KelSo Brewery

Awesome little taproom in the middle of a brewery with aging beer barrels everywhere. They brew Heartland and Kelso beers with about 5 taps offering 12oz pours. Affordable prices and they have a ton of games to play while you sip. Will be back!

This place is the hidden pearl of the neighborhood. Great staff, great beer, and really cool and cozy bar area amongst kegs and tanks. This place is legit and a welcome break from the overly fancy for no reason dive bars and gastropubs everywhere. Give these guys your support

This definitely feels like you’re in a brewery, there’s a small bar with perfunctory chairs/​tables in one corner but it is primarily there making the beer. And the beer is fine. It was kinda cold on a December night, an interesting place to stop for one drink, before moving onto a real bar.

Great spot! Weirdly cozy for a cold and damp brewery/​warehouse. The selection is nice, even split between KelSo and Heartland beers. **the brewer for Heartland started KelSo, KelSo has a bit more unique beers, but both brands are great.
Growler fills are only $ 10 below 6.5% alchol, $ 12 above, that’s a ridiculous deal.
The bartender was really nice, he asnwered all of my annoying questions.
Must try if you’re in the area.

Absolutely loved visiting this tasting room. The space is no frills and very chill. Really enjoyed the Black Walnut Stout and Imperial IPA. Bartender was very cool and helpful in recommending beers. Overall was a very cool experience for a couple of misplaced Texans. Would definitely go again.

Actually stopped at Bitter and Ester’s on Washington Avenue for some home brew makings with my husband and was talking there to the owner, John and staff who pointed us to KelSo. Drove over and under 15 minutes was sitting at the «bar» in the Brewery thoroughly entertained by Kevin who was working there Saturday afternoon. A couple of tourists were drinking with us and everything that we tried was cold and could not have possibly gotten any fresher. Amazing brews! Got a tour of the place which was incredible and a very impromptu buzz. Try and find KelSo for a very nice afternoon out. Bring a growler for a take home fill up or buy one there. You won’t be sorry!

yes, great brewery. great beer variety. reasonable prices. and very friendly service. I can’t wait to return to fill my growler.

Cool People, Cool Place, Good Beer!

I am so so happy that Kelso finally opened up a tasting room in their brewery. The space is cozy and simple, but it’s in the middle of a brewery! The tap menu is a bit limited but perhaps they’ll expand later. It’s great that they offer larger bottles for sharing too. Prices are extremely fair, especially the growler fills. This will be a local favorite for the foreseeable future.

Visited newly opened tasting room, the beer is great in keeping with the solid fountain Heartland/​Kelso has established in NYC. The tasting room is a great addition to the places to truly enjoy what Brooklyn has to offer when it comes to beer.

Came here for an Oktoberfest event and loved my experience! Professional security, friendly staff and a very well-​run event in general. Looking forward to coming back in the future.

4^th and last stop on my bachelorette brewery crawl!
Kelly Taylor gave us a little tour of the place and overview of their operations. He was really friendly and funny.
It is the largest place we stopped at and you could definitely tell.
My friend got to fill her growler right from one of the big stainless tanks which was pretty neat.
We tried the Pale Ale and Juniper IPA which were both tasty.
I’ve also had the Nut Brown and really enjoy that.
Apparently this place isn’t open to the public but definitely check out their beer if you get the chance.

Kelly Taylor is a respectable gentleman running a great brewing operation for Heartland Brewery, he is also known as «KelSo,» with his personal brewery running out of the same space — which makes great beer that you can find around the city — not locked into a specific restaurant. Now in cans as well!
If you’re ever able to stop by for a tour or just check it out, do so. This place is fantastic… as they’re craft beer royalty.

update: Old review no longer applies, Keslo now cans three kinds of beer under their own name. They are filling growlers again, four days a week (Th/​Fri 5 – 10, Sat 12 – 10, Sun 2 – 8) Kelso IPA has been my favorite beer for years but it’s been increasingly hard to find refills of it, but not anymore. I highly recommend you visit. With six taps and a wide range of recipes they will certainly have something ready to pour and please just about any pallette. Happy days are here, Beer helps!

If you’re lucky enough to get a peek at the monster fridge, you’re in luck.
It’s every alcoholic’s dream: kegs and kegs and kegs of ice cold beer. I almost got lost. If I had my nifty ax pick with me, I probably could’ve thrown one kick ass party.
I’m also still debating if I’d rather be stuck in a freezer full of beer or meat. Will let you know when I decide.

Kelso’s brews are really fantastic, ranging staples like their *un-​f-​ing-​believable* Nut Brown Lager and their Pilser to more unusual brews like Flemish Red Ales and lambics. Compare head-​to-​head (bad pun) with most other beers on tap and you’ll get it (even beers I thought I loved seem bitter, thin, stale, one-​note, etc. in comparison).
Kelso is one of the very few truly local brewers in NYC. From what I have learned, almost all others that claim to brew in NYC/​Brooklyn really are making their beers outside of NYC (even outside of NY).
All that said, these are not precious/​pretentious brews made for tragic hipster locavores only. All the ones I have tried are super-​drinkable, allowing multiple pints over an evening (a key beer requirement). While beer snobs seem to love Kelso, actual beer drinkers are the real winners.
You have to search around for which bars/​restaurants carry Kelso beers, but more seem to be doing so. Right on.

Just had the Newtown Kriek and thought it was an amazing tasting beer. I’ve had some others that I really liked as well. A really good brewery.