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So we are winding down on the possible breweries to visit in the area that are no more than 45 minutes from camp. The furthest one yet is this one – the only brewery in the one-horse town of Kernersville just outside of Winston-Salem. There are really only two beers on the menu that really interest us: the Korners Kolsch-ville ale and the Little Brother Dunkel Me Shirley. The Kolsch was outstanding as expected but the Dunkel was interesting to say the least. While it tasted pretty good, it was, you could say, hazy, which is quite unusual for a Dunkel. It kinda looked like muddy water!

We are 2 for 2 today with great beer. One mile north of the last brewery on Main Street put us at another small tasting room cranking out yummy brews. We were momentarily disappointed upon arrival with the beer selection but quickly realized we had walked into Sweet Old Bill’s next door which was NOT a brewery. After politely being informed we were not in the right place, strolled out the door and around the fence to order up a Red Rockers amber lager and a No. 80 dark lager. Both beers were awesome especially with the K-Vegas Hot & Salty Nuts.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a fruit-based beer but the Cherry Marzen is outstanding. We are big Marzen fans but not cherry fans so we were pleasantly surprised when we tasted it and found very little fruit flavor. The Satellite Smash IPA was also outstanding with a smooth sweat flavor followed by only a hint of bitternes.

Located in the heart of downtown, this rainbow flag-flying brewery has everything we like. Friendly (and interesting) staff, great selection of beers, simple kitchen offerings and of course, good beer. Just a quick 3 minute trip from the last brewery, we enjoyed a Willow Oak pale ale and a Festbier while admiring the onsite brewering operations right here in the tasting room.

It’s not too often that we visit a brewery that has a mission statement to help animal rescues – “Save Lives, One Beer At A Time”. It’s also not too often that we see women with hairy armpits but in this tap room we got both. We initially were excited to visit a brewery that had “dog’ in the name in hopes of seeing some cute pictures of dogs or canine decor. On that front, we weren’t disappointed as we were greeted at the door by a gorgeous pit-mix but it’s owner was, well, that girl with you know what. Moving past the shock of well, you know, we ordered a Rebecca & Mama Celeste farmhouse lager and a Bee deGarde farmhouse ale made with honey & bee pollen. Both beers were pretty tasty and not only does this brewery donate all profits to animal shelters but they also use only locally sourced ingredients for all their beers.

Wooo wooo! This train came rolling into the depot with a weeks-long thirst that needed to be quenched. After a 40 minute drive in from camp, we ordered up an Awl Point pils and a Schlaufenbogen vienna lager. While a little on the pricey side ($6.50/pint), we still enjoyed the favorful beers and the vibrant atmosphere plus who doesn’t love a little Guns & Roses playing on the house sound system!

Happy Independence Day! This is the 2nd brewery we have visited in this town and are curious as to the correct pronounciation. Is it ‘mee-bane’ or something not so obvious? After asking a server, it turns out it’s pronounce ‘meh-bin’. Of course but no matter how you pronounce it, their beer is good. We drank the Offended Opinion amber ale and County Line light lager while sitting out on the tent-covered patio.

Being from out of town, you never really know what you are in for when heading to a brewery for the 1st time. This brewery was a great reminder especially during this holiday week. Located in a vibrant and bustling part of downtown, we ran upon a street-closing 4th of July celebration with live music and crowds of people. Luckily, this tasting room was one block off the main street of activities so we were able to find a park and get our Dino DNA american ale and Admiral Jack kolsch without much delay. Both beers were tasty as was the Dot’s pretzels.

Maybe we are getting callous but some of these breweries are starting to all look the same. Wood, black metal, rustic building: this is one of two locations serving a pretty decent variety of beers but nothing special as far as the overall experience. We had the Kolsch and the Amber Ale while watching two families with babies in stollers do the same. Hmmmmm.

The name is a bit odd but the tasting room is very cool. Decorated with eclectic wall murals with unusual themes, this spacious yet cozy brewery only had a couple of beers we were really interested in trying but a butt-load of high octane IPA’s. We had the beertender pour us a Golden Gilt kolsch and Boar Brown english brown ale from the shipping container cooler. Both beers were pretty good and we also got the low-down on the odd name. Turns out, the owner used to own a barbeque restaurant named Daryl’s BBQ which offered a large beer called “the pounder” thus, the name is a nod to the former restaurant’s beer special.