Newly-Opened Craft Culture Is a Community Hub for Ridgewood Beer Lovers

Miriam Mosher

@WildMuscadine

Craft Culture opened exactly a week and a day ago, and yet it already feels like a community spot with dedicated regulars and definitive neighborhood feel. Nestled among the bustling businesses on Myrtle Avenue, Craft Culture has both the intimate feeling of a neighborhood spot and the clean lines and curated aesthetic of the Brooklyn craft beer scene (think Torst).

Founded by Queens native Cesar Andrade, Craft Culture combines his passion for beer with his love of Ridgewood. Cesar told Bushwick Daily that he first fell in love with Ridgewood when he moved off of Fresh Pond Road back in 2011. He realized, however, that the craft beer options were limited in the area, and he wanted to create a place that had quality brews in an accessible environment.

The small room features a wrap-around bar and a few long tables and nooks as well as a wall of fridges for to-go beer. A large chalkboard lists the 16 rotating taps and demonstrates a dedication to the local beer scene featuring breweries such as Big Alice, KCBC, Rockaway, Bridge and Tunnel, Interboro and more!

Craft Culture features a menu of bar basics made with quality ingredients. I chowed down on the Craft Bites, a revised version of a Coney Island favorite: local sausages fried in a cornmeal batter. The menu features even more classic bar snacks like German pretzels and empanadas.

Reflecting on his first week, Cesar said that he is “happy, surprised and humbled” by the support and excitement. “It’s been great,” he said, “it’s so satisfying to learn that Craft Culture is well received. The people have been amazing as customers…and neighbors. It’s an honor to be part of the Ridgewood community and have something like this in my own back yard.”

I had a hard time believing that Craft Culture has only been open a week. I was immediately told by the self-described “resident asshole” at the bar that no one sits alone here, that he simply doesn’t allow it.

Customers, already back for their second and third visit started telling me, unsolicited, that Cesar makes the place. It’s a neighborhood spot, they all said, boasting about Cesar’s Queens roots and the way he already remembers their names. And I have to agree, I was immediately made to feel at home.

This weekend, Craft Culture is throwing a Grand Opening party with $2 off all taps, so it’s the perfect time to get over there and get friendly with some of the bar’s first regulars!

Featured image courtesy of Craft Culture. All other images by Miriam Mosher for Bushwick Daily.