Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood has undergone a transformation over the past 20 years from a gritty industrial area into a cool cultural hub with numerous art galleries, nightclubs and restaurants. Now two new craft breweries, Eckhart Beer Co. and Niteglow Brewery, are harkening back to Bushwick’s industrial past as one of the country’s major centers of brewing European-style lagers.
Eckhart Beer Co., which opened in September 2025, offers five year-round beers including German-style pilsner and Helles lager, and Czech-style pale, amber and dark lagers. Founder Nick Meyer, who has over 20 years of experience in fine dining and hospitality in San Francisco and New York, including as a chef, said he was drawn to the European lager tradition. “Lager is the ‘volks bier’ that people enjoy every day,” said Meyer, “and our goal at Eckhart is to reproduce faithful versions of these beer styles.”
Eckhart’s taproom is a mix of European sleekness and traditional beer hall, with communal tables in the front room, cozy booths in the main room and a striking bar with three large serving tanks suspended above. “We wanted a taproom that draws people in,” said Meyer, “including having food offerings to match our beer.” Eckhart uses Czech-made LUKR taps, which are becoming widely used in the U.S., to ensure perfect pours for its lagers. LUKR taps are used on Long Island by Lunchbox Brewing Company in Bellmore.
Eckhart’s seasonal German beer styles include hearty Altbier, made with Vienna malt and Hallertau hops, and full-bodied Festbier and Marzen lagers. Head brewer Adam Wolfe, who oversees the 10-barrel brewhouse, studied at the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London and has brewed across the U.S., Australia and Europe.
Bushwick’s European brewing tradition dates back over 170 years, with famous breweries such as Schaefer and S. Liebmann (maker of Rheingold) founded in the mid-1800s by German immigrants. In 1898, when the City of Brooklyn merged with New York City and became one of the five boroughs, there were over 40 breweries in Bushwick and nearby Williamsburg, with an estimated 10-20% of U.S. beer being brewed in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn’s breweries never recovered from Prohibition and increased competition from national giants led to closings, with Schaefer being the last to close in 1976. It took 20 years for brewing to return to the borough with the opening of Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg, and another 20 years before brewing returned to Bushwick with the opening of Kings County Brewers Collective (KCBC) in 2016.
Founded by three homebrewers, KCBC has grown to have nearly 30 full-time employees and brews a wide variety of beers, mostly pale ales and IPAs. One of KCBC’s core beers is Infinite Machine pilsner, brewed with 100% premium German pilsner malt and a blend of European hops including Czech Saaz and German Saphir.
Eckhart Beer and Niteglow Brewery are taking the focus on European lagers to the next level. Brewer Jonny Ifergan co-founded Niteglow, which opened its taproom in February 2004 in a space that serves as a coffee shop, Dayglow, during the day. Niteglow’s taproom also uses LUKR taps for its lagers.
Niteglow is a New York State-licensed farm brewery and Ifergan uses New York-grown malts and hops in his beers, including a Czech-style pale lager made with barley from Mosher Farms in upstate Bouckville, New York. Other European beers include malty Czech-style amber and dark lagers and German-style pilsner, hefeweizen, and Kölsch, a unique hybrid beer style fermented with ale yeast but conditioned like a lager.
Eckhart also brews Kölsch, which originated in the northern German city of Cologne, where it is served in tall, thin glasses called Stange. In December, Eckhart launched a monthly event with Cologne-style Kölsch service, in which servers carry the Kranz, a crown-shaped tray full of Stange, looking for empty glasses to replace. Patrons are given a coaster, called a Deckel, that is marked to keep track of how many Stange are consumed.
Eckhart’s Kölsch service offers the menu from executive chef Frederick Maurer, featuring house-made potato chips with caramelized onion dip, soft pretzels with beer cheese, bratwurst or falafel dog sandwiches, and the deliciously rich spaetzle gratin. Maurer trained in charcuterie in Paris and honed his skills at Bar Boulud, BKLYN Larder, Dickson’s Farmstand Meats, and NoMad Diner. Eckhart also has a weekend brunch menu that includes German-style puffed pancakes.
Bushwick is located on the border of Brooklyn and Queens, and is easily accessible via the Long Island Expressway. The trip is well worth it for Long Islanders looking to go back in time and experience authentic European beers in Brooklyn.
BUSHWICK BREWERIES: Kings County Brewing Collective is located at 381 Troutman St, more info at kcbcbeer.com; Niteglow Brewery is located at 8 Wilson Ave., more info at niteglowbeer.com; Eckhart Beer Co. is located at 545 Johnson Ave., more info at eckhartbeer.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.
