Every time I go to review a brewery the number of friends that want to join me grows. We had a “Brew Crew” of seven on this evening: we started the trip in Apex at Brueprint Brewing Co. after work on a Friday (because beer tastes better on Fridays). The brewery is located in a conveniently next to a Cross Fit gym. So you can impress your significant other by diligently “going to the gym” for a work out and of course “accidentally” walk into the wrong door. Well, while you’re here you might want to go ahead and grab a beer (it would be rude not to, right?).

The taproom was popular: every seat at the bar was taken, and people occupied every table, so it was standing room only the evening we were there. I was disappointed that our beers were served in plastic solo cups. I’m a believer in glassware, and plastic cups remind me of a college bar. But the servers were doing a fine job given the crowd in this small taproom. I was surprised this taproom had live music the night we were there. While we enjoyed the performance, along with the horde of customers in the small taproom area in this brewery, the area was a bit loud.  Food trucks frequent this brewery, so of course we took full advantage.

This brewery is no doubt successful. Each beer has its own cool logo, and Apex appears to truly be embracing what these guys are doing. And the beers we sampled were good. We agreed that the three listed below were our favorites.

• Bruenette: A great is brown ale that is comparable to the best brown ales made in NC. This brown ale has nutty flavors with noticeable chocolate overtones.
• EdinBrue: This is a smooth Scotch Ale with a nice malty flavor and a neat hint of a scotch finish.
• Brue Diamond: This brew is the hops-head choice, and a wonderful summer time beer.

I would encourage anyone in the Apex area to stop in and see what the excitement is all about (and why every seat is taken!). This brewery is doing a lot of things right, and it seems to be paying off for them. Please let us know what you think of Brueprint.

Michael Cole lives in Sanford, NC, and loves great food and beer. His taste tends to favor malts over hops so he’s an avid fan of ambers and dark beers.