Three Needs Taproom & Brewery

Not a fan of one of the bouncers, or the atmosphere on a busy night. Lots of rowdy college kids and ordering a drink is a lifelong quest. The issue with the bouncer is he’s kind of a dick lol. I have an Indiana license and he spent a full seven minutes inspecting it. I’ve never had that happen before. He consulted a book, took it inside, took his sweet time before declaring me legal (thanks). The issue is there’s a slight ripple on the laminate on my card which sucks for me I guess but I haven’t had an issue at the multitude of other places I’ve gone to drink or buy alcohol. And then there was the time we were ordering pizza outside in the cold (both of us were 21) and asked to wait inside because we were told it would take a while by the pizza guys and they were sorry. We said we could show our Ids but for some reason the same bouncer wouldn’t let us in? It was weird. Anyway, the pizza is good. Sometimes it can be outrageously greasy in a disgusting way. I like ordering a whole pizza and taking it home because it reheats very well.

Ended up picking up food from them — pizza and calzones were great! Later went there for drinks with a large group of friends — one of the larger bars in burlington and we had no problem pulling tables together and having room for our large group. Also a decent beer selection

I really enjoy coming to this location, particularly during their Duff hour specials– everyday at 4, $ 1 Duff beer and $ 1 pizza. This is also a great place to play some pool and catch up with some friends. They have a patio during warm season (as limited as that is). I will say undergrads monopolize the seating early on with the Duff hour special, and you have to wait for $ 1 pizza until 530 or when the Duff keg is kicked.

Duff Hour… $ 1 drafts and slices until the keg was kicked. Absolutely pefect experience with good beer, good pizza and a creative décor. Loved the outdoor smoking area and pool tables. The ladies’ room graffiti is highly entertaining. A great hang out!

4 stars based on quick 30 min stop at 11.30 PM on a snowy, Monday evening for a few slices of pizza. We only had a few slices that were available from already made pies, but there were really crunchy (tip to crust) and with good taste — Pepperoni and Margherita style slices.
More to come when I sit down for a pint and a custom pie, fresh from the oven.

Great place. Poor management. Got thrown out for standing near guys who had drinks on the foosball table. Before I could tell them I wasn’t part of that group, I was taken outside and had my one drink taken away. It’s a shame since I used to like going here.

I’ll preface this review by saying that there may be some nostalgia influencing my rating. I started going to Three Needs when it was on College St, in a much smaller and in my opinion much cooler space. The new space is huge and at first detracted from the experience, but they have since grown into it and actually expanded into another room and added a nice back patio. Three Needs IS a college dive bar and has been for a while, so if that isn’t the experience you are looking for, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.
What Three Needs does, they do well. The beer selection, while not that of a beer bar, is pretty good. Mostly local microbrews from the bigger area breweries. They have brought back some of their old recipes from the College St location when Three Needs was actually a brewery. Not every bar in Burlington has an ESB, so I thought this was a nice improvement. Oh, and the beers are wicked cheap, mostly $ 5 and under. $ 4.50 for a Backseat Berner from Otter Creek is a steal. While they do attract a fairly raucous crowd, this is not the kind of bar where people come to get smashed on Coors Light and cheap well drinks while listening to blaring pop tunes. Reggae and pool are the primary activities other than drinking.
A few years back, they added a pizza window that has since expanded their menu offerings to more than just cheese and pepperoni. While its not the best pizza in the world, its pretty good for a bar and certainly hits the spot after a beer or two.

We found Three Needs Taproom on the Untappd App and decided to check it out. It definitely has a dive-​bar feel to the place. You walk in and everything feels a little dirty. Oh well, it’s a bar and I can get over it.
The craft beers that they had on tap were pretty good. The servers were knowledgeable and pretty friendly (they were also pretty busy on a Friday night).
The bonus to this place is the little take-​out pizza counter at the front door. EXCELLENT slices of pizza. I would go back just for the pizza!

Great food, some pool and darts to keep you entertained. Really nice patio, and they brew their own beer here and it’s pretty good. They have this little black book you write your «three needs» in and it’s always good for a laugh

Stopped in as part of a brewery tour /​pub crawl — we were given a pint of something with an orange in it and it was delicious. Pool tables were set up and there is an outdoor patio section to hangout at. Definitely recommend stopping by for a drink here.

Zero stars
There is zero customer service and hospitality at this bar. In addition, the crowd that is attracted to the bar is full of scensters and hipsters that all are very aggressive. The bouncers don’t realize that it is within common culture to bring a purse to a bar regardless of the size, and they also pursue to check these bags like you are going through customs and TSA security. If they were looking to be an airport bar they should have opened up at BTB. They are clearly in the wrong business. If you are going to thoroughly check someone’s bag without cause at least prep the customer, buy them a free drink when you find nothing and help them reorganize there belongings. It is a complete violation of privacy and if needed to be done since apparently two people have brought guns into the bar so the working manager said, then at least be courteous. There is no respect at this place of business for their patrons. The bar should have stayed a small business at there smaller location on college street as they clearly can not handle the overwhelming crowd that is drawn to a large space like this, such as Nectars and red sq.
Feel free to drop me a note if you would like to discuss further, i will be relentless about this review and will never step foot in this bar again.

Came in as part of a tour, and left wanting to try more. There is a great beer selection, but try the Three Needs label first. I will be returning.

Love this building. Surprised they don’t take advantage of the upper level! Was in on a Monday night for some pool. Awkwardly asked for ID at door? Totally cool with it, but the ‘bouncer’ if we can call him that barely noticed us walk in until we were 10 paces past him. Huge selection of local brews. Lots of seating: indoor and outdoor. 2 pool tables. Clean bathrooms. Bartender was a bit cold, perhaps because I’m not a regular? But was knowledgable on available brews.

An amazing pizza menu with no option for dairy-​free? PLEASE. Super easy to do, so why not increase your customer base?
The bar and pool tables are always packed, and the crowd is college kids. Sad, the original locale was super cool. :/

I moved to Burlington from Central Vermont in the beginning of summer 2014. Once discovering that their first hour of business is «Duff Hour», where the beers are $ 1 until the keg kicks, I was sold. But it gets so much more! This summer they debuted a beautiful 2^nd story, fenced in patio. It’s huge! and perfect for a summer evening. I am also a huge fan of their pizza. The calzone is less than $ 10, and they have a walk-​up window out front where you can grab a slice at any hour of business. If you’re a pool shark, there is a great scene here and a league that plays as well. My pool playing, bourbon drinking mother approves, and so do I! Thank you Three Needs, my home away from home.

I attended my first «duff» keg night this evening. It was fun and well until the bartender confronted me in an offensive unprofessional manner. She seemed to aggressively single me out for not tipping on a low tab order. The overall situation being a 4 beer purchase with a 100% tip given to a different bartender. Perhaps she didn’t personally witness me tip the other bartender (aren’t tips split at the end?), but she basically gave me a belittling «tip» lesson on bars. Something along the lines of, «Why aren’t you tipping. I serve other customers who tip before people like you» Her stance seemed entitled with a dash of spite.
I feel wronged because I offered genuine sincerity in my motives of not tipping immediately… Please just give me a second to bring the beers to my friends, then ill gladly tip. She followed up with snappy remarks without comprehending my side. It’s as if she didn’t care about the customer, but more about her tips. on a less than 10 $ tab.
For so little tip money, I believe its safe to assume such a situation would never be brought up. What puzzled me the most, is that I tipped the same amount of what the tab was, and didn’t receive any type of acknowledgement afterwards.
I can confidently say, I wasn’t out of line. Never raised my voice, didn’t say anything negative, was genuine with my apology, and was being overall pleasant.
I want to believe she was having a bad day, and decided to blow up on a customer.
Do I personally recommend this place? Yea, great vibes and a good spot with great craft beers. The service used to be impeccable.
Do I like how this bartender interacted with me? Not one bit.
Truth be told, I probably won’t be back. If any of my buddies want to meet up there, I’ll tell them about my experience.
All in all, I hope this bartender remembers what tips are: A gesture of gratitude. (gratuity — reward, gift, etc.) I understand it’s a service custom nowadays, but don’t forget it’s not something that should be expected, it should be earned… keep in mind I normally tip well over 20%.

I used to frequent at the older location on college street and since the bar moved to its current location the clientele demographic has shifted considerably and now is more of a college dive bar type. Offering a new-​ish enclosed back patio with tables and chairs (there are smokers out there), as well as pizza, billiards, pinball, an oldschool arcade, and fooseball, the Needs definitely is a fun night out on the town. The Needs also used to brew their own beer but I think this has been discontinued two years ago or so.
Tip: Duff Hour. $ 1 draft beers starting at 4 on weekdays until the keg kicks. Another tip: the first 30 minutes after the Duff Hour keg kicks there a $ 1 slices of pizza! There seems to be enough of a following for Duff Hour so you will often see a line at the door before they open at 4.

Since they took over the Parima spot the bar has grown in popularity. They just added an outdoor area, mainly for people who smoke. Relaxed vibe, pool tables, side lounge with live music open occasionally.

This seems to be where the grown up dude bros go. It’s not really my first choice, but I can see why everyone else likes it. People seemed pretty friendly. I’m not sure where they’re hiding the taproom and brewery, but whatever.
There were a lot of signs about proper bathroom behavior that suggest they have a sex/​drugs problem later in the night (only ladies in the ladies room — I thought Burlington was more PC than that).

I’ve been here a few times. The beer selection is pretty good, and I’ve *never* had attitude from any of the bartenders. It seems like a lot of people have (protip: Treat your bartender well and they usually treat you pretty well. Not just tipping, but a thank you and a smile too…)
I like the space and the ambiance. It gets crowded but it’s cozy and people don’t typically bother you or bump into you etc. The prices are on par or even a little better than a lot of the other places in the area. I also feel as if the noise level is just below average for the area. I can usually have a conversation here.