Big Boss Brewing Company

Pleasantly surprised. Awesome selection of beer, prices were right and bartender was sweet. Came here for an afternoon tour but didn’t realize we missed it so we decided to have a few beers. The atmosphere was very laid back and casual but perfect for a chill afternoon.

This place is super awesome, and chill. It’s got multiple rooms where you can go play darts or play board games or shuffle board or ping pong, or pool table! Beers weren’t overly impressive, but the atmosphere and free things to do made it amazing.

I really like their beers, especially the Angry Angel and Diablo. The bar can get quite bustling during most evenings, and spacing gets to be an issue.

My most recent visit here was for Casktoberfest, quite possibly my favorite beer event of the entire year. Their regular beer selection is great and the atmosphere at their little pub makes it one of the better places to hang out in Downtown Raleigh. I don’t live in the area anymore, so most of my visits are for big events, but I would recommend this place to anyone for a visit.

These guys make Bad Penny… which is really good. The sterilization of bottles and equipment is really impressive… The best beers can taste really bad if they are spoiled. Very impressed!

Awesome craft brewery! We stopped in late at night and still got a tour from the owner Dave, who was super friendly and even hooked us up with a few free samples and beer tour map he published after the tour. Love all the beers but you have to give the sinners and saints a try as it was our favorite.

I do recommend the tour of Big Boss and to get there early, the line can get long. You can purchase up to 3 tickets that are $ 1 each for beer before and after the tour. After the tour, you can walk up to the taproom to grab another beer and play a few games (shuffleboard, darts or pool) or grab a seat outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. I am not a huge fan of the year-​round brews, I would recommend Bad Penny, but I do love the seasonal brews (Big Operator, Aces & Ates and Harvest Time are my favorites). The service the past two times I have visited has been alright. I would recommend not getting highly intoxicated in the tap room, those stairs leaving are no joke.

The atmosphere of this brewery is perfect for college students and those that think they’re still in college (lol). But it’s pretty much a frat house that serves beers. It wasn’t our speed but I’m sure it is (and was that day) enjoyable for many.
We enjoyed a flight consisting of Angry Angel, Hell’s Bells, Bad Penny, and High Roller. Of the four, a fav was Bad Penny (she normally loves the IPAs) and Angry Angel which is was a refreshing summer beer. Bad Penny had a smooth finish that left the pallet wanting more. The other two were nothing to write home about. For an IPA, High Roller left much to be desired.
I’d suggest going to Big Boss if you’re looking for a more lively brewery with decent beers. Ping pong, card/​board games, pool table and tv rooms. But if you’re looking for a chill spot to enjoy an awesome brew… Keep looking.

Always a good, casual time when you go to Big Boss. The tavern is filled with games from Scattergories to pool to darts. Beer is totally fairly priced. I wish they’d expand a little in terms of styles, but what they do are just fantastic.

This brewery is fun. It had pool, ping pong, darts and shuffle board. On Friday nights, it will get packed and you’ll have to wait your turn to play, if you ever get the chance.
The beers are great. I enjoy the High Roller and the Angry Angel. The bartenders are very accommodating and personable.
There is very little seating with a couple random side rooms to hang out in. The bath rooms are one in one out.
I was fortunate to attend a brewery tour where I learned a lot from their process and advancements. Big boss is growing and will be a big name in the future.
It’s a very fun atmosphere with good vibes all around.

Did an informal tour of the brewery with a friend who works there. Pretty much what you would expect. Clean, smelling of fermenting wort and very well organized. It’s fun to get an explanation of the process that they go through before heading upstairs to the taproom and sampling everything.

Haven’t yet been to the regular monthly beer tour (YET), but…
Went for Casktoberfest on 10÷2÷2014, an event scheduled from 5pm to 9pm, one day /​today only. On their blog, they’d pseudo-​advertised, and in a Meetup group or two, I’d seen people talking about it. And what I mean by «pseudo» is that you only knew what beers there’d be to try and what they were called, and the date. For someone busy and/​or just not into roaming the city aimlessly at the slightest indication there’s something mildly interesting to do… not enough info to appease. Asked a Meetup group host for info as to the format, and decided it was worth it to check out.
Thought there would be the possibility to taste several beers, and buy the ones you wanted… and there was, but only in the sense that you got a taste of something in a regular-​beer-​sized cup, so ended up wasting a LOT of plastic by night’s end. Not so «what’s up.»
So we find that you could pay at the cash table outside, or bypass that and go right in to the credit card payment table. (Or bypass that, walk around and see the stations and potentially taste beer to your heart’s content — yes, in full sized point cups. Then come back and buy tix at whichever table.)
At the pay table, there was a «beer map» with explanations of the beers available at each station, and a «map» where stations were located in the warehouse.
Notable Points:
— We first began to hear that they had begun running out of the tastiest sounding ones (Brahms, etc.) at about 7… even though the event was only from 5pm to 9pm. ;(
— There were a LOT of people there, inside and out.
— Cafeteria tables /​picnic tables for seating. Weren’t many spots clear, but pretty proportionate for the number of people eating.
— Nothing was free; main perk was getting to try lots of limited edition beers in one place, as well as food vendors.
— No weather control in the warehouse, just fans. Was sticky and a bit uncomfy.
— Would have liked to know EXACTLY HOW THE EVENT WOULD WORK instead of having to experiment with it to find out.
— My boyfriend would have liked for the pourers to know some basic info about the beer (what’s the ABV? lol), but they really didn’t. They were almost completely clueless about all details, but they were SUPER polite, cordial, as helpful as they could be, and friendly. No arses at all.
— And I would have liked to be able to buy a couple of these beers afterward, for some price… in some location! But no, they were limited edition truly, only experiments of certain brewers, as one young fellow explained, available only while they lasted at this event, held once per year. (No wonder I heard the line was out to the street at 5pm, opening time.)
— Exactly NONE of the beers were cold that we sampled or drank. Wah, wah, wahhhhhh… ;-\ That would have been nice.
—
All in all, it was a good time that could have been made better with a few changes. Now, we look forward to trying their second-​Saturday brewery tours… which we’ve heard are awesome!

Good spot to hang out with mates!
I had a beer sampler. Actually I don’t like their beer much. Too strong for me. But I love the venue. They have a pool table, a pingpong table, darts, games. The staff is nice. i had a great time there. Their customers are cool too.
Parking lot is in front of the building.

One of my FAV breweries in the area. the people are always nice and the beer is bad ass.
Highly recommend!

Big boss’s tour is my favorite. It’s only once a month, but is only a few dollars and lots of fun. The staff is crazy and makes the tour funny. Their beers are really good and you can get up to 3 during the tour ($ 1 per pint).
Definitely go when it’s nice out so you can hang out outside after the tour in their picnic area. Their beers are sold all around downtown raleigh as well. I really like Hell’s Belle and Bad Penny,

On the list of over 125 craft breweries in NC, I had to make it to Big Boss. While their beers aren’t my absolute favorites, they are usually solid and I have to admit their creative names combined with WWII pin-​up logos make me enjoy the beer that much more.
Anyway, while there is a bar above the brewery that is open regularly, weekend brewery tours are only offered the 2^nd Saturday of the month & I was glad to finally be able to make one of these. The tour itself is free & you get to purchase up to 3 large-​sized tastings for $ 1 each. The tour is incredibly popular, and there was a very large line waiting, but thankfully they didn’t seem to limit the numbers, but it’s definitely worth it to get there early and enjoy a beer in the bar beforehand just to nab a nearby parking spot. The other reason to leave early-it’s tucked away in an area that makes you think you’ve gone the wrong way and entered an industrial area.
The tour itself was just ok-​the large crowd and warehouse space made it very difficult to hear the guide (maybe a megaphone is in order?), but as I have been on multiple brewery tours I don’t feel that I missed out on too much. If you’ve never learned about the beer process, I would not recommend going on this tour as your first because you will not be able to hear anything other than the people around you that are just there to drink.
I loved the warehouse space of the tour as well as the bar itself (which has darts, TVs, & pool tables) and definitely plan to go back and hang out, and would love to do the tour in a different season to sample their other beers in an economical and social manner.

This is one of my two favorite breweries in the triangle. The other one is Durham and I’ll let you guess what that is since I haven’t written a review of it yet. ;-)
Big Boss, like many good breweries, is out of the way and off the beaten path. It’s kind of near a bunch of potentially abandoned warehouses or workspaces. But, it’s really welcoming and endearing.
My second and most recent visit was last Friday. I wandered over to meet up with some engineer friends of mine. I didn’t realize there were so many rooms to search for friends! I went upstairs, tasted Angry Angel first like I do every time before remembering that Blanco Diablo is my favorite. Then I went to find my friends.
This brewery’s full of a bunch of rooms like are like secret nooks off to the side. There’s a room with some seats at the very top of the steps. The main room has the bar, a couple tall tables, and a shuffle board. Another side room has some sort of game. Go into another side room and there’s some pool and ping pong. Off the side of that side room is where I found my mates and where I spent the next couple hours trading silly stories. Someone came around every so often to collect empty glasses and other than that we were left alone.
Everyone in the house has a friendly face and it’s a nice casual atmosphere. I need to make it back for a tour. Next on the agenda…

Big Boss makes some of the best beer in the Triangle. With a location large enough to bottle beer, you’re likely to find these beers all over the state of NC and on tap in several bars/​restaurants too. You certainly won’t be disappointed if you get one of these beers!
The brewery itself is hidden a mile north of downtown Raleigh off Wake Forest/​Atlantic Avenue. It’s hidden in a little warehouse district before you get to Six Forks, but if you’re lucky to catch a brewery tour on the 2^nd Saturday of the month, you can’t miss the crowd that flocks to this hidden gem. They always have a food truck serving up some yummy goodness, and they sell three $ 1 beer coupons to taste the beer after the tour!
Now, about their beer. Bad Penny is a heavenly brown ale with rich caramel and nut undertones, and it’s just sweet enough. It’s best on draft in a frosty mug! Hell’s Belle is a tasty Belgian ale, and High Roller is a hoppy IPA (not too hoppy though!). I’ve had a few of their seasonals too– Harvest Time is absolutely delightful… quite possibly my favorite harvest brew. Monkey Bizness is a good high gravity beer that tastes like bananas (Willy Wonka, what?!). In the brew tour, I had Night Knight (dark IPA), D’Icer (dunkel), and Angry Angel (kolsch). Each of these beers are so unique and extremely delicious!
They have a taproom upstairs in the brewery that’s open every day. Though it’s a bit dark in there, they do have ample seats outside. They have a few games too (i loooove shuffleboard!) so you’ll never get bored here.
Whether it’s at the brewery itself or somewhere else, do yourself a favor & get some of Big Boss’s brews… you won’t be let down, I promise :)

Love their monthly brewery tours every second Saturday of the month – I’ve actually never gone on the tour part, it’s the three pints for $ 1 each that gets me. Good atmosphere with lots of things to do (pool, shuffle board, darts, pin pong).
They have some of the best and worst beers I’ve ever tasted. Best: High Roller, Harvest Time and Hell’s Belle. Worst: Fat Penny and Angry Angel. But hey, I guess that means there’s something for everyone’s taste!

I love Big Boss and their beer. I am a frequent visitor here as part of their Tuesday Run Club (although admit-​tingly I haven’t been so frequent in the summer heat). The location, although a bit out of the way, is perfect for a nice 3 mile run followed by lots of Big Boss Beer to celebrate the fact I got through the run.
This is an awesome place to hang out, complete with pool tables, lots of little hidden areas, and an open parking lot to enjoy during the warmer months. I have never had much trouble getting drinks at the bar, service is usually fairly quick, and while the bartenders certainly aren’t overly friendly, they aren’t jerks either.
Their beer is definitely the reason I stick around. Favorites include their Angry Angel Kolsch, Hell’s Bell Belgian, Saucey Pants Saison and my absolute favorite, the Harvest Time Pumpkin Ale. My favorite thing about Fall is pumpkin beer, and Big Boss really knows how to do it up right.
They hold several special events throughout the year with live music, specialty casks and more. If you haven’t been to Big Boss yet, you are truly missing out on a Raleigh treasure, and I suggest you head there now. Like right now.