At It Again: Passing Through Virginia Beach

The Birch in Norfolk is a great beer bar.

 

As far as Norfolk goes, the Birch is top of the line. No real food menu though, mostly cheeseboards. Smartmouth Brewing is right around the corner from here. The previous co-owner of the Birch opened up a place on Colley Ave. called Eva's within the past year that also has a similar selection.

Cogan's (pizza/bar food) on Colonial Ave. has a good selection of taps. There's also a trio of restaurants all owned by the same guy (Tortilla West, Aw Shucks, Chow) that has smaller but still good tap selection as well as a great bottle list.

 

The Public House on Colley Ave. in Norfolk is awesome. The beer list is (I believe) exclusively Virginia beers, so while not the best taps you've seen, there are some good ones there that you won't see elsewhere. And the food is phenomenal. It's a gastropub, so tons of great takes on classic bar food (think homemade pretzels with cheese sauce, wings, tater tots, sandwiches, lots of tasty things with bacon, etc.)

EDIT: So checking their beer menu online, apparently I lied about the all local thing. Just now, there were actually very few locals, although I remember there being a ton when I was there last. Based on the online menu, I think they are only listing bottles, and I have a feeling the tap list may be mostly locals. Either way, the food is worth stopping for anyway IMO.

 

I wanted to check out Birch when I spent a couple days in Norfolk/VA beach earlier this year, but the gf (at the time) didnt want to since she didnt like beer. Needless to say we arent dating anymore lol.

 

Agree with what has been mentioned above, Public House has good food/solid drafts, also fyi Chow in Norfolk a few mins down the road had BCBS on tap Saturday when I was there, and definetly do not skip Birch.
Also since you are in VB, I recommend stopping by Grape and Gourmet for bottles to take home, by far the best selection in the area.

 

@Nole_Brew Not sure if you've passed through yet, but I'd like to recommend my favorite place for both food AND great beer: 80/20 Burger Bar

http://www.8020burgerbar.com/

 

If you are in or near Norfolk, stop by O'Connor's Brewery. Dismal is a solid black IPA.

 

Is that the half assed "craft beer bar" at the beach?

 

VB is large but If it was at the oceanfront we would not be surprised, most places are not at all craft focused. It's improving with spots like Home Republic but has a ways to go.

 

I second the recommendation on Dismal. Had it last time through Va. and it was a great surprise.