one of the best for what matters....beer. If I’m ever back in NY I would love to try it again.

October 10, 2009 [ Updated October 11, 2009 ]
To be honest, it’s the best damn beer bar in Manhattan, if not the world. The entire staff is welcoming and sincere, but above all else, they know beer. Get three pints, and the fourth is bought back by the house. Food is delicious and just not comparable to standard "bar food". Patrick, the owner, will do anything and everything to satisfy his customers and that commitment is shown through the overall feel and design of the bar. Cheers. #2 on 10102009 DG.

September 30, 2009
The Bar is dimly lit with light music, sports, or conversation as ambient noise. There are plenty of flat screens with the latest game on as well a projector screen for when its not to busy. Seating about 16 at the entrance, then about 30 bar seats and a larger back area with up to about 8 small tables and 2 areas with seating for 10-12 people, and plenty of standing room. 4 unisex bathrooms. The walls are decorated w/ beer related paraphernalia most/maybe all brewers up there have had promo nights. Your very likely to run into beer reps, brewers, and industry personal alike whenever visiting which is great for a free pint! Service is awesome, management aside the servers and bartenders know their beer and have pda’s to store all orders ensuring proper delivery. You can get samples, pints, half pints, bottles, glasses, shots you name it and they will accommodate you. They also look out for regulars and large parties and often will comp a drink on the house, which is always great. Another very important point to highlight is that i have never received the wrong beer at RNH. Which brings me to the selection. I always find something new even brews bottled that week! Whats more important that the 40 drafts and 4-5 casks and ~100 bottle list is the quality of the beer being served is. Every time a beer is taken off tap the lines are cleaned, i have never experienced that at another bar with such dedication and intensity. So many brewers are astonished at the quality of preservation and dedication that goes into serving each beer its really an ideal business model because as beer savants we are here for the beer! The food is perfect for a night at a bar. Traditional pub style food and fancy entrees served with different beer pairing or infusions. The head chef was wearing a Toronado T and was full of great ideas. A bit pricey but not when you consider your in NYC. Overall i believe you would be hard pressed to find an equal to RNH. I love this place!

September 29, 2009 [ Updated October 5, 2009 ]
Favorite bar in NYC. Patrick knows whats up in the craft beer scene(even allows tastings to go on). Great beers on tap (40 taps 4 casks). They cranked it up for NY craft Beer week (20 casks) to bad i missed it.

September 14, 2009
This is a really nice bar. Stopped in here last night for night 3 of the Cask Ale Festival, 20+ Casks = wonderful! Had quite a few good beers at reasonable prices (for NY). Crowd was pretty nice, a lot better then some of the other places I’ve been to in Midtown or Murray Hill or whatever you want to call this area. Lots of nice stuff on tap as well, but I was mostly just enjoying the casks. Excellent service, and quite a few knowledgeable beer people floating around. It was a Sunday night, and NY Beer Week, so I can’t say if the scene is always like this, but I will definitely be back.

August 23, 2009
Another stop on the road trip. This is totally one of the best beer bars I have ever been to, they have 40 taps that are all fresh tasting, nothing tasted was stale. Prices are on the high end, but I won’t complain as they do have flights, which is key. Excellent beer, nice crowd during the right time of day and pretty accessible.

August 11, 2009
Was very impressed with this place. Went last night with a ~7 people for my birthday and the place was mercifully light on customers (and they didn’t seem to care that we brought our own birthday cake). Very relaxing time tasting good craft beer for macro prices (still pricey, but any other bar in manhattan will charge $7 for a bottle of pale lager, so might as well spent the same or an extra dollar on a good craft beer). Service was a bit slow (even though it was almost empty) but that didn’t affect enjoyment. Good variety of beer, from more common favorites to the rarer stuff. It sounds like the taps change all the time and different stuff is available every night. I didn’t even see their bottle list. I hope to come back during one of their beer events. I sampled 9 beers and spent about 15-20 dollars, so i’ll call that a good night. I didn’t have any food, so I can’t say anything about that.