Elite Event: Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor

Great beer bar! Fun atmosphere, great people at the event — thank you Unilocal

Craziness. I’m not sure where the mis-​communication happened, but the experience was in hanging out with my friends and not so much bar itself. I meant the venue itself is great with that cozy «living room» feel. It even had a fire place and it was intimate.
I was super excited because even though I’m not the world’s biggest fan of beer, I do drink it and if I’m going to drink it, I’m going to find out what I like and what I don’t like. A beer bar with a knowledgeable staff is a great way to start. I’ve been to quite a few beer bars and I find them to be a great place to learn a little bit about your tastes and your preferences. Though beer is not my favorite, I’m sure there are some out there I’d really enjoy just like food or another other type of alcohol.
The downside to this event was the fact that though it was a beer bar, we only got to try one thing (and it wasn’t even the beer in it’s purest form)…it was a beer-​mosa. Goose Island Sofie mixed with some orange juice. I thought it was good, but I’d have really appreciated tasting the beer itself. And there were soooo many taps against the wall that just looked sad that night from not being used except nearer to the end of the night when Elites were buying their drinks… and even then I noticed most people were only buying one and then leaving.
I would consider coming again in the hopes that my experience will be different.

Not a bad event! Thanks ruggy for cool event a a venue i never knew existed!
The drinks were tasty and the whole place had this awesome rustic vibe. Its that wooden look i really like that’ll probably keep me coming back to the place.
I went to the back of the room and hung out with everyone there on a big table and had a nice place to sit and hang out.
Cheers! to another awesome event!

The event wasn’t bad from my perspective… granted, I was only there for like the last half hour of the event. I am sorry that other people didn’t have a very pleasant time there.
First of all, I knew I had to come in super late like after 7pm, I sent a message to Ruggy and let him know about it. I didn’t arrive until close to 7:30pm. Ruggy told me they already ran out but they’d save a beer for me so I went straight to the bartender. I tried to get the attention from this one bartender but wasn’t successful. Another bartender kindly helped me and let me tried this beer from Queens. It tasted almost like IPA but not really. It was good! Apparently snacks and beer both ran out before 7pm. WOW!
Very briefly, I met two new Unilocalers upon arrival. I spent the rest of time catching up with Ron. A lot of people have left by the time I got there so I didn’t get a chance to talk to others.
I liked the venue. It is open and has a simple layout that is straightforward enough. Because a lot of people have left by then, I obviously didn’t feel crammed at the bar. Overall, it was a good event! I guess I can’t give out the full picture since I wasn’t there from the very beginning.
I spoke to the owner very briefly and learned that you can get 24 beer flight tasting for $ 75. Not a bad deal!
Thank you Ruggy!

I don’t consider myself a beer aficionado or anything of the sort, but I do like to enjoy a pint every now and again.
Arts & Crafts Beer Parlor is a small bar hidden in the West Village. The concept behind this bar, which has been open for about 6 months now, is for patrons to feel as if they are in an extension of their living room. They offer twenty-​four beers on tap, which tend to vary month by month. Also, they change their art work just as often as they change their beers. I must say it is a rather small venue that you can frequent with a friend or two and feel like you’re whisked away somewhere.
Now I must thank Ruggy for putting this event together because the idea of having a Unilocal elite event at a craft beer bar is fantastic!
However, things didn’t pan out as well as they could have for this event. It could just be that the owner wasn’t as aware of how these Unilocal events work. This is where things went a bit south:
1. The drink of the night offered was «beermosas». That was the only drink offered. I would much rather have tried a variety of the beers available on tap, even if the amount offered was in a shot glass sized cup, in order to get a feel for the place. Maybe there was a beer option that I would have been willing to pay full price just to get a pint of.
2. The food offered at the event itself was just okay. There were trays with a variety of cold cuts, cheeses, pita bread & hummus, and bread. I wish I would’ve gotten to sample something off the menu that was cooked. What does this place offer that’s different from other craft beer spots? Even a single dish of whatever item off the menu that was cooked would have been fine.
3. Food and drinks ran out relatively early for an event set to run until 8PM. I believe the majority of the drinks were out before 7PM.
I wasn’t aware this was a cash bar until after reading some of the reviews, but I wish this had been announced upon entrance. Was there even an ATM in there? I don’t recall having seen one.
Like most Unilocalers, I called it a night pretty early and left before 7:15PM.

This has been the third week in a row that I’ve gotten to see Ruggy and his amazingly coiffed man beard thanks to Elite events! ;)
I was looking forward to an amazing pint of craft beer or two after a long day at work, but alas they were only serving beermosas. I was lucky enough to get one, as I had arrived just before they ran out. No worries, I walked around and chatted with friends, sat down and snacked on some cheese and pretzel bites and had a good time anyways!
Thanks for clueing us in on this cute spot, Ruggs! I’m definitely going to go back.

Given that Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor is a new spot in the West Village, I was looking forward to sampling brews that were on tap for the event. However, when I went up to the bar I was given a champagne flute of beer-​mosa which was goose island sofie mixed with orange juice. Definitely not something that I would consider ordering out of the blue. I’ve been to many beer bars across the city and this was the first time that I saw such a sight. I had one and then heard they ran out of it already, roughly forty-​five minutes into the event. I would have preferred to have the beer not in the mimosa form.
Otherwise, it was good to see Ruggy and catch up with some Unilocalers at this intimate elite only event. The space got very intimate fast when you have more folks in there than anticipated for the night, which was apparently around twenty. There’s a mix of small tables, lounge seating up at the front and a larger communal table in the back of the bar. There were a couple dozen of taps, which were more or less eye candy for the evening.

For once in my ( Unilocal Elite) life, I arrived on time. I’m talking right on time. Like, third person to arrive. And, because I arrived before the event actually started — you know, like, got going, I was able to sample just about everything without anyone around me and drink their mimosa-​style, Sofie beer combination comfortably at the bar.
While I did like their take on a mimosa with Sofie, I preferred their (insert: name of beer with «Amber» in it). I did have to pay for the second beer, but, you know, whatever. It is what it is, right?
I also liked the snacks, particularly the pretzels with mustard. I was probably the only person not removing the salt. What can I say? I’m salty.
I didn’t interact with the staff too much, but I thought everyone — bartenders, owners — was friendly and welcoming.
As always, I loved seeing and catching up with all the Elites! (And meeting new Elites!) It was kind of hard to mingle (close quarters, tightly packed), but I managed.
Thank you Ruggy, Unilocal and Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor for a fabulous, beer-​filled (that doesn’t sound appealing, I know, but I mean it in the best way possible) Tuesday night!

Craft Beer is my middle name. No, but seriously, it should be…
Although my general excitement before the event was way up there, the resulting fracas was somewhat disappointing for what should have been a great venue. Here’s why:
The event ran from 6 – 8, the parlor was packed and a little difficult to talk over; both the mini bites and beer-​drinks ran out way before then, probably closer to 7 (but from what I overheard, it may have been earlier). The placement of the food may have played a part. They were either up front by the strange seating or at the bar counter. There was also mix of tasty servings of cheese squares, bread and charcuterie, which went surprisingly fast and were replenished a couple times.
Beer-​mosas! What? Yes, a combination OJ with Sofie saison ale from Goose Island. It was tasty and befitting the current change in weather but wasn’t what I had in mind when visiting a «beer parlor»… and a dollar off for checking-​in! Such a great deal! I do note that one of the owner/​operators went around and did make a conscientious effort to re-​pour some glasses, but it ran out quickly.
I would have also been grateful for beer tastings, smaller in scale (like even a shot-​glass!) to the one they offer when you «Run the Board» by trying all 24 taps for $ 75 (the equivalent of 12 full glasses), although this may have been a logistical nightmare for 50 – 70 guests.
Those arriving later were fortunate to receive a pour of something else on tap (only after asking). However, all-​in-​all, it was great meeting some newly minted elites: Ashley, Jennifer, and others I missed! I read there was a visitor from the DMV area. Kudos for making the trek, Shachi! Great seeing all the other elites who I’ve known from events past.
Credit goes to Ruggy and Unilocal NYC for this great find. We all know you do great work for making this happen! The Arts and Craft Beer Parlor ought to revisit their (contingency) plans for hosting parties of this size. It’s a great venue whose implementation fell a little flat before it caught traction.

I hate giving bad Unilocal reviews. I rarely ever do. Especially for events. I just want to address like numerous others that my star rating has no reflection on Ruggy and or Unilocal.This is Arts and Crafts and their manager’s fault for the low rating. I thought of not writing a review entirely. However, after one of the staff members shouted at my friend that had just arrived that she couldn’t get a drink when she had none, it kind of took the cake. She came around 6:30 and hadn’t even tried anything and the staff was giving her a hard time.
I enjoyed mingling with fellow Unilocalers and catching up. Yes, there was meat and cheese. Quote of the night: «I can get free cheese from Whole Foods. I can get free cheese from a homeless person on the street.» (I swear I didn’t say it) I’m not greedy. I’ve given 4 or 5 stars to some Unilocal events where there was no food. It just felt that Arts and Crafts really wasn’t into the whole Unilocal thing. At all. Even stating in his speech «We really didn’t expect more than 20 people.» Awkward glances. Uncomfortable silence. «We’ll do our best to get you a drink if you haven’t gotten one.» Awkward silence. «But um we ran out of our beer-​mimosas.. .. so I guess.. . not?»
The beer-​mimosa was kind of sick. I still drank it. I also drank Anderson’s. Win. But if you are advertising that you are a craft beer bar to numerous people that write food and drink reviews for fun you’d think maybe I should show off my bar’s best assets? You are serving diluted beer with orange juice? Isn’t that sacrilegious to beer connoisseurs? Maybe have a tasting of 2 different craft beers or if you are trying to gain a profit out of this, hey, charge everyone at the door $ 10 or something. Because that’s how much my singular beer cost after I realized that they ran out of beermosa at 6:45pm. They also didn’t give me a discount even though it was still happy hour. It’s sad because I was super excited to check this bar out. I’ve had it bookmarked for months, its somehow ended up in my gmail and on my facebook, and have passed it numerous times since I work near enough for west fourth to be a popular area for me to hang out in mid work week. For all of that attention I gave it — what a let down.
Regardless, I had fun catching up with some Unilocalers and we took our party to go to Peculiar Pub. And then Thunder Jacksons. And then we may have walked all the way over to Hop Devil. Which the last of the three is an awesome bar that knows how to be hospitable and host a Unilocal Elite event.

I’ve never written anything less than 5 stars for any Unilocal event Elite or not EVER but after tonight and careful deliberation I can’t fathom giving this place anything more than 3 stars. I was floating around 3 stars for a minute but to be honest the experience was anything but okay for me.
***FULL DISCLOSURE*** — THIS REVIEW IS IN NO WAY SHAPE OR MATTER A REFLECTION OF THE HARD WORK THAT RUGGY HAS PUT INTO HAVING THIS EVENT FOR UnilocalERS (ELITE).
For starters, the SPACE in this place is small. As the owner noted during his speech, his idea for the beer bar was to create like a living room space to gather, chill, having a few beers and a good time.
He neither created or promoted ANY of these «business theories» tonight.
The drink of the night was the BEERMOSAS which tasted EXACTLY like SELTZER WATER AND WATERED DOWN ORANGE JUICE. Like seriously dude? I can go around the corner and buy something to drink that would have tasted better than this. SECONDLY, they ran out of this said drink at 6:45PM for an event end time of 8:00pm. Even at my drunkest state I can’t ignore this time lapse. I was nowhere near this state thankful or rather unthankfully as many Unilocal Elites had to overcompensate by leaving this venue EARLY to find other places to get their drinks on and try to salvage the night. Thirdly, as a BEER BAR, not letting Unilocalers sample some of what I would imagine to be delicious beer is a shame. A miss opportunity reallly.
Topping this whole initial experience was the convo I had with one of the bartenders.
Me: «Is this all the drinks for tonight? This one drink?»
The Caucasian Bartender: «Yes, everyone is entitled to ONE drink for the night.»
Me: «Okay…»
I’m not sure if the owner did researching on what Unilocal events are like in general and even more so if it is for a Unilocal ELITE Event but he missed the bar, COMPLETELY.
It’s not about the open bar, it’s not about the free flowing food, it is about the EXPERIENCE.
Time is money and sadly I felt you wasted most of our times except for maybe a few new comers who might have been recently given the shiny ELITE badge.
The highlight of my night besides seeing familiar faces was the face that they had Schoffhofer Grapefruit beer on tap which I paid for. Which leads me to the question, where was the part where you offer the STAPLE of your establishment? It is a BEER BAR so how about offer people samples of beer even if it’s just 1 or 2 options. Oh wait you did offer it? Was it all used for the BEERMOSA? If that was it, it was a waste of beer dude.
The FOOD which consisted of cheeses, cold cuts and bread was fine. But I’m a BEER GUY. Where was the sliders/​burgers? I ask this because when the owner was speaking he mentioned that he would have spoke sooner but he was busy «cooking». Cooking what exactly? Cold cuts does not need to be cooked, neither does the bread or cheese? Um… OKAY…
Then the owner continued on explaining that he was sorry things ran out because he was expecting 20 or so people. That’s great. Because even if Ruggy had told you 20, the more people that showed up is GOOD for business especially if the reviews match the experience that you were intended to give. What tonight said to me was, come if you want, leave you probably should.
LEAVE we DID, EARLY sadly.
ANY SOUND BUSINESS OWNER WOULD TELL YOU, GOOD PUBLICITY is PRICELESS. I don’t know where some of these Unilocal Elites come off writing 4 to 5 stars reviews. Did they attend the same event as most of us did? Did they come when you decided to open up 3 beer taps to Unilocalers as most of us had already left for better venues? Oh wait, did you wait for the magic number of «20» to come about and THEN started the event.
BAZINGA.
And then not only did you mention about the amount of people that showed up but then you CONTINUED to throw Ruggy under the bus by stating that you were only focused on accommodating for 20 people to which some Unilocaler’s laugh just to cut the awkwardness statement.
Man oh Man. You saved money but you wasted ours.
Then your final statement was to tell Unilocalers that if you remembered to check in, you get a $ 1 off beers? That isn’t even a good Happy Hour deal even for a beer bar. If I walk a block or 2 over it’s practically BOGO (Buy One Get One Free).
You know the saying «Time is Money». I almost felt like I wasted my time tonight.
For the many of us some of whom probably wouldn’t write a review because there isn’t much to mention about and those who just don’t write in general as Unilocal Elites (SMH), I will do us all the favor and say, thankfully the location was ideal to salvage the night elsewhere with East Village and West Village being so close.
Signed,
Disappointed Unilocaler And Beer Fan

Small venue, HUGE turn out from Elite Unilocalers.
I got a one and a half drink tonight from Arts and Crafts. I got HALF a glass of the BEERMOSAS, I guess I got the last of every drop they had that night and it was only 6:45p. When the owner noticed I was shorted a full glass from the drink of the night, he offered a complimentary glass of red wine, pba beer. I choose the PBA and it was pretty crisp and refreshing.
I guess the venue today didn’t expect such a huge turn out and they were expecting 20 or so Elites? How does a bar run out of the drink of the night when event is from 6 — 8pm and they ran out at 6:45.why.
I wish I knew that it was going to be a cash bar, I would’ve actually brought enough cash, and not just enough cash for tipping the awesome bartenders.
Since most Unilocalers were mainly sober, it seems like there’s more mingling and meeting new Elites! What else is there to do when Elites weren’t prepared to pay for a cash bar without any advanced notice… we mingle and chill out with fellow Elites and caught up with old Elites.
Thanks to Ruggy @ Unilocal and Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor for hosting. I need to bring more cash next time!

Great event. I know they ran out drinks halfway and were light on nibbles, but it was still a great collection of Unilocalers and the space itself is terrific, I’ll probably be back – the wall of 24 taps is tempting and the bartenders were friendly and the overall ambiance seemed chill and relaxed. The drink on offer was a kind of beer mimosa – something like 1 part orange juice to 4 parts Sofie Belgian beer, which was a good pairing. Is this a thing? Beer and juice? I feel like I should have known about this before. It could be perfect for a certain rare sort of breakfast.

I’m glad that my first Unilocal elite event was at this venue because it was a good one. This place definitely has the cleanest and nicest bathroom that I have ever seen at a bar.
I had a good time at the event. The owners came out to meet everyone that attended and even said a few words. They were very nice and welcoming and even provided finger foods for everyone to snack on. I can see why this place has such great reviews. It is a very cozy spot and is conveniently located. They also have a large selection of beers. It was interesting to see all of the art inside of the place, which changes once a month. Overall, a pleasant experience. I will be back here again.

I got in! To a Manhattan event at that, so certainly cause for celebration (for this particular Unilocaler anyway). Charming little location just north of Washington Square Park, apparently the joint has only been open for less than a ½ year.
As always, a pleasure to see all you Unilocalers (new peeps and familiar faces all the same). However, the intimate (small) space was on the brink of being too packed. An impressive feat? Yes, especially when you consider the apparent managerial misinterpretations of Unilocal event attendance. Also, an individual Unilocaler may not take up a lot of room (we are not fat kids, despite our clear gastronomical and mixological tendencies being borderline decadent)… however, when the Unilocal elite roll up in full force, we become a living fire hazard.
In retrospect, halving the numbers to an event in a venue of this size would have made for a more viable shindig (though I’d question my admission to this event had it been in the precise way I just suggested). Nevertheless, the boozy concoction of beer and orange juice was a revelation, and the company alone was, as always, a delight. Not a bad way to spend an hour and some minutes.

Nice tuesday night in the west village. More of a casual event tonight with elites only but the venue was great. Good service from the bartenders and though a bit crowded you easily could relax and mingle. Nice space for a party and plenty of beers on tap. The ales are a plus. Nice round of cheeses and hard salamis with the beers.
Caught up with some old elites and met some new. Wonderful space and always big ups to ruggy for setting it up and great hosting by the owners.

I am not a fan of loud sports bar where I can barely hear anything spoken by someone sitting next to me. Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor in Greenwich Village solves this problem by creating a bar reminiscent of your cozy living room, where guests can engage in an intimate conversation over a pint of craft beer or a glass of wine. Contrary to some of the reviews, I actually really enjoyed this Unilocal Event (it may have to do with the fact that I arrived on the earlier side at 6:10pm).
Upon arriving/​checking in with Ruggy (a huge shoutout for organizing this awesome event, as always!!), I received a complimentary beer mimosa. As someone who don’t particularly enjoy the taste of beer, I thought the beer mimosa (basically beer + OJ) was very refreshing! I also enjoyed the food selection, ranging from pretzels (there was a bit too much salt though!), pita bread (so yummy!), veggie sticks with hummus and ranch, prosciutto, cheese plate (loved the brie!), and baguette. Most of all, I really liked the venue. I could see myself hanging out here on a Tuesday afternoon, Thursday night, Saturday evening… whenever!
I will knock down a star because they did run out of food/​beer mimosa within the first 45 minutes (if the event is scheduled for 6−8pm, there should be enough food/​drinks until then at least!), but they offered three types of beer on tap for free. Thank you again Ruggy for the fun Tuesday night!

The staff is unbelievably friendly and the space is lovely! Even though they ran out of the signature cocktail, they were more than accommodating and offered late Unilocalers like me a free drink.
Thumbs up to Ruggy for finding this gem of a place!

Tonight was my first time at Arts and Crafts Beer Parlor. It’s a pretty tight space, located right below Textiles Arts Center, but somehow narrowly fit all the elites in attendance for the evening.
I arrived right about 6pm and was able to try one of their beermosas, featuring the sponsored Sofie farmer’s ale and oj – didn’t personally enjoy the mix but it was the only drink of the night. Bartenders were super friendly though. I love that they rotate about two dozen craft beers and even the art too (I believe they mentioned already rotating 250 in the 6 months that they’ve been open) so I was surprised that they didn’t offer any of them on the menu tonight. Also surprising — they ran out of Sofie beer about 40 minutes in to the event! I think latecomers received some house wine. Small bites included charcuterie, breads, cheeses and some pretzel bits and were spread throughout the space but went very quickly.
Definitely a full house tonight but always great to see familiar and new faces.

This review no way reflects the awesome, event planning prowess of Ruggy and the gang at Unilocal,but…
I was über excited for a craft beer event because craft beers make me really excited and the reviews for this place were pretty stellar.
Why am I giving their event 2 stars? Well, I have a variety of reasons.
For starters, I arrived around 25 minutes into the event (soooooo…6:25pm) and upon trying to request a beverage the bartender rudely barked that it was only 1 drink per person.
Okay…that’s cool (well, not really) but I was very clear about my having JUST arrived and not having tried anything. 1 star off for having to practically beg for my 1 and only glass of beer mimosa… which by the way, that’s rather disrespectful to a craft beer.
Diluted beer might be fine for those summer months when being hydrated in the sun is a concern — but today is the first official day of Autumn. NO, just no. When you’re advertising how you have 24 beer taps, how about opening up a few rather than mixing beer with OJ?!
Aside from them limiting «beer mimosas» to «one per person» all night and having run out of their diluted beer cocktail, they ALSO ran out of food about 40 minutes into the event as well.
My friend, Ingrid S., also purchased a pint of their Pumpkin beer and it was $ 10 DOLLARS. For a pint of beer?! And during their supposed HAPPY HOUR (it was before 7pm). Yeahhhh… that’s not cool at all.
I’m also disappointed that they made no moves to promote their pretty decent beer selection. 3 stars off for the rude bartender, the «1 drink per person» rule and for them having run out of beer and food (which was only bread and cheese) at 6:45pm during an event that was slated to go until 8pm.
If money was such a concern for this bar, then they should’ve charged a $ 10 door fee to cover for AYCD from 6pm-​8pm. Instead the owner made sure to drill in the entire $ 1 off if you check in on Unilocal… eyeroll.
Also, the owner who spoke threw Ruggy under the bus repeatedly (or so it seemed to me and several fellow Unilocalers in the back with me) by saying he was told «only a few people» were coming, «about 20 people» he quoted Ruggy saying… regardless, they were ill-​prepared to even handle 20 people and it was irresponsible of them to not do their research or confirm with Unilocal to make sure they had enough resources.
Unilocal events aren’t «one and done» events, the spirit is to sample what a business feels they do best so that we want to return and share the experience with friends. I can’t even name the beer they mixed with OJ and I wouldn’t bring anyone here for what I sampled because it wasn’t much.
I can’t imagine Ruggy incorrectly estimating the attendance and ever putting any business in a situation where they could potentially run out of stuff. Nope. That’s not cool. Pffffft.
Off to Peculiar Pub we go! They’re a REAL beer bar ^_^.