Three Needs Brewery & Taproom

 

Nice local New England tap selection. Good spot for a slice of pizza and a pint.

Three Needs Brewery & Taproom has so much architectural charm to it that it's almost a must visit: wood floors, wooden beams, arched ceilings, exposed brick and beam - it's very comfortable, lodge-like with a loft feel, and even hobbit-like. There are two pool tables and foosball which seem to get a lot of use, plenty of bar rails if you can't find a spot to sit, and an outside area. It's quite nice and comfortable with the mixed crowd of students, workers, and regular Joe's that Burlington is known for (until later when it's all college). The down side is that there's no food, and they're currently mostly pouring local beers that you can find anywhere with nary a house beer in sight. Hopefully that will change.

Really a dirty bar with a fair beer selection

 

Nice spot!! Good vibe and good people!

This watering hole has pizza and mundane beer.

This stinking dump does not brew anything except tasteless music and stench. Don't bother coming here.

 

 

 

Still not brewing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have moved to a new location and they are not currently brewing their own beer, which was a surprise to me. They don't expect to be brewing again for another year or so.

For what it is, a beer bar, this place is not worth visiting. The selection is pretty basic and boring. The most interesting beer I could find to drink was Allagash White. Nothing against that beer (it is great) but you can find that at basically every bar in VT.

The place is dark and very unfriendly feeling. Service was good enough but I had my quick pint and left. Prices weren't all that reasonable for what this place is.

We had a little trouble finding this place, I guess they have just recently moved so don't go to the College st location go to the Pearl St address next door to Fu Da Chinese restaurant. This place doesn't look like much from the outside, it looks like a house sandwiched between two bigger buildings. Its a nice open space inside with high ceilings and exposed wood adorned with breweriana. A small loft up above and a large area towards the back with 2 pool tables and a Foosball table. Small L shaped bar sits against the right had wall. Decent tap selection of maybe 12 with a focus on VT brews. The night we went they only had one house brew on tap, a Munich Lager that was decent. I'm not sure if they are done brewing or if they are behind from the move? No food served and a college bar type feel to it. Prices seemed good.

My fiancee and I really enjoyed Three Needs. After coming from the Vermont Pub and Brewery, which had a very family/touristy vibe, this place was the perfect antidote. Can't say what it's like in here on a weekend evening...probably pretty nuts...but on a quiet fall Sunday it was perfect. 2 TVs over the bar were showing 2 NFL games at key moments which I enjoyed but the sound was off and it's definitely NOT a sports bar..more of a dive if nothing else, with a pool table and darts in the back. About 10 total customers while we were here.

The bartender was very cool and friendly, chatty enough but not too much, and gave us a few free tasters to boot. The beer was really top notch and, not to pile on but, much better overall than the things we had at VPB. Prices were nice too...I think 4 or 5 bucks a pint. We had Super Chocolate Thunder Porter, Ich Bin Ein Berliner Weisse, and Scottish Kilt (I think) and they were all extremely well made and tasty. They also had maybe 6-10 guest taps of things like Stone and Long Trail.

Don't miss this one. It's well within walking distance - a few blocks - from VPB and American Flatbread.

Can't add much to the previous reviews, but I wanted to contribute because I did like the place. It's a dive with nice house brews. Went on a Sunday evening while visiting town with a small group and there was maybe 3 other people there and 10 when we left. Bartender Troy was a nice guy and paid attention when we had an empty glass, but unfortunately he didn't know much about the beers when asked. He did give us his 3 needs notebook to contribute to, which was fun. We had beers I can't find on here, but which were pretty good - a Vienna style and the Sorachi IPA, which had an interesting dill aftertaste. We enjoyed a few and moved on to our next stop.

Been here a few times now and could have sworn that I've written a review previously but I was mistaken. This place screams dive bar....lots of local college kids....lots of straight up drunks....cheap pints....a pay ppol table you can use for free because the glass panel is removed....loud (but good) music, etc.

Had the pleasure of meeting Dan this time who was a great bartender...perhaps the hardest working bartender in the state!

Selection is limited but enjoyable. The chocolate thunder porter is a must and the Ich Bin Ein Berliner was enjoyable.

Pints were less than $4 which is decent for the area.f

This place is a bit rough. There is a pool table and pretty much a drunk crowd. I was in a foul mood because of my experience at Flatbread (read that review) and went to 3 needs. I had the extra stout, which I really enjoyed. The atmosphere was a real turn off, although it was pretty harmless. I'm just not into the drunken early thirties crowd. The $3.50 pints were as cheap as any I can remember. The samples were very generous and didn't cost anything. That's my kind of place. High marks on service. They had only 3 of their house beers on tap when I was there.

Ya good spot for a beer if in Burlington! Don't go out of your way to hit it on a weekend. Way to packed with college phish kidss and girls who like girls (not that thats is a bad thing at all!). They do have good in house beers on the regular! No food and not a lot of room to move around! Not good for big parties but a good place for two or three!
Great place for early in a night! good locals at certain times! The pool table is always packed But duff hour on week days is not to be missed! cheep 1$ drafts for the hour! big simpsons fans

Stopped by with friends on a thursday late afternoon. The brewpub is attractive when you first walk in. Walls are adorned with great Vermont beer signs and musical acts, and a little Simpson's shrine next to the bar.

Beer selection was pretty good. An all Vermont line up which was really cool. Had the Magic Hat Single Chair which was good, along with a few of their own brews. IPA was good along with their porter and really reasonable prices.

Only down side to the brewpub was the level of the music playing that was too loud and made conversation a bit hard. The pool table when in use made it difficult to get to the bathrooms.

The seating was ok, and was lucky enough to get a corner window booth (only 2 their), though an hour later it was packed. Service was very good and really didn't have to wait for a beer. The beers were served in standard pint glasses and I didn't really see any other style glasses there, though there may have been tulips.

A great quick after work place that makes good beer, but not an evening go to place.

Somewhat away from the other beer destinations of Burlington, Three Needs (I know not what these are) is a small, raucous establishment that serves as a hangout for drunken students, local drunks and tattooed ne'er-do-wells.

And all the action takes place in a single, tightly-packed room; there is bar of moderate proportions on one side, a few tables on the other and a mandatory pool table near the restrooms in the rear. In fact, one must zig and zag through the Minnesota Fats wannabees to get to the bathroom.

There is a small selection of underwhelming house beers along with the mandatory regional crafts, so it won't be a complete waste of your valuable drinking time. My friend and I visited during the usual Saturday night rituals, so it was a bit of a crowd, but a well mannered one it was. Nothing was spilled, nobody was cursed at, and nobody went to the hospital. All in all, Three Needs is a quaint dive, but one unable to provide any reason to stay beyond a single pint. After all, this is Burlington where so much more awaits a thirsty Beer Advocate.

I was most excited about this place because they had a sour red ale on tap. I love this rarely-brewed style and this was a great sour red.

The location itself was fine for me - small crowded and loud - so probably not for everyone. But I was there for the beer, not the atmosphere. But if your looking for great beer and a good 'bar scene' you couldn't go wrong here. If you want a quieter place, I'd still go for the beer, but stick to non-peak hours.

Even with the crowd, the staff was friendly and attentive. The decor was very unusual.

OK, so we had to hit this place just to try it. Kind of knew it wouldn't really be my kind of place...being an old fart and all. I can see why some love this place...Duff, for example. Loud music and a divey cool atmosphere. But, I tried a few of their house beers and wasn't too impressed. The old ale was OK , but a bit too buttery and the porter was OK , but was super buttery. This is a really popular place and was pretty crowded at 5pm....Duff time still in gear.... but 3/4 of my beer consumed and it was....off to Flatbread !

I live in Burlington and this is one of the bars along with Vermont Pub and Brewery and American Flatbread that is worth going to. It is a relaxed atmosphere usually with classic rock (yes it can be loud, but its a bar in a college town) and there is always someone up for a game of pool.
There is a nice selection on tap of their own brews (try the chocolate thunder porter, the sour red, or any of their others) as well as a nice mix of other locals. There is also a good selection of different bottled beers.
A nice bar that has some really unique beers that is really cheap.
Avoid the other bro bars downtown and hit this or VPB up.