Beer Garden for Park Slope?

Seems to be a trend now...Bohemian Hall's been in Queens for ages, but two years ago Radegast opened in Williamsburg, then this summer there's now the beer garden at the Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District...and several bars have declared their back gardens as beer gardens this summer as well.

Kind of like how a big summer after-work thing since at least the early 90s used to be Moran's (Morons) at World Financial Center (heavy on the big-haired ferry crowd, tho) and/or summer evenings after work at Bryant Park Grill or Luna Park in Union Square.

Now everybody's doing the outdoor garden thing with this currently hot, beer garden theme.

All good in my book.

Oh.. anyone know if Gowanus Yacht Club got over their Dept of Health violations? That's a good summer spot.

There is Draft Barn at 3rd and 12thish - it is more of a beer "hall" - no outdoor space that I'm aware of. There is also Lowlands on 3rd at 14th that does have pretty nice outdoor space.

Yes, Franklin Park is a great place to hang with a cool beer on a warm Summer (or heck, Spring or Fall) night.

color me ignorant, but what qualifies a bar as a "beer garden"? Just a bar with an outdoor space? Wouldn't that make The Gate a beer garden (especially since they're known primarily for their large draft selection...)?

Carmen,

That's the funny thing. Folks have been doing this in some capacity for ages (outdoor drinks, in a yard or garden).

But as of last year and/or this year, it's quite fashionable to call them "beer gardens."

At Bohemian Hall (in Astoria), it's a huge walled-in garden with dozens of picnic tables and a stage that often features live music (sometimes Czech oom-pah bands) during Summer weekend evenings and afternoons. It's been there forever and has a good selection of Czech beers. Seems authentic enough, especially if you go there for Czech Independence Day festival with all the costumes and dancers from their cultural school and the really big oom-pah band.

Radegast in Williamsburg has the traditional beer hall decor and [revised to be less skankayy] beer frau uniforms. This is kind of like the themed resto version you'd find in Vegas. Not at all as low-key authentic as Zum Schneider in the Village.

At the Standard Hotel (in the Meatpacking District) it's a more chi-chi version of the fad. It's setting is a sleek, retro-modern architecture hotel that cantilevers over the High Line, and the beer garden is at the foot if it all. You buy tickets for $8 each and redeem them at the bar for one of 3 different types of beer (with tip in hand too, else you won't get served very quickly). Staff has amusing t-shirt faux lederhosen uniforms. So also a more tongue-in-cheek version to make themed use of a huge urban outdoor space.

I get the sense that most putting up the "beer hall" shingle these days (beyond Bohemian Hall) are just folks serving a selection of beer, that have a yard or garden like you said.

But it's summer, and they wanna ride this here latest fad to draw folks in.