Paulaner Bräuhaus Microbrewery Opens In New York

For lovers of German beer, it doesn't get much better than this.

Paulaner, one of Germany's most popular beers, has opened a sprawling beer hall on New York City's The Bowery, just south of Houston Street, in the same space that once housed the legendary saloon Sammy's Follies (and, more recently, a restaurant supply store). With the ability to seat more than 200 comfortably, it's sure to become a haven for anyone who appreciates a good German beer.

The first things you see upon entering the restaurant are giant brew kettles and mash tuns; they really aren't kidding around when they say that it's a microbrewery. Four beers are brewed on-premises and served on tap: a wheat beer, an unfiltered lager, a dunkel, and a special seasonal brew, and they're served in 0.3 ($7), 0.5 ($9), and 1 liter ($16) glasses. In order to get the brewing equipment into the building, a hole had to be cut into the roof and the gear lowered down and secured into place by hand.

There are two rooms: a large bar area and a main dining room, and both seat 120. There's also a private party room downstairs with an adjoining outdoor area that they don't yet have permission to use (the community board also had local residents' noise concerns in mind when they forbade them from installing more than one token television to air German soccer games).

There's a menu of German staples including sausages and wienerschnitzel, as well as burgers and a classic Berliner (jelly donut) for dessert.

We'll see you there!