State of Beer


401A Hillsborough St
Ste 102
Raleigh, North Carolina, 27603-1727
United States
(919) 546-9116 | map
stateof.beer
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Reviewed by VABA from Virginia
4.5/5 rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
A great beer store and tap room. There were about a dozen taps with different N.C. breweries. The store had very a good selection of N.C. breweries as well as beers throughout the USA, a good selection of Belgians including some rare gems. Worth a visit!
May 14, 2021Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania
4.18/5 rDev -5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
4.18/5 rDev -5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
State of Beer was literally across the street from the hotel we stayed at while in Raleigh. Always nice to have beer options within stumbling distance!
Very good selection of brews here, including rare and pricey Black Damnation (1-3) at $42.99 and a ton of North Carolina beers from the likes of Triple C, Zebulon, Haw River and more.
Very clean and neat store, lots of refrigerated bottles. 6-packs, bombers and 12 drafts at the bar of mostly Carolina brews. Food menu as well. I dig this place.
Aug 09, 2017Very good selection of brews here, including rare and pricey Black Damnation (1-3) at $42.99 and a ton of North Carolina beers from the likes of Triple C, Zebulon, Haw River and more.
Very clean and neat store, lots of refrigerated bottles. 6-packs, bombers and 12 drafts at the bar of mostly Carolina brews. Food menu as well. I dig this place.
Reviewed by oldgrowth from North Carolina
3.88/5 rDev -11.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
3.88/5 rDev -11.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
One of my favorite places in Raleigh. Solid tap list, should find something you like, or you can always choose a bottle of something. Maybe the best sandwiches in the city. Get the ghost pepper salami, sub turkey if you like. They play records here. Dozen or so people can sit at the bar. A bunch of picnic tables outside, great in the right weather.
Jul 08, 2017Reviewed by JuliusPepperwood from North Carolina
4.6/5 rDev +4.5%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75
4.6/5 rDev +4.5%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75
Cool mix of bar, bottle shop, and sandwich place. Bar had about 8 options on draft and a small selection of singles you can grab from one of the coolers. Shop had a lot of Wicked Weed sours, a good selection of NC/SC locals, lots of Belgian options, and some solid must haves from larger breweries. We didn't sample any food but it looked good. It's centrally located near Flying Saucer, Crank Arm, and some other great spots but this has now moved to the top of our list.
Jul 05, 2016Reviewed by oldn00b from Virginia
4.74/5 rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4
4.74/5 rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4
Stopped here on a short visit to Raleigh. Absolutely loved this place.
Cool vibe - nice big wooden bar with relatively comfortable seats. Turntable spinning a nice variety of music. I like that it's not just a Spotify playlist or Pandora station like so many places have now and they actually play albums in their entirety. Sets a great tone.
Nice tap list with some great finds - only a couple national brews, most were local or regional. Relatively huge bottle selection - great NC focus but a really well organized selection of national and regional options as well.
5 Star service. I was in from out of town and felt like I basically had a personal shopper who took time to get to know my taste, what I like, and make some great suggestions ("Why get 1 six pack of Westbrook Gose for $10 when you could buy two?" - indeed!). They clearly had things to do running the shop with day-to-day chores but I felt like one employee in particular dropped everything to walk me around and say "you're getting ____, but have you tried _____?" and with zero pretension. Can't speak highly enough of the service.
Food is good - nice sandwiches. A lot of locally sourced items (mustard from Asheville, house made pickles etc.). End of the day they're still sandwiches and I'd eat them again, good but not earth shattering. The service and vibe are the reasons I'd come back and spend more money here than, say, somewhere else nearby with a bigger selection.
Aug 14, 2015Cool vibe - nice big wooden bar with relatively comfortable seats. Turntable spinning a nice variety of music. I like that it's not just a Spotify playlist or Pandora station like so many places have now and they actually play albums in their entirety. Sets a great tone.
Nice tap list with some great finds - only a couple national brews, most were local or regional. Relatively huge bottle selection - great NC focus but a really well organized selection of national and regional options as well.
5 Star service. I was in from out of town and felt like I basically had a personal shopper who took time to get to know my taste, what I like, and make some great suggestions ("Why get 1 six pack of Westbrook Gose for $10 when you could buy two?" - indeed!). They clearly had things to do running the shop with day-to-day chores but I felt like one employee in particular dropped everything to walk me around and say "you're getting ____, but have you tried _____?" and with zero pretension. Can't speak highly enough of the service.
Food is good - nice sandwiches. A lot of locally sourced items (mustard from Asheville, house made pickles etc.). End of the day they're still sandwiches and I'd eat them again, good but not earth shattering. The service and vibe are the reasons I'd come back and spend more money here than, say, somewhere else nearby with a bigger selection.
Reviewed by jjboesen from Maryland
4.43/5 rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
4.43/5 rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
During a recent trip to Raleigh, I literally discovered this new venue during a stumble from Crank Arm to my hotel. Located in a strip mall - like many of Raleigh's venues - the State of Beer is a tasting bar-cum-beer store (along with light food). The taps were exquisitely chosen: Wicked Weed, Heavy Seas, Stone and several local crafts. You can choose from these - or you can forage among the shelved entries and work from there.
The décor was somewhat minimalist, but nothing to distract you (which I suppose is the purpose.) A great place to hang out and not far from Raleigh's other hangouts.
Apr 06, 2015The décor was somewhat minimalist, but nothing to distract you (which I suppose is the purpose.) A great place to hang out and not far from Raleigh's other hangouts.
Reviewed by GJ40 from North Carolina
4.03/5 rDev -8.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
4.03/5 rDev -8.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
A nice little shop not far from The Flying Saucer. The space and inventory is limited but they have some interesting and unusual options. It's well worth a visit and works perfectly with a trip to Tasty.
Mar 17, 2015Rated by Ieatplates from North Carolina
5/5 rDev +13.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
5/5 rDev +13.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
Excellent beer offerings in Raleigh. Shop looks great. Drink and listen to records.
Jan 22, 2015
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