Foothills Brewing Company

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.13/5  rDev -2.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I made the trek down to Foothills Brewing Company with a few friends this weekend for the 2011 Sexual Chocolate release. People were allowed to begin entering the brewery at approximately 8:00am, but the line of several hundred people took an inordinate amount of time to move inside, as there was but one individual at the door checking IDs and applying wristbands. I find this lack of foresight highly inefficient and particularly annoying, as I had been waiting outside for several hours in freezing weather.

The atmosphere inside is quite nice, with high ceilings, two levels, ample bar and table seating, and large windows. The vibe was good, and the staff was quite friendly, though they must have been exhausted.

The kitchen was pretty inconsistent. It took a few of my table mates nearly an hour to receive their lunch, despite ordering after peak hours. I, in turn, received my lunch in less than ten minutes of ordering. The kitchen staff burned a simple appetizer the night before, but the dish was promptly replaced.

It was a nice treat to enjoy some vintage drafts of Sexual Chocolate the night before the release. Also, it is extremely cool of Foothills to permit customers to bring in their own beers to this event, allowing for a huge tasting the night before and day of the event.

Overall, this is a quality establishment brewing quality beer. Recommended.

01-31-2011 01:46:31 | More by Huhzubendah

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev -18.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

With all the hype around beers like Olde Rabbit's Foot and Sexual Chocolate, I walked into this place with high expectations...which were quickly shot down.

Atmosphere was pretty generic, somewhere between family restaurant and sportsbar. A good-sized bar lined the wall, there was plenty of table space, and a small outside seating area that was dog-friendly. It took about 45 minutes to be seated outside on a fairly slow day; not the staff's fault, but if you're planning to sit outside, you might want to reserve in advance. The service was good and bad. While we were waiting for a seat outside (as we had the dogs with us), I planted myself at the bar for a drink. The bartender ignored me for a while, then finally served me with an attitude as if I was getting in the way. Fortunately once we were seated, our waitress was friendly and attentive.

There was a decent variety of brews on tap, but very few were memorable, with 4 of their 8-or-so taps being light lagers, and only one beer being notably good (a Pappy-aged stout), and even that one wasn't mind-blowing. Food was decent. I got a half-sized fish & chips, and thank Bacchus I went with the half, because the portion was pretty enormous even for me. Not the tastiest f&c, but pretty good. Prices were decent, though considering the quality of the beers, maybe edging on "a bit pricey."

I don't think I'd ever want to revisit Foothills. The beers are just sub-par, and you have to kind of be there at the right time and hope one of their bigger beers is on. Or line up for their whales, which I just don't see myself ever caring enough to do. I suppose if you live in the area, it's a good place to frequent, but otherwise, I'd be fine passing it over.

06-18-2013 06:09:25 | More by Rifugium

Evoforen

North Carolina

4.26/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75 | $$$

I went there with a buddy of mine and our wives. The food was average and a bit pricey, but the beer was outstanding and there was a pretty wide variety of styles. The atmosphere was calm, but social; there was a cool jazz trio playing and this went nicely with the environment, the meal, and our brew. I would recommend.

06-09-2013 17:28:28 | More by Evoforen

Beeranator

North Carolina

4.59/5  rDev +8.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.5 | $$

I live about 3 miles from here so its my local watering hole, THis place is awesome! It is very laid back and have great beer, their loaded pub fries are amazing! i could eat those all day! I highly recommend their Seeing Double IPA! If you're in the area it is a must!

05-14-2013 22:50:27 | More by Beeranator

nc41

North Carolina

4.85/5  rDev +14.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

Simply a great place to have a few beers and something to eat. Outstanding service, home made food and condiments, great selection of beers. The only reason quality isn't a 5 too, is that the beers are a little inconsistent. Some batches of say Jade are tremendous, other are just pretty good, The BA stuff is the same way, some are really boozy, others are great. Not really much on a knock I suppose, but I don't drive 160 miles round trip to many places, but for Foothills I do. Whitney is terrific, a well run establishment, and progressive with their offerings especially since picking up Cottonwood, and Carolina Brewing.. Could drop the Endo IPA though they have enough offerings under the Foothills label.

12-26-2012 13:53:44 | More by nc41

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.14/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Typical pub feel with a lot of wood - I liked the place as the vibe was pretty laid back.

Beers were well poured at a proper temperature and using decent glassware.

Bartenders were very friendly, wanting to offer advice if you were not sure of what to get and did a nice job of paying attention to the customer.

The selection is not enormous but it does cover about all of the Foothills beers that are in season - everything was available on my visit.

They have a menu that appears to offer typical pub food but I did not try any on my visit. I recall from years ago that the mustard and ketchup are homemade with beer as one of the ingredients and were quite good.

If this is your first time visiting, the sampler tray is a great buy but otherwise pints are a touch cheaper than at other local establishments.

11-29-2012 05:19:32 | More by dbrauneis

Daniellobo

District of Columbia

3.73/5  rDev -11.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

A fair eatery and a must for the craft beer aficionado if one is in town or that part of NC.

The brewery-pub offers a modern if a bit cold large space split by a second floor and a long bar to the left of the locale before the area of the fermentation tanks starts.

While the food felt a bit perfunctory, all kinds of decent but a bit forgettable, the brews were quite notable. I still don´t think this is that extraordinary a brewery but I was not disappointed at all. And I would love to revisit should I be around those parts. They essentially offer their brews, Foothills, in addition to Carolina Blonde and Cottonwood, which now they also represent. Had a chance to try several of their ales, including the last keg of their original Sexual Chocolate, which I was very pleased to still see around. Good quality point, nice prices, with growlers, bombers, and merchandise to go.

Staff was correct and diligent, more so when I went there on my own the first time late after finishing a day of work. The second one I brought a large work group for dinner and the staff seemed a bit overwhelmed, but it sorta worked out in the end.

02-20-2012 23:48:38 | More by Daniellobo

felipesegundo

South Carolina

4.2/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $

Went to the beer school they offer, had a great time learning more about local brewing, and the growth of NC brewers. All beer used to be brewed on premises until this year, and they still brew specialty beers. The hoppyum is an amazing IPA, one of my classic faves. I go back every time I'm in town, it's a fun place to hang out. The Seeing Double IPA is a little too sweet, but I wish I was there tonight for the tapping of the Sexual Chocolate Double Stout. I hear it is an amazing brew. The owners are very approachable about their beers, and love to chat with you.

01-27-2012 20:12:53 | More by felipesegundo

RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

4.4/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Made my first foray to Winston to Foothills in my 5+ months of "real beer", mostly because they had rereleased Jade and they were now bottling People's Porter.

I got a parking space not far from the front door and didn't have to feed the parking meter since it was on a Saturday. The brewery/pub is located about 6 or 8 blocks from I-40, which is convenient for me.

There was a good number of folks in the front dining area as well as in the back bar area. I sat at the bar and ordered up a Jade. It was about 1:30 p.m on a Saturday so college basketball was on the numerous big screen TV's.

I ordered Humus and Pita bread and it arrived with about a sip left in my Jade pint. The combo of Jade and Humus was spot on. Unfortunately, I had ordered a People's Porter and drank it with the balance of the starter (not a good combo). Also the Humus was pretty dry, the kind that rolls up in a ball and takes a fork to get it up onto the pita. I mentioned to the beertendress that it was pretty dry and that it could use either more garbonzo bean juice or olive oil drizzeled over the top and she confered that olive oil would be good.

After finishing my pints (and a little less than half the humus) I ordered up 5 growlers for the road and the attractive bartendress said "I need to go party with you". I responded "That sounds like a date, but my wife would probably kick both our asses". She laughed and I loaded up and hit the road.

I don't get to Winston Salem that often even if it is only 25 miles down the road, but when I do; Foothills will be my go to beer destination.

12-18-2011 18:18:46 | More by RedneckBeerz

TroopScoop

Indiana

4.18/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

A: I'm a mid-twenties beer nerd. The quaint patio out front seems like it'd be great on a breezy evening. The dining area in the front with hard wood floors seems like a great place for taking my parents. The giant wood/finished bar in the back is great for just hanging out and drinking some great brews. Standard window to the brewing world is in the back, and a few TVs for watching a game.

Q: Good brews, and the food matches it.

Service: Nothing bad, but nothing to write home about.

Selection: Always ready with standards & seasonals, and usually there's a cask of special stuff ready. If i have to be picky, have a guest draft or two.

Food: Really good, but nothign that makes me go bananananas.

V: The beer prices are really good not just compared to the rest of the city, but b/c the quality of beers is great.

O: I had a summer internship and frequented this place among others while down here. I didn't see many other bars in the area, cause most of the foothills brews I craved were only on tap there. Great place, fellas.

12-04-2011 21:57:58 | More by TroopScoop