Wise Man Brewing

Wise Man Brewing is a 15-barrel craft brewery and taproom in the 90-year-old Angelo Brothers Building on the edge of downtown Winston-Salem, NC — one of the breweries that kicked off the city’s craft beer boom when it opened in January 2017. The name comes from its founding by “three wise men,” and the taproom pours an ever-changing lineup ranging from hazy IPAs and cream ales to fruited sours, lagers, and imperial stouts.

The brewery occupies a substantial, high-ceilinged industrial space with abundant indoor and outdoor seating, part of an 18-month overhaul that brought a long-vacant downtown landmark back to life. It sits in the Industry Hill area alongside Earl’s and the Ramkat, making it a natural anchor for a walkable night out on that side of downtown.

Be sure to check out the pictures below to get a feel for Wise Man Brewing before you go — or to relive the visit after.

Three Wise Men and the Angelo Brothers Building

The Wise Man story starts in a kitchen. Around 2005, Dr. Sam Victory — a PhD chemist by day — bought a homebrew kit and started experimenting, with a simple set of rules: have fun, make something tasty, and clean up afterward. He began bringing his beer to social gatherings, developed a reputation as a serious brewer, and started collecting hardware at competitions. Before long, friends were asking when he’d open his own brewery.

Sam shared the idea with friends Jason and Mike, and together with their families, the three took the leap — the “three wise men” the brewery is named for: a chemist joined by a lawyer and an accountant. Their first task was finding a home, and they fell for the former Angelo Brothers Building in downtown Winston-Salem, a roughly 90-year-old structure that had sat vacant for about a decade and needed serious work.

Construction began in October 2015 with a new roof, and the 18-month overhaul kept the building’s existing character while breathing new life into it. Wise Man opened in January 2017, becoming an important early entry in Winston-Salem’s craft beer growth — a city that for years had been known mainly for Foothills (2004), followed by Hoots (2011) and Small Batch (2013). Wise Man helped kick off the wave of breweries that followed.

The Beer and the Taproom

Wise Man runs a 15-barrel brewhouse and keeps an ever-changing lineup on tap rather than a fixed core list. Expect hazy and hopped-up IPAs, cream ales, lagers, fruited sours, and imperial stouts across any given visit — regulars have included the juicy Body Electric hazy IPA and the Scoop Dogg cream ale. The brewery has earned real recognition for its production, too: its doppelbock, Living a Double Life, was named one of the Best 20 Beers of 2023 by the editors of Craft Beer & Brewing.

Distribution has grown well beyond the taproom. Wise Man’s brightly branded cans turn up in bottle shops across North Carolina, from the Triad to the Triangle, which has made it one of the more recognizable Winston-Salem breweries statewide. But the taproom is still the place to catch the full, rotating range.

The room itself is built for gathering — a family-friendly, high-ceilinged industrial space with substantial indoor seating and a large outdoor area, comfortable for big groups. Food trucks handle the food, and the brewery keeps a regular calendar of events. Its Industry Hill location makes it easy to combine with a night out: Earl’s is across the way, and the Ramkat is nearby for a show.

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Wise Man Brewing Brewing

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