Author: timandjohnna

The only brewery for a 10-mile radius, we kicked off our weekend this Friday night in a small and historic little town 15 minutes from camp. Located on what looks to be the main street through town and named after when the town was founded, we drank The Rock blonde ale and the Hawk Power amber ale.

2nd time’s a charm? We stopped at this brewery earlier but it was 20-25 minute wait just to have a beer. No way so we decided to come back closer to closing (at 8:30) and got in right away. We now understand the wait earlier – very limited table seating and the bar is closed due to Covid. We quickly ordered a Public Pils german pilsner and a Hammer Light IPA so we could wrap up the evening and head back to our campsite.

So the theme with these breweries close to the beach leans toward restaraunts that make their own beer rather than true breweries. Filled with the dinner crowd surge, we once again managed to avoid the 20 minute wait for a table and got the last seats at the bar. Half of the 14 beers on draft were guest taps proving our theory of not being a true brewery. We reluctantly ordered the Dunkelalz wheat ale and the Loblolly blonde ale and were pleasantly surprised how good they actually were. So good was the beer that we stuck around & ate dinner then had the No Bad Days lager. The Sloppy Joes Egg Rolls were the bomb!

Way, way, way to commericalized for our liking but what would you expect from a touristy beach town? Located just 10 minutes from the beach, this busy restaurant & brewery has something for everyone. Full kitchen, merchandise, to-go beer and of course a bar. We got lucky to get a seat at the bar since table times were 20 minutes. We wasted no time ordering up a Hammock Easy blonde ale and a Hand of Buddha cream ale. Just what the doctor ordered after a 4 1/2 hour drive from VA Beach.

This brewery is practically on-base with fighter jets flying overhead constantly. Owned by an ex-police officer in honor of those who serve, this place is decorated with over 500 badges from around the country and the bathrooms were setup like a prison cell with kots and all. Both master brewers are also ex-cops and were actually sitting at the table next to us enjoying the fruits of their labors. A group of people we met at the last brewery came walking in while we were drinking our Kolsch 9 & Station 12 Fire Engine Red ale and it was game-on for the night!

Just our kinda place! This funky little 70’s themed tasting room has the brewing operations right inside. With about a dozen beers on the menu, we went with the Munchen helles lager and the False Cape red ale. Both were very smooth & flavorful and were the perfect compliment to our famous fish tacos from Gringo’s next door.

Our 2nd stop close to the beach brings us to a groovy little tasting room nestled behind a group of condos with limited parking and cranking out some Duran Duran. This place was just getting rolling when we popped in for a Vicious Brown Ale and a Gogh Blonde german pils. Just about the time we took a seat, the Capt. Crabby food truck rolled it. We were tempted to try it but finished our beers and moved on before he was finished setting up. Next time Captain!

Finally, a brewery close to the beach. We kicked off our Friday afternoon with sunshine and beers. The Epic Lung Capacity and Safety Dance pilsners we the perfect way to get things rolling for the weekend. TGIF!

So we think we have been to this place before but can’t find anything in our blog. We think we were here a few years back but couldn’t connect to wifi so this time we are in luck. We started off enjoying the Euphonia german pils and the Munich Dunkel dark lager but quickly realized this place is way too commercialized with loud music, family’s having a night out and basically a Chuck-E-Cheese for adults. A “destination”, not a brewery. We did order some wings and a crab cake sandwich which were pretty good.

It doesn’t get any better than snacking on Dot’s Pretzels and drinking beer. Our 2nd stop brings us to a veteran-owned brewery just on the outskirt of the Oceana Naval Air Base. This place has a good selection of beers so we went with the Parselplate pils and the What About Us Lagers dunkel. Both were very tasty.