Swell’s a Brewing: Beach Brews, No Twist

Swell’s a Brewing is a modern Kill Devil Hills brewery. Relatively new, this trendy, beach-adjacent outlook is a perfect place to start or end a date. Finish your drinks and then head for a walk on the beach to wind down your day.

Swells Adjacent

Travelers and locals in Kill Devil Hills are likely to find themselves looking at the various shops and restaurants along NC 12. Swell’s a Brewing is one such establishment on the newer side. The modern façade sticks out in comparison to the traditional cedar shingled houses in the area.

The brewery is right across the street from a public beach access just like Tortuga’s Lie and is not far from the Nags Head Woods Preserve. It is in such close proximity to both the Wright Brother National Memorial and Jockey’s Ridge State Park that Kaitlyn and I integrated all of them into a great day trip while we were staying in Manteo.

Parking is very limited with maybe 30 spots. There are some other businesses in the area you could attempt to park at but most beach side businesses are quick to catch onto so be careful. We came at a peak time and were very lucky to find a spot. Traffic can get tight in the parking area also since the narrow entrance is also the ONLY exit. Cars have to turn around to exit if there are no spaces available. Not my favorite but you get what you get with beach parking.

Neat, Modern And A Bit Bland

Swell’s a Brewing has a very hip beach bar atmosphere. From the funky exterior to the quirky second floor seating area with balcony access, it is truly unique. The Interior seems to mix a minimalist/modern appearance with some more classic beach vibes. As you might expect, the majority of the crowd here was young and seemed to be filled with people on dates. The building was new when we visited, but there seemed to be some significant wear already showing. Big gaps in the hardwood flooring upstairs, some cracks in the tile and other details were eroding. Sad to see. The bar is on the first floor only but the seating extends through various areas. This strikes a very different tone than the near by Outer Banks Brewing Station.

Kaitlyn and I spent the most of our time on the second floor inside (it was rainy) enjoying a chat and doing some people watching. The energy was electric in here for a week day. Likely because the rain was forcing everyone inside all day.

The Brewing Part

Truly my favorite part of visiting any brewery is to see what kind of silly “dad-joke” names are given to their special brews. Honestly these were fairly mild if not boring. They do seem to keep a good rotation of new brews but nothing tasted particularly interesting nor made any lasting impression on me. It was cold outside when we came so I tried one of their darker beers and found it decent enough. Kaitlyn tried their Bay Dreams beer and found it fair. Crafting a unique beer and a tasty beer are tricky tasks so I definitely give these folks credit for putting in the work. The operation seems to still be nailing down their marquise beers. As they make more of a name for themselves, I hope to see their labels all over Nags Head.

I would really like to see more meaningful food options too. Just a few basic options but well executed would be really nice. I think this would give a lot of couples out on dates a reason to stick around a little longer. More selfishly, I just get hungry when I drink beer and was too lazy to try to walk anywhere.

No Twist

There are very few beach adjacent breweries in the outer banks. The combination beach and brewery seems like a natural date spot and event venue. The beach views are also reported to be great. The flair was a little lacking in the execution for me.

Overall

Swells’a Brewing is a modern beach brewery still searching for it true flavor. The concept seems solid but lacking on execution. It is hard to put my finger on it but there is just something missing here. I am rooting for these guys to take this place to the next level and cement this as an icon for the area.

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