Top Tier Bier Found Here

Surf City Brewing Company highly impresses The PubScout and his seasoned-palate sidekick.

When I got the assignment to check out two breweries in the same general area (Hampstead and Holly Ridge), at over an hour’s drive away from my location in Ocean Isle Beach, I found it prudent to bring an assistant.

That proved a wise decision, even though one of the breweries was closed for renovations. Because the one that was open — Surf City Brewing Company — did not have a bad beer on the menu, and, in fact, 95% of them were top tier.

That I had enlisted the aid (and the traveling companionship) of one of the most seasoned beer palates (with a sensitive nose to match) in southeastern Brunswick County proved to be of critical importance. Keith Berciunas, former owner of the Tap Time Beer Bar in OIB, and I sampled the wonderful beers of this business, which has been open just 14 months.

As a former bar owner, Keith looks for certain things upon arrival — perhaps the most important being the cleanliness of the place. He found the bar, staffed this day by jack-of-all-trades and former tennis pro Flip, to be immaculate, both behind the bar and throughout the building.

And speaking of Flip, he knew his products very well, which you might expect from a guy who grew up in a certain well-known brewery in Golden, Colorado. Flip is not only knowledgeable, but also accommodating and personable and added much to the appeal of the bright and airy taproom.

One of the three owners, Clint Smith, a Marine vet, handles the brewing chores. His partners are Brian Hemenway and Reynaldo Gomez.

On the day we visited, there were 11 beers on tap, and we tried all of them — some more than once. My hardy assistant and I asked for two flights, which covered eight of the 11 taps.

Keith’s first taste was Something About Dorty, a Dortmunder-style lager that had him declaring, “The Germans would be proud.” If you know how the Germans feel about their lagers, that’s high praise.

My first taste was of the 6% Blonde Ale (a transitional beer designed to woo the BudMiller Coors drinkers). It was the only beer that did not acquire my top-tier status, but transitional beers anywhere rarely do. They have a noble purpose, though, and this beer served it.

Both Keith and I thought the 1908 NC Prohibition Red was outstanding, even though it announced the fact that NC initiated Prohibition 12 years before the rest of the country — which some of us might consider a black mark on the Tarheel State. Fortunately, the NC beer industry has bounced back with a vengeance.

The two IPAs on the menu, McClane 2025 (a NEIPA) and Generro 2025 (an American IPA) were dead on style, complex and loaded with flavor — front, middle and back end.

We also enjoyed Weiss Ford Bronco (get it?), which was also a well-done style modeling the witbier category.

Hipster Hoedown was a damned good saison, with a bit more dankness than usual that gave off interesting notes of horse blanket in the nose. That’s not a criticism, because it takes great skill to get that true farmhouse ale profile right. This beer does. The only problem was that it took a while to clarify after the pour due to excessive carbonation, but Flip knew how to handle it, serving us a great-tasting farmhouse ale when he was done.

The Beachtober Fest was a very good Marzen, and at just 5.3%, a sessionable one. With a giant pretzel and a bowl of beer cheese, a Marzen lover would be in Bavarian heaven.

Then it was time to go dark. We started with a beer called Bock Bock Goose, which led me to mistakenly think it was a double bock — which it wasn’t. Once I geared my palate for a single bock, it, too, earned top-tier status.

We were a bit disappointed when Flip told us the “dessert-in-a-glass” Smoregasm Nitro (who wouldn’t order a beer with this name?) was replaced on the menu with another stout called Boats and Oats. Keith accurately described it as “a very smooth coffee blanket.”

Vantablack #1 2024 was an absolutely delicious Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, and at 10.5% ABV, the type of beer best sampled in a flight glass, especially if you’re over an hour’s drive from home and your assistant is drinking it too. But we advise that you get it in a growler (or two if you have a friend) to take home and enjoy before the fireplace.

We finished the visit off with a pint each of the 1908 NC Prohibition while getting to know youthful-looking Ginny and her son, Will, whose job in Colorado is hauling logs with a helicopter.

Surf City Brewing Company does not offer food, but food trucks appear regularly. We had had no lunch and thought we were headed to do that second review, so Keith decided we needed a pit stop at Surf City Smash (burger) next to Salty Turtle.

When you get to my age, any mention of the term “pit stop” is always a welcome sound. For smashburgers — and after all that beer at SCBC —whatever else you need to stop for.

Want to go?
Surf City Brewing Company
400 Alston Boulevard, Suite A, Surf City
(910) 900-7468
surfcitybrewingcompany.com