Road Trip! Natty Greene’s Brewing Company
Greensboro's historic brewpub combines elevated but casual food with a wide and ever-changing range of American and Old World style beers.
ROAD TRIP
Ben Marmaduke
1/6/20264 min read
Déjà Brew
Walking into Natty Greene’s Brewpub for our first-ever visit, it somehow felt comfortable and familiar. Located in an historic (1890) three-story corner building in Old Town Greensboro, Natty’s looks and feels like the perfect setting for a brewpub. That feeling of comfort and familiarity stayed with us throughout our visit, extending to the ambience, the view from our street-side table, the service, our food, and of course, the beer.
Our Saturday lunch was primarily focused on conversation and food because we were meeting up with local friends. But I had done some research on Natty's history, and I was highly interested in its backstory and the classic Belgian and German styles that are less frequently represented at other NC brewpubs.
The Basics
Location: 345 S Elm St, Greensboro, NC 27401
Parking: ample street and nearby parking lots
Website: nattygreenes.com
Social media: facebook.com/NattyGreenesBrewingCo, instagram.com/nattygreenesbrewingco
Vibe/atmosphere: comfortable, family-friendly, historic multi-level building and beer garden
Beers we tried: Newzilla Saison, Razz Hands Berliner Weisse, Trickster Belgian Strong Ale
Important NC Beer Explorer Tip: When consuming alcohol, always have a designated driver. Be safe out there, friends!
Founding Fathers
Founders Chris Lester and Kayne Fisher took a long road to establishing their brewery. They became friends at UNC Greensboro in the late 1980’s and worked together in beer distribution before opening tap rooms featuring craft beers in the late 90’s. In 2002, Chris and Kayne saw the convergence of two significant opportunities: the explosion of craft beer and the revitalization of downtown Greensboro. Thus, Natty Greene’s Brewery was born, honoring the city’s namesake Revolutionary War hero, Major General Nathaniel Greene.
From the very start, Chris and Kayne’s concept was to set their brewpub apart by featuring food that was refined-but-casual to match their range of well-crafted beers. They hired a world-class brewmaster from Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing to help them hit the ground running – and that’s exactly what they did. On their first day of business, they had 250 people waiting for the doors to open. They only had food for 100, so they placated the rest by giving them free beer.
The partnership lasted until November 2018, when the two friends went their separate ways, business-wise. Kayne narrowed his focus to The Kitchen and Market at Revolution Mill, a restaurant concept he co-founded with Chris, while Chris retained the Natty's brand. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and Natty's experienced several setbacks (described here), but it came back with a vengeance when it completed its game-changing expansion that included a beautiful beer garden in August of 2024. The arc of Natty Greene's renewed success was fully on display when we made our visit.
The Beer and Now
Fast-forward to 2025 and our visit: Natty Greene’s is as popular as ever, even with dozens more brewpubs now in the Triad area. Greensboro’s downtown revitalization is in full bloom, and strolling along Elm Street, we could feel the history and vibrancy that is Old Town Greensboro. Nearly every neighborhood building is occupied by restaurants, brewpubs and shops, and when we were there the last week of December, there were plenty of potential customers strolling by on a mild post-Christmas Saturday afternoon.
Now, onto our experience at Natty Greene’s food and beer: the large menu includes starters, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and entrees such as “Carolina Catfish.” We focused on the burgers and sandwiches, and there was nothing but crumbs left on our plates. Rebecca was particularly impressed with her black bean burger and, to her post-Christmas diet chagrin, she found the hand-cut fries irresistible as well.
The bar at Natty Greene's Brewpub is one of several cozy seating areas, including an upstairs space and a beer garden
We sampled three beers, focusing on their Belgian and German styles. Each was true to style with subtle, well executed twists. You can see our tasting notes below for details, but we have to say the star of the show (based on our limited sample size) was the Newzilla Saison. Current Head Brewer John Wallinger brewed his traditional Saison with Newzilla hop blend, imparting notes of tropical fruit, citrus and stone fruit. That might sound like a lot, but it was a well-balanced and complex drinking journey that we thoroughly enjoyed.
Our only disappointment was that we did not have time to try a wider range of Natty Greene’s beers. They are well-known for also having excellent sessionable American and Old World beer styles including Pale Ale, Witbier, Golden Lager and Pilsner. However, we love the Triad, and on our next visit to Greensboro, we’ll be sure to schedule ample time for a full Natty Greene’s experience.
Natty Greene's Beer Garden expansion adjoins its brewpub (photo credit nattygreenes.com)
Rebecca's burger quickly disappeared, but here is a representative photo from nattygreenes.com.
NCBE's Beer Notes - Natty Greene's Brewing Co.
Newzilla*
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.4%
Color: Gold-amber, hazy, yellow, lacy head
Aroma: Citrus, tropical fruit, a little funk
Taste: Like the aroma, but with stone fruit and bubblegum
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light body, high carbonation
Aftertaste: Short, dry finish, peach bubblegum
Overall: A complex but balanced journey
Razz Hands
Style: Berliner Weisse
ABV: 4.7%
Color: Pink, light haze
Aroma: Tart raspberry, light floral
Taste: Tart raspberry, cranberry, clean sourness
Mouthfeel: Light, bright, high carbonation/champagne bubbles
Aftertaste: Refreshing, tart, dry finish
Trickster
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
ABV: 8.4%
Color: Gold
Aroma: Fruity, baking spice
Taste: Fruity, bread, balanced
Mouthfeel: Medium-high body, medium carbonation
Aftertaste: Spicy, some alcohol
