If you find yourself in the middle of North Carolina, between Winston-Salem and Raleigh/Durham, I recommend that you drive through the picturesque town of Burlington. It is what you think of when you think classic little town “main street”. I met up with a friend of mine and we decided to try Burlington Beer Works.

They are open:

Sunday 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Monday Closed

Tuesday – Friday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm

Saturday 10:00 am – 10:00 pm

The little red X is where the little courtyard is where we took the photo at the bottom of this page. The large X is where I parked in a free parking lot. There is parking all along the streets, but from 9-5 it is 2 hour only and is mostly all parallel.

From the website www.burlingtonbeerworks.coop- “Welcome to North Carolina’s first cooperative brewery and restaurant with the aim of securing a shared network of local and regional partnerships made up of farmers, producers, and service professionals. Our goal is to brew great beer, but more importantly we believe in empowering the people of our community to collaborate, and leverage the collective effort of our organization in becoming an integral part of Burlington’s future expansion.”

They have a main dining room (which is where we sat because it was a little windy out), an outside seating area, and an entire second floor that offers a rooftop patio, private dining room that seats 16 people and is complete with a second-floor bar. There is no room rental fee, they just ask that you meet a minimum food and beverage spend.

They also offer to host your Corporate Events, private parties, luncheons, etc.

They offer full meals or snack breaks, custom bar packages, coffee and beverage stations and can include the following amenities:

• Projector package with a 100” projection screen and projector

• Wireless presenter remote with laser pointer

• PA system with handheld microphone

• Coat check attendant (for $100)

• Printing & copies for $.25 per copy

• Flip chart with Post-it style pads and markers ($75)

• Stand along flip chart & markers ($50)

We each decided to try a flight of beer so that we could try a variety of what they had to offer.

I tried the:

• BLACKBERRY HEFEWEIZEN; fruity & delicious 5.8%

• HAZY IPA #9; passion fruit, stone fruit, and citrus. 6.5%

• MEXICAN LAGER; crisp, light tasting, refreshing 4.5%

• GUAVA BERLINER WEISSE; lightly sweet, tart & tangy, a crushable intro to sour beers 4.3% (my favorite)

She tried the:

• AKW NITRO COFFEE STOUT; bright coffee fl avor, roasted malt, clean fi nish 6.5%

• MAIBOCK; malty with little hop bitterness 6.4%

• AMBER ALE; light caramel, crisp fi nish 5.3%

• GOLDEN LAGER; a beefed-up helles, balanced, refreshing 5.4%

We also had an early dinner. They have a decent variety of options including vegetarian options. Some of the heartier options are not available until after 4pm. Click the button below to see the full menu of food and alcohol.

We walked about 4 doors down and passed an ice cream shop (which we indulged in), another pub where they were doing trivia, and an adorable courtyard where we took this picture. So, if you are passing through and looking for a nice crisp beer and a little pub fare, stop by Burlington Beer Works.