Clearly, this place was designed for the hardcore beer geek and the crowd catered on a Saturday evening mostly seemed the beer geek type despite their inexplicable interest for sports on TV. Long and relatively narrow room with high ceilings and breweriana everywhere. Sports bar feel, but the beeriness of the place removes the unpleasantness that usually comes with Sports bars feel. While the seats are not very comfortable, many of them having no back (certainly no Gingerman in that regard) the place itself feels most welcoming and I could easily spend a whole evening there. The tap list changes quickly and is one of the best in NYC, often showcasing a particular brewer and including rarities that even locals would have a tough time to find. The bottle selection is solid, but chances are that you’ll find many interesting offerings on draught anyway. Excellent service, the manager walked by all the tables a few times to make sure everything was okay. They are sampler friendly with anything on the menu. And even on a Saturday, we immediately found a place to sit, that can be hard in New York. Rattle is a must.

Located in a fairly narrow building between Madison and 5th avenue, this place feels like what a craft beer bar in Dublin would look like. It’s dark with high ceilings and a big bar that had tellys turned to soccer. (Big plus on my book.) The walls were decorated in breweriana. Nice vibe though I’m guessing it could get loud at night. They had over 40 drafts thug on this day they had an unusual number of PA beers which is cool. The bartender was really nice and very thorough in her work being sure to sample beers on the wall she hadn’t has yet in order to accurately describe them. That’s the kind of dedication you like to see for your local and if this place is indeed your local than life is grand indeed.

This loud bar in Manhattan is a must for all beer geeks travelling to NYC. The tap menu has lots of brews one cannot find elsewhere in the state and the frequent events showcase some of these excellent brewers we don’t have access to in the east. The bottle menu is also very alluring, but the taps are so impressive, I don’t really see myself go for a bottle anytime soon. The food we had was quality pub grub, none of that usual generic ingredient mix many American places serve. This and Gingerman are absolute musts and can both be done on the same weekend since you’ll most likely find vastly different selections at each place.

Up and coming place, with everything on tap being great and virtually no duplication with The Ginger Man. So that alone was worth the walk over. Service was not as fast as Ginger Man, the staff is going through its paces. Its a deecnt sized bar, and several tables to the side. A typical bar, and perhaps on the smaller side for Manhattan. Music was forgettable, the crowd less Yuppy on average and more relaxed, and higher percentage of guys particulary not in suits, than The Ginger man.

OK, so I’ve stopped in here several times over the last few months, and I really have to say how much management has paid attention to the complaints regarding service. The staff are much more attentive, much more knowledgeable about the beers they’re serving. They’ve also introduced a solid selection of cask ales on the back bar and have been actively promoting cask ale within NYC. Clearly others have noticed as the place was jumping on a recent night. The owner, Patrick, is first rate and actually cares about what patrons think of the place. I watched him pull a beer line after receiving a complaint about a beer being off and agreeing with the patron... that is pretty rare stuff and worth supporting. It seems as though they’ve worked a lot of the kinks out of this place and it’s really starting to shine. I popped in here recently to check the place out. First the good... 40 taps and all of it craft. You can also order small 6-8 oz glasses if you’re looking to taste a few. I had a few here and th

A great place in NYC, narrow, wooded, classy. Lovely beer selection, mixing US and international offerings. Menu is nice bar fares, not too bad prices for food. Service was a bit slow and surly (even when there is no rush, they don’t like to do taste flight, which are 4 X 4 on for 10$...any beers). Was sitting by myself, but then invited some young Phillies to share my booth and chatted about beer. A great place in Manhattan.

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.

Visited most recently on a few evenings in late May ’12 but have been over a dozen times in the last 3 years or so since it opened. 40 taps of interesing beers from around the US allied to a strong bottled menu. They regularly have tap takeovers (on a Tuesday I think) and I’ve dropped on a couple including Founders (with most Breakfast stout varieties present) and Ballast Point. Happy hour cheap pours (most beers for $5 I think) between noon and 3 or 4. Service is always decent despite how busy it can sometimes get. Food also worth a look in. Great bar, a must on a visit to NYC.

Visited around 5ish on a Tuesday with MaxxDaddy. Place was pretty quiet when we first arrived, but it steadily filled up and got loud and boisterous by the time I left. Beer list was very solid, a bunch of new breweries to me, and really highly thought of beers. Service was attentive, despite the crowd. The mood was really good here, groups of people having a great time drinking great beer. I really liked this place.

Essentially a temple unto beer nerds, this cramped beer bar is loaded with beer paraphernalia and walls autographed by brewmasters and beer legends. Pretty cramped space overall and very crowded for Thursday night. But a very cool vibe! Wall upon entering has a very useful map for what a craft beer noob might want. "If you like Bud Light/Miller Lite, you might like _____blank___" and they fill in whatever is on tap that most similar to those like Victory Prima Pils. They have recs for Newcastle, Guinness, Becks, Heineken, Blue Moon drinkers as well. Very cool. Tap list is extensive. About 30-40 taps with two cask pulls. Very meticulous pouring, almost absent in bars these days, yielded all very nice looking beers. One dry stout took almost 6 minutes to settle down before it was properly served. Shows the training and dedication the staff have to beer. Impressive. We had dinner here as well. Most of us ordered the hilarious Rattle N Hum burger, which you will have to read the description for yourself, and loved it even though the buns were pretty stale :/ Great physical hamburger but the bun was not good. Other than that, it looked like a lot of people there go for the food and I’d still recommend eating there. Be prepared for a lot of people and a somewhat madhouse type of feel. Overall, had a blast. Found 3-4 beers I had never had even for a veteran whore ticker.