Draft Barn

Walked by on a Thursday night, the signs were removed and gate down. Appears closed for good. No sign on door explaining things. Bummer.

I’m surprised at all the negative reviews because I thought this place was quite charming with it’s Germany meets Eastern Europe vibe. (It really reminded me of a great bar I went to Latvia so maybe I’m biased).
I actually had a great bartender– this quirky Russian chick who really liked the Avengers. She was very attentive and friendly, great service.
Sure, the place was sort of dead when I was there but I liked that about it, sometimes it’s exhausting to be at a really busy bar. It’s nice to find cool, easy bars you can just sit and have a few beers at (and seriously this place has an awesome beer selection).

Came here for paint nite and was a bit disappointed with the bar itself. For paint nite, the location got a bit crowded as I felt the area allotted for paint nite was too small and we were bumping into each other and it was hard to see the instructor teach.
I tried to order a club soda and they didn’t have any. I was disappointed but told myself they are a beer bar so got over that. Next I tried to order their wing special of the night and was told they ran out. It was 7pm and a very rainy Wednesday night. The only other patrons were paint nite people and only a handful of them got wings. I just feel that if you are going to have a special of the night, please have enough so that you don’t run out even when it seems like not very many people are there. Next I ordered the sliders and they were the driest mini burgers I have ever had.

For essentially the same reasons as Matthew R. and Elyssa J.

Great spot to feast like Kings & Queens! Portions are generous, beer selection is extensive and atmosphere authentic.

Had a GREAT birthday celebration here… plenty of room, great décor that fits with the mood and very knowledgeable staff! Great recommendations, and everyone was very happy with the food… the beer croutons are crack and the fries are incredibly thing and crunchy!!!

I’m not a drinker so I can’t comment on anything related to booze or the bar, but I did stop in for a Thursday night salsa party. The party started a bit slow but gradually warmed up, though a friend told me it happened to be a slow night. A few on2 salsa friends have told me they go dancing there but most of the dancers seemed to be on1 or beginners. It’s a little far from my hood so I don’t think I’d venture back in the winter but I’d definitely check it out again if I know there will be more on2 people.

My boyfriend found this place on
and intrigued by the reviews and type of establishment we picked up a deal on a whim.
When we decide to go last night, we went right after work. The place was mostly empty and over the course of the night maybe 5 or 6 people came in after us.
We were welcomed by our waitress who was very nice and helpful. She did say that she wasn’t positive if they were accepting the deals yet and she contacted her boss. When her boss didn’t respond right away she asked if we still wanted to order. Of course we said yes, especially because this place is in an odd location and it would have been a bit of a hassle to find another place. She allowed us to taste a few drafts before we ordered which was great! So much to choose from and I was glad to hear they brewed their own beer. We also ordered some wings and beer croutons which were awesome. I really liked the croutons.
We also noticed they serve brunch and looked at that menu. We were pretty intrigued and also wanted to come back for that.
The food (for our meals) was decent. Very, very heavy. My pork came with a big heaping of mushrooms and onions. It probably consumed ¹⁄₃ of the plate and overall the presentation was so packed, it made it difficult for one to eat the meat and potato pancake under it without spilling the mushroom/​onion topping off the plate. The oil from the mushroom/​onion also made the potato pancake pretty soggy.
Up until this point we were pretty happy, me especially because I’m not a beer person and I wanted to come back and try more types of beer.
Now why a 1 star review? Well…
Over the course of the night, our waitress slowed down considerably. When we finally asked for the check she said; «we are not excepting the
coupons yet, but I can give you an extra two beers on the house which will basically become the amount you paid for the coupon.» It was getting late and I really did not want another beer but I figured, why not. I ordered a framboise and my boyfriend ordered a cider. We finally got the check and noticed she gave us our two draft beers on the house (our first round), not our second round which we would not have ordered had she’d not offered it to us on the house. We ended up paying twice as much for stuff we didn’t want in the first place. If they weren’t excepting the deal yet I don’t understand why we had to be tricked like that. And if she was going to comp our first round to begin with why did we have to order a 2^nd round at all? On my boyfriend’s check she wrote; «sorry for the inconvenience.» What’s that mean?
My desire to come back has been completely reversed.

I’ll start with why I gave Draft Barn 1 star even though it wasn’t a terrible place. I purchased a
certificate about 2 weeks ago and tried to use it last night, there were no restrictions on it. When we told the waitress she said she wasn’t sure if they were taking them yet and had to call her boss who didn’t answer. We chose to stay anyway and ordered drinks and a meal. When we asked for the check we were told they weren’t taking the certificates yet. The waitress said to make up for it she would give us 2 beers on the house which would come out to about the same thing. I thought she was going to comp the 2 beers we had with dinner which really didn’t add up because the certificate was for $ 25 off and we were drinking $ 4 drafts. She then asked what we would like, so I guess she wasn’t comping the beers we had but instead giving us 2 more beers which we didn’t particularly want but oho well. I’m still thinking drafts when my girlfriend orders a framboise, the waitress doesn’t mention anything and grabs it so I figure she’s giving us any 2 beers which would come a lot closer to $ 25 and order a Docs ($ 9). When we finish our beers we get the check and she’s charged us for the framboise and docs and comped the $ 4 drafts. So now we’re stuck with an ever higher bill then before because of 2 beers we didn’t really want. I know what I heard, she didn’t ask us if we wanted another beer or anything else, she said she was givings us 2 on the house and asked what we would like. It sounds ungrateful but I would have rather her not gone out of the way to try and compensate us and instead paid the original bill.
When we got there it was empty except for one table. The cook actually sat us and was very nice, my girlfriend wanted to sit by the open entrance and he grabbed 2 high chairs for the tables. The waitress came over and was very nice as well, she answered all our questions and gave us some samples of drafts. She was fairly attentive at first but then a couple of people she was familiar with came in and we saw less and less of her as she just sat at the bar talking to them and browsing facebook.
I ordered a draft barn dark which is actually a sour beer. It wasn’t too bad and I enjoyed it. They have a huge bottle menu of which some are reasonably priced and others are overpriced as well as about 15 drafts which are around $ 6 each. For an appetizer we got the wings which were 10 for $ 5 on Wednesday. They were cooked well though I wasn’t a huge fan of the sauce, they were B wings which are tiny and basically the rejects from most restaurants. I wouldn’t order them again. We also got the beer croutons which are heavily salted fried pieces of pumpernickel bread. They were a bit too salty for me but would be a great snack if you just come here for a beer.
For my entrée I got the gypsy steak which I thought was alright. I didn’t notice any bacon but there was a lot of sausage, overall I felt it was a bit bland. I got it with steak fries which were mostly paper thin and ranged from crispy to undercooked. For my second side I got the sour kraut which was the fresh firm variety and not the type you’d but in a can or bag at the grocery store.
At the beginning I would have given my experience 4 stars, as it started to decline I would have given it 3 stars, after the experience at the end I thought 1 star was appropriate.

So much selection of beers, 5+ pages menu of beer. Not much wine, so don’t expect anything when it comes to a wine selection. I also love the fact that they have a foosball table. I like that Draft Barn has a very low key vibe, dim lights and wooden tables and benches. However, the employees are not accommodating or attentive, they are not even friendly. I still do go here from time to time, but never got good service here. Bottom line, if you love beer you will like this place. However, don’t expect much from their customer service, each time I came here I didn’t get a good one.
4 star for great selection of beer
1 star for the customer service
3 star for the atmosphere

Draft barn is a cool name, though it should really be bottle barn because they have a lot more bottles (hundreds!) than they have drafts.
That said, this is a great place if you’re hosting a group. Took my beer club here and we had about 20 people and the bartender/​manager who was working took care of single handedly, keeping beers full, bringing food, making recommendations and generally making sure 20 beer drinkers were very happy.
Very laid back vibe and decent prices. They had maybe 10 – 12 beers on tap, I think, and lots of bottles. Food was decent… I had the sliders and the fries, which are a cross between fries and chips. They were good. The sliders were okay but I got them on $ 1 slider night; probably would not go for them at full price. I did love the hunter bites, which were pieces of sausage cut and cooked to look like calamari. They were tasty, especially with the spicy mustard!
Definitely a fun place to hang out. I recommend it.

I’ve found them! They’re here! The rudest bartenders in the city! They all work at Draft Barn! Isn’t that exciting?
It’s not. It’s frustrating, because the beer list is great (so 1 star for that). They only have about 9 – 12 on draught though and no draught list to speak of (when I asked rude bartender #1 what they had, he told me to look at the taps. Nevermind that the taps are spaced from one end of the long bar to the other, but frequently the beer isn’t even on the tap, or it’s on the part of the tap facing the bartender. Regardless, if you want to save paper and not print up a menu, that’s cool, but then get a freaking chalkboard. Yeesh). They do, however, have an incredibly extensive list of bottled beers (there must be about 300). But remember those jerky bartenders I was talking about? Yeah, they’re not going to help you choose a beer (I know a lot of the beers they have, but sometimes I like trying something new) and they’ll get really annoyed if you ask questions. Like really annoyed.
The 2^nd star is for the space. Much like the bartenders, it’s large and wooden, and it’s great for groups (unlike the bartenders). The communal tables and enclosed booths make it cozy. So there’s that.
The food is okay. The fries and potato pancakes are good, but the sliders are pretty gross (very reminiscent of White Castle). One of my companions got something (I think it was the cheese sausage, $ 13) and it was ground sausage atop cheese, atop sauerkraut, atop fries; that may sound awesome to some, but it was truly frightening to me.
The bartenders can be jerks about payment, too. Last time I was there, I ordered a beer and gave the dude my card. He says to me, I’m not going to give this back to you until you spend $ 15. I know what he meant, but there’s another way to say that, no? Also, when I was ready to leave, I had my man-​friend grab the tab. And yet, the bartender told him he was TOO busy to print it up, so we would have to wait. Um, no. He gave it to me though. I’d say he was a misandrist, but given his rudeness to me, and others, earlier, I’m pretty sure they just hire misanthropes. Makes sense for a people-​focused vocation.

We really enjoyed this place, the décor is awesome, our server/​bartender was very attentive, the jukebox is a great option, the beer selection is AMAZING, though they should consider making the big selection on tap as well, and of course we enjoyed our meals.
Our party of 4 meals consisted of:
Burgers, one with the sausage, both very yummy, however, I can see how a previous Unilocaler may have believed that the bun is microwaved. I can’t say it was 100% but very possible. If I was the owner, I would look into a different way of «warming up or toasting» the bun.
Pork Loin with caramelized onions and fried potato chips –this meal was the winner!
My bf had the skirt steak with what they call caramelized onions, as you can see in one of the pics I added, those onions were far from caramelized, they should really cook those up a bit more, and maybe cut them smaller.
The fried potato chips are amazing! Next time we’ll have an extra order of those.
We went on a Saturday night, Cinco de Mayo, and found it strange that there was only one other table and a couple sitting by the bar during the entire time we were there. But we thought that maybe people were at other parties or Mexican restaurants celebrating, at least we hoped because this place is pretty cool and we wished to have been able to experience the kind of crowd that goes to Draft Barn.
We will definitely be back!

Yay beer!
Boo food. Was my burger bun microwaved?

More than just a pub, more a beer hall with a great wide selection of quality beers and bartenders who can recommend something obscure without being snobby about it.
Try the beer croutons — salty, warm and chewy — great with beer.

Dear Thursday night bartender,
Maybe you weren’t aware, but as a bartender, you essentially have only one task to complete each night: promptly serving your customers beers. I know that might seem like a herculean task, but to be honest, it seems like one of the simplest jobs on the planet.
I understand that you were still setting up the bar when I arrived, as it seemed you had only recently opened. But five other patrons were sitting in your establishment with half empty beers. On top of that, while you ignored me, you went to ask a few fellows at a nearby table if they wanted another drink.
Having never frequented your establishment before, I can only assume that you did not have a personal problem with me, so I can’t understand why five long minutes went by before I finally just got up and left.
Well, the mysteries of The Draft Barn will continue to allude me since I can easily avoid your bar thanks to the loads of other great beer bars in the area.
Chris
P. S. Worst bartender ever!

Came here with some friends to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, and I was thoroughly impressed.
The place is rather spacious; the big bar at the entrance, the wooden communal tables with benches, and the booths give it the feel of a beer garden.
The beer list may be the most comprehensive I’ve ever seen: literally hundreds and hundreds of bottles from over the world[1]. I focused on the beers on draft, however. Beer-​wise, this is what I had:
1^st quarter: Green Flash Brewing Co. West Coast IPA (hoppy, bitter, and copper colored; the way I like my IPAs)
2^nd quarter: He’Brew Coney Island Freaktoberfest (this brew IS freaky: even the head is red!).
3^rd quarter: second round of West Coast IPA (yes, it was that good).
4^th quarter: a Czech bock that was as intense in color as it packed flavor (forgot the name…).
If the game was going to overtime I would have gone for the Franziskaner Weissbier, one of the best wheat beers you can have (a cloud of golden pleasure). I was happy with the Saints disposing of the Colts without the need of extra time, though.
The food was definitely well above your average pub grub: the beer croutons were certainly interesting, but what really stood ouit were the sausages. We tried the 3 sausages (Hungarian, white, and cheese), and they were all excellent[2]: succulent, juicy, and crunchy on the outside.
Finally, a few good words for the bartender: on Super Bowl Sunday he was alone working both the bar AND the tables! This guy was very professional, and gave us great suggestions both for drinks and food.
I definitely will be back, perhaps during a Friday or Saturday outing. Due to its location, I have the feeling that Draft Barn will attract mainly locals and true beer lovers.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
[1] I don’t think that very many beer places in the city serve beer from Africa.
[2] The sausages came with a spicy mustard that had wasabi in it, which gives it an extra kick that I truly loved.

This place is a shrine to beer. The choices are endless, almost dauntingly so, at least for an indecisive man such as myself.
The staff only APPEARS to be less than friendly; you just have to meet them halfway on the Bridge of Beer-​Loving. Ask their opinion. They know their beer, and they are more than happy to chat up a connoisseur, or help your girlfriend find a fruity Framboise when she’s not in a dark beer mood.
Do yourself a favor and try the beer croutons. I’m not sure there’s a more perfect bar snack out there. I mean, beer is in the name (and the croutons).
A final note: if you have friends coming from afar, you might want to warn them about staying until all hours of the night. This isn’t the sort of place cabs ride by, and I’ve actually had car services refuse to pick me up here at 2 am.

After Terrace Bagels this is the place I miss the most in Brooklyn. I have fond memories of walking to Draft Barn in Gowanus from the F train stop in Park Slope as the sun went down. Don’t let the stone-​faced bartenders turn you off or make you feel unwelcome. Chat them up a little bit and they’re the some of the most cordial people you’ll meet in the borough.
I go into the occasional fit now and then thinking of those crispy little nuggets of beer soaked and then deep fried bread. How can something so simple be so delicious and make me want to get even drunker?
When I walk the cold Chicago streets I sometimes see a mirage of a sausage plate with fresh kraut and really spicy mustard that I had here last summer after downing several pints of whatever the hell they recommended I try. I can’t even talk about the beer here. If the menu overwhelms you then just have them recommend you something. There’s too much stuff on tap and bottled to make heads or tails of the menu unless you’re a beer geek.

Is it open yet? Is it open yet? Is it open yet?
No, I’m not another exuberant gamer waiting for my next copy of Madden at midnight because I have no life, I’m a purveyor of fine alcohol-​serving establishments the borough over and with the opening today of the Draft Barn, I may have found the next great Brooklyn bar.
South Slopers rejoice!
For the past six months, I’ve walked by this place on 3^rd Avenue in the South Slope wondering when I wouldn’t have to walk up to 5^th Ave. in order to relax with some friends over a pint. On the way to the gym, on the way to the subway or on the way to my PS3 dealer (don’t you know they all hang out in this neighb?) … I’ve seen the signs and the «Coming Soon» banners for the better part of six months.
And now I need wait no longer.
It’s surprisingly spacious inside, with a beautiful wood interior (evoking, what I suppose, is a classic European draft haus) and sports a great wraparound bar serving over 200 types of beer, many on tap. I didn’t see any Bud Light which means chances are high I’m going to have to extend past my comfort zone and try one of their many tasty beers.
There’s food as well, with much in the way of standard bar food though the owner, who told us the reason for the opening delay was due to political red tape (in New York? surely not!), promised that they’d be opening for brunch soon.
A draft haus/​sports bar (lots of TV with DirecTV and the NFL Sunday Package) in this area of town is most certainly welcome and I hope it has a very long, prosperous lifetime there.