Wilmington NC beer destinations

I'll be there later this summer. Front Street Brewery looks good; any recent experience?. Is there anywhere else to visit? I see Lumina Winery/Brewery on the map. Looks like an interesting combination of casual wine and lager beer. I say casual because the Carolinas obviously are not grape country, but they have fruit wines and blends. Anyone have any experience with Lumina? Also, are there any fun beach bars in Wilmington? We will be staying in Topsail, which is pretty quiet, and would like to visit some fun beach bars, event if it is a BMC situation.

Also, any tips on boat tours, rentals (kayaks or otherwise) and BBQ?

Thanks, and happy drinking and fishing!

Front Street is good but is more of a restaurant than a bar. There are a lot of bars in downtown Wilmington. As for Wrightsville Beach, there are around 6 bars, all fun.

Thanks for the heads up. We will definitely head to Wrightsville as Topsail is a little tame. I really want to check out Lumina: Lager and wine looks like a good combo.

not sure if you're still in town, i'm just seeing this....but pass on lumina. owner is a real jerk. check out Wilmington Homebrew Supply.......AWESOME store with great beer selections.

Lumina is good, the owner was always nice to me when I went there. If he has his Zwickelbier it's worth a taste. Front street is hit or miss but their Dramtree Scottish Ale is probably the best thing they serve there. If you're looking for a beer bar, Cape Fear Wine and Beer is probably your best bet, hope you like punk music (also right across the street is Chops Deli which is the best sandwich shop you'll find anywhere, the owner is super cool too). As far as beach bars, there are plenty on the main strip at Wrightsville. Lagerheads has an outside patio and a decent beer selection.

I lived in Wilmington for 6 years and Cape Fear Wine & Beer is my go to for awesome brews. They always have cool stuff on staff and everything in bottles you can imagine. I always find a bunch of new beers i've never had there. It's got a rockabilly vibe there but everyone is really chill. The bartenders usually know what they are talking about and can recommend beers to fit your taste. I think once a week or month they use the hop injector thing, made by dogfish i think, that you can choose which beer you want your beer ran through it. Never done it but heard about. Go check it out.

Hate to bump old threads, but this needs some updating since a lot has changed.

The bad news is Lumina is no longer in business.

So the current options are:
Front street Brewery and Noni Bacca Winery

The good news is a couple new micro(or nano) breweries are slated to open VERY soon.
Broomtail Brewing (which might already be open)
Wilmington Brewing company (which is owned by the same people who run Wilmington homebrew) (Great people btw)
Good Vibes Brewing company
Flytrap Brewing company

As for bars and other places to purchase beer,

Lighthouse near Wrightsville beach is a great place to start. They have a few craft beers on tap and the best selection of beer/wine to buy in the area.

Fermental near Ogden is nice place to hangout with a huge selection of beers /wine and some homebrew supplies. Wine ice cream /Smoothies are available there as well.

Ogden Taproom has a LOT of taps, but a lot of it is the pretty mainstream stuff you can find anywhere. The food there is just Ok.

Cape Fear beer and wine also has a decent selection, but I avoid downtown most of the time because of parking.

Satellite is a bar that usually has a good selection of brews .

Brixx Pizza in Mayfaire is a small place, but always has some good craft beer on tap.


I am sure there are other good places, but those are the ones I have personally visited and can recommend.

For those of you traveling to Wilmington that are interested in wine, watch for signs on I-40 around exit 380. Duplin Winery, I think, is the big name in the area, but do some googling, there are some others. Most are muscadine grape based wines. It is native to the area and most of the wines are sweet, but there's are a few exceptions. Most wineries have tasting rooms/tours. In Wilmington, Front Street Brewery and Restaurant has decent food and decent beer in a good location and you can get a flight of beer to taste. On my way out of town, last year, with my son who had just turned nine, we stopped for brunch at The Dixie Grill. We just stumbled across it...it's near the main waterfront area in a small, old little building and this place is funky! Drink your beer elsewhere and I don't know about their lunch/dinner, but the breakfast/brunch was excellent. And the tattooed, hot waitresses even got my boy's attention! (Don't use that as a selling point to SWMBO ...let it be a surprise. "What? Huh?") The Dixie Benedict is delicious. So, if you get into town early or need a breakfast spot...it may be a hipster kinda funky place, but it was good! Good reviews on Trip Advisor also, so don't just take MY word for it!

http://thedixiegrillwilmington.wordpress.com/breakfast-menu/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...he_Dixie_Grill-Wilmington_North_Carolina.html

Just another small update, Wilmington homebrew supply has moved down the street into a bigger building. They working on opening up Wilmington Brewing Company from that same building.

Broomtail brewing company is open and has some pretty tasty beers. The tasting room is pretty small but its still a fun place to visit.

Good Hops brewing in Carolina Beach is now open. I was very happy with their beer even thought they didn't have some of their stuff on tap because they can't make it fast enough right now.

Wilmington brewing company on Kerr st opened their taproom recently serving their own brews. So far its my favorite out of all the new places that opened recently here.

City council also passed a new zoning ordinance that makes it easier for small brewery's to open up in the city. Rumor has it there are a few waiting for this to finally pass.

Lots of movement from a year ago!

Flytrap brewing has now opened in Wilmington. Have no tried their stuff stuff yet, but I heard good things about them.

I am headed down to ILM for beerfest this weekend (this will be 7 years running), interested to try Flytrap. I'm headed there tonight, if I remember, I'll update here.
Cape Fear Wine and Beer is the best beer bar in the state, as far as I'm concerned. I'm a bit biased, though- they were my home base bar for years when I lived there (my name is carved into the bar in the back. Can't say how many beers I had to drink to achieve that). They've really boomed along with the craft beer industry.
If you want to drink some good beers, CFWB is the stand-alone winner. Satellite is also great, with a much more 'hip' atmosphere. Front Street is definitely hit or (mostly) miss. Another tip for those who like to do, or those (like me) who like to watch karaoke, Brown Coat is excellent for that on weekends.
If you're a homebrewer, Wilmington Homebrew Supply is excellent. They just upgraded to a new space, and the owners are great folks. You can go ahead and skip Noni Bacca.
The poster who mentioned Chops being so good earlier wasn't kidding. It is a must stop every time I am in town.