Finback Brewery

Had a great time. Went at about 6ish on a Thursday night and nobody was there. Drinks were very cheap and tasty as hell. Wide rage of porters to IPA’s to double IPA. Man that was a good night.
They have a bunch of games and stuff to play when you’re there too. Jenga, Connect Four, Uno. It’s just a great time.
WILL be heading back soon for another couple of rounds SOON.

I’m a big fan of trying new beer, especially when you can go to the source. In constant search of new breweries, I stumbled upon Finback on Unilocal and knew I needed to try it sometime. That «sometime» was yesterday as my buddy and I headed over to see what this brewery was all about. Finback has a very unassuming entrance, but the garage door next to it offering you a view inside (and of the little Finback van) makes it hard to miss. Upon entering you’ll see the chic and stylish bar straight ahead with long picnic-​style tables to the right accompanied with board games to play. There’s also a room to the left with more seating. You can also peer into the back on the right to see where the magic happens (i.e. where the beer is brewed). We sat at the bar and tried a few tasters ($ 2-​$ 3 each) of several of the beers. Each had a great taste and variety of style and flavor. My favorite was The Known Universe which was a gose style and was available in cans of 4 so I made the investment. We only had a little time before we had to go, but I’ll definitely be returning for more from this awesome brewery.

Visit this place, take home a growler, leave super satisfied. And yes, ride your bike!
So glad to see Finback brews at more NYC locations, too…

This place is further than life. It’s situated a few blocks from a massive cemetery in a residential neighborhood, and took us an hour and one bus transfer to get here. When I come back next time, I am definitely biking over taking public transit, and they even have a large bike rack inside the brewery.
I went on a warm Saturday afternoon in May with the hopes of trying their IPAs, my fave beer. About 5 of the 8 beers on tap were IPAs, so I was in beer aficionada heaven. Most of the beers were damn good, except for the coconut IPA which tasted like a cocktail I would have mistakenly consumed one drunken night in college — a shot of Malibu rum dropped into an otherwise perfectly good pint of beer. I left in good spirits with a growler and a brewery sticker which I collect to decorate my commuter bike.
You can bring your own food, and they have a few board games to play (Settlers of Catan, Cards Against Humanity, Jenga etc.)

I’ve been to the majority of the breweries in Brooklyn, Queens, LIC and even a few in the Bronx, and I think Finback takes the cake for my favorite brewery thus far. Massive taproom, dog friendly, cheap and clean, and the best part is; the beer is phenomenal. Bar is white marble and almost synonymous with Tørst, Super clean to say the least. They had 20 taps at 2 – 3 dollars for a 4 or 5oz pour, which is ludicrously low for the quality of beer. The guy behind the bar was a cool dude, super easy to talk to. All in all, it’s a must if you want the best beer NYC has to offer.

Great brewery located on the edge of a quiet residential neighborhood. We were there on a very slow and laid back Sunday and really enjoyed the beers we tried. My friend’s toddler daughter greatly enjoyed the tic tac toe board as well, which made life easier for all of us!
Look forward to visiting again

Location may be hard to get to if you are not local to the area, but definitely worth the trip! Great atmosphere, delicious beers, and friendly bartenders. One of the best breweries in NYC!

Finback brewery is tucked away in a mostly residential part of Ridgewood. The front end of the brewery has a bar, bench seating, and plenty of space to move around. During my visit, Finback had about a dozen drafts on tap with plenty of variety amongst the drafts. Finback has a reputation of offering fresh and quality beers at bars, so I wasn’t surprised to see that the standards were just as good at the brewery. I felt the bar was understaffed; there was only one bartender who had to pour and clean glasses.

Our first stop of the day for Brewhopping. Finback Brewery is located in some neighborhood in Glendale, Queens
The taproom is pretty spacious with lots of communal tables. They’re supposed to have twelve beers on tap, but today they only featured 8.
My friends started with a can of I Feel The Univerrse which is a passion fruit gose sour ale. I hate this one since it’s very tart!
I did a flight of 5. Each sample is like a few bucks. My favorites were Double Sess (ion), witbier with Szechuan Peppercorns, Ginger and Chamomile infused; Brand New Family — very drinkable Kölsch.
I don’t recommend Smooth Beats Miami which is a coconut IPA. It was like you were drinking sunscreen lotion. Yuck!
Overall Finback Brewery is a great place to hang out. You can also order food to be delivered here.

Unexpected warehouse-​style brewery tucked away behind some houses in Queens. The space is huge, the staff is friendly, the featured artwork is fun, and most importantly the beer is excellent! Only problem is getting there… It’s a little easier if you have a car.

Over the course of about five years, likely north of that estimate, microbreweries appear to have morphed into a saturation point across the country, or so it seems.
To me, the saturation never reached the overflowing point in NYC but may be closely reaching that point.
Cooks and Crafts is a yearly event hosted within the walls of Finback and although few vendors were peddling their wares, I thought the idea was adorable and good for the community.
Bellying up to the bar my accomplice and I waited a fairly long time to be addressed. One bartender serving, two others in and out, toweling down spouts, banging away at the point of sale terminal always with their backs to the customers. I honestly couldn’t pick and one of them out of a small crowd.
With only four beers available, at ten minutes of five o’clock on a Saturday early evening, did drain some excitement from my first experience.
Beginning with the Starchild, from label to the liquid contents within the Sapporo-​esq pint, I just didn’t get the citrus musty flavor. Points to be had for the across the four beer board, as the ingredients gave all brews huge body and intense flavors. Double Session (ion) took home the gold for overall best in show.
The fermenter and vats sat in the dark as I really had hoped to gain a closer more illuminated gander. From ownerships perspective, I do understand this not being an available option.
From how I read the overall inner workings, it seemed staffers, manager and ownership were dull to the emotions that should be center stage at such a venue. Not a smile to be had, a smiling comment to be shared, with the one exception of the main bartender who made our first and only Finback experience quite pleasant.

Finback was the lone brewery that my husband and I had not visited in the area. We decided to just make a «quick pit stop» on the way home (back to Boston). Uhhh… that pit stop turned into about 2 hours of us just hanging out and enjoying a great brewery.
The space has a really cool and relaxing warehouse vibe (it is a warehouse) where you can go, relax, eat some free popcorn and play board games. BUT the best part?! Their beers are actually really good! They have some unique and interesting brews and I love what they are doing with their sours.
I have no idea how you would get here on public transportation, but I had a car so I was golden. I will be making a return visit the next time I’m in town and I will be bringing my car-​less friends!

The only thing that would make finback better, is if they were in my backyard. In fact some people have all the luck! Across from residential property, there’s a warehouse… Like many breweries the building is unassuming, enter through the factory door with that paper sign that says finback and throw caution to the wind. Free popcorn and board games are inside… Not in some creepy brown van luring you in with candy sort of way, just welcoming beer drinking sort of way. Finback has some of the best beer around too!
You can order some delivery when you get there and spend some time with the pouters who really tend to know their stuff. The Merch is great and their huge space usually has some sort of art show in the next room so check it out.
Finback is never a disappointment!

Its a nice and spacious brewery. No flights offered just 2.00 per tasting which is good. I liked about 2 out of 6 of them. The location is very out of the way but if your a queens person and/​or can read a map you can figure it out

Finback brewery is a great spot to come and hang out with friends. They have a bunch of tables with benches to accommodate everyone. They also have complimentary board games and popcorn!
Beer is always delicious, and the menu is constantly changing with new beer options!
They also have corn hole!
Love coming here! What a great addition to glendale NY.

Completely legit.
Real. Dank. Serious. Beer.
Board games, free popcorn, order in delivery from local restaurants, Corn Hole (bean bag toss).
Belgian Porter (Duck, Duck, Whale) and Moby Hop (double IPA) were incredible.

4.5 stars…
With the recent craft brewery boom which has hit NYC within the past couple years, Finback has to be hands down one of my favorites. Finback is a bit farther from public transportation but if you’re biking or driving, getting here is a breeze. Aside from free self serve popcorn (and $ 2 bags of chips) they don’t have food here but you can get food delivered here. The space is massive so I doubt they ever get packed so much where you can’t find a spot to hang out and relax. They do have a rotating selection of local art pieces and a number of board games as well as a side room with corn hole. Service was friendly and their beer lists are helpful in describing each of their beers.
As for the beer they had 9 options when I was there, This is a combination of beers that are always available and a rotating selection. 4oz samples are $ 2 – 3 and most pints are $ 6. There’s a little bit for everyone with their beers. Of all the breweries I’ve been to in NYC (of which there are many), Finback was definitely one of my favorites from a beer taste point of view (along with LIC Beer Project and Threes Brewing) so I’ll definitely be back at least a couple times this summer. My two favorites this time around were the Sunday Field Trips, a 7% saison and Double Sess (ion) a 4.8% wit beer. Of course that’s highly subjective so come and try them all and find your own go-​to Finback beer.

We heard of Finback at our local bar, Owl Farm. With our friends, we decided to make that trek to Queens for beer. Yes, I hardly go to queens to see my family. But I would go for beer.
The brewery is hard to get to via mass transit. Word of advice: drive — there is a good amount of parking around.
I am a fan of their IPAs and double IPAs. If you can’t decide, do a 2oz pour for $ 2-​$ 3. The space is huge with plenty of seating around the bar and picnic style seating on one side of the brewery. There is so much space that when we went there was an art exhibit in one of the rooms. I wish I asked about any brewery tours because that would have been great in learning how they started out.
Other great aspects of the brewery:
+ Self Serve popcorn
+ Board games
If it was only closer, I would go every other weekend.

Impressive brewery right here. I’ma just bullet all the highlights to (try to) make this review short and sweet.
Finback:
–parking isn’t a complete shit show
— the brewery space itself is massive, wide-​open, industrial-​feeling, barebones/​no gimmicks
— brewing some adventurous, creative beers (Wit with peppercorns, ginger and chamomile? or one with jalapeño?, I’m a sucker for such uniqueness)
— flights and pours are fairly priced
— brews all impressed me
— there’s a popcorn machine if you get the munchies
As I mention above, the Double Sess (ion) Wit with peppercorns, ginger and chamomile was a standout. Reminded me of a tea but with a bigger body and all the joy that comes with drinking beer.
Another winner (they were all winners like in public schools nowadays, but since in real life we have to choose) was the Cat Love Double IPA. A lot of East Coast breweries are producing these incredibly fruity (think mango, pineapple, passionfruit, etc) IPAs and DIPAs nowadays and Cat Love is one of those. The aroma might remind you of a paleta on a Caribbean island. The beauty to this particular brew is that the taste matched the aroma, which is not always the case. Juicy is another good way to describe this brew. I wanted more.
I also was hoping to find BQE and Moby on tap and even better the Barrel-​Aged BQE, but alas, none were available. Instead there was another beer on tap called Smoke Detection, a smoked sort of English Brown or English mild with a low ABV. I’m a sucker for smoked brews so I loved this, but be warned, such a beer is not for all. The smell reminded me of the taste in my mouth after I’ve been smoking hookah, but the taste was more a medley of campfire, smoked ham and caramel and bread. I noticed this beer was selling in bottles for those interested.
If I lived in the area, I’d probably sign up to for the Community Supported Brewery program which seems similar to what my locals call mug clubs. It seems you get a number of bottled beers throughout the year and possibly save on pours and growlers at the brewery. Finback is doing awesome stuff so I’d be happy to fork over the $.
I will note this place is quite out in the cut and if I weren’t driving and on my way to the airport, I don’t know how I’d have paid a visit. Either way, a great spot, great brewery and I expect they’ll be making lots of waves in NYC in the years to come.

We have been going to Finback for a few weeks now and on each visit we discover something new. They are open for tastings Thurs & Friday from 4PM to 8PM and Saturday afternoons. Check their website for special events.
This week’s new brew was their Autumnator Sour Ale made with Soons Orchards apple cider. Crisp and tart, like biting into a Granny Smith apple but with the flavor of an ale not a cider. Amazing!
My favorite Finback brew is their Archer’s Saison an ABV 8.5% brew. Delicious with a grapefruit and citrus after taste, yummy.
They usually have 10 to 12 brews on tap and offer tasters at $ 2 each. A good way to explore the brew masters craft. One of their current offerings a Barrel Aged BQE, a rich, velvety imperial stout that celebrates 2 of NYC’s boroughs with Coffee from Native Roasters in Queens and Chocolate from Mast Brothers in Brooklyn. Notes of dry roasted coffee, subtle sweetness and chocolatey goodness and hints of vanilla and oak… and bourbon from chilling out in Four Roses bourbon barrels. A really good desert beer, try some you’ll like it.
Most of their brews are available in 32oz and 64oz growlers to take home and enjoy, we always take one of our favorites home with us.
As a mater of fact just try everything they offer, you’ll find one to be your favorite too. Tell them I sent ya…