North 47 Brewing Company

This is my old neighborhood right here; I can remember my parents driving us to this address back when it was just a little green shed of a grocery store called "Bergie’s," and none of this other stuff was here at all. Having room for half a dozen businesses still feels "new" to me, but let’s face it, it’s been a couple decades since these buildings went up. That end space still can’t make up its mind which supermarket it’s gonna be, though. It changes hands every couple years. Bergie’s outlived all of the other ones put together, I think. We came in try N47 Brewing yesterday, and there was another going out of business sale sign up in the grocery store window. Maybe if you hurry you can get chips and dip on clearance, and see whether N47 will let you bring them in to have with a beer.

These guys built a nice little taproom, in here with the hardware store and the diner and everybody else. I think they took over for a pizza place? Not that it matters. You just get mentally lost trying to remember all this stuff when it’s your childhood home. Of course, back when I was riding my bike past this place, the thought of a brewery setting up shop in such a small space was beyond imagining; back then, breweries were only huge factories, there were no restaurant-sized community gathering place breweries. N47 has brought that model home to Browns Point.

There is a big bar halfway back, with flat screens tuned to the game visible from all the stools and tables. Tables and chairs fill the front of the space; presumably the brewhouse is in back. They have charming signs out front and inside, encouraging everyone to enjoy themselves, without any corny undergraduate innuendo—more like a fun dinner party. The staff are super pleasant and friendly, and the beers are listed on hand-lettered chalkboards above the bar and in the taproom.

They have great shirts, hats, glasses, and tap handles—all the iconography is just spot-on everywhere you look. They have a solid little line of easy-drinking anglo ales; IPA, ESB, blond, and so on. What we tried was okay, but we’re here REALLY early in the game, so they’re still dialing in their system. If I still lived around here, I would be in here all the time without a doubt.