White Street Brewing Co., Wake Forest

Bring your friends and some room to drink a pint or two. White Street Brewing has some great beer to drink and you can get them about as fresh as they come here. There's a lot of room for -- so it makes a good gather spot as part of your night out, but also, there's a lot of room so you'll want to pack your own atmosphere (hence the friends--remember, this is a brewery first). Kudos to them for allowing you to bring in food. Darts and a couple of TVs provide the background for a long session of drink and talk -- and both the bar and the bathroom were wonderfully clean. Best of all is the bar staff, who are laid back, friendly, and always have a couple of good opinions to give you on what to drink.

White Street Brewing Co. is located in the heart of downtown Wake Forest. It opened in 2011, which gosh, seems almost like yesterday. I was there for opening day...with my first kid in tow in a baby bjorn carrier...you guys remember those?! Wake Forest's first brewery, I was super excited! It brought some much needed life and exuberance back into downtown and I feel like it started a mini-revitalization of Wake Forest. They always have a line up of staples, which they call their Main Street series...a kolsch, a couple IPAs, a Beglian Triple, and a Scottish amber. And more often then not, they have seasonal classics or one-offs on the tap menu. The brewery is built right into the tap room, which is cool to sit there and have a beer and look over your shoulder right where some if it is brewed. The reason I say some of it, is because they have a larger production facility close by that handles brewing their regular line-up, which you can see in many restaurants and most grocery stores. There is no food on site, but they routinely have food trucks outside and there are several restaurants you can grab food from downtown and bring right inside...or bring a picnic from home. They have darts, a shuffleboard and sports are usually playing on the TVs. White Street also headlines and supports several local events and clubs...including the ever popular Friday Night on White concert series and hosts the White Street Brewer's Guild (a homebrew club I helped found). If you are ever in downtown Wake Forest, stop by, grab a beer (or a wine or craft soda), take in the rustic history of the building and brewery setup and say hi to a stranger...they just might become your friends✌️