Tørst, Where Brooklyn Beer Gets Serious

The bartenders at Torst, Greenpoint’s newest suds bar, control the CO2 and nitrogen in each draft they pour to make sure beers never fall flat. Photo: Torst

Despite our reputation as a bunch of PBR swillers, Brooklyn as of late has become more and more of a beer nerd’s playground, with a place to fill a growler on seemingly every corner. The arrival of Tørst, a fancy new suds bar in Greenpoint, may have even elevated the borough to a beer paradise, with hard-to-find brews of every stripe, including a rare lambic that goes for $100 a bottle and a vast selection of high-brow brews at significantly more palatable prices.

Tørst, which opened earlier this month, is the brainchild of Noma/Momofuku vet Daniel Burns and Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø of Denmark’s Evil Twin Brewing. It’s safe to say that there’s nothing else in Brooklyn quite like this.

The focal point of the narrow, Manhattan Avenue space is a marble bar fronted by 21 wood-topped taps, each one hooked up to a high-tech control panel that allows bartenders to modulate the carbon dioxide and nitrogen mixes of each pour, making sure you are never served a beer that is anywhere near flat. That commitment to quality pours is combined with a list of drafts that even a dedicated beer geek would be hard-pressed to recognize, ranging from Evil Twin’s cranberry sour ale to a smoked imperial stout from fellow Danish brewers Fanø. (Everything is coøler with an ø.) Closer to home, you’ll find a white and wheat sage saison from Baltimore’s Stillwater Artisanal Ales, among other obscure American offerings. Each one is served in a wine-style glass and available in two sizes; with a beer selection of this magnitude, stay small and sample several. Most small pours cost $6.

And then there’s the bottled beer list, featuring the likes of Cantillon Fou’Foune, a rare Bourdeaux-produced lambic infused with fresh French apricots and preserved in a limited number of 750ml, cork-finished bottles. One can be yours at Tørst for a cool $100.

For now, snacks are limited to meat and cheese plates, but Tørst promises a Scandinavian tasting table concept in the back room, starting later this spring.

So, dive bar this isn’t. The marble bar, $100 bottles of beer and tasting-table menus may be a turnoff to drinkers who favor a whiskey and a Bud, but beyond all the bells and whistles, Tørst is still a place to sit down and sample adventurous brews you won’t find anywhere else.