More Beer in Williamsburg

My roommate's parents visited town this weekend and were looking for some interesting places to have a beer in Williamsburg Saturday afternoon so we ventured to the tried and true Brooklyn Brewery and then on to the not-yet-explored Radegast Hall & Beer Garden (click warning: obnoxious website music).

As always on a Saturday afternoon, the Brewery was packed with card playing, cup stacking, pizza eating twenty-somethings cashing in their wooden beer dollars for the latest selection of Brooklyn's most infamous libation. We were 5 drinkers in total, so we bought 12 tokens (the 6 beer tokens for $20 is too easy to turn down) and tasted the core favorites always on tap:

East India IPA (6.8% ABV)
Brooklyn Brown (5.6% ABV)
Brooklyn Lager (5.2% ABV)
Brooklyn Pennant Ale (5.2% ABV)
Brooklyn Pilsner (TBD)
Brooklyn Weisse (TBD)

Favorite beer of the afternoon: Brooklyn Brown, because it went well with the chilly wet weather.

The only disappointments of the Brewery stop (other than getting there with less than hour before the famous 5:30 last call) was the 8% Brooklyn Blast tap running dry and the short stature of the cup stacks (I propose a cup stacking challenge this spring at the Brewery).

From the Brewery, we strolled to Radegast Hall and Beer Garden on the corner of N 3 and Berry Streets. A little bit the weary after our 12 beer dash at the Brewery (myself taking it particularly slow after being sick for a few days), we settled for a pitcher of something light, a pitcher of something dark, a Bavarian pretzel, and a cheese platter, all severed amongst a quieter, more mature crowd than the one we had left at the Brewery.

The beers (Hofbrau Lager and Kostritzer Dark) were just as expected - delicious, but it was the cheese platter than stood out a true delight. Thanks to Murray's Cheese, for that.

The constraints of our energy, our livers and time prevented us from testing Radegast for it's true "beer hall" worthiness, but it's first impression warrants a second visit, without doubt.