Switchback Brewing Company, on Flynn Avenue in Burlington's South End, has been brewing since 2002 and is best known for its unfiltered amber ale — a sessionable, consistently excellent beer that is ubiquitous on Vermont tap lists. The brewery's Beer Garden and Smokehouse is a Southern-inspired restaurant serving house-smoked BBQ alongside the house beers and cocktails, with a large outdoor patio that fills up on summer evenings.
The South End location puts it in the middle of Burlington's most interesting neighbourhood — the Arts District along Pine Street has galleries, studios, and food businesses that make for a good afternoon of wandering before settling in at Switchback for dinner.