Brats and Beer

Last night, we went to Growlers for some beer and brats. The place is small, but we managed to snag the last booth at the back. The place has concrete floors and exposed brick walls, so it gets a bit noisy. It's small enough that it doesn't matter too much, though. We started out with some beer cheese and local brews. I had Orange Blossom Pilsner, brewed by Thomas Creek Brewery in Greenville, SC, and John had King Don's Pumpkin Ale, from Catawba Valley Brewing Company in Morganton, NC.

We decided to do the sausage plate, where you get to pick two sausages and two sides for $10. Ten bucks! Dinner was the same price as our beers! We got the Italian sausage with peppers and onions, and the beer brat with kraut. They make the sausages in-house, using choice cuts rather than leftover scraps, and I was really impressed with the amount of flavor and texture these things packed. John's brat was a bit watery, but still had a lot of flavor. We both ordered house-made chips, since we're not big slaw/potato salad fans. We also tried the cask-aged Flying Dog brew they had from the beer engine, but we didn't catch what flavor. They serve the cask-aged beer at cask temperature, and the brew we had wasn't as carbonated as we would have liked to have to finish off the meal.

So here's the deal: your appetizer is $4, your dinner is $5 and your craft beer is $4-4.50 (unless, like Vivian, you prefer PBR, which is $1 on weeknights and $2 on weekends). For a night out, you can't beat that. Plus it's delicious, made with quality ingredients, and incredibly filling.