NYC Venue Beer Guide: The cheapest (and most expensive) suds

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As Benjamin Franklin is often misquoted as saying, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Though he was apparently talking about rain water and not beer, the jolly founding father was regardless known to embody this sentiment as he pounded mead and faffed about with barmaids hundreds of years ago. We are with you, Franklin. There's nothing quite like a cold brew, and incidently no better place to imbibe in one than while watching live music in all its numerous forms of entertainment and in its many places to be enjoyed. The only pain? New York venues and their beer pricing. How—praytell—are we supposed to get outrageously blissed out on fermented drinks when our wallets are being punished? The nectar of the gods, despite years of daydreaming, isn't free, and occasionally can be worse than exorbitant. As an effort to help you assess what hell hath been wrought in these times at places you'd go see your favorite bands do their thing, we've collected a list of the cheapest and most expensive beers at a slew of venues in New York. Should this prevent you from going to see the music anyway? Probably not. But will it help you pack the right amount of lunch money before you get the beer pounding started.

285 Kent

Cheapest Beer: $3 PBR
Most Expensive Beer: $5 Sierra Nevada bottle
Most Expensive Drink: $8 Happy Juice (Tequila, pineapple juice, Red Bull, cranberry juice) “Cole from DIIV personally endorsed this one. It's a killer.”

The Bell House

Cheapest Beer: $5 Miller High Life or Dale's Pale Ale
Most Expensive Beer: $8 Guinness

Bowery Ballroom

Cheapest Beer: $5 PBR
Most Expensive Beer: $8 for all other beers

Brooklyn Bowl

Cheapest Beer: $6 Brooklyn Lager and Pilsner
Most Expensive Beer: $8 Brooklyn Blast

Cameo Gallery

Cheapest Beer: $5 Cameo Light (can)
Most Expensive Beer: $8 Duvel (bottle)

Death By Audio

Cheapest Beer: $3 PBR
Most Expensive Beer: $5 Red Stripe or Lagunitas IPA

Glasslands

Cheapest Beer: $4 Bud, Rolling Rock, or Coors Light
Most Expensive Beer: $7 Brooklyn Lager tallboy, Stella, Goose Island, Hoegaarden

Highline Ballroom

Cheapest Beer: $7 for all bottled beers

The Knitting Factory

Cheapest Beer: $4 Rolling Rock or PBR
Most Expensive Beer: $8 Guinness or Sixpoint (can)

Legion Bar

Cheapest Beer: $4 Atomic Lager (draft), Rolling Rock, Tecate (cans), Miller High Life, Bud, Bud Light (bottles)
Most Expensive Beer: $8 Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale

The Living Room

Cheapest Beer: $5 Coors Light
Most Expensive Beer: $7 Sierra Nevada, Allagash, Guinness, Goose Island

Mercury Lounge

Cheapest Beer: $5 cans of PBR, Genessee Cream Ale draft
Most Expensive Beer: $9 Guinness

Music Hall of Williamsburg

Cheapest Beer: $4 PBR
Most Expensive Beer: $7 Magic Hat, Heineken, Sierra, Sixpoint, Strongbow, Guinness tallboys, Brooklyn Lager, Crispin Cider, Newcastle

The Rock Shop

Cheapest Beer: $3 Rolling Rock (can)
Most Expensive Beer: $8 Brooklyn Blast (draft)

Rockwood Music Hall

Cheapest Beer: $4 Miller High Life
Most Expensive Beer: $9 Schneider Weiss or Adventius

Santos Party House

Cheapest Beer: $5 Budweiser (bottle)
Most Expensive Beer: $8

Silent Barn

Cheapest Beer: $4 Tecate
Most Expensive Beer: $6 Brooklyn Lager

The Studio at Webster Hall

Cheapest Beer: $5 Coors Light
Most Expensive Beer: $8 Brooklyn Lager