Visiting Wilmington NC

@Kevins92: Places >> North Carolina >> Wilmington

From just this week: http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...gton-and-back-to-raleigh.415381/#post-4755422

Just a little older: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/best-bottle-shops-breweries.367989/#post-4365531

 

Wilmington Brewing Co. We loved it. Go there

 

Lighthouse, Fermental, have gotten lucky at Whole Foods.

 

Island beverage is always a place we stop at for some brews on tap! I love their pours they do. No head at all. They make sure that when you order a pint, it's a PINT. I love that.

The owner is knowledgeable about beers and is willing to get anything he doesn't have in stock. Good bottle selection and a laid back atmosphere. I highly recommend checking them out.

Hey Beer bottle shop is also a great bottle shop with a good selection!

Bombers beverage in downtown Wilmington is also a great shop. Caleb knows his stuff! He's legit.

Hope these suggestions help.

 

Seconding Hey!Beer and Wilmington Brewing Company. They're within about half a mile of each other.

 

Any suggestions on specific brews that can be found around the Wilmington area? Will be vacationing soon. I've been to Bomber's Bev and remember getting a NoDa brew that was excellent.

 

What styles are you interested in?

 

That would probably be helpful (doh!). IPAs, DIPAs, Imperial Stouts.

 

I'd recommend a visit to Wilmington Brewing Company for Midtown Swank (IPA), Tropical Lightning (IPA) and Sneaky Goose (IIPA). Their Blair's Breakfast Stout is not an imperial, but it is quite solid for what it is. They do growlers and crowlers.

Hey!Beer is right down the street and stocks Wicked Weed (recommend Pernicious (IPA) and Freak of Nature if they have it (IIPA), Dark Age was a solid BA stout if they still have some of that) Foothills, Highland and NoDa among others. They also have 8 rotating taps, and will typically have a few NC brews that are draft only: http://www.heybeernc.com/draft-growler-list/

If you don't get Oskar Blues where you are, they have a brewery in Brevard NC and Hey!Beer stays well stocked with the infamous Ten Fidy and other OB offerings.

Hieronymus on Market Street for seafood (they have their own fishing boats, fresh daily), Jackson's Big Oak (between WBC and Hey!Beer) for BBQ and Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn on Oleander is a must.

Hope this helps, and enjoy your visit!

 

This is more than helpful, thanks!

 

Rather than start a new thread, I'm going to hop on this one. I'll be back in the area next week (15th-24th) for my annual Oak Island getaway. I've started a thread like this almost every year, and I've learned a lot, enough so that I feel like I'm vaguely familiar with the area and the beer scene, but I always have new questions! Feel free to answer one, all or just ignore me.

Question 1: What new breweries/taprooms have opened up in the last year or so and are worth checking out? I was looking at Bill's Front Porch and Waterline, those two are new to me. Are they worth stopping? Is Good Hops worth the trip, or only worth stopping if I find myself in Carolina Beach?

Question 2: What places in or around the area offer crowlers? I don't want to have to deal with a glass growler (returning it or trying to fly it home), so crowlers are what I'm looking for. I'm very familiar with Wilmington Brewing, and can promise that without a doubt I'll be spending some time there and getting more than my fair share of crowlers - WBC is mine and my fiance's favorite spot in Wilmington, hands down. But what other places offer crowlers? It looks like Check Six does (which is very close to Oak Island) and Good Hops in Carolina Beach might as well, judging by some Untappd pictures. Anything else I'm missing?

Question 3: I assume Hey!Beer is still the go-to place for to-go beer? I'll be stopping there whenever I hit WBC.

Question 4: Obligatory Oak Island/Southport advice question - any locals or folks familiar with the area have any new suggestions? I'm familiar with the Grape & Ale and their selection, but as far I as I know there isn't much else on the island. In Southport I usually check out Check Six. It looks like Flights closed? I can't really tell. I usually end up at places like the Dead End Saloon and Loco Jo's as well.

 

+1 on Bombers and Lighthouse for bottle shops. WW doesn't distro to eastern NC but they both make frequent runs and bring back most of the releases.

 

@iRun2Beer WBC is the only brewery in the area that does crowlers from what I'm tracking. I know that Broomtail, Flytrap and Waterline do not as of April when I was last in the area.

 

@Kevins92 There are actually quite a few breweries in the area now when a few years ago the only option was Front Street Brewery. Front Street is located in the heart of downtown and has a good food selection. It's a great place to grab lunch and try a flight before branching out to the new breweries. I would check out Flytrap which is a few blocks northwest of Front Street and then catch an uber down to Waterline. Waterline has a really cool set up and usually has live bands and food trucks on the weekend. On the way up to Flytrap you can also stop in to Ironclad for a flight. I thought they were fairly average but you might as well stop by to sample the beer and tick another brewery off your list.

Wilmington Beer Co is crushing IPAs right now, I was honestly so impressed with what they were doing. They have a pretty awesome set up with a huge room full of games and a nice outdoors area. Try their IPAs and then grab a couple crowlers to go. The only catch is you will have to drive since they aren't walking distance to downtown. From there just continue north up to Broomtail. They are in a fairly small industrial space but the folks are really nice and the beer is pretty good. The last time I was there the owner's wife was the one working the bar and she was extremely nice and chatted us up while we sampled the beer.

Cape Fear Wine and Beer is a bottle shop / beer bar just up the street from Front Street. They've got both a front and back porch which is nice. After you've checked out Broomtail I'd continue north up 17 and stop at Fermental. It's a little bottle shop that looks almost like a house but they have a great selection and they have about 5 tap lines if you want to stick around. Fermental also has music on certain nights so you can enjoy a beer in their garden while the band plays.

 

Thanks, that confirms what I suspected of the downtown Wilmington breweries. I did see on Untappd checkin pictures that Good Hops in Carolina Beach and Check Six in Southport both do crowlers, so I might have to stop at those. I've been to Wilmington Brewing before, and they are hands down my favorite in the area. I've also been to Flytrap and Check Six, and while they didn't stand up to to WBC, I'm always happy to check out a new brewery and grab a flight.

 

Bombers does crowlers if you find yourself downtown, and they normally have some Waterline or Check 6 beers on, so you might be able to grab some crowlers if other local breweries there. Also, the fried chicken at Bills front porch is delicious, if you're into that sort of thing. Enjoy the trip!

 

More crowlers is nothing but good news for us beer nerds.

 

Wilmington Brewing Company is the best stop in the area for sure and probably the only brewery you really need to hit.

From a bottle shop perspective I really enjoyed my experiences at Palate and Bombers. Both chill places where you can grab a draft and some reasonably priced bottles (Prairie, Wicked Weed).

Ironclad served me a flight of some of the worst beers I've ever had. Absolute dog **** brewery.

 

Thanks for the advice, all.

Flaming Amy's was excellent - visited the location near Carolina Beach a few days ago. I'm heading into town today. Hopefully I can catch some Wicked Weed at either Bomber's Bev or Hey!Beer. The plan is to head to WBC, per several of your suggestions.