10 things to check out at Brewery Bhavana
Brewery Bhavana has been open in downtown Raleigh's Moore Square for one year, but we're still discovering all it has to offer.
The brewery, bookstore, dim sum restaurant and flower shop is co-owned by Patrick Woodson and Van Nolintha, who both work to emphasize creativity, art and community and celebrate diversity within the doors of the beautiful venue.
To help both first-time and returning patrons experience all Brewery Bhavana has to offer, the duo shared with me 10 "must see," "must savor," and "must experience" elements of the destination. Trust me, you'll love them all.
1. The white granite tap wall.
"I'm biased, but I am in love with our tap wall," said Woodson, Brewery Bhavana's head brewer. "It features 40 stainless steel taps. The goal of that design-wise was to have a really beautiful stage for the beer to be presented."
2. The 'Grove' double IPA and the new barrel program.
"This is our No.1 seller," said Woodson. "We try to keep it on tap all the time."
"It's aromatic and really dry," added Nolintha. "It's one of the beers I notice a lot of non-beer drinkers go to. Which is weird, because it's not an entry level type beer, but our approach to it is very delicate. It's like walking through a citrus grove."
Woodson also mentioned the brewery's new barrel program, which will launch new beverages from Brewery Bhavana's 180 wine barrels that have been slowly aging beer for over a year now. "They are slightly tart and in between what a wine and a beer would be," said Woodson, noting making the beers has been "a labor of love."
3. The library.
A collection of books lives at Brewery Bhavana solely for guests to sit and read while they are visiting. For that reason, you'll see many people enjoying the peaceful atmosphere alone over a drink or a small plate.
"Right before we opened, we knew we wanted the community to participate in how this place came to be," said Nolintha. "We reached out to about 400 friends and mentors asking for books that are meaningful in their lives, and what we got was a collection of 4,000 books that are really personal to people who are living in this community. Some of the books have personal notes on the inside of why they are meaningful. It truly represents the heartbeat of this community."
4. The flower shop.
The Brewery Bhavana flower shop features bouquets, arrangements and single stems for purchase. The works of art are all arranged in-store.
"Our floral designer really spent a lot of time thinking of what it means to give flowers to someone or to yourself," said Nolintha. "Whether you're picking up something for a friend's birthday or just a single stem, we hope that they really give our flower shop a moment."
5. The bookstore and gift shop.
"Our bookstore is really dynamic," said Nolintha about Brewery Bhavana's gift shop area. "It's everything from poetry and cookbooks to relevant conversations about race, politics and gender inequality. There's something really dynamic and relevant that's happening at the shop all the time."
6. The char siu bao, or steamed pork dumpling. "That is a classical dim sum dish," said Nolintha. "Dim sum means to touch the heart -- it's this this idea of someone welcoming someone else into their home by making this precious offering."
7. The peking duck, which, according to Nolintha, features 30 ingredients and takes three days to make. "This cooking tradition has been going on in China for 700 years," added Nolintha. "We are trying really hard to show reverence of that really rich cooking tradition right here in our Moore Square kitchen."
8. The lotus table.
Nestled in Brewery Bhavana's back corner, this round table features a striking chandelier sourced from Barcelona. Made from 129 pieces, its shape causes light to cascade over the table. "It's hard to sit there with friends and not feel a loving warmth. It is probably the most photographed thing here," said Nolintha. "The circle table symbolizes bringing people together -- like a nest."
9. The garden area table .
"On any given weekday or weekend day, it is a beautiful place to sit and enjoy a beer or a tea," said Woodson. "We recommend sitting here and enjoying the sunlight that comes in -- and it is a great people watching spot."
10. The table tops themselves, which Nolintha says represent a lot of stories, memories and connections.
"We have a brass table that was made locally in Durham," said Nolintha. "The bottoms of beer glasses and plates and plates leave imprints in the table, so it tells stories both of where it came from but also of the living component of this place. From day to day, from shift to shift, from moment to moment, this place is breathing and alive and all those memories and experiences are being captured."
