Scenes from the Back of a Ferry
It was a cold and wet day in New York City – not good for walking. So we gave the ferries and trains a really good workout. The New York Ferries run about five routes along the East River. A terrific way to get different perspectives of some of the wonderful bridges that join Brooklyn to Manhattan. The ferries are very comfortable with a most civilised bar set-up that offers tap beer, wine and cider. There’s open air seating on the top and you can stand out the back. Easily the coldest i’ve been on a ferry but the bridges make it worthwhile. We actually took two ferries – one to see the bridges and the second to get close to Coney Island. In 2021, there’ll be a ferry all the way to Coney Island, which would be fabulous in summer.
Coney Island Scenes
The only reason to visit Coney Island in February is to visit Coney Island Brewery (IMHO). You can also pay a visit to Nathan’s – famous for the hot dog eating contests. We ticked off the famous boardwalk, and I could believe in summer the whole area would rock. But on a wet zero degree day – it was almost just me and my daughter.
Colourful – Coney Island Brewing
Coney Island Brewing has a fabulous space. It has recently been enlarged to fit in more brewing equipment and punters. I love drinking at the bar and Coney Island has a nice long bar with a beautiful tile and neon wall from which the taps come. Coney Island’s Mermaid Pilsner and Merman IPA is a pretty common beer in the pubs of NYC. It was even on the ferry. The tap head incorporates the defunct parachute jump ride, which is the red tower that makes the Coney Island skyline so distinctive. The Pilsner and IPA are so popular that they are brewed offsite to cope with the volume.
The taps
What’s brewed on-site is a range of styles. Barley wine, DIPA, hefeweizen, Davison’s etc. Beer of the Day for mine was Boardwalker – a wonderful Black Lager beefed up with spruce and pine. These beers are generally only available at the brewery. The other reason to visit is a great collection of merch. Some of the more unique and better styled shirts I’ve seen. Get there.
Coney Island Brewing: 1904 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
back of the ferry 