
First Take: With the beer renaissance in the Triangle continuing unabated, I wasn’t surprised to see State of Beer pop up on Hillsborough Street! Located on a quiet spot in downtown Raleigh between the Warehouse District and S. Glenwood, State of Beer joins the recently opened Taverna Agora to liven up this area! With a large parking lot patio out front, State of Beer has done a great job out the gate…

Like most beer shops, a large portion of State of Beer is dedicated to single bottles along with chilled beers in the freezer. They’ve got a large selection of both here including 7 or 8 beers on tap. What differentiates State of Beer from the competition is their food and sandwiches! Behind the beer bar is a small kitchen/prep area for freshly sliced meat. They offer up a small selection of deli sandwiches (Italian, salami, turkey and more) with a side of either chick peas, chips or potato chips.

State of Beer is already popular for lunch so it takes a bit of time for our sammiches. It’s a younger crowd in the know. Thankfully I’ve got a Wicked Weed Coolcumber ale keeping me company right now.

15 or so minutes later, out food comes out and it looks really good. The sandwiches come on Yellow Dog Bakery baguette bread, my friend has a chick-pea side while I go with the chubby chips. My Italian sandwich is very nicely put together and well-stuffed. Maybe about 9″ long but plenty dense with cheese, tomato, bibb lettuce, soppressata, prosciutto and more. An excellent sandwich and rightfully so given the $12 price tag!

We wrap up lunch with a quick spin around State of Beer for a 4-pack and then head on out into the steam, hot Carolina afternoon. State of Beer is an excellent beer shop dishing out very good sandwiches. Only question is if it fits into your budget or not! So welcome to the hood, State of Beer and keep on doing what you’re doing…
State of Beer
401 Hillsborough Street
Raleigh, NC 27603
919.546.9116
Location on Google maps