Barrel Culture Brewing and Blending

Brewery, Bar, Beer-to-go

4913 S Alston Ave
Durham, North Carolina, 27713
United States

// CLOSED //
BEER STATS
Average:
4.16
Beers:
132
Ratings:
248
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.13
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
19
pDev:
19.13%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by WheelsPSU:
Photo of WheelsPSU
Rated by WheelsPSU from New Jersey

4.14/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4

Oct 13, 2019
More User Ratings:
Photo of VABA
Reviewed by VABA from Virginia

4.37/5  rDev +5.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5
A great brewery with a great selection of Stouts and sours. They had a few IPAs as well as a few guest taps. A quiet relaxing atmosphere to drink good beer. They had huge jars with pretzels, goldfish, hiking trail snacks which the bar tender served when asked. Worth a visit!
Feb 16, 2020
Photo of Tony210
Reviewed by Tony210 from New Jersey

4.64/5  rDev +12.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75
Really nice place, very clean and well kept. Beer selection is very good. They specialize in sours, so that is all they make. But they do have a few guest taps so you can get a local ipa or stout. Bartender was very informative and nice, no problem getting samples. They had something I had never seen before: beer slushees. Worth driving to try - very unique and delicious. Looking forward to going back.

9/28/19
Sep 28, 2019
 
Rated: 4.32 by DVMin98 from North Carolina

May 26, 2019
Photo of Sabtos
Reviewed by Sabtos from Ohio

4.45/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
This is an amazingly beautiful little brewery taproom.

It might look small from the outside, but they do offer outside seating when it's warm enough, and there's a decent space inside as well. It's a clean modern sort of rustic contrasted by a super cool, futuristic whaleslayer tap wall. The bathroom is separated from the taproom with a short walk outside and up some stairs into what also serves as the production room.

Beer comes out of those beautiful tap handles at a quality that's second to none, with an amazing feel to all their wonderful beers. Then, of course, are the slushees. The taplist may be small, but everything is unique and it will keep the geek in you busy for a good couple hours.

Their beer releases also tend to hang on for a week or two at least, so you might be able to sneak out with a few relatively limited bottles as well.
Apr 24, 2019
Photo of Sludgeman
Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

3.89/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 3.75
Visited early, just before dinner time.

V - A spartan but nice tasting room with plenty of outside seating (it was a bit cold for me that day). 3.75

Q - I was not overwhelmed with the beers I tried. 3.75

Ser - Fine friendly service, but only one person behind the bar and no table service. 4.25

Sel - Just sours/wild ales and one NE IPA the two days I visited, but a few guest taps. 3.75
Feb 06, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by terry33 from Virginia

Jan 16, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by kjkinsey from Texas

Dec 14, 2018
Photo of Dragginballs76
Reviewed by Dragginballs76 from South Carolina

4.3/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Stopped in on a Saturday probably around 3 PM they had just had a bottle release place was packed. I was worried that we would not be able to get a seat but plenty of room. Inside outside deck picnic tables. Parking was a little rough parked next door. think they had 8 or 10 beers on draft including a few that were not theirs, lines moved quickly fast super friendly service.
Nov 01, 2018
Photo of PhineasMcClintock
Reviewed by PhineasMcClintock from Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25
Really awesome place. Tasting room has a really cool vibe. Bartender was awesome and knowledgeable and we chatted about beers for awhile. Beers were great and we happened upon a bottle release at opening which was cool for us. Overall, an excellent experience. Put Barrel Culture on your short-list.
Oct 26, 2018
Photo of Knapp85
Reviewed by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

4.14/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Had to stop in here to check out the WhaleSlayer tap handles. The beers were interesting to say the least. I feel like they make a very simple sour beer and add boat loads of juice to them to get there to the flavor profile they're looking for. Anyhow, the place is rather nice inside. They seem to do a good amount of business too. The slushies are kind of trending right now so they're doing that sort of thing. The service was good and the beers were too. It's a neat place and worth checking out.
Oct 04, 2018
Photo of dbrauneis
Reviewed by dbrauneis from North Carolina

4.51/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
While there is nothing that really stands out about the space in general - converted industrial building way off the beaten path in RTP. There are a handful of tables in a rather small interior with a decent sized bar and a couple of picnic tables outside. The decor is minimalist and has a lot of wood that mimics barrels. Music was playing at reasonable volume and conversation was comfortable. There were 2 TVs but one was off and the other was showing the Masters with the volume off. It had a comfortable feel to the place.

The service (both bartenders) were friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the beers (and beers in general). Good conversation.

When I visited they had 10 of their own beers and 2 guest taps available - the guest taps were an IPA and a Witbier. As you would expect, all of the Barrel Culture beers available were wild/sour ales - 2 Summer Jams, 7 Game Overs, and a Barrel-Aged Cosmo. 2 were hopped and all of the others were fruited - definitely in the Florida Weisse vein.

** Barrel Culture does not fill growlers but has some bottles available for sale some of the time (until they run out). When I visited they had two different bottles available (two different Game Over variants).
Apr 07, 2018
Photo of Victory_Sabre1973
Reviewed by Victory_Sabre1973 from Minnesota

4.29/5  rDev +3.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
First time here. The seating is a bit light, and I van see this place packed. Service was top notch. 10 beers on tap when I was here, 4 of them guest taps.
Nice place to sit and enjoy a beer.
Mar 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4.32 by HeartofMiami from Florida

Feb 02, 2018
 
Rated: 4.66 by Even_More_Dan_K from North Carolina

Dec 08, 2017
 
Rated: 4.03 by CavemanRamblin from North Carolina

Oct 28, 2017
Photo of fehrminator
Reviewed by fehrminator from North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
The location is a bit out of the way but this place is definitely worth a stop. The interior is nice but nothing mind-blowing and a little antiseptic. The beer though, whoa. Delicious fruited goses and berliners and a nice variety on the guest taps. My favorite brewery in the Triangle right now. Pro tip: hit Kyoku Na'Mean around the corner for their banh mi before or after a visit. Trust me.
Oct 06, 2017
 
Rated: 1 by bcp5296d from North Carolina

Aug 15, 2017
 
Rated: 5 by atrocity from Virginia

Aug 07, 2017
Barrel Culture Brewing and Blending in Durham, NC
Brewery rating: 4.16 out of 5 with 248 ratings