We have received your payment for the West Coast beer tasting. Tickets will be available at the door — please bring your PayPal receipt as proof of payment.
Your transaction ID is 867-5309.
Just kidding — that’s the same code everyone got. I just wanted you to have that song stuck in your head. 867530nieeineeee!
If you have any questions, please email Sean of PTC. Thank you for your support!
*** IF YOU PURCHASED GAME TICKETS, WE’LL HAVE THEM FOR YOU AT THE EVENT ***
North Carolina’s beer cap is now 15 percent alcohol by volume. Below is a quick history on how Pop The Cap, an all-volunteer grassroots group, lobbied for three years to help raise the limit from 6 to 15 percent.
To learn more about why North Carolina still imposes an artificial cap on beer, please read the “What’s with the 15 percent cap?” page.
Pop The Cap is no longer a going concern. The information on this web site is archived for history’s sake (and nostalgia).
***
We called. We wrote. We conquered.
In February 2003, a motley group of thirty-five beer lovers gathered at the All About Beer office to discuss one issue: how to lift North Carolina’s 6% alcohol by volume cap on beer. For seventy years, North Carolina had imposed a 6% ABV restriction on beer sold and brewed within the state. At the time, the Old North State was one of five states with a severe limitation.
The thirty-five of us were fed up. This relic of Prohibition made it illegal to brew or sell one-third of the world’s beer styles, including gourmet Belgian ales, hoppy IPAs, and intensely malty dopplebocks. Beers meant for sipping and savoring…nothing like the American light lagers that dominate North Carolina’s storeshelves.
For two-and-a-half years, this group of thirty-five no-nothings (yes, yours truly included!) grew into a grassroots movement of thousands of North Carolinians. We hired a lobbyist, the amazing Theresa Kostrzewa. In our first legislative push, the Pop The Cap bill passed two House committees, two Senate committees, the House floor, and the Senate floor.
Such progress is almost unheard of, especially with such a potentially volatile issue as raising an alcohol cap. We overcame intense resistance from old-line distributors and neo-Prohibitionist interest groups. We battled Senator John “Drinking straight vodka” Kerr and Senator “this law will lead to more unwanted pregnancies and academic suicides” Jacumin.
On August 13, 2005, Governor Mike Easley signed House Bill 392 into law, lifting the 6% ABV cap to a more-reasonable 15%. We called, we wrote, we conquered. We popped the cap.
UPDATE: Four years later, and the ABV laws in South are falling like a deck of cards. Only ONE state has a severe ABV restriction:
Let’s support Mississippi’s Raise Your Pints and RID OUR NATION of these restrictive caps!
Lastly, are you angry that we still have a cap, even if it’s 15%? Do you feel slighted that you still can’t get ten or so beers here in North Carolina? Relax, have a beer, and learn more here.
To learn more about how to be a beer activist — or to keep up with some of the hot issues around the nation — please visit SupportYourLocalBrewery.org.
It was an honor to serve you.
Cheers,
Sean Lilly Wilson
Past President, Pop The Cap
This from the good folks at The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery in Farmville:
“The Duck-Rabbit Barley Wine is on the way!
You are invited to our Holiday Open House/Barley Wine Pre-Release Party. Come check out the brewery, enjoy some munchies and seize the opportunity for that first taste of The Duck-Rabbit’s next seasonal specialty. Our American Barley Wine is big and hoppy, and weighs in at 11% abv. We think you’ll like it as much as we do.
Location:
The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
4519 West Pine Street
Farmville, NC 27828
Date: Saturday, December 9, 2006
Time: 3pm-?
Where’s Farmville? Click here for help.
We look forward to seeing you there.”
We’d love to hear from you, especially as we transition from a grassroots lobbying organization to a North Carolina beer appreciation society. We respond to all non-SPAM inquiries. It’s in our blood.
Thank you so much!
Four hundred new beers on the shelves. Seasonal and specialty releases from North Carolina breweries. New beer bars, brewpubs, and retail stores….from Asheville to Kill Devil Hills. It’s a good time to be a craft beer lover in North Carolina.
Pop The Cap celebrates all the people who took time to get involved in the legislative process of lifting North Carolina’s 6% alcohol by volume cap on beer. We mean this sincerely…it wasn’t us, it was you. And now that a year has passed since Governor Mike Easley signed HB392 into law, we’ve launched Pop The Cap version 2.
Our new goal: to celebrate beer culture in North Carolina. How? By hosting beer dinners pairing great beer with great food. Showcasing North Carolina’s amazing selection of specialty beers. And promoting the great beer scene and breweries here in North Carolina…the State of Southern Beer.
Our mission is to be a resource for North Carolina craft beer lovers, both online and as a real-world community. If you have any ideas or recommendations, we’d love to hear from you. As it was with changing the 6% law, it’s all about you, the craft beer enthusiast.
Check out the events we’ve led since lifting the 6% cap.
We’re celebrating the one-year lifting of the cap throughout August. Here’s what we have lined up FOR SURE.
AUGUST 12th
A great combination of Asheville music and Asheville beer: Asheville’s French Broad Brewery will offer draft beer specials, and is bringing along two great bands from the area.
Pop The Cap celebration at 7:30pm at the bar.
Music at the Speakeasy starts at 8pm; $4 cover.
In the works, possibly later in the month:
Oh yeah! We’ve had great success with our Beer 201: Craft Beer Appreciation Class. We don’t follow any strict guidelines — to us, craft beer appreciation can range from a simple beer tasting to an extravagant dinner or party. Our specialty is promoting North Carolina beer for parties of 50 to 500.
We’ll work with you to come up with a great event. Check out our past successes!
Events Pop The Cap has led since lifting the cap include:
Our Promises:
Contact us today! We’re ready to spread the word about better beer. Email Sean Wilson at sean@popthecap.org for more information.
Breweries that have provided beer for the new PTCv2 mission include:
– North Carolina –
Highland Brewing Company, Asheville, NC
French Broad Brewing Company, Asheville NC
Foothills Brewing Company, Winston-Salem, NC
Natty Greene’s Pub & Brewing, Greensboro, NC
Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery, High Point, NC
Triangle Brewing Company, Durham, NC
Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery, Chapel Hill, NC
Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill and Pittsboro, NC
Big Boss Brewing, Raleigh, NC
Cottonwood / Carolina Beer and Beverage, Mooresville, NC
The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville, NC
Ham’s Brewhouse, Greenville, NC
Weeping Radish Eco Farm and Brewery, Jarvisburg, NC
– Not North Carolina, but dang good –
Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo, MI
Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, MD
Ommegang and Duvel USA, Cooperstown, NY
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, CA
Rogue Ales, Newport, OR
Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME
Oskar Blues Brewery, Lyons, CO
Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, CA
Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA
Brasserie Dupont, Belgium
Brasserie Dubuisson Freres, Belgium
And thanks to these distributors & importers!
All Good Brands
Vanberg and Dewulf
Tryon Distribution
Long Beverage
(who did I miss? Go on..tell me! I’ll add it to the list!)
Pop The Cap News is a once-a-month-or-so HTML newsletter with the latest beer news, events, and opinions about craft beer. Archiving ain’t as easy (or cheap) as it used to be, so we’re not archiving like we used to.
Over 1,500 North Carolinians subscribe to PTC News. Do you?
Sign on up!
Plucking some of the more interesting PTC newsletters, if only for history’s sake…
Are you blowing off work right now? That’s okay, I am too. Click below if you want to see our earliest correspondence — simply click on the index.html file within each folder. We sent out the first HTML newsletter in March of 2003.
Panzanella, Carrboro’s community-owned Italian eatery, is celebrating North Carolina beer and food with a Monday night dinner.
The cost of this event is $40/person; space is limited, so reserve early. Please pay in advance and pick up a ticket for this tasting at either Panzanella or the Customer Service Desk at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro.
You can find additional discussion around the dinner on the Beerinator website.
AUGUST 19, 4:00 — 8:00 P.M.
Sample from over 100 craft beers from around the world at the Greensboro Coliseum Pavilion. Free parking with advance purchase.
Visit the Summertime brews website for more information and to order tickets!
Interested in having a craft beer appreciation class for your next event? It’s fun, educational, and a guaranteed way to get people to show up! It is, after all, beer.
Inquire via the Pop The Cap contact form. We’d love to hear from you!
 (click to see both sides) |
Know someone who loves North Carolina beer? Is it you? The new Pop The Cap “always fill up” shirt could be just the thing. Your purchase helps Pop The Cap continue to advocate for North Carolina and independent breweries! |
 |
|
We’ll use Flickr to post pictures here. Still figuring this out, but for now, here are some pictures of an Asheville event in 2004.
Check out the front and back in this sample picture.
$18 plus a couple of bucks for shipping. Please support PTC’s ongoing efforts to promote and advocate craft beer in North Carolina.
NOTE: we have a mix of t-shirt colors and sizes. If you select a size that we’re out of, we’ll contact you to find an alternative, or refund your money. Your best chance of finding a size and color you like is to order now, as these shirts are in limited supply.
Here’s a set of pictures from one of our best events — if not *the* best event, a summer 2004 gathering in Asheville. I’m still playing around with Flickr, so hopefully this will work.
If you have any pictures from PTC or North Carolina beer gatherings, send them our way! Send an email to sean (at) popthecap.org.
Hello! I’m having some problems getting the new July Pop The Cap newsletter out to our 1,500 or so subscribers. It’s now online, so if you know a thing or two about RSS feeds, you should be able to receive this notice (and future posts) about Pop The Cap and beer in North Carolina.
Personally, I use Mozilla Thunderbird to manage my RSS feeds, blog subscriptions and PTC email. You can also use Firefox’s Live Bookmarks feature to keep up-to-date with new blog posts and RSS feeds.
Microsoft Outlook does not currently enable RSS or Atom feeds, but third-party solutions for Outlook are out there.
Anyway, here’s the July newsletter. Let us know what you think of the new look!
Foothills Brewing in Winston-Salem announces their first-ever cask ale: Hoppyum IPA!
The brewery plans to tap a firkin every Friday, so head out to the big W-S on the 28th and show your support for their inaugural cask. Trivia: a firkin is an old English unit of volume used for cask ales. Volume-wise, it’s in-between a hogshead and a butt. I said “butt!”
Ah, Flickr. I love you. But a simple task on your site turns into hours of browsing, much like my Aunt Flo on eBay after her afternoon Rob Roys.
Anyway, here are a few shots of the most excellent one-year celebration at Tyler’s in Carrboro. Many thanks to the event supporters, including Foothills, Highland, and French Broad breweries! And many thanks to Greg (the baker) Prospero for taking pictures of the toast!
We’re entering beer festival season, meaning that breweries (in particular) are really, really busy. It also means that there’s a lot of great beer-related events going on. SO…we at Pop The Cap going to support these events and plan our own functions in the more quiet months of the year. Look for 2007 membership information in the fall. In addition, we’ll be working on some publications and promotions to let people know all about the great breweries and beer businesses throughout the Old North State.
For now, many thanks to all of you who wrote letters, visited legislators and supported Pop The Cap. It’s been a great year.
Pop The Cap is very excited about this Saturday’s Raleigh Wide Open. In fact, we’ve sent out a press release to the local media announcing the fact that fourteen breweries and brewpubs — all from North Carolina — will be serving their beer at this event.
As far as we can tell, this represents the first time a beer festival has focused exclusively on North Carolina beer. It’s a good time to be a beer lover in the Old North State!
See you on the street!
This past Thursday, a sold-out crowd of 130 patrons filled the upstairs section of Chapel Hill’s Carolina Brewery for the brewery’s first North Carolina beer dinner.
It was a wonderful evening. Brewer Jon “MC Hops” Connelly kept the crowd entertained and focused, and we heard from participating brewers Oscar Wong of Highland Brewing Company and Paul Phillapon of the Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery.
A recap of the beer and food:
Appetizers
Sky Blue Golden Ale Battered Spicy Shrimp Rolls with Teriyaki Glaze
Giacomo’s Pigs in a Blanket with Whole Grain Duck Rabbit Milk Stout Mustard Sauce
Honey-Lavender Grilled Figs over Celebrity Farms Goat Cheese Canapes
Beers: a selection of Carolina Brewery, Highland, and Duck-Rabbit beers
Salad
Roasted Farmer’s Market Vegetable Napoleon with Fresh Mozzarella, Arugula Pecan Pesto, Grilled Radicchio with a To Hell ‘n’ Bock reduction.
Beer: Highland’s Gaelic Ale
Entree
Apricot Stuffed Pork Loin with Roasted Baby Beets and Braised Fennel. Veggies types received a Citrus Marinated Grilled Tofu with Apricot Chutney, beets and fennel.
Beer: Carolina Brewery’s To Hell ‘n’ Bock.
Dessert
Tiramisu-Sabayon- Counter Culture Dipped Lady Fingers, Fresh Fruit, DR Milk Stout Marscapone Cheese topped with Brulee Sabayon Sauce.
Beer: Duck-Rabbit’s Milk Stout.
Other beers on tap and not-to-be-missed: the Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter (amazing) and the Highland Imperial Gaelic (yuh-huh, I ain’t kiddin’).
All for $30. Can’t beat that.
If you missed this event, Carolina Brewery is planning another one in October (I believe the 21st). If you were there, feel free to comment on the event or post pictures at the emerging Pop The Cap group on Flickr. I forgot my camera, so the pictures of Thursday’s event come courtesy of Robert “New Papa” Poitras at the Carolina Brewery.
A year later, I don’t like harping on the past. It’s so much more exciting to envision the here and now…and the future of craft beer in North Carolina.
But with ditties like this one…who can resist a trip down Nostalgia Alley?
Story courtesy of NC SPIN.
Kerr supporting his opponent?
Sometimes the stories about politicians seem almost too funny to be real, but one of our most reliable sources swears this one is the “Sunday School Gospel Truth.”
Todd Siebels is the Republican candidate challenging incumbent Senator John Kerr in District 5. It isn’t at all unusual that the two had not formally met, but a fundraiser for the Wayne County Sheriff appeared the perfect opportunity.
Wearing his “Seibels for Senate” campaign button, Todd decided the time was right and went over to Kerr, stuck out his hand and said, “Senator Kerr, I’m Todd Siebels and I’m running, so I thought I would say hello.” Kerr responded in the typical politician way by saying, “That’s great. It’s good to meet you and you can count on my support.” You could have knocked Siebels over with a pin. The stunned Siebels responded, “O really? You’re going to vote for me?” Without hesitation, Kerr said, “Yes, I sure will,” then paused and asked, “Now, who is it you are running against?”
“YOU,” retorted Siebels. We can only surmise Kerr’s reaction. We can understand candidates not paying attention to what their opponent is doing, but not even knowing his name?
Good luck, Senator Kerr! We’re voting just as you are.
Tyler’s in Carrboro…celebration kicks off with a 7:30pm toast…stay for the music!
|
“Importing these specialty beers just cuts down on the production and jobs involved in producing North Carolina beer.” Senator Jim Jacumin, July 2005 |
|---|
French Broad Wee Heavier
Highland Tasgall
Foothills Seeing Double IPA
What do these beers have in common? Two things: they’re the featured beers at tomorrow’s kick-off celebration at Tyler’s in Carrboro. And they weren’t produced last year.
Drink that, Senator Jacumin!
We’re going to celebrate a year of great beer tomorrow at Tyler’s in Carrboro. Join us at the Tyler’s bar for a 7:30pm toast with big beers from French Broad, Highland and Foothills. Then mosey on over to the Speakeasy for a great combination of Asheville music and Asheville beer!
 |
 |
 |
|---|
Asheville’s French Broad Brewery will offer draft beer specials on their Wee Heavier, Goldenrod Pilsner, Marzen and White beer. In addition, the brewery is bringing along two great bands from the area: Woody Wood and Tyler Ramsey .
Details, for the summary-minded:
Saturday, August 12, Tyler’s Taproom in Carrboro
Pop The Cap celebration at 7:30pm at the bar
Music at the Speakeasy starts at 8pm ($4 cover)
You don’t have to hit the music scene to celebrate with Pop The Cap, but it’d be great if you were there! Support NC music and NC beer!
(From beerinator.com. I’ve had this beer and it is amazing.)
DUCK-RABBIT CRAFT BREWERY CELEBRATES 2ND ANNIVERSARY
Farmville, NC—The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery celebrates its second anniversary with a Pint Night at Raleigh’s Flying Saucer Draught Emporium on Wednesday, August 9, 2006.
The event unveils the brewery’s Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter, third in a series of limited-release seasonal specialty beers. The Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter is deep, rich and velvety soft. A full blooded roasty character is balanced by complex alcohol notes. Strong (9% alcohol by volume) yet unfailingly subtle, this special brew warrants sipping and savoring. Accolades abound in the brewing community as brewmaster and founder Paul Philippon’s distinguished portfolio of beers has expanded to include a series of seasonal specialties—the Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter follows the Rabid Duck Russian Imperial Stout and Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale.
Specializing in dark beers, the Farmville, North Carolina brewery entered the craft beer market in August of 2004, offering Duck-Rabbit Amber Ale, Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale, Duck-Rabbit Porter and Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout. Duck-Rabbit sales continue to climb throughout North Carolina, as well as South Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.
Event Details:
What: Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery 2nd Anniversary Celebration. The first 120 pints sold will be served in take-home Duck-Rabbit logo glassware.
Where: Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, located at 328 West Morgan Street, in downtown Raleigh
When: 7pm on Wednesday, August 9, 2006.
Information: Contact Jay Wilson at 919.559.5091 or jwilson (at) duckrabbitbrewery.com
Website: www.duckrabbitbrewery.com
We’re lining up events throughout August. First up is CARRBORO and WILMINGTON this Saturday! Please pass this along to your friends…we’re relying on word-of-mouth given how quickly this is coming up.
AUGUST 12th
A great combination of Asheville music and Asheville beer: Asheville’s French Broad Brewery will offer draft beer specials (including the French Broad Wee Heavier!). In addition, the brewery is bringing along two great bands from the area: Woody Wood and Tyler Ramsey.
Pop The Cap celebration at 7:30pm at the bar. Music at the Speakeasy starts at 8pm. $4 cover. You don’t have to hit the music scene to celebrate with Pop The Cap, but it’d be great if you were there! Support NC music and NC beer!
Stay tuned for events in other cities (Asheville, Winston-Salem and Charlotte). For now, we hope to see you in Carrboro or Wilmington!
It’s Oktoberfest time! Enjoy over 250 beers from regional, national and international breweries.
You can purchase advance tickets for $25 at the Charlotte Oktoberfest website. The Carolina Brewmasters, hosts of this event for all eight years running, are limiting ticket sales to 5,000…so it promises to be a well-run, fun event.
From PTC Triad leader Loki (a.k.a. Kipp):
Thursday - August 17, 2006
Tasting @ 6th And Vine
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
(336) 725-5577
Join Matt, Chuck and Tori of Magic Hat for an evening of fun, games and elixirs galore!! Come and see what the Best Tasting Beer on the Planet is all about!! Imbibe the refreshing #9, an ale brewed in secrecy and win yourself some great FREE Magic Hat prizes to call your own!! Cheers!!
6th and Vine is the first place in the Triad to have Magic Hat.
When: Saturday, September 23, 2006
Where: Market Street in the Historic “Block”
Time: 12-7p.m.
From the Brewgrass Festival web site:
Each year in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina, we gather over 30 American breweries to showcase more than 100 different beers. We add a great lineup of national and regional bluegrass musicians that, in the past, has included such notables as Jimmy Martin, J.D. Crowe, The Osborne Brothers, Norman Blake, Tony Trischka, Bad Livers, Valerie Smith, Tony Furtado, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Sons Of Ralph. We also feature a variety of area food vendors and plenty of water.
Put all these things together and you have the ingredients for the perfect beer day.
Get your tickets or learn more about the festival!
“In every pursuit, there are different levels of geekitude, and I use that fake word in the most affectionate sense. Take beer drinking. You’ve got the self-proclaimed beer monster who will drink the holy hell out of a keg–as long as it’s full of Bud Lite. Others ride a trajectory that goes something like Old Milwaukee to Michelob to Newcastle to Rogue to Dogfish Head.
Then there’s Jamie Guptill. He works at Durham beer mecca Sam’s Quick Shop, and he keeps a log in which he writes his impressions whenever he tries a new beer. He always brings his own beer to keg parties.”
For the full article, click here!
Every Tuesday, Tir Na Nog in Raleigh is featuring Local Band, Local Beer. The first 100 people through the door receive a free pint glass, and local beers are only $2.50. I don’t know anything about the beers or the type of pint glasses.
This week’s band is Just the Snare? from, well, the Triangle. It’d be funny if they were from Syracuse or something.
I think this is very cool that Tir Na Nog is doing this. You should totally go. What else do you have going on Tuesday?
Yea, I’m talkin’ to you.
This just in from the Carolina Brewery:
| SECOND SEATING FOR FALL BEER DINNER |
The 8PM seating for our Fall Beer Dinner on Saturday October 21st is almost sold out so we have decided to add a second seating at 5:30PM! The dinner will feature Carolina Brewery beers paired with a special menu prepared by Chef Forster, and will be a smaller more intimate event than our August NC Beer Dinner.The tickets for the early seating are $40 and we’re giving our Brew Crew members first crack at them before we begin selling to the general public. Call (919.942.1800), stop by, or email info@carolina brewery.com to get your tickets.These just in…
The one thing that I failed to mention to Ms. Stock is this: the beer selection is great, but I’m equally thrilled with the impact HB392 has had on a number of small- to medium-sized businesses. America is a nation of entrepreneurs, and it’s great to see a number of them flourish from the opening of this new market.
PTC needs a few volunteers for the Cask Ale Tent at the October 7th World Beer Festival. If you serve the afternoon session, you get to attend the evening one for free. Same if you volunteer in the evening.
It’s easy, fun and air conditioned. Email me by the end of September if you’re interested.
Also, we have a new September newsletter. It’s freakin’ incredible.
ONE IMPORTANT NEWSLETTER CORRECTION: The Highland Imperial Gaelic sale will be at the new brewery in East Asheville, not Black Mountain. Yes, the new brewery is at the Blue Ridge Motion Pictures studio…*that’s* not a mistake.
The good folks of the Carolina Brewmasters continue to do a great job running the Charlotte Oktoberfest. Litttle touches made a huge difference: arranging the brewers by region (state and southern brewers on one side, other U.S. and international breweries on the other). Creative Loafing provided ping pong tables, foosball and big screen TVs showing football.
The venue was great — the expansive Memorial Stadium with lots of breathing / wandering room.
And of course it helps that it was a beautiful day outside — sunny, 75 degrees with a slight breeze.
Congratulations to the Carolina Brewmasters on a great event. Here are a few pictures of the event….enjoy! I sure did!
Bearded and barefoot Magic Hat co-founder Alan Newman headlines this amazing beer dinner at the Raleigh Times. The dinner features five courses with at least five unique Magic Hat beers…and if you’ve had Chef Ashley Christensens’ gastropub cuisine, you know you’re in for a great evening.
The Times is opening this event to a mere 35 people. It will sell out. Call the Times for more information or to RSVP: (919) 833-0999.
Spencer at City Beverage is holding a really cool beer dinner at his father-in-law’s vineyard, Elkin Creek Vineyard. The store is providing transportation to the vineyard, leaving City Bev at 5:45 and returning around 9:30. The dinner features Belgian (and Belgian-style) standouts Duvel, Ommegang and Rodenbach.
Call City Beverage at 336.722.2774 or email Spencer Davis with questions or to RSVP.
On the Heels of their success with summertime North Carolina beer dinner, Carolina Brewery is offering a fall-time beer dinner that looks really good. Hors d’oeuvres a plenty, smoked carrot soup, chicken breast or pasta for the veggie types, and warm chocolate pudding cake…all paired with Carolina Brewery’s beers.
Tickets to the 8 P.M. seating sold out quickly but the brewery has added a 5:30 seating. Cost is $40 per person including all beer, food, tax, and tip and can be purchased via email, phone 919-942-1800, or in person at Carolina Brewery on 460 West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
Seating is open but parties of eight or more can request to be together. Vegetarians are welcome- please inform when tickets are purchased.
Pop The Cap is hosting the North Carolina beer table at A Southern Season’s big tent event, “Taste of the State.” Come out and enjoy samples of:
Haven’t met Garrett Oliver? You need to. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Garrett, but I haven’t had a meal that included two meat courses. You can do both at Ruth’s Chris in Charlotte in late October.
Mini Lump Crab Cakes & Shrimp Cocktail
Brooklyner Weisse
Salad-Beef Carpaccio with Romaine Hearts “Caesar” Brooklyn Oktoberfest
Fish-Pilsner-Battered Cod “Fish & Chips”
Brooklyn Pilsner
1st Meat-Lamb Chop with Goat Cheese Potato Gratin & Cippolini Veal Glace
Brooklyn Lager
2nd Meat-Petite Filet with Ruth’s Creamed Spinach & Mini-Loaded Potato
Brooklyn Brown Ale
Dessert-Chocolate Sin Cake with Raspberry Sauce
2005 Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
The cost of the dinner is $75 per person plus tax and tip. Please call Ruth’s Chris for reservations: 704-556-1115.
Held at the Regulator Bookshop in Durham:
Thursday, October 5, 2006, 7:00 p.m.
Maureen Ogle’s new book is Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer. Got beer? Ogle tracks the history of beer in America from the German immigrants of the 1840s to the microbreweries of the 1980s. There has never been a better time to explore the pleasures of fine beer, as today there well over a thousand breweries and brewpubs in the United States. Refreshments will be served!
From the good folks at Duck-Rabbit:
“The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery will be featured at a beer dinner at Zely & Ritz, located in Raleigh’s Glenwood South, on Tuesday, October 24. There will be appearances by Duck-Rabbit’s Amber Ale, Brown Ale, Porter, Milk Stout, Wee Heavy Scotch Ale and Baltic Porter.
The menu looks to be incredible, and I’ll post it as soon as I have it in its final form.
For those not familiar with Zely & Ritz, here’s an excerpt from their website, www.zelyandritz.com
Zely & Ritz is all about fresh, organic, locally grown dishes served in tapas style small plates (so that you can order several and share). Chef Sarig’s food is intensely flavorful, beautifully presented and simply delicious. Sarig uses Mediterranean and Middle Eastern spices in unexpected ways with local organic ingredients (many from Richard’s own Coon Rock Farm) to create fantastic culinary works of art and as a Wine Spectator award winner, Nancy’s wine selections are the perfect complement to a fantastic meal.
I met with them today, and Chef Sarig has some great tricks up his sleeve. Mark your calendars (October 24) and make your reservations early, as they won’t seat more than 60 (you can make reservations from their website). I hope to see you there.
Menu when it’s finalized…”
Oh yeah.
We kick off our state-wide tour celebrating the five GABF winners at Jujube restaurant in Chapel Hill. Chef Charlie Deal will offer a pan-Asian take on these five very diverse beers from five breweries (read the press release for more on the winners).
$55 all-inclusive, limited to 30 people. Attendees are asked to bring a silent auction item or two to support Pop The Cap. Email Sean at PTC with any questions - sean at popthecap.org.
Yea, I’ve heard it before. “Saxapawha’?” Well, if you haven’t been to Saxapahaw, you’re missing out…especially these days. With the restoration of the old mill halfway complete, Saxapahaw is a beautiful village with great people, rolling hills, and an awesome Saturday music series.
I’m very fond of Saxapahaw, having lived there for six years. Our daughters spent their formative years in the village and there are many a day when I regret having moved.
Anyway, BEER. The Saxapahaw Oktoberfest features great bands, a farmer’s market, activities for kids, food from The Barbeque Joint, and beer by Pop The Cap. The exact line-up of beer is to be determined, but expect it to be heavy on the local stuff.
For more information on the festival, visit the Rivermill home page.
Greenshields Brewery & Pub Invites you to attend our first beer dinner
Featuring Highland Brewing Company beers paired in a five-course dinner
7 P.M. October 25, 2006
1077 Darrington Drive (Preston Walk at Darrington Drive and Cary Parkway)
Cary, North Carolina
$45 per person tax and grautity included
Limited Reservations — call 919-388-1599 to reserve your seat
The Menu:
Mexican sweetwater prawns sautéed in a cajun spice mix, garlic, herbs deglazed with a Gaelic Ale butter sauce.
Paired with Gaelic Ale .
Mixed greens, calamata olives, cherry tomatoes, yellow teardrop tomatoes, goat cheese, cucumbers tossed in a roasted tomato St. Terese’s Pale Ale vinaigrette.
Paired with St. Terese’s Pale Ale
Atlantic Salmon dredged in a tandoori spice mix and pan seared. Served with cilantro basmati rice and mango apricot chutney.
Paired with Kasmir India Pale Ale .
Marinated in a herb-spiced Oatmeal Porter. Blackened, seared then topped with a creamy bleu cheese demi-glace sauce. Served atop a couscous cake and roasted spaghetti squash.
Paired with Oatmeal Porter .
Homemade tart made with bitter sweet chocolate and topped with Mocha Stout whipped cream and sauce anglaise.
Paired with Black Mocha Stout .
Oscar Wong from Highland Brewery will be hosting a Beer Dinner at ACME in Carrboro, NC on November 1st.
Call ACME for details: 110 E. Main St. • Carrboro, NC 27510 • (919) 929-ACME
Highland Dinner
$40 per person
St.Terese’s Pale Ale
Low Country Oyster Stew with Bacon and Leeks
Kashmir IPA
Flash Fried Black Grouper with Curried Slaw and Spiced Almonds
Gaelic Ale
Individual Chicken Pot Pie with Chicken Confit and Braised Pearl Onions
Oatmeal Porter
Wild Boar Confit with Goat Cheese Grits and Wild Mushrooms
Black Mocha Stout
Overnight Braised Beef Shortribs with Truffled Egg Noodles
Chef Charlie Deal of Jujube pulled off an amazing evening…probably the most inventive beer dinner I’ve ever been to.
The five GABF winners each stood out with some amazing pan-Asian food, and the 24 people who attended the evening all seemed to have a good time.
Here are some pictures of the evening. Be sure to join us on Wednesday, November 8th at the Carolina Brewery in Chapel Hill or Wednesday, November 15th at Natty Greene’s in Greensboro!
I believe we will have another round of dinners after Thanksgiving, hitting Asheville, the Coast and Charlotte. We will have to substitute the Foothills Baltic Porter for a different Foothills beer, as they are simply out of this popular and limited-edition brew. But it’s Foothills…it’s not like you can go wrong with Jamie and his crew.
Last Wednesday was our most successful PTC(v2) function yet, with over $2,000 raised to support awareness of North Carolina and independent breweries. Hosts Chris Lester and Kayne Fisher of Natty Greene’s in Greensboro brought in a crowd of over 50 people — this good audience combined with some amazing auction items resulted in a not-to-miss evening for the Triad. Hey, I even saw the news media there!
Pop The Cap is incredibly grateful to the entire staff of Natty Greenes: Chris, Kayne, Drew, Trevor, Chris D. and our servers, Heather and Jody. I personally had a great time…my only regret is that I didn’t take more pictures!
See the front page for all the details!
Pop The Cap’s Great North Carolina Beer Tour continues with a dinner at the GABF-winning Natty Greene’s Brewing Company! We’re still working on the menu and the pricing. The dinner will be buffet style and will feature food paired with these five wonderfully diverse beers.
$50 per person includes tax, tip, food and beer. Call (336) 274-1373 to RSVP.
Yep indeed, we had a wonderful time at last night’s GABF beer dinner, hosted by the Carolina Brewery. The brewery, as you may recall, won gold for their English-style IPA. Pop The Cap gathered the other NC winning beers for this event, and then let the Carolina Brewery take care of the rest.
The food was great, the auction items were excellent, and the company was superb. Oh, and the beers kicked booty. Many thanks to Robert, Jon, Thomas and Matt of the Carolina Brewery for putting this event together.
More pictures here!
THE RABID DUCK IS BACK!
Milltown in Carrboro will play host to the release party for this year’s Duck-Rabbit Russian Imperial Stout.
This Pint Night Party is set for Saturday, February 10, at 8pm.
Enjoy family-style comfort food and an amazing selection of Belgian, English and American winter ales. What else are you going to do on a lonely Tuesday midwinter?
Location: Ever Which Way in Cary (a new restaurant on the corner of Cary Parkway and Tryon Road, just south of 1/64).
Time: 7 P.M.
Cost: $35 plus tax and tip.
To RSVP: call the restaurant at 919-233-5332
Tonight’s beer selections:
Reception
St. Louis Framboise
Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck, Belgium
Dinner
Gouden Carolus Ambrio
Brouwerij Het Anker, Belgium
Brother David’s Triple
Anderson Valley Brewing
Boonville, CA
People’s Porter
Foothills Brewing Company
Winston-Salem, NC
Bell’s Porter
Bell’s Brewery
Kalamazoo, MI
Indian Brown Ale
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
Peg Leg Imperial Stout
Clipper City Brewing Company
Baltimore, MD
Dessert
Samichlaus Bier
Brewery Castle Eggenberg
Austria
5 courses, 5 beers, Menu to be announced, tickets are $12!
Contact Earth Fare for ticket info:
828-263-8138
The first Pop The Cap beer dinner at Table in Charlotte has sold out, so Chef Gene Briggs has added a second dinner. Due to the awful weather this week throughout much of North Carolina, this second dinner has been moved to Thursday, 2/8. A few seats remain — but RSVP quickly, as both dinners as originally planned were sold out. Chef Gene has quite a reputation.
Yours truly, Sean Wilson of PTC, will be there for this second dinner.
We’ll have plenty of beer, so come on out!
Details:
Thursday, February 2
6:30 seating
$50 plus tax and tip ($10 per seat goes to support Pop The Cap)
See http://www.tablecharlotte.com/tablespecialevents.html for the menu and directions.
Devon from Dogfish Head will be hosting a dinner at Milltown Jan. 9th, 8pm.
$50/person plus tax and tip
Lite Asian mushroom soup w/ 60 min.
Chicken and fennel salad with ruby red grapefruit supremes and citrus vinaigrette w/ 90 min.
Mini Korean pork ribs with spicy eggplant w/ Raison D’Etre
Braised lamb shanks with whipped sweet potato mash and wilted escarole w/ Indian brown ale
DFH Fort also makes an appearance!
Earthfare South in Asheville will feature The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery for their upcoming January beer dinner.
Five beers and five courses for $25.
Location: Earthfare South-1856 Hendersonville Road, in Asheville
Date: Thursday, January 11, 2007
(6-8pm)
The brewers of The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery want to ski with you.
On Friday, January 12, we’ll be at Hawksnest, and on Saturday, January 13, we’ll be at Beech Mountain. Come out for a day of slopes and an evening of pints. Meet the brewmaster, talk beer and ski your legs tired. Then head over to the lodge to warm up and have a pint of the Duck-Rabbit—and take the glass home with you.
Friday, January 12 @ Hawksnest (ski all day; brewers at The Nest Bar and Grill at 4pm)
The Duck-Rabbit Tour de Slopes:
The brewers of The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery want to ski with you.
On Friday, January 12, we’ll be at Hawksnest, and on Saturday, January 13, we’ll be at Beech Mountain. Come out for a day of slopes and an evening of pints. Meet the brewmaster, talk beer and ski your legs tired. Then head over to the lodge to warm up and have a pint of the Duck-Rabbit—and take the glass home with you.
Saturday, January 13 @ Beech Mountain (ski all day; brewers at The Beech Tree at 3pm)
JANUARY 17th: Come out and join your fellow Triad BAs for our fourth monthly gathering. This time it’s back to Winston-Salem for a fun little crawl down 4th Street. We’ll start with a pint and/or pie at the Mellow Mushroom. Then it’s off to Recreation Billiards for the next stop (and Rabid Duck on-tap!). We’ll finish up at Foothills with more beer and/or food.
The fun starts at 6:00. If you’re late, start at MM and head down 4th until you catch up to the party. Beermail BA hoppedup (http://beeradvocate.com) with any questions.
Carolina Brewery in Chapel Hill is tapping their barleywine January 22nd from 5:00 - 6:30. This is technically for the CB’s Brew Crew, so you should sign up to learn more:
http://carolinabrewery.com
Tuesday, January 23rd
Two Seatings 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm
Details coming soon…this is a fundraiser for Pop The Cap. More importantly, this should be an amazing beer and food event.
The Kitchen at Elkin Creek and City Beverage of Winston-Salem are joining up to bring Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in for a once in a lifetime beer dinner!
318 Elkin Creek Mill Road
Elkin, North Carolina
6:30 p.m.
Menu, Pricing and Transportation info coming soon!
For more information, please call Spencer at City Beverage (336-722-2774).
Pop The Cap and Table Restaurant & Bar invites you to attend our first beer dinner featuring award winning North Carolina beers from last year’s Great American Beer Festival.
Executive Chef Gene Briggs has paired these beers in a delightful five course dinner.
Limited Reservations.
Call to reserve your space today.
January 31st @ 6:30 p.m.
$50 per person (tax & gratuity not included)
Call 704.369.5170 to RSVP
Jumbo Lump Crab and Avocado Salad
Over a tabouleh and crisp “lavosh “ salad with a yuzu dressing.
Sunfest Lager ~ Hams Restaurant and Bar, Greenville NC
Tasting of Blue Point Oysters
Crispy fried with a chili garlic remoulade baked with panceatta and sweet onion,
served raw with a jalapeno lime mignonette.
Indian Pale Ale ~ Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill NC
Duo of Wild Boar
Grilled tenderloin and shoulder braised with cocoa over butternut squash gnocchi topped with braising juices and a huckleberry marmalade.
Old Town Brown ~ Natty Greens Brewing Co., Greensboro NC
Certified Angus Beef Short Ribs Braised in Porter
Over potatoes boulangeir and winter vegetables
topped with reduced braising juices.
People’s Porter ~ Foothills Brewing, Winston Salem NC
Tasting of Milk Chocolate Dessert
Duck Rabbit Milk Strout ~ Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville NC
Cheese Tasting
Chef Gene Briggs favorite selection.
FRIDAY at Tyler’s…
BEER
Stone IPA
Stone Arrogant Bastard
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Oskar Blues Old Chub
Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale
Great Divide Brewery Hercules Double IPA
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
Avery Brewing IPA
Avery Brewing Hog Heaven
Butte Creek Rev X Imperial IPA
Butte Creek Mateveza Yerba Mate Ale
Left Hand Milk Stout
Left Hand Juju Ginger
Port Brewing Hop 15 Double IPA
Ballast Point DIPA
Green Flash West Coast IPAFOOD
Chips/Salsa/Guacamole
Beer and Quesa dip
Aforementioned jalapeño poppers
Assorted cheeses
Lime-marinated skirt steak
Durham: BEER EVENT ONLY ($25 flat)
Durham: BEER EVENT and BULLS GAME
SATURDAY at Bruisin’ Ales…
Stone IPA
Stone Arrogant Bastard
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Oskar Blues Old Chub
Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale
Great Divide Brewery Hercules Double IPA
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
Avery Brewing Salvation
Left Hand Juju Ginger
Ska Nefarious Ten Pin Porter
Port Brewing Hop 15 Double IPA
Ballast Point DIPA
Green Flash West Coast IPA
Asheville: BEER EVENT ($10 pre-pay) — $15 at the door
TICKETS REMAIN….PLEASE PAY AT THE DOOR.
Twenty-five people braved 60 degree weather and a trek into Cary for an amazing meal at Ever Which Way. Here are some pictures, and below is the list of beers we enjoyed.
Many thanks to Bruce Wright of Wetten Imports and Chef Michael of Ever Which Way. And to all those who came out to support PTCv2 and fill yourselves with good food and beer. I hope you had as much fun as I did.
Reception
St. Louis Framboise
Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck, Belgium
Dinner
Gouden Carolus Ambrio
Brouwerij Het Anker, Belgium
Brother David’s Triple
Anderson Valley Brewing
Boonville, CA
People’s Porter
Foothills Brewing Company
Winston-Salem, NC
Bell’s Porter
Bell’s Brewery
Kalamazoo, MI
Indian Brown Ale
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
Peg Leg Imperial Stout
Clipper City Brewing Company
Baltimore, MD
Dessert
Samichlaus Bier
Brewery Castle Eggenberg
Austria
From the good folks at Bruisin’ Ales…
This Thursday, we’re sampling the under-the-radar beers of Unibroue. This FREE tasting from 4:00-6:00 p.m. will be held in collaboration with Tryon Distributing. On the tasting menu: Ephemere, Chambly Noire, Don de Dieu … and the just-released-last-week … Unibroue “16″.
See you there. Cheers!
**********************
Bruisin’ Ales
66 Broadway Street, Suite 1
Asheville, NC 28801
t: 828 / 252-8999
f: 828 / 252-8991
www.bruisin-ales.com
Attendance mandatory for graduating seniors. No, not really! But we do expect up to 300 Duke seniors at this fun, informative seminar and tasting. We’ll cover some myths about beer, sample some great local beer as well as a few international favorites.
Lesson 1: Fresh and local is always a solid choice
Guilford Golden Ale
Natty Greene’s Pub & Brewing Co., Greensboro, NC
Lesson 2: Beer is a seasonal beverage
ApriHop
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
Lesson 3: Canned beer can be great beer
Old Chub Scottish-Style Ale
Oskar Blues Brewery, Lyons CO
Lesson 4: Great food deserves a great beer
Saison duPont
Brasserie Dupont, Tourpes-Leuze, Belgium
Courtesy of Vanberg & DeWulf and All Good Brands
Lesson 5: Know your hops
90 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery , Milton, DE
– or –
“Heavy Seas” Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale
Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, MD
Lesson 6: Shock your boss…order a beer for dessert
Storm King Imperial Stout
Victory Brewing Company , Downingtown, PA
– or –
Kalamazoo Stout
Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo, MI
Huge thanks to the following North Carolina distributors and importers:
Tryon Distributing
All Good Brands
Long Beverage
And, of course, major props to the breweries themselves. They deserve your support.
From Jamie and Scott of Foothills…
Come celebrate inside and out with a 20′x50′ tent outside/ Fourth St blocked, tent pouring from approx. 4:00. Come help us set a record–can we beat the 2500 pints we poured on March 17,2005??? 10 beers will be flowing all night inside with four outside.
Free beer at Bruisin’ Ales, tasting thanks to Newcross Distributing!
Stop by and sample these fine gems:
EKU Pilsner (Germany)
Gavroche (French red farmhouse ale)
Wee Beast (Scotch ale, Scotland)
Goliath (Tripel, Belgium).
Tasty stuff!
***************
Bruisin’ Ales
66 Broadway Street, Suite 1
Asheville, NC 28801
t: 828 / 252-8999
From the Big Boss (formerly Edenton) Brewery:
Alright, so here’s the deal. We’ve got this beer called the Horniblows Tavern. It’s an English ale. Some of you may be familiar with it. So about a month ago we decided to put it in a cask with some hops and some other things. And then we let it sit. Haven’t touched it, just stared at it a lot. Well we think it’s time to drink it now,and we we’re hoping to get a little help. So I was wondering,is there anyone out there willing to help us drink this beer? If so, be at the tavern on Thursday. We’re tapping the cask promptly at 6 p.m., so be here, ready to drink. For those of you who came out for the last one, you know how quick the cask will kick. 1 hour, 15 mins for the last one, if i’m not mistaken! So come out this Thursday and get yourself some real ale! I’ll see you then!
CHEERS!
-Jonny
$45 per person
“A gastronomic exploration of fine cuisine and carefully crafted beers with Chef Ben Sullivan and Cabell Philpott of Foothills”
RSVP @ 336.230.2253 or chef@ganachebakery.com
Foothills Brewing Beer Tasting
Date: March 29
Time: 6:00pm
PRIMEXECS presents
Foothills Brewing Beer Tasting
With Brewmaster Jamie Bartholomaus
$29.99++ (plus tax and gratuity)
Raise your beer steins high as you toast with your friends at this fun evening, hosted by PRIMEXECS, “A Network of Developing Professionals.” Foothills’ Brewmaster Jamie Bartholomaus will explain his hand-crafted beers, as you enjoy tasting five beers. In addition, Executive Chef Gabe has paired each beer specifically with a four-course meal for your enjoyment.
Foothills Brewing opened its doors in downtown Winston-Salem in 2004 and is one of the most up-and-coming establishments in the Triad. Their beers are brewed fresh with the finest ingredients to ensure a high quality tasting experience. “We believe drinking truly fresh beer is one of the greatest pleasures in life.” - Jamie Bartholomaus, Brewmaster at Foothills Brewing
Menu:
Welcome Beer
Torch Pilsner
Pilot Mountain Pale Ale
Pan-seared Quail with a Sweet Chili Sauce
Hurricane Hefeweizen
Arugula with Sundried Tomato, Lemon, and Calamari
People’s Porter
4oz NY Strip Roulade with Asparagus, Sweat Potato Fries, and a Foothills People’s Porter Reduction
Seeing Double IPA
Club-made Raspberry Espresso Ice Cream, with a Foothills Seeing Double IPA drizzle
For reservations, please call 336-724-7077.
April 28th 2007
Downtown Raleigh, NC
Moore Square
1st Session: 12 noon to 4 pm
2nd Session: 6 pm to 10 pm
More information
Beerinator forum discussion
Beerinator / PTC / If-you’re-reading-this-you’re-invited meetups:
First Session — 1:30 pm at the All About Beer tent
Second Session — 6:30 pm at the All About Beer tent
The CARBOY homebrew competition is almost upon us (happening Saturday, March 24), and I want to make sure all on this list are invited to enter beers and volunteer as judges or stewards. Please sign up on the website. Registration has begun and runs through 3/17. We need all the local judges and stewards that we can get!
If you haven’t been involved in a competition before, they are interesting, fun and semi-educational. History would say we should expect about 300 entries.
More detailed info here — http://www.hbd.org/carboy/shamrock.htm
Cheers!
Over 20 beer events in 8 days, this is a concentrated beerapalooza in the Queen City. Tons of educational and recreational events centered around better beer. Impressive stuff!
Deidre of Oskar Blues pours tasty beer. For you.
– Friday, June 29, 5 - 7 pm: Good Beer Store, Chapel Hill
– Saturday, June 30, 12 - 2pm: Total Wine, the mystery area known as Brier Creek
The Raleigh Times presents an evening with Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales — TONIGHT – Wednesday April 25th 2007. Six Courses tailored to six beer selections.
Seating beings at 6:30 and the 1st course is served at 7pm. $39 per person plus tax and gratuity. Whoop whoop! That’s a great deal!
Featured Dogfish Head beers
Indian Brown Ale
Raison d’etre
Midas Touch
60 Minute IPA
90 Minute IPA
Aprihop
For reservations email david@raleightimesbar.com or call David at 919.833.0999. The Raleigh Times is located at 14 E. Hargett Street in downtown Raleigh.
(p.s. I do not know anything about the food)
From the Bruisin’ Ales blog:
Thursday’s tasting in collaboration with Chad Walker of Freedom Beverage will showcase the beers of Weyerbacher from Easton, PA. Stop by our humble storefront this Thursday, April 5, anytime between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00pm to try a four-flight of these beers:
Hops Infusion: “Hops Infusion is loaded with piney, citrusy notes, much hops complexity, and a strong foundation of malt underneath it all.” (6.2% ABV)
Blithering Idiot: Aside from being the best beer name ever, this barley wine is brewed “true to European style guidelines” with a flavor “on the malty side, yet not overly sweet.” (11.1% ABV)
Old Heathen Imperial Stout: “Quite robust and roasty on the palate, Old Heathen imperial stout has a wonderfully fruity nose and a moderately dry finish. The taste is highly complex—perhaps you’ll even discern notes of espresso or chocolate.” (8.0% ABV)
QUAD: “Grand Champion in 2000, and again in 2004 at the United States Beer Tasting Championship, Weyerbacher QUAD is the first quadrupel style beer to be commercially brewed and bottled in the United States.” One of our favorite brews ever! (11.8% ABV)
From BeerPimp on Beerinator.com
Dustin from Terrapin will be at Sam’s Quick Mart on Friday 4/6 from 4pm-6pm. Come join him and try the Rye-Squared, if you haven’t already.
Cheers!
From the Bruisin Ales blog:
This Thursday, we’re doing a fantastic Belgian line-up with Millennium Beverage—the last three of which are brand new to North Carolina. On this week’s menu:
· Troubadour Blonde: Your first experience, while sipping the BLOND, will be a refreshing, sparkling effect on your tongue, followed by a mild bitterness enhanced by a spiciness that finishes with a sweeter sensation. A good nose recognizes the hops, in combination with fruity esters.
· Bier du Boucanier Red: The RED is easily considered a double in strength, and burst open with a full fruit candy like flavor, offset by a dry hoppy-ness, perfectly balanced. You could also categorize it as a strong amber ale.
· Bornem Triple: Golden shining and soft feeling in the mouth; perfectly balanced taste; full body and heart warming, a splendid aroma, tickling in the nose; hoppy dry long finish. You can age the Bornem Triple for many years, just like wine.
· Leute Bok: “Leute” means joy in Flemish, and “bok” is of course the “he-goat.” Leute Bok ale is a dark red heavy beer, top fermented and refermented in the bottle. The aroma and taste is unique and striking, not too sweet, but full and smooth on the tongue. The “official” denomination of the style is “Double Bock”, since it is over 7% alcohol by volume.
From HickoryHops.com, the official web site.
“Hickory Hops, the fifth rendition of downtown Hickory NC’s annual beer festival, takes place on Union Square on Saturday, April 21st.
Although Asheville and Charlotte have had fests for years, in only its fourth year this is already an up-and-coming event for our humble burg. Hickory Hops is being planned and organized by the Hickory Downtown Development Association and hosted by Olde Hickory Brewery.
A beer festival is a celebration of beer, a gathering of the brewing clans. With brewers on hand to answer questions, it’s an opportunity for the beer neophytes and curious to learn and enjoy. A variety of beer, spanning almost every style, will be available. Don’t let the selection overwhelm you, there can be a method to this tasting madness.
Hickory Hops’ tasting glasses are sized, small, to encourage variety. Take advantage of the fest environment to try different beers. Sample as many as you are comfortable with. In order to try more beers, ask for half a glass. You can always get another. Taste a beer by taking at least two sips. Then decide whether it’s a flavor profile that you like. If it doesn’t make your taste buds sing, determine what flavor in that beer was objectionable. If you don’t feel like drinking more of that beer, empty your glass into the nearest dump bucket. Make note of the distasteful style of beer (usually provided as part of the beer’s name, such as Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Stout, etc). When you try another of that same style, look for the same unwelcome tastes. You may just not care for a particular style of beer. That’s okay - there are over 56 different styles to choose from.”
You picked the right Lee Chase! (Or you scrolled over the images until you figured it out…we won’t tell).
Lee sure has a lot of different looks. But one thing is pretty consistent: in his nine years as Head Brewer of Stone, Lee created and co-created some of the best examples of high-hopped, bold West Coast beers out there. The kind of beers that make the punchline to “Why is American beer like making love in a canoe?” more an indictment of the joke-teller than a reflection of reality.
Want some Stone? Interested in talking to Lee about what it was like to work for the fastest-growing brewery in the United States?
Join Lee Chase and Pop The Cap president Sean Wilson for a West Coast-style beer tasting. We’ll be pouring Stone IPA, Stone Arrogant Bastard, and a whole lot of other hoppy beers. Beer list so far:
Stone Arrogant Bastard
Stone IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA…on the Randall!
California & Colorado beers from the good folks at Hart!
Oskar Blues — Dale’s Pale Ale
Oskar Blues — Old Chub
Both events are limited to 100 people. If you’re interested in joining Lee, Sean, and a bunch of fellow beer lovers for a Bulls game immediately following the beer tasting on the 24th, we have a total of 25 game tickets available.
The Beauty of Bitter
Friday, August 24th 5:00 — 7:00 P.M.
Tyler’s Taproom, Durham
$25 a person (beer event only), $33 (beer and a Bulls ballgame)
Lots of beer and lots of food
West Meets East
Saturday, August 25th 2:00 — 5:00 P.M.
Bruisin’ Ales, Asheville
$10 a person ($15 day of the event)
Lots of beer and light food
Durham: BEER EVENT ONLY ($25)
Durham: BEER EVENT and BULLS GAME ($33)
Asheville: BEER EVENT ($10)
Proceeds for both events support FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to preserving and protecting the Blue Ridge Parkway, a national treasure. FRIENDS programs focus on preservation, protection and education. Funds for these events will be specifically targeted to supporting a new FRIENDS administrative position in Asheville to increase youth participation and interest in preserving the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway.
Julie Bradford passed along this article to me. The writer does a great job of capturing the risks and uncertainty surrounding the August (not April) 2005 lifting of the cap, as well as the current state of the market. Big props to author Tanner Kroeger and to John Shuck of the Carolina Brewing Company.
Local beer brewers embrace new legal limit
As of April (sic) 2005, NC can sell beer containing up to 15 percent alcohol — a change that has created new opportunities for breweries
Tanner Kroeger
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: News
John Shuck knows beer. He’s a connoisseur, one might say. Sure, he started as an electrical engineer, working five years at a firm in Los Angeles, Calif., but after that, his life has been all about beer.
He worked in a microbrewery in Seattle, Wa. He also took classes in beer making in Chicago, Ill. And in July 1995, the then 29-year-old packed up his things and moved to Holly Springs, N.C., where he and his younger brother Greg teamed with their college-buddy, Joe Zonin, founded Carolina Brewing Company.
Twelve years and nearly 100,000 kegs of beer later, John, Greg and Joe operate one of North Carolina’s most successful microbreweries.
But it’s been an interesting three years for beer makers in the state. Amid trying to overturn a 70-year-old prohibition holdover law that limited alcohol by volume, some of the microbreweries faced a boycott of their distributor and saw profits take a substantial hit as a result.
And now that the law is changed and the boycott ended, North Carolina’s beer-making industry is starting to develop itself, catching up to the best in the nation.
Hey hey hey whadda say! Without too much hand-wringing or difficulty, South Carolina lifted its 5% ABW cap this week. The governor may sign the bill, just as NC governor Mike Easely did back in August of 2005.
The effort to lift the cap in SC was not nearly as difficult as in North Carolina. Seemingly it gets easier each time around. The exception to the rule? Our good friends in Alabama, who are incredibly well-organized and are having a struggle getting through the legislature.
Cheers to PTC-SC, and continued best wishes to Free the Hops in Alabama.
Cary’s “Lazy Daze,” an August art festival, is adding a beer garden. A nonprofit called the Sister Cities Association plans to use the funds from the sale of beer to support its cultural exchange initiatives with Cary’s four international sister cities.
OH NOS! Cary is going to have buh-ear at a family festival! EVERYONE PANIC! Here is a sampling of some letters to the editor from both the Cary News and the Raleigh News and Observer. Names withheld.
Would someone please explain to me the need, not the desire, for beer to be available at Lazy Daze? Just the thought of adults wanting to make preteens and teens aware that alcohol is an accepted beverage is beyond me. Can so-called “responsible adults” not see how alcohol is the reason for broken homes, job loss, abuse, financial probjems, health issues, incurable diseases, automobile accidents and other accidents that cause injury and death to both innocent and guilty people?
(Yes, I am — and you are — merely a “so-called ‘responsible adult.’” While we’re at it, let’s ban cars because they cause accidents to innocent and guilty people. And cell phones. Oh, and coffee — you know, because that old woman one time burned herself from McDonald’s coffee.)
(continued)My husband and I have always maintained the following standard in our home: If the beverage we consume can’t be given to a toddler then we don’t put it to our lips. Our beverages consist of milk, juice, tea, coffee, soft drinks and Cary Lazy Daze delicious apple cider, but never alcohol. This is our standard also in restaurants or any social function.
(Er, you recommend toddlers drink coffee and soft drinks, but *I’m* irresponsible?)
A new one:
I see no value in having a beer garden at our Lazy Daze festival. We are experiencing many tragedies produced by alcohol. Many of our families, churches and schools are making efforts to discourage the consumption of alcohol. I feel our town leaders need to do the same. A beer garden lends nothing to the uniqueness and wholesomeness of this family-oriented event. I oppose the proposed beer garden and I encourage the Lazy Daze Committee to reject it.
(Let’s demonize, hide, and mystify beer! The kids will never know it exists! So much better than, say, integrating it into our lives as a healthful, enjoyable beverage.)
One last letter:
How many years before some group petitions for a little nudity nook, cocaine corner or a topless place like the one just around the corner, which came while Cary slept. We are awake now, and we have options. Keep pushing. You will learn this has more opposition than you might think.
No comment on that one.
Some people have problems with beer, and alcohol in general. And tragically, some have lost family members at the hands of irresponsible drinkers, which pains me to no end.
People have the right to express their opposition — you know, the whole “free country” thing. But the hyperbole and fear is just plain goofy. Thankfully, residents have written letters of support to news outlets. And the festival organizers are creating a beer garden that will respect beer, have excellent security and oversight, add value to the festival, and provide needed funds to a local nonprofit.
Relax, City of Anxious Residents Yammering. Some of y’all worry too much.
Friday, May 18 from 7-9 p.m. Representatives from Magic Hat will be in attendance.
Course I: Havarti with Hocus Pocus
Hocus Pocus Tasting Notes: Hocus Pocus is our summer focus. It is our toast to weeds, rays and summer haze. A salute to catching lazy fly balls and communing with nature. Hocus is a light filtered wheat which we recommend be served with a wedge of orange as a sacrifice to cloudless days.
Course II: Mild goat cheese with Circus Boy Hefeweizen
Circus Boy Tasting Notes: An American Style Hefeweizen or unfiltered wheat beer Circus Boy is unfiltered and unfettered HE’S ALIVE!! American in style due to the clean finish with just a subtle hint of lemongrass Circus Boy uses weistephan yeast and is an amazingly refreshing hefeweizen.
Course III: #9 or not quite pale ale with pepper jack
#9 Tasting Notes: When you first sample this not quite pale ale it’s mysterious and unusual palate will swirl across your tongue and ask more questions than it answers. Brewed clandestinely and given a name whose meaning has never been revealed when asked why #9 our response is why indeed! A traditional English style pale ale with a subtle sweet twist.
Course IV: Mystery beer with gorgonzola and walnut salad
Mystery Beer Tasting Notes: The Summer Mystery Beer 007 is a medium bodied pale ale performance with a big bite and bigger taste.
ENTER AT THE DOOR TO WIN TICKETS TO AN UPCOMING SUMMER VARIETY SHOW FEATURING MAGIC HAT AND THE BINDLESTIFF FAMILY CIRCUS
This is a free event.
This page is possible thanks to the sheer, mad genius that is Jonathan Surratt, creator of the Beer Mapping Project and one of the founding leaders of Pop The Cap. Jonathan is a native North Carolinian, currently living it up and causing trouble in Chicago.
I love this page. It combines useful information with entrepreneurial creativity. Raise your beer to Jonathan…once you’ve found the beer you’re looking for!
Triangle beer map
Asheville
Charlotte
The Triad
For coastal and rural maps…and to see all that North Carolina has to offer, check out the NC Beer Map.
Three stages of live entertainment throughout the day
Microbrewery Beer Tasting Tent Sample a variety of NC microbreweries. Purchase a $10 beer passport and receive 8 sample pours and a souvenir cup to enjoy the beers
Wine Tasting Tent Mutual Distributing Company offers a diverse selection of wine. 4 countries represented through 9 varietals. We will have wine consultants on hand to answer all of your questions. You can purchase a $10 passport to enjoy 4 sample pours.
Over 30 restaurants and vendors offering a tasty variety of food and drink
Festive summer parade with floats, mascots, antique cars, marching bands and more through Fayetteville Street starting at 6:00
Kidz zone Two lane slide, Crayon land bounce, Street performers, Hurricanes puck shot, Iron Man competition and more
The night skies will illuminate with a spectacular fireworks display at 10:30
| Main Stage Schedule of Events | ||
| 12:30 - 2:00 | Mickey Mills & Steel (reggae) | |
| 2:20 - 3:05 | Airiel Down (rock) | |
| 3:25 - 4:10 | Kickin Grass (bluegrass) | |
| 4:30 - 5:45 | Bio Ritmo (Latin) | |
| 6:00 - 7:00 | Parade | |
| 7:00 - 8:00 | Dillon Fence (pop rock) | |
| 8:30 - 10:00 | Eddie Money (classic rock) | |
| 10:30 | Spectacular Fireworks display! | |
| Acoustic Stage Schedule | ||
| 12:00 - 12:45 | Chris Suiter (Singer / Songwriter) | |
| 1:00 - 2:15 | Neal Chapman Trio (Jazz)) | |
| 2:30 - 3:15 | Chris Suiter (Singer / Songwriter) | |
| 3:30 - 4:30 | Abdala & Andrew (Jazz Standards 40s & 50s) | |
| 4:45 - 6:00 | Adam Pitts (Singer / Songwrite | |
(okay snarky types…no comments on how Foster’s already produces beer waste! This is cool stuff.)
From Yahoo! News
CANBERRA, Australia - Scientists and Australian beer maker Foster’s are teaming up to generate clean energy from brewery waste water — by using sugar-consuming bacteria.
The experimental technology was unveiled Wednesday by scientists at Australia’s University of Queensland, which was given a $115,000 state government grant to install a microbial fuel cell at a Foster’s Group brewery near Brisbane, the capital of Queensland state.
The fuel cell is essentially a battery in which bacteria consume water-soluble brewing waste such as sugar, starch and alcohol.
The battery produces electricity plus clean water, said Prof. Jurg Keller, the university’s wastewater expert.
The complex technology harnesses the chemical energy that the bacteria releases from the organic material, converting it into electrical energy.
The 660-gallon fuel cell will be 250 times bigger than a prototype that has been operating at the university laboratory for three months, Keller said.
“Brewery waste water is a particularly good source because it is very biodegradable … and is highly concentrated, which does help in improving the performance of the cell,” Keller said.
He expected the brewery cell would produce 2 kilowatts of power — enough to power a household — and the technology would eventually be applied in other breweries and wineries owned by Foster’s. The cell should be operating at the brewery by September.
“It’s not going to make an enormous amount of power — its primarily a waste water treatment that has the added benefit of creating electricity,” Keller said.
a) they taste more similiar than you think
b) they’re all sold in North Carolina
c) they lead to Sen. Jacumin’s “academic suicides”
d) they’re priced the way they should be
The answer, of course, is D.
But here some guy on BeerAdvocate throws out this notion that beer is of the working class, and that overpriced beers should be boycotted.
A few gems: “the common working man/woman is not going to be able to drink certain beers due to the ridiculous prices that are being passed on to the consumers!”
“…let’s create a list of beers that you think should be boycotted due to being overpriced.”
“Let’s put em on notice ;)”
This is a blog, so this is simply my opinion. Just as the guy in the thread — who happens to own a beer bar — has his opinion (and some might say, economic self-interest, but we can put that off to the side for now).
Call me simple-minded. Even capitalistic. But we already boycott beers that are overpriced. How? We don’t buy them. Three Floyds can command $15 a bottle for Dark Lord because that’s what the market is willing to spend. Add a zero to the price, and they won’t have the throngs of people they served last month.
Mickey’s, Sierra Nevada, Dark Lord…Duck-Rabbit, Highland, and Ham’s…they all price according to what the market (that’s you) can bear. Yes, prices for fine craft beer are inching toward the cost of wine. I just purchased a 750ml of Dogfish Head Red and White for $12.99. Am I crazy? What am I thinking? I’m contributing to the price creep of beer!!!???
No. I bought it for my wife for her birthday. It’s a celebration beer. (I plan to have a sip or two, in the long-standing tradition of buying gifts for the wife that have some interest for me as well. Come on, you know do it too.)
And as prices rise in the long tail, brewers will find ways to serve customers that don’t want to spend $12.99 or $15. Alas, the “working class” will have a fine craft beer for $5.99 to $6.99 a sixer. Last I checked there were plenty to choose from. And econo-buyers will have plenty to chose from on the low-end.
It’s a great time to love craft beer in the US and here in North Carolina. But if you don’t like the prices, say so with your wallet. It’s one of the best boycotts ever invented.
It’s another Friday beer sampling at Parker and Otis! You can pretty much put it on the calendar…wrap up the work week and go sample beer. Maybe buy some, especially when it’s Dogfish Head.
This is a great deal, Mountain people!
Belgian Beer Dinner - May 23, 6:30pm
La Caterina Trattori in Asheville
Bruisin’ Ales is partnering with Millennium Beverage, Global Beer Network, and Asheville restaurant La Caterina Trattoria for an exciting culinary extravaganza — a six course Italian menu. This special beer dinner will be paired with a six-beer Belgian beer line-up with commentary by Johnny Fincioen, president of Global Beer Network.
Cost is $45/per person including tax and gratuity. Vegetarians welcome — just call ahead of time!
For reservations, please call La Caterina Trattoria at 828-254-1148.
More details at our event calendar: www.bruisin-ales.com/beerblog.
Menu:
Carciofi
Artichoke Heart, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
Wittekerke
Fritto Misto
Fried Shrimp, Monkfish, Cauliflower, Zucchini
Garlic-Lemon Ailoi
Piraat Flemish IPA Triple
Insalata Belanzone
Sweet Sicilian & Spicy Calabrese Sausage, Olive Oil poached New Potatoes, Vinegar, Peppers, Onions
Poperings Hommel Ale
Collo di Maiale
Pork Neck Bones & Lentils
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Kapittel Abt
Manzo Arrosto
Smoked, slow roasted American Kobe Beef Roast
Roasted Tomato, Shoestring Potatoes
Gulden Draak Triple Dark
Zeppoli
Sicilian fried Doughnut Balls
Lavender Honey
Cherish Kriek Lambic
I’m going to send out a quick email to subscribers, because that’s how most of y’all keep up with PTC news. But here’s the scoop for RSS types and web surfers:
Tomorrow. Two events. Two locations.
#1
Asheville
Bruisin’ Ales
Belgian (and Belgian-style) beer tasting: Otter Creek White Sail, Dupont Foret, Abbaye d’Aulne Blonde, Abbaye d’Aulne Triple Brune
4-6pm
FREE
#2
Raleigh
Big Boss Brewing Company (nee Edenton)
Cask Ale premiere: 8.5% English Brown Ale (one cask: first come, first served!)
6pm
You may have a hard time making it to both. Choose wisely!
Participating breweries include Big Boss and Foohills.
11am — 7pm near RTP. Clicky for directions.
This in from the good folks at Tryon. Four Square is one of the Triangle’s best restaurants…if you can swing this one, do it!
Unibroue Dinner at Four Square
Wednesday, June 13
6:30PM
Call for Reservations: 919-401-9877
First Course
Hot Smoked Trout
on candied fennel toast with a green apple-horseradish remoulade
Blanche de Chambly
Éphèmére
Second Course
Fried Calamari
with a spicy cucumber salad and yellow curry
Don de Dieu
Third Course
Duck Confit
with tomato relish and a green coriander sauce
Tríos Pistoles
Entrée
Sauerbratten
on Jackson Farm baby red cabbage & celeriac slaw
La Terrible
Unibroue 16
Dessert
Meyer Lemon Almond Cake
with goat cheese and mint syrup
Quelque Chose
$65 per person, plus tax & gratuity.
Last fall, Pop The Cap hosted a series of dinners celebrating the five North Carolina GABF-winning beers. While each beer dinner was a great experience, probably the most experimental and memorable meal was at Chapel Hill’s Jujube.
Well, Chef Charlie Deal is back at it, this time bringing the great beers of Victory to the table. On June 12th, Steve German of Victory will bring some well-known and special selections to pair with Jujube’s great pan-Asian cuisine.
Details on the menu today or tomorrow. I just wanted to give active readers and RSS subscribers a heads-up. Chef Deal likes to keep his beer and wine dinners intimate, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this fills up quickly.
June 12th, 7pm
$42.50 a person plus tax and tip
Call Jujube at 919.960.0555 to RSVP
Early event details on the Jujube website. NOTE: this is not a final beer list, just an idea of how the evening will be structured.
Check out the upcoming Jujube beer dinner on the 12th. Here are the final details from Jujube.
June 12th, 7pm
$42.50 a person plus tax and tip
Call Jujube at 919.960.0555 to RSVP
Our next beer dinner will be with Victory Brewing Co. Actually, the choice was pretty easy, not only because I love their beers, but also because Steve German from Victory makes a point of coming to visit us every time he’s in town. As promised, I’m aiming to host this event outside on the patio and Steve and I thought it would be more fun if, rather than having a structured multi-course meal with rigid pairings, we sort of opened it up as if we were just having a party. Thus, Steve will be sharing the beers while food is both being passed around and available at a buffet table.
We will have plenty of tables and chairs out there so everyone will be able claim a spot as their “home base” in case they don’t want to mingle.
Three things that bear mention: Steve promises to bring some tasty brews not offered in this market so all you beer geeks out there can brag to your friends about the beers that you tried and they didn’t. Secondly, a number of these babies will be served on tap. Lastly, in keeping with the spirit of Eat Local Triangle, the aforementioned George from Lil Farm will be there as his produce will grace the menu throughout.
There will likely be a few last-minute additions to the menu, but here’s where we’re at.
Stop the presses, I totally screwed up on the cost of the beers and, thus, the price I needed to charge you. They’re not nearly as expensive as I originally thought and can lower the cost of the meal to $42.50 plus tax and tip.
The Food
Zucchini and prawn fritters with ginger-green tomato coulis
Tempura New potatoes and spring onions with sriracha aioli
“Crostini” of spice-poached pork loin, arugula, and daikon with sesame-salt cod pate
Crispy daikon-shrimp-chinese sausage cake with wilted greens
Spice encrusted scallops with coriander-citrus curry and salted cucumbers
Asian “BLC” – Tea-smoked Chinese bacon, lettuce, and cucumber sandwiches
Crispy shiitake-stuffed guinea fowl with toasted chili, almond, spring onion sauce
Walnut ice cream with five-spice tea cake and black vinegar caramel
The Beers
Prima Pils
V-12 (first time in the market)
Sapphire Bock (first time in the market)
Golden Monkey Triple Ale
Hop Devil IPA
Storm King Stout
Bruisin’ Ales is partnering with our friends at Asheville Brews Cruise, Chef in Motion and French Broad Brewery for an intimate beer dinner on Tuesday, June 5th.
Evening begins at 6:00pm with a tour of French Broad Brewery followed by a four-course dinner at Chef in Motion. Transportation to and from Chef in Motion provided by Asheville Brews Cruise.
Chef Mo is cooking with beer, people!
MENU
Welcome Beer
De Glazen Toren Dubbel Wit, Witbier
Jumbo Shrimp with mixed greens with tomatillo tamarind reduction
Weyerbacher Muse, Farmhouse Ale
Pepper-encrusted elk tenderloin, with pasilla, sundried tomato and Achel Brune reduction. Served with roasted potatoes and asparagus.
Achel Brune, Trappist Dubbel
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout Mousse
Liefman’s Framboise, Lambic
Call Chef in Motion at 350-8999 to make your reservations. Limited seating.
~ $50/per person including tax and gratuities. ~
From beerinator.com…
July 19th, 2007, from 5pm to 10 pm $59 per person
3 courses of Fondue paired with 3 courses of 22 oz. Beers
Cheese Fondue Course
Bourbon Bacon Cheddar and/or the Spinach & Artichoke Swiss cheese Fondue
Paired with ROGUE Morimoto Soba Ale (22 oz)
Feature Entrée
Center Cut Filet Mignon, Cold Water Lobster Tail, Caribbean Marinated Pork, Jumbo Vannamei Shrimp, Andouille Sausage and Postickers
Paired With ROGUE Hazelnut Brown Nectar (22 oz)
Chocolate Fondue Course
Your choice of:
Apple Pie White Chocolate Fondue
Dark Chocolate Tiramisu Fondue
Smore’s Milk Chocolate Fondue
Paired With ROGUE Chocolate Stout (22 oz)
Reservations are required for this Event Please call us at 919.878.0477
From Bruisin’ Ales
We’re bringing the entire line-up of Ommegang to the Tasting Room this Thursday with Dale from Empire Distributors. Come enjoy five delicous beers by the first Belgian-style brewery this side of the pond …
Ommegang Witte “Our newest ale, crafted for summer session drinking, is a traditional white ale, or witbier; pale in color, with a high, white frothy head and refreshing flavors of orange, lemon, coriander, and wheat.” [5.1% abv]Ommegang Hennepin “Feel the way Hennepin is bright and lively in your mouth with a warming mix of spicy gingersnap and citrusy hops. Refreshing. Relaxing.” [7.7% abv]
Ommegang Rare Vos “As you pour, you’ll notice the beautiful coppery-amber color and the rich creamy head. Lift the glass to your mouth and enjoy the aroma of spicy orange blossoms. Taste, and the pleasant mellow flavor of caramel malt glides easily into a dry, hop finish.” [7.7% abv]
Ommegang Abbey Dubbel “Ommegang, our first brew, was inspired by the centuries-old brewing practices of the Belgian Trappist monks. This burgundian brew gives off a variety of aromas, including plum and cinnamon, and packs in flavors such as caramel, toffee, and licorice.” [8.2% abv]
Three Philosophers “The essence of wonder is a unique and masterful blend of strong malty ale and authentic Belgian Kriek. Our philosophers deduce that this powerful marriage of cherries, roasted malts, and dark chocolate will only achieve more wisdom and coherence as it broods in the dark recesses of your cellar.” [9.8% abv]
Saturday Belgian Tasting
Saturday, June 16, 2:00-4:00pm This is a special Saturday tasting event! Dave of the Global Brewers Guild will be showcasing Belgian beer, a few of which are new to North Carolina. Come join us in the tasting room. Cheeses, crackers, fruit and chocolates will be served.
Blanche de Bruxelles
De Koninck
Malheur 10
Liefmans Kriekbier
Liefmans Frambozenbier
and while it lasts-Malheur Dark Brut-champagne beer!
I’m still full.
Sure, I’ve heard the conventional wisdom “the house always wins when they serve buffet,” but this time I left with the victory. Well, not literally — it’s not like I sneaked off with any V-12, Hop Devil, or any of Victory’s amazing beers last night. But I did walk (stumble?) away from the evening once again amazed by Chef Charlie Deal’s food. If you haven’t yet been to Jujube in Chapel Hill, go.
And if you have yet to enjoy Victory’s offerings…well, what are you doing on this website? Is it because I’m about to type the phrase “Paris Hilton still in jail?” If so, you — you pop culture weenie — even you need to drink Victory’s ales and lagers. And eat at Jujube when you’re in the area.
A few pictures are here. Many thanks to Steve German of Victory, Chef Charlie Deal and Chef de Cuisine Josh Decarolis, George O’Neal and team of Lil farm, and Beerinator dogfisherman for the taste of the 2004 V-12.
Lastly, and most importantly…thanks to my lovely wife. She gave me the most incredible gift exactly one year ago, and this dinner was a true celebration of a good life.
Boy, was that a great meal at Table last fall, when we featured the North Carolina winners of the GABF. First time (and only time) I’ve had Wild Boar — and with Natty Greene’s Downtown Brown, no less!
Here’s a great-looking Dogfish Head beer dinner at the amazing Charlotte restaurant. Check it out, then call 704.369.5170 to RSVP.
Wednesday, June 27th, 7 P.M.
Dogfish Head beer dinner at Table
60 Minute I.P.A.
Passed HDV- Grafton Cheddar sliced cured meats, deviled quail eggs, goat cheese stuffed peppadew peppers, fried calamari with a yuzu dressing.
90 Minute I.P.A.
Lobster corn dog with golden raisin mustard.
Midas Touch
Almond Crusted Quail Breast over a saffron and fresh English Pea Risotto topped with a pea shoot and tazmanian honey vinaigrette salad.
Indian Brown Ale
Brown Ale Braised Buffalo Short Ribs over crushed local potatoes and garlic sautéed spinach topped with a coffee scented braising jus reduction.
Raison D’Etree
Plum and Golden Raisin Cobbler with a malt ice cream.
Let’s call a spade a spade. (Why we call them spades, I have no idea. But that’s the beauty of the Internet — now I know.)
Mississippi is hurtin’ for beer culture. But culture — that is, that southern gothic mystique — Mississippi is truly “the South’s South.” And at its heart is Oxford, home of Ole Miss and one of the greatest town squares (and indy book store) you done ever saw.
Oxford should have a brewpub. It did, for many years, have the Hoka, a magical, run-down cinema and restaurant space. A restaurant that, natch(ez?), had the best cheesecake ever. And was alcohol-free.
As is Taylor Grocery, ten or so miles out of town. Once a grocery and post office, now a famed catfish spot that fuses quirky charm, great fish, and local music into a distinctly southern experience. Want wine or beer? You can bring it — and you can have a bottle of wine at the table. But that beer better be poured outside of the restaurant in a cup. Southern discretion.
So don’t you go telling me that beer automatically begets culture. (Ding, anyone?) Oxford has culture in spades — a southern beauty and tension so very different than the mish-mash of cultures of urban North Carolina. And some of the best places to see and be in MS have been, and probably in our lifetime will be, alcohol-free.
But a brewpub would be so excellent in Oxford. Yes, it’s a university town with poor town-and-gown relations. Sure, the kids drink too much. But the square, the southern culture, the grown-ups — it’s all there to create a space that locals would flock to and that tourists and visitors would seek out. Problem is, nearly half the counties in Mississippi are dry. From Dr. David Hanson over at Alcohol Problems and Solutions:
Today, almost one-half of the counties in Mississippi are dry with their own prohibition against the production, advertising, sale, distribution, or transportation of alcoholic beverages within their boundaries. It is even illegal to bring alcohol through a dry county in Mississippi while traveling across the country in the process of, for example, moving a personal wine or spirits collection to one’s new residence
The reason for such a high proportion of dry counties is clear: Mississippi is uniquely temperance-oriented. Mississippi imposed state-wide alcohol prohibition in 1907, over a dozen years before the rest of the country. It was the very first state to ratify the 18th Amendment to create National Prohibition. Following national rejection of Prohibition through Repeal, the state maintained its own state-wide prohibition for another one-third of a century. After that, it specifically “reaffirmed prohibition” when it decided to permit local option regarding alcohol.
That’s a lot to overcome.
Thankfully, one Mississippi brewery is making a go of it. And very successfully. Lazy Magnolia in Kiln is developing quite a name for its Amberjacque and Southern Pecan (note: that’s Puh-cahn, not [shudder] Pee-Can). I enjoyed their beers up in Oxford…it’s good to see a coastal brewery getting distribution up in the hills of north Mississippi.
But isn’t there room for at least another brewery? Especially in Oxford, the one place in Mississippi where it should thrive?
Let me know if you’re interested. I may be too, especially if I start getting another hankering for a burger at nearby Phillips Grocery in Holly Springs. Another alcohol-free treasure.
~~
On a sad note, the day after we left Holly Springs, a North Carolina treasure in his own right, Doug Marlette, died in a tragic accident in Holly Springs, on his way down to Oxford. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to the students and teachers at Oxford High School, who will go on and perform Mr. Marlette’s musical, Kudzu.
This just in from the folks at the Good Beer Store:
This evening from 5pm - 7pm we will be having a customor appreciation party. There will be free food as long as it lasts an two very good beers on tap for $2 per pour. An there will also be live blue grass for your listening pleasure. So please come out an enjoy. (919) 932 -6060
I don’t know what the “very good beers” are, but they always serve very good beers.
Chapel Hill’s Good Beer Store
Tyler’s 6th Annual Blue Ribbon, Bluegrass & BBQ Music Festival
In the Carrboro parking lot this Sunday from 3pm-10pm…
2 stages featuring:
Lots of NC beers on draught with PBR can specials and NC BBQ!
$6 entrance with 100% going directly to the bands
*NO COOLERS!* Kids welome!
Join us in the tasting room as Chad from Freedom Beverage debuts the three Southampton Sessions and Weyerbacher Muse.
Event runs from 4:00 - 6:00 P.M. on June 28th.
 Southampton Secret A German altbier in style, copper-brown in color with “malty flavor and hoppy bitterness.” Bronze medal winner in the 2004 World Beer Cup. [5.2% abv]BeerAdvocate Rating: 84 |
 Weyerbacher Muse Muse is a Belgian farmhouse style. “Hopped with Styrian Goldings and finished with Saaz, this beer has a noticable hoppy dryness which makes it a fine thirst quencher, something the original Farmhouse Ales were intended to be, served to workers out in the fields on hot summer days as a restorative.” [6.2% abv]BeerAdvocate Rating: 81 |
 Southampton I.P.A. “An authentic English-style amber ale with a unique character that comes from a special blend of five hop varieties and imported English malts.” [6.5% abv]BeerAdvocate Rating: 86 |
 Southampton Double White Ale Rated the #1 Belgian white style in the world by BeerAdvocate and #1 beer in America, both in 2005. “Double-gravity” version of the traditional Belgian white. Lightly spiced with coriander and Curacao orange. [7.0% abv]BeerAdvocate Rating: 89 |
Belgium Meets Italy II @ La Caterina Trattoria
Due to the overwhelming success of pairing fine Belgian beer with authentic Italian food, we’re co-hosting Belgium Meets Italy II at La Caterina Trattoria on Monday, July 16 at 6:30pm. Relish in a delectable five-course Italian menu paired with the delicious Belgian beers of All Good Brands.
Don Richardson, president of All Good Brands, brings 17 years of “good beer” experience to the dinner with his commentary. Beer menu includes a special welcome tasting of Scaldis Prestige, then Urthel Hop-It, Saison Dupont, St. Feuillien Brune, Tripel Karmeliet, and Boon Oude Kriek. (These beers are all available through Hart Distributing and pre-order pricing will be available the night of the dinner.)
Dinner menu to follow. Check back for updates!
6:30pm seating, $55/per person including tax and gratuities. A vegetarian dinner option will be available. Please specify which menu you prefer when making your reservations with La Caterina Trattoria, 704-254-1148.
It’s the Raleigh Wide Opener!
This second installment of Raleigh Wide Open is a street festival with no theme, unlike last year’s “let’s close the street to celebrate the street opening” par-tay. Which is fine by me! Who needs a reason to gather in the streets, drink local beer, and walk past purchase some crafts?
The party is this Saturday, July 21, from noon until 11pm. Yep, there’s a NC beer tent. Other than the fine folks at Foothills Brewing out of Winston-Salem, I don’t know who else will be there. I’m sure it’s other fine folks from other North Carolina breweries. Details from the Raleigh Convention Center web site:
Microbrewery Beer Tasting Tent Sample a variety of NC microbreweries. Purchase a $10 beer passport and receive 8 sample pours and a souvenir cup to enjoy the beers.
But the real action is the one-two punch of Eddie Money and a fireworks show.
See you there!
Turtle in the dog house!
Parker and Otis is hosting a beer tasting — Athens, GA-based Terrapin Beer Company, to be exact. Expect the Rye Ale, Golden Ale, and All-American Pils. Dustin usually gives away t-shirts and glassware, too!
My love for Terrapin beer is inversely proportional for my disdain for those “other”, bottle-throwin’ Terrapins to the north.
Friday, July 27
5 - 7 P.M.
Parker and Otis is where Fowler’s used to be, at Peabody Place next to Brightleaf.
This event is run by the same group that does Great Grapes! (Their “!”, not necessarily mine…) The barbecue might be good, and I like the addition of bourbon. Beers won’t necessarily blow you away…I’ve highlighted some beer geek favs for you:
Blue Moon
Brooklyn Brown Ale
Brooklyn EIPA
Brooklyn Lager
Brooklyn Local 1
Bud Lite
Budweiser
Carlsberg
Carolina Blonde
Carolina Light
Chimay
Corona
Dales Pale Ale
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
Dos Equis
Flying Dog Doggie Style
Flying Dog Old Scratch
Franziskaner Hefe
George Killians
Grolsch
Guinness
Harpoon IPA
Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning
Hoopers Hooch
John’s Locker Stock (Rogue)
Kirin
Leinenkugel Summer Wheat
Longhammer IPA
Magic Hat #9
Magic Hat Circus Boy
Magic Hat Hocus Pocus
McSorley’s
Miller Chill (HEY NOW!!!)
Negra Modelo
Oksar Old Chubb (sic..two spelling errors in one!)
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Pilsner Urquel
Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Saranac Pale Ale
Saranac Pomegranate Wheat
Spaten Bock
Stella Artois
Stone Mill Pale Ale
Strawberry Ale
Terrapin Golden Ale
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
Tetley’s
Warsteiner Pilsner
Widmer
Wild Hops
Woodchuck
July 21, noon to 8 P.M.
Symphony Park at SouthPark
$30 onsite admission
From this web site.
Join us for a great day of beer sippin’, bourbon tasting, music listening, cigar smoking, and barbeque eating. 60+ Brews, 40+ Bourbons and numerous BBQ tastes are available for sampling. Everything is on-site for you!
Adult admission is $27 in advance or $30 onsite and includes a souvenir glass, unlimited samples of hundreds of the finest craft brews from around the world plus bourbon and bbq tasting tokens for samples.
Designated Driver tickets are available for $15 and includes admission only.
Kids 12 and under are FREE.
Advance Group tickets are available for $25 per person for a group of 15 or more. Tickets must be purchased in bulk by a representative. Call 800-830-3976 X108 to reserve your group today!
Save 10% BY ORDERING IN ADVANCE. Advance ticket and Group sales will close on Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 5pm.
Running a beer festival is risky business. Yes, beer festivals can be huge fun. But they can also stink. It doesn’t take much to screw up a beer festival: not enough food, long lines at the porta-john, poor beer selection, bad weather. Some things you can control…and a lot you can’t.
I screwed it up royally last year, committing the worst violation in the biz: running out of beer. I had to hoof it back to the next major town to load up on goods — luckily, I timed it okay and it all when off without a hitch.
So who am I to criticize, if I nearly ran out of beer AT A FREAKING BEER FUNCTION.
Thankfully, we in North Carolina are blessed with people who really know how to run festivals. Opinions may vary, but you really can’t argue with the great execution at Hickory Hops, the World Beer Festival, Charlotte Oktoberfest, and many others across the state. The leaders of these functions — in nearly all cases, local residents — work their tales off to create a great, memorable, and safe event. Cheers to them.
But according to one Pop The Cap reader, last weekend’s Beer, Bourbon and BBQ (held in Charlotte but run by Towsen, MD-based Moorea Marketing) left a lot to be desired. Chris’ comments were added to the original post announcing the event, but I thought I’d highlight his comments separately.
Perhaps it’s not fair to call out an event based on one comment. I wasn’t there, so I can’t offer an opinion. But Chris’ post is well-reasoned and I can pretty well picture why he was pissed. If any of you have a different perspective, post here or email me.
Chris offers a cautionary tale of how NOT to run an event — but it’s also a celebration of the hard-working North Carolinians who every year, pull off great beer festivals and contribute hugely to both beer culture and the selection of ales and lagers we enjoy here in the Old North State. Especially the great Charlotte Oktoberfest, run by Queen City residents who volunteer their time and donate thousands of dollars to local charities every year.
What a waste of money! You pay $30 to get in and get the smallest glass you can imagine (it holds about 1/4 of a normal beer) you also get 4 tokens to be used to get bourbon and your barbecue. Impossible to get beers or food because of the long lines. Here is a brief recap.
THE BEER
Unlike other beer festivals (such as the one in October), this is not an event that is attended by different breweries from across the country, rather, it looks like the sponsors went to Costco and bought as many different beers as they could and set them up at different tables. Most of the good (ie: expensive beer) ran out early and therefore most of us were forced to drink bud or bud light.The worst part was the lines. Each beer table had at least 15 people in line. You ended up waiting in line for 5-10 minutes to get about 3 sips of bud light. Then, repeat the process over and over again. It really felt like I paid $30 for about 4 bud lights and I was there for most of the day.
THE BOURBON
If you are a big bourbon drinker, then your day was a little bit better. The lines for the bourbon were a lot smaller so you can pretty much drink as much as that as your 4 tokens would allow (about 4-6 shots worth). If you wanted more tokens, you had to buy them or try to win them.THE BARBECUE
This was the biggest disappointment. You would think after paying $30 you would at least get some decent samples but that was far from the case. Your “free” barbecue was limited to a tiny (1-2 tablespoon) sample of pulled pork. If you were hungry, you were forced to buy food.SUMMARY
Several times during the day I heard people say “For $30 we should have all just gone to the bar or to restaurant” . I agree. The concept sounded good but in reality it was very hard to get your moneys worth. In fact, we ended up leaving, buying some beers on our own and sneaking them back in. Can you imagine having to bring your own beers to a beer festival? Well that was the case and a very bad reflection on the way this one was run.Someone made a ton of money off of this event and that is what really bothers me. I understand there needs to be some profits, but, this event was really out of balance with most people feeling screwed over.
NEVER AGAIN will I attend this event.
Below is the official press release. As a resident of Chatham County, I’m very excited to have a local option. Pittsboro and Chatham are booming — the latest development is a proposed shopping mall as big (in square footage) as Southpoint. There’s not much to do in Pittsboro…that is, until Monday the 6th!
Also check out a YouTube video interview with owner Robert Poitras
CAROLINA BREWERY TO OPEN SECOND LOCATION IN PITTSBORO
Dinner Service begins August 6th
July 25, 2007 (Pittsboro, NC) –Chapel Hill’s award-winning Carolina Brewery will open a second location in Pittsboro in August at the intersection of Highway 15-501 South and Highway 64 Bypass. In addition to housing brewing operations and the restaurant, the new 9,000 square foot facility will feature an outdoor patio, private dining for parties, rehearsal dinners and events, as well as a conference room for meetings. Carolina Brewery & Grill Pittsboro will begin serving dinner Monday August 6th and expand its hours on August 20th to include lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch.
“We are excited to meet the current and future dining needs of this growing area where I also happen to live,” says Carolina Brewery owner Robert Poitras. “Our food and beer fit well with the local demographics and we look forward to being an independently owned and operated business neighbor to Chatham County, Pittsboro, and the surrounding area.”
Carolina Brewery & Grill Pittsboro will feature the same award-winning beer and great food as the Chapel Hill location. Brewmaster Jon Connolly will oversee brewing operations in Pittsboro, and the new facility will produce all beer for Carolina Brewery’s expanding restaurant, grocery, and direct-to-consumer sales. Head Chef and Culinary Institute of America graduate Andrew Forster is moving from Chapel Hill to run the Pittsboro kitchen.
Unique to the Pittsboro location is The Hopshop, an adjacent quick serve spot that will sell Counter Culture Coffee, breakfast, lunch, Carolina Brewery beer and Brewery merchandise to go. The Hopshop opens Friday July 27th and will operate from 7AM-7PM Monday through Saturday.
IF you have written to me at sean@popthecap.org and are wondering why I haven’t replied…I’ve been without access to email for four days.
Our hosting provider is having major issues. The PTC site is up here and there, but my email is still down.
Please accept my apologies. You can write me at sean@seanlillywilson.com.
From the Bruisin’ Ales Blog…
Beer Dinner: The Dogfish Days of Summer 
Whew! The menu is done! Bruisin’ Ales is so very pleased to announce that one of America’s most creative craft breweries—Dogfish Head—is coming to Asheville for our August beer dinner, The Dogfish Days of Summer. This swanky little soirée will be co-hosted by Those Girls at the lovely Windows on the Park in Pack Square on Monday, August 27 at 6:30pm. Devin Arloski of Dogfish Head will on-hand to talk about their brews and he’s bringing a very special beer for dessert. And, no, we will not tell you what it is. You’ll just have to come and see for yourself. (But we wouldn’t want to miss it, that’s for sure.)
Cost is $60/pp including tax and gratuity. Please make your reservations by calling Windows on the Park at 252-2920. (*Please note that with enough notice, they can accomodate vegetarian alternatives.*)
Reception
Festina Peche
Old South Bruschetta Bar with Chipotle Pimiento Cheese, Cucumber Benedictine, Fresh Peaches with Feta, Toasted Biscuits and Fresh Vegetables
Second Course
90 Minute IPA
Local Petit Trout Filet Grilled and served with Proscuitto and Mango Salsa
Third Course
Indian Brown
Mixed Fresh Greens with Pickled Beets, Toasted Pine Nuts, and Balsamic Vinaigrette
Fourth Course
Aprihop
Pulled Pork BBQ Braised in Aprihop and Dried Apricots with a Tangy Vidalia Coleslaw served on a Potato Latke
Fifth Course
Red and White
All-Beef Brats in a Bleu Cheese Phyllo “Blanket” with Double-Breaded Fried Okra
Dessert
!! Off-Centered Mystery Beer !!
Decadent Carrot and Fresh Fig Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
The Beauty of Bitter
Friday, August 24th 5:00 — 7:30 P.M.
Tyler’s Taproom, Durham
$25 a person (beer event only), $33 (beer and a Bulls ballgame)
Lots of beer and lots of food
West Meets East
Saturday, August 25th 2:00 — 5:00 P.M.
Bruisin’ Ales, Asheville
$10 a person ($15 day of the event)
Lots of beer and light food
Proceeds for both events support FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to preserving and protecting the Blue Ridge Parkway, a national treasure. FRIENDS programs focus on preservation, protection and education.
Funds for these events will be specifically targeted to supporting a new FRIENDS administrative position in Asheville to increase youth participation and interest in preserving the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway.
From its founding in 1997 until 2006, Lee Chase served as head brewer for the nation’s fastest-growing brewery, Stone Brewing Company in Escondito, California. Lee’s taking some time away from brewing to travel, which includes a trip to Durham and Asheville to check out North Carolina’s booming craft beer scene. Something’s brewing in North Carolina, but you’ll have to attend this event to find out exactly what!
Meet and greet Lee Chase at the Durham Tyler’s Taproom on the 24th and Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville on the 25th. West meets East as we explore the Beauty of Bitter, featuring West Coast and West Coast-style beers…those aggressive beers that manage to balance big, bitter hops with a nice malty undertone.
Stone’s beers aren’t yet available in North Carolina. Get a rare sample of Stone IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale, and enjoy five or so other West Coast-style beers that exemplify this bold style of brewing. Tyler’s Taproom will serve a wide range of appetizers to accompany these fine beers; Bruisin’ Ales will have some light food offerings to accompany these beers.
Beer list so far:
Stone Arrogant Bastard
Stone IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA…on the Randall!
Exciting California and Colorado beer from the good folks at Hart Distributing!
Oskar Blues — Dale’s Pale Ale
Oskar Blues — Old Chub
Both events are limited to 100 people. If you’re interested in joining Lee, Sean, and a bunch of fellow beer lovers for a Bulls game immediately following the beer tasting on the 24th, we have a total of 25 game tickets available.
(the view from our seats!)
Lastly, in the spirit of The Beauty of Bitter, I give you…toddlers tasting lemons.
The Beauty of Bitter: Beers of the West Coast
Friday, August 24th 5:00 — 7:30 P.M.
Tyler’s Taproom, Durham
$25 a person (beer event only), $33 (beer and a Bulls ballgame)
Durham: BEER EVENT ONLY ($25)
Durham: BEER EVENT and BULLS GAME ($33)
SOLD OUT
West Meets East
Saturday, August 25th 2:00 — 5:00 P.M.
Bruisin’ Ales, Asheville
$15 at the door…tickets available…just be there! 
Triangle Brewing Company is hosting its first brewery tour this Saturday Sept. 15 @ 1pm.
More info: www.trianglebrewery.com
Chapel Hill’s Carolina Brewery will celebrate its 13th Anniversary the first week in February with a special Anniversary Ale and a week of festivities. The Free Pint Glass Day for this anniversary will be Friday February 8th for the first 500 beer customers with live music that evening. Mark your calendars and we’ll send more information on our Anniversary celebration soon!
The 11th annual Brewgrass Festival will be held at the Martin Luther King Jr ballfield in downtown Asheville.
Sept 22, 12 to 7 pm
The 2007 Charlotte Oktoberfest Beer Festival is set for Saturday, September 29th from 1pm - 7pm at the Metrolina Expo Trade Center. This site is located just 3 minutes from Interstate 77 and 10 minutes from downtown Charlotte.
The Metrolina Expo Trade Center also offers free parking for all event patrons, and lots of cover from the threat of inclement weather.
Less than 1/2 of all tickets remain, and this event will sell out.
Andy and Rick of Triangle Brewing Company led a really nice pint night at Tyler’s in Durham, featuring TBC’s Belgian Golden. It’s a strong beer. Light and drinkable with a modest hop presence, it has that warm alcohol reminiscent of Duvel. One of those beers that you could imagine a beer geek and a Bud devotee both enjoying. Nicely done, gents.
Pictures? You want pictures? Okay. I can do that.
And a few more here.
Support your local brewery!
Spicy! From http://www.nchotsaucecontest.com/
Saturday, September 8th from 11am to 3pm
Join producers from all across our North Carolina in a fun-filled day, showcasing NC Hot Sauces, NC Microbreweries, NC Wines, NC Barbecue Sauces, Antiques, Granville Gardeners Plant Sale and much, much more! …and get ready for next year, we’ll be searching again for the #1 Hot Sauce!
North Carolina breweries include…
Carolina Beer Company, Mooresville
Foothills Brewing Company, Winston Salem
Parker and Otis continue to show their love for craft beer. Support this great new addition to the Durham culinary scene…and drink some beer while you’re there!
ALL BEER TASTINGS RUN FROM 5 - 7 P.M. on FRIDAYS…the perfect after-work “swing by.”
The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Big Boss Brewing Company
And perhaps some locals at this Southern Season event featuring North Carolina-made products.
From the Jujube (Chapel Hill) newsletter…
Jujube After Dark
Well, we had so much fun hosting last month’s late night dinner with Andre Tamers, we decided to do another. It just so happens that our dining room manager extraordinaire Kerry has friends at Dogfish Head brewery in
Like last month, you are welcome to join us afterwards (or during for that matter) as DJ Lady Factual spins captivating grooves of old soul, dance hall reggae, and otherwise funky stuff. Jae and crew will be manning the bar, mixing up our classic elixirs.
An evening with Dogfish Head Brewery
Friday August 31st, 2007
9:30 pm until ???
Jujube Restaurant
$37.50 per person plus tax and tip
Braised octopus with almond sambal
Raison d’Etre
Grilled-stuffed calamari with Chinese red vinegar caramel
60 minute IPA
Tumeric and honey glazed roasted pork with braised grapes, onions, and sweet peppers
Midas Touch Ale
”Red Cooked” duck with crispy sweet rice and corn cake
90 minute IPA
Tea-smoked beef short rib with toasted chilis and black vinegar
Brown Ale
Assorted cookies, fruit, and cheeses
But wait! There’s more. Dogfish Head is releasing its second beer inspired by ancient traditions (Midas Touch was the first) and it’s hitting NC just in time for this event. Chateau Jiahu is a beer inspired by evidence of a fermented rice and fruit beverage created in
Jujube is located at:
1201-L Raleigh Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Phone: 919.960.0555
Fax: 919.960.0556
For more information (dress code, parking, map, etc.) or to make reservations at
Jujube:
http://www.opentable.com/restaurant_profile.asp?ID=6325&restref=6325
Last weekend, we raised a handsome little $750 for Friends of the Blue Ridge! Lee Chase, former head brewer of Stone Brewing Company, came to North Carolina with his wife Jen to check out the beer scene in our great state. It was tons of fun taking them around Durham and Asheville to lead some events and talk up beer.
Lee brought three beers: Green Flash West Coast IPA, Port Brewing Hop 15, and the Ballast Point Double IPA. My personal favorite of the three was the Green Flash: a bold, hazy orange, citrus-crisp beer that wasn’t quite a hop bomb, but was much bigger than a typical IPA.
A few more pictures here. Many thanks to the participating breweries (see earlier post). Both events worked really well, I thought — great service, good food, and happy people…in spite of the heat. At Tyler’s, organizing the beers by theme made a cacophonous beer list suddenly make sense:
American Pale Ales
American India Pale Ales
Hops Be Gone! (Understanding hops by tasting two beers with a limited hop presence)
Intermezzo: Miller Chill
Palate Scrapers
It worked so well, we followed a similar format in Asheville.
A huge thanks to all who attended both the Tyler’s and Bruisin’ Ales event. I enjoyed serving you. Big time thanks to Drew and the gang at French Broad Brewery for hosting the 12 Bones afterparty and local beer sampling.
(think “pig sty” if you’re not getting the joke)
This will be a great event. I predict it will grow tremendously in the coming years. All I can say is this: you could be there when it all started. I’m serious.
OCTOBER 27. Noon to 3pm (daytime session) and 5 to 8pm (evening). VIP session from 4 to 5 and into the evening session.
It’s been a good day. I finally feel like we have enough beers to make the Cask Ale and Aged Beer Tent a success, though we’re certainly looking for more. Here are the participating breweries so far (I’ll update this page once when more breweries sign up):
Dry-Hopped Belgian Blonde Ale
Dry-Hopped Imperial Amber
Bourbon-Aged Abbey Double
Three-year-old Three Philosophers Quadruple
Natty Greene’s Cask Ale (specific beer TBD)
Cottonwood Endo IPA on cask
Proceeds from the Cask and Barrel tent go toward a printed 2008 North Carolina Beer Map and Guide. If we have enough residual funds and things work out, we may turn over remaining funds to support the fledgling North Carolina Brewers Guild. Either way, the $1 per sample will go directly toward better visibility and promotion for the North Carolina craft beer industry.
Many thanks to the participating breweries. Give them your support!
Boom clucky chuckie! The list is a happy one. The best ever, and a clear sign that it’s time for a North Carolina Cask Ale Festival.
Come to the Cask, Barrel-Aged, and Vintage beer tent and enjoy…
CASK (look at all them NC casks!)
– Triangle Brewing Dry-hopped Belgian Golden
– Triangle Brewing Dry-hopped Imperial Amber
– Triangle Brewing Bourbon-Aged Abbey Double
– French Broad Wee Heavier Scottish Ale
– Natty Greene’s Buckshot Amber
– Cottonwood Endo IPA
– Highland Gaelic Ale
– Clipper City Winter Storm Imperial ESB
BARREL-AGED
– Scaldis Bush Prestige (Oak-aged Belgian strong ale)
…limited quantities!
– Allagash Curieux (Bourbon-barrel-aged Tripel)…limited quantities!
VINTAGE
– 2004 Ommegang Three Philosophers Quad
– 2006 Victory Storm King Imperial Stout…limited quantities!
– 2006 Liberty Steakhouse Barleywine
Samples are $1 each or six for $5. We might offer a mega deal for unlimited tastes. And if it’s hot, we may have a “chill in the tent” special or something. Funds go toward a printed North Carolina beer trail guide and maybe some “Buy NC beer” shelf talkers for state beer retailers!
Hope to see you there!
So much has been said about the elder statesman for better beer, Michael Jackson. A few of our favorites:
All that’s left to say is this: you should attend a September 30th toast in honor of MJ. The Flying Saucers in Raleigh and Charlotte have one scheduled; Foothills will be serving some aged beer, Details so far:
– Local beers are $2.50 a pint that night (and every Sunday)
– Foothills (again, an aged selection) will be the featured toast
– All proceeds from the toast go to the Parkinson Foundation
– Both venues will have an official toastmaster
– the toast is at 9 P.M.
Please consider attending this event to honor a beer legend!
Update: similar 9 P.M. toasts taking place at both Tyler’s locations (Carrboro and Durham) and the Bier Garden in Asheville.
Honor Michael Jackson, the legendary beer writer, at this September 30th toast. Both Flying Saucer locations, both Tyler’s locations, and the Bier Garden in Asheville.
The toast is at 9pm.
I’ll be at the one in Carrboro, Durham, or Raleigh! Hope to see a bunch of you out that night.
Join Bruisn’ Ales and Chad Walker from Freedom Beverage this Thursday in the Tasting Room as we sample the best beers of Japan. Fruit, cheese, crackers and chocolates will be served.
Beers on the tasting flight include:
Hitachino Weizen–”German style Hefe Weizen with banana, clove, and vanilla like flavors with a touch of toasty wheat malt and hops.” [5.0% abv]
Hitachino Red Rice Ale–”Complex sake like flavors with malt sweet notes. Hints of strawberries in the nose and palate. An intriguing mix of sake, malt , and bitter notes in the finish.” [7.0% abv]
Hitachino Japanese Classic Ale–”Bottle-conditioned fine creamy head on top. Medium bodied feel with sweet bitter taste. It has a unique note of cedar and complex spicy yet mild aroma of British traditional hops such as Kent Goldings and Challenger.” [7.0% abv]
Hitachino XH (Extra High)–”Strong Belgian Brown Ale matured in distilled Sake barrels for three months.” [8.0% abv]
Join us this Friday, September 28th as we welcome Bruce Wright of Wetten Imports to Parker and Otis with a full cache of Delirium Tremens, Delirium Nocturnum, and Gouden Carolus. Also featured will be the extraordinary Scrumpy’s Hard Cider, the only hard cider made in America with 100% Wisconsin apples.
Yee haw! It’s the Saxapahaw Oktoberfest. Saxapa-wha? Just the best lil’ village in all of Southeastern Alamance County!
OCTOBER 20 … 4 - 8P.M.
Bands…
MEMPHIS
WOOD & STEEL
SOUTHPAW
THE PARSONS
Beer…
Natty Greene’s Buckshot Amber
Natty Greene’s Pale Ale
Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale (more like an IPA)
Oskar Blues Old Chub (Scottish Ale)
North Coast Tasting @ Bruisin’ Ales / October 11 5-7pm
This Thursday’s tasting is going to pack a wallop. Four beers from the North Coast Brewing Company’s portfolio all of the high-gravity variety. Special treat this week to accompany these strong brews are local cheeses from The Spinning Spider Creamery in Marshall, NC.
PranQster [7.6% abv]
“Belgian Ales represent the height of the brewers’ art. Sophisticated brewing techniques, yeast blends and unique flavoring elements have elevated the beers of Belgium to the status enjoyed by wine in other countries. PranQster follows in this tradition using a mixed culture of antique yeast strains that produce a floral nose, a full fruity flavor and a clean finish.”
Brother Thelonius [9.4% abv]
“Like a Belgian ‘Dark Strong Ale’, the beer is rich and robust. The package is a 750 ml bottle with a traditional cork and wire finish and features a label picturing the jazz master himself.”
Old Rasputin [9.0% abv]
“Produced in the tradition of 19th Century English brewers who supplied the court of Russia’s Catherine the Great, Old Rasputin seems to develop a cult following wherever it goes. It’s a rich, intense brew with big complex flavors and a warming finish.”
Old Stock Ale [11.7% abv]
“Like a fine port, Old Stock Ale is intended to be laid down. With an original gravity of over 1.100 and a generous hopping rate, Old Stock Ale is well-designed to round-out and mellow with age. It’s brewed with classic Maris Otter malt and Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops, all imported from England.”
City Beverage Co
Downtown Winston-Salem
Some new and old beers that we have in stock at City Beverage. Ommegang Ommegeddon, Rare Vos and Witte. Dogfish Head Golden Era, Sierra Nevada Harvest, Nogne Imp. Stout, Nogne Pale Ale, Nogne Brown, Nogne Porter, Nogne Winter Ale, Otter Creek Otter Mon Stout, Blue Moon Full Moon, Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster, Mikkeller Stateside IPA, Haadbryggeriet Norwegian Wood and Dark Force, Lucifer, Jolly Pumpkin Lucierhaga, Victory Festbier, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, Southampton Pumpkin, Magic hat Jinx.
Sam Adams Black and Boston Lager $15.99 per case
Rogue Dads Little Helper $18.99 per case
Ommegang Beer Tasting October 11th from 4:30-6:30 FREE!!
2007 Lighthouse International Beer Festival
Saturday, October 20th, 2007 50+ International Breweries! Live music! Hugh MacRae Park, Wilmington NC.
Well, we’ve recovered from a great Cask, Barrel, and Vintage beer tent. The best ever, in my opinion — thanks all to the volunteers and the participating breweries. Lots of good, hard work…and a lot of fun. Many thanks to the supporting breweries (see below). Give them your support!
Drew of French Broad pouring out the last of the Wee Heavier on cask
More pictures here.
The Charlotte Southend restaurant is now a new spot called “Woods on South.” Carolina Beer and Beverage will use the 15BBL system as their pilot brewery, which could be cool.
from the new Woods on South web site
About Woods on South
One of America’s top celebrity chefs, Marvin Woods, is teaming with Carolina Beer Company to create a one-of-a kind Charlotte destination. Woods on South, will feature Woods’ original “Carolina Cuisine” and Carolina Beer Company’s new pilot brewery with beer tasting and tours daily.Woods on South opens for lunch and dinner October 23rd, offering a wide selection of entrees, wines by the bottle or glass, a martini menu, and micro-beers from Carolina Beer Company’s on-site brewery and tasting room.
The new restaurant is hosting a couple of charity fundraisers on the 19th and 20th; Queen City folks…check it out. Looks like the events are for a few great causes, and the restaurant appears to be under some truly innovative leadership.
Triangle Brewing Co. will be hosting a pint night this Friday Oct. 19 at Tuepelo’s in Hillsborough. Pint night starts at 7pm and we will be tapping a cask at 7:35. Tupelo’s will be pouring both the Belgian Golden and the Abbey Dubbel. Live music will be starting sometime after 9pm.
I continue to be impressed and amazed at the success of the Carolina Brewmasters, a homebrew club in Charlotte. Take a moment to read their latest press release, and rise a pint to their hard work and great successes. They truly deserve it.
Carolina BrewMasters Donate
$50,000 to Local Charities
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Friday, December 21, 2007 - The Carolina BrewMasters are pleased to announce the donation of $50,000 to local charities. The BrewMasters, a Charlotte-based homebrewing club, host the Charlotte Oktoberfest and this year’s festival proceeds were donated to the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, A Child’s Place and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
For nine years the Carolina BrewMasters have organized and hosted the annual craft brew festival, the Charlotte Oktoberfest, and they have always donated their proceeds. “Our festival has always been about 2 issues near and dear to us: educating the Charlotte area on the wonderful qualities of craft beer and giving back to our great city. Our donations started as just a few hundred dollars and have obviously grown substantially for a volunteer-based event managed by a homebrew club”, states Brian Beauchemin the 2007 club President.
In November, the BrewMasters were honored by the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as one of two groups to receive the 2007 Most Outstanding Volunteer Group Award. The award was received at the MS Society’s annual Board meeting and it was at that time the BrewMasters presented the MS Society with a check for $30,000. Jeanette Smith, the VP of Oktoberfest for the club said, “It was an honor to receive such an award. Even better was the fact that everyone attending the meeting was completely shocked when we turned around and presented our donation. We received a standing ovation and it hits home that what we’re doing with our festival proceeds will truly positively impact many people’s lives.”
A Child’s Place and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) both received $10,000 donations. Through A Child’s Place homeless children are provided with stable, appropriate education in a mainstream setting. The organization ensures that students receive the instruction and professional services they need to achieve academic success: food, clothing, personal hygiene products and school supplies are distributed along with various services and tutors. JDRF is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.
The mission of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is to end the devastating effects of MS. The Mid-Atlantic Chapter is committed to a philosophy of wellness, offering the encouragement, materials and skills necessary to achieve and maintain a meaningful lifestyle for people living with multiple sclerosis and their families. The Society serves people with MS, their families and health care professionals through education, advocacy, information, peer support, therapeutic recreation and many other programs.
For more information, contact Brian Beauchemin, Charlotte Oktoberfest Media Relations
E-mail: bbeauchemin@carolina.rr.com
(Additional information about the Carolina BrewMasters is available at www.carolinabrewmasters.com)
Yip, this year’s Baltic Porter from Duck-Rabbit is on its way! Enjoy the first of the season at Milltown in Carrboro. The celebration begins at 7 P.M.
Many thanks to Natty Greene’s (now in bottles in the Triad!) and Oskar Blues (in cans throughout the Triangle!)
Kevin and I were biz-E this past Saturday. Only got to take a few pictures. The weather was amazing, the people were kind, bands were fab, and Natty Greene’s (Southern Pale Ale, Buckshot Amber) and Oskar Blues (Dale’s Pale Ale, Old Chub) provided great beer. We raised a few hundred more dollars for this printed beer map project we’ll pull off in early 2008.
If you’ve never been to Saxapahaw (especially the Saturdays in Saxapahaw events put on by Heather and Tom LaGarde), you’re missing a nice slice of North Carolina. Perhaps someday we’ll return to the village we once called home.
I dropped some jockey boxes and empty kegs in Greensboro yesterday. Before heading home, I wanted to check out Natty Greene’s new bottled six-packs at the local Harris Teeter. Natty Greene’s co-owner, Chris Lester, had been beaming about how good the display looked (and how great initial sales have been). And he told me about a project that Natty took on: working with the Teeter to organize and focus North Carolina beers under one section. I decided to check it out myself.
This is some big Teeter. From a bit of online research, the Friendly Center Harris Teeter is a larger version of an already-busty Teeter that was torn down, Vegas-style. One blogger called the new incarnation the Tweeter Dome. Lorraine Ahearn of the News and Record referred to it as the Trump Taj Mateeter. Multiple entrances, numerous check out stations, prepared food galore — this place is an experience. Funny, because a lot of the online criticism of the space has been that it’s (get ready for this) cramped and difficult to navigate.
Alas, this isn’t North Carolina Grocery Review monthly. It’s a website about beer.
Entering into the beer and wine section, I noticed Harris Teeter’s old familiar: Beers and Ales. Why, Teeter? Why? Every Teeter I’ve tarried has had a “Beers and Ales” sign. <comic book guy warning> It’s “Ale and Lager,” people. Or just “Beer.” You wouldn’t say “Wine and Chardonnay,” would ya? Grrr…I should tell that to the feds while I’m at it. </comic book guy>
Alas, this isn’t a blog called Signs of the Apocalypse. It’s a website about beer.
On to the bottles. The packaged product looks great. Of course, it tastes great, too — these beers are fresh and local. If you’re in the Triad area, visit your local Lowe’s or Harris Teeter (Taj or tiny) and get yourself a six-pack or two. (Based on the initial positive sales figures, it seems like a number of y’all are already doing this.)
One thing patrons may notice is a nice overhead sign. Glory be: the bottled North Carolina beers (those that this Teeter carries) are front and center. Natty’s, natch, is fronter and centerer, but Lester’s vision is that this prime position rotates based on the region — a different anchor for Raleigh, Charlotte, Wilmington, etc. Makes sense to me. It’s the kind of thing that should be standardized, something some of us have asked the North Carolina Brewers Guild to consider doing. We at Pop The Cap would like to do it, but a retail program really needs to come from the brewers themselves — not an independent organization like PTC. Until such time, it’s breweries like Natty Greene’s that are taking the opportunity to focus North Carolina…and leverage the interest in supporting locally-crafted beer.
Adam Avery visits Bruisin’ Ales for a big beer tasting!
From the newsletter:
“Adam Avery of Avery Brewing will be at Bruisin’ Ales next Tuesday 5-7pm to host a free tasting. Avery is the President and Brewmaster, so we invite you to join us and talk beer with him. They’re taking Avery’s slogan, “Small Brewery, Big Beers,” pretty seriously with the beer flight, too. Check it:
Salvation
[Belgian Strong Golden—9.0% abv]
“Salvation has luscious apricot and peach aromas delicately interwoven with spicy suggestions of nutmeg and cinnamon. This heavenly soft, champagne-like elixer is cellarable for 3 years.”
The Reverend
[Belgian Quadruple—10.0% abv]
“…This beer is assertive, and pure of heart, a heart of candy sugar. It contains as many authentic imported Belgian specialty malts as the brewers could cram into our mash tun, and lots of Belgian dark candy sugar stirred into the brew kettle. A divinely complex and beautifully layered beer with hints of dark cherries, currants, and molasses, complimented by an underlying spiciness and a finish that is Sinfully smooth!Cellarable for 4 years.”
Old Jubiliation
[English Strong Ale—8.0% abv]
“Our winter strong ale has a gorgeous mahogany hue, a hint of hazelnuts, and a finish reminiscent of mocha and toffee. No spices, just a perfect blend of five specialty malts. Cellarable for 2 years.”
Hog Heaven
[American Barleywine—9.2% abv]
“This dangerously drinkable garnet beauty is a hop lover’s delight. The intense dry-hop nose and the rich malt body are perfectly balanced for a caramel candy-like finish. This is a serious beer for serious beer afficianados and it only gets better with age. Cellarable for 3 years.”
The Beast
[Belgian Grand Cru—14.9% abv]
“The Beast is a seducer—accomodating, complicated, powerful, dark and created to last the ages. With a deep burgundy color and aromas of honey, nutmeg, mandarin orange and pineapple, this massive and challenging brew has flavors akin to a beautiful Carribean rum. Dates, plums, raisins and molasses are dominant in a rich vinous texture. Cellarable for 10+ years.”
From the Carolina Brewing Company newsletter:
“We are proud to announce the release of the Carolina Winter Porter. Just like last year, it is in the style of a robust American porter and has a wonderful dark color and full body from the black and chocolate malts. We use a unique hop (Simcoe) to add a bit of spicy character. It is 5.0% alcohol by volume.
It will be available at the brewery in bottles & kegs beginning this weekend during our normal retail hours: Fridays noon until 6 PM and Saturdays between noon and 4 PM.”
More information and directions (including the Saturday 1 P.M. tour)
Event postponed until February.
Oriental Harbor Marina, Thursday, November 1st. Gather at 6:30, dinner at 7:00.
Beers include Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout, Oskar Blues Old Chub, Stone IPA, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Anderson Valley Brother David’s Tripel, Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine, and Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout. We’ll walk through some “taste themes:” hoppy…malty…roasty…all paired with the evening meal.
“Enjoy a seafood-themed dinner. Drink great craft beer. Discover some beers not yet sold in North Carolina. Sean Wilson, head of Pop The Cap (the group that lifted the state’s 6% alcohol limit), will share a range of beers paired specifically with Chef Bruce’s creations.”
Event Details:
Bruisin’ Ales and La Caterina Trattoria are co-hosting Le Baladin Italian Beer Dinner on Tuesday, November 13—featuring the beers of Italian brewery, Le Baladin, from the portfolio of Freedom Beverage. Beer commentary and education by Ron Fisher of B. United International will accompany the dinner.
This five-course Italian menu is prepared by Chef Shane Havener. Reception starts at 6:30pm with 7:00pm dinner seating. A vegetarian option is available. Please specify which menu you prefer when making your reservation with La Caterina Trattoria, 828-254-1148. Cost is $60/pp, inclusive of tax and gratuity.
The menu:
Ostriche Fritte
Beer Batter Fried Oysters
Roasted Garlic Aioli
Pane Pastore with Smoked Sea Salt
Baladin Nora
Pastrami
Smoked In-house cured Pastrami
Parsnip-Horseradish Puree
Fried Parsnip Chips
Baladin Wayan
Salsicce di Anatra
In-house made Grilled Duck Sausage
Sauteed Cabbage & Potatoes with Sundried Red Peppers, Fennel Seed
Super Baladin
Manzo
Beer Braised Kobe Beef Short Ribs
Turnip gnocchi, Sauteed Broccoli Rabe
Baladin Nöel
Torta Mele al Caramello
Apple-Caramel Torte
Barley-Beer Zabaglione
Le Baladin Xyauyu’
Wednesday, November 7 at 6:30 p.m.
$75/person. Call 828-225-6268 to reserve.
Highland Brewing Company located at 12 Old Charlotte Highway next to Blue Ridge Motion Pictures in east Asheville.
Triangle Brewing Co. will be tapping a cask at the Flying Saucer on Friday, Nov. 30.
Dunno the cask, but it’s bound to be tasty!
Dunno the time, but prolly in the evening!
Dunno the price, but prolly not free…or too expensive!
NOTE: this was the 2007 BFBF
for the 2008 BFBF, please visit
http://trianglebrewingcompany.blogspot.com/2008/11/black-friday-beer-line-up.html
I wouldn’t want you to show up to the wrong place!
(Where is classy Rigsbee Hall? Right here!)
It’s Black Friday! Time to wake up at 5:30 A.M., grab some early bird specials at Walls-Mart, fight for a parking spot at the Northeast South Gate Triangle Tree Mall before sunrise, pick over empty shelves of silk flowers at Michael’s, browse for scented candles….
ACK!
We’d rather drink beer. Come join us the day after Thanksgiving in Durham for a chill-out, low-key, celebration of dark beers. Yep, “Black Friday” beers. This is bound to be a tradition…if you show up.
Beers so far include Bell’s Kalmazoo Stout, Stone India Pale Ale, Stone Arrogant Bastard, Oskar Blues Old Club, Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Hercules Imperial IPA, Avery Hog Heaven, and Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. Durham’s Triangle Brewing Company will be there as well!
Many thanks to the participating breweries, as well as to Hart Distributing, Tryon Distributing, Long Beverage, and All About Beer Magazine.
Light food generously donated by the good folks at Rue Cler and Pop’s Trattoria.
A Texas Hold ‘Em tourney kicks off at 4pm, hosted by the nationally-renowed, locally-owned World Tavern Poker. Be there by 3:30 to sign up! The poker tourney will last two to three hours. Prizes for the winners!
And, thanks to our friend Doug, we’ll have an Xbox 360 on the big screen TV. Nothing says “work off a couple of pounds of that Thanksgiving meal” like a round or two of Guitar Hero.
Please bring a new, unwrapped toy to support Toys for Tots — Raleigh. Or be okay with $25 at the door; $5 of which we will contribute as a cash donation to the nonprofit organization, which provides holiday gifts to children in need.
It’s Black Friday! Time to wake up at 5:30 A.M., grab some early bird specials at Walls-Mart, fight for a parking spot at the Northeast South Gate Triangle Tree Mall before sunrise, pick over empty shelves of silk flowers at Michael’s, browse for scented candles….
ACK!
We’d rather drink beer. Come join us the day after Thanksgiving in Durham for a chill-out, low-key, celebration of dark beers. Yep, “Black Friday” beers. This is bound to be a tradition…if you show up.
Beers so far include Bell’s Kalmazoo Stout, Stone India Pale Ale, Stone Arrogant Bastard, Oskar Blues Old Club, Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Hercules Imperial IPA, Avery Hog Heaven, and Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. Durham brewery Triangle Brewing Company will be there as well!
Many thanks to the participating breweries, as well as to Hart Distributing, Tryon Distributing, Long Beverage, and All About Beer Magazine.
Light food generously donated by the good folks at Rue Cler and Pop’s Trattoria.
A low-key Texas Hold ‘Em tourney kicks off at 4pm, and we’ll have an Xbox 360 on the big screen TV. Nothing says “work off a couple of pounds of that Thanksgiving meal” like a round or two of Guitar Hero.
Please bring a new, unwrapped toy to support Toys for Tots — Raleigh. Or be okay with $25 at the door; $5 of which we will contribute as a cash donation to the nonprofit organization, which provides holiday gifts to children in need.
Black Friday Beer Fest is going to be a great event. A tradition in the works? Perhaps…though we curious to test out our hypothesis — that enough of you will be 1) in the area, and 2) stir crazy from a combination of shopping, Thanksgiving food, and Aunt Martha.
Might this impact your decision to attend? Here’s the evolving beer list:
Dark (Black Friday) Beers…
Beyond black beers…
And much more, thanks to the good folks at All About Beer Magazine. Keep in mind: this is just the beer. We’ve also got food from Rue Cler/Pop’s, poker by World Tavern Poker, and Guitar Hero III on the big screen. All for $20 and a new, unwrapped toy or toyless $25.
Are you sure about that 11-hour drive to Schenectady?
We proudly present to you the next Jujube beer dinner, aligned right. Just like Chef Charlie likes. RSVP for this one — Jujube pulls off the most amazing beer dinners.
Jujube is located at:
1201-L Raleigh Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Phone: 919.960.0555
Fax: 919.960.0556
Ommegang Beer Dinner featuring Duvel and Ommegang
Tuesday December 12th
7:00 pm
Jujube Restaurant
$50 per person
Plantain, shrimp, and rice fritters with rice vinegar beurre blanc
-Ommegang Whitte Ale
Fennel-steamed mussels with French fries and aioli
-Duvel Golden Ale
House-made sausage, silken tofu, and scallions braised in “oyster” sauce
-Ommegang Rare Vos Amber Ale
Tea-smoked pork loin with pickled and roasted shiitakes
-Rodenbach Grand Cru Sour Ale
Braised beef won-ton with seared foie gras and shaved truffle
-Ommegang Abbey Dubbel Ale
Chocolate truffle cake with cherry glaze
-Ommegang Three Philosophers Quadrupel Alea
Black Friday Beer Fest continues to evolve. I betcha you’d like this event even if you didn’t drink beer.
But if you don’t drink beer, what are you doing on this web site?
Just added, moments ago: CHAIR MASSAGE. $1 a minute. First two minutes free. From a licensed, for-real massage therapist who was kind enough to take my call and accept the invitation to come to BFBF.
Enjoy the massage, whether you’re a harried shopper or a hairy non-shopper.
We’ll have pictures of Black Friday later today…but for now, all of us at Pop The Cap want to thank you for a tremendous event. We got good coverage ahead of time, and a solid turnout the day of the event. Our gamble paid off. Many people left saying, “make sure you do this again next year.” That was music to our ears, like a Salvation Army Santa in front of Food Lion.
Many thanks to Rue Cler and Pop’s Trattoria; Andy with World Tavern Poker; thirty-two; Jacqueline over at Rigsbee Hall; Andy and Rick with Triangle Brewing Company; Kerry and Ed with Tryon Distributing; Julie, Daniel, and Angela with All About Beer / the World Beer Festival; and all the participating breweries. Andy with Triangle gets bonus points for bringing his family to help pour beer, and super bonus points for his brother-in-law being a friend of mine from high school whom I haven’t seen in…well, since high school. That was fun.
Best of all, you raised nearly $300 and donated 70 gifts for Toys for Tots. Together we turned a sometimes hectic, stressful, and corporate-driven day into a community-building, relaxing, beer holiday. Thank you!
Lastly, as you shop for the holidays, please consider supporting your local independent retailers. It makes a difference.
Pictures in a bit!
Thanks to photo hound 32D40, we have pictures of the Black Friday event! Wow, that’s bigger than a sale at Penney’s!
Please read the earlier entry for all the requisite/heartfelt thank-yous. If you attended and enjoyed yourself, the event was great because of Rue Cler, Pop’s, World Tavern Poker, and all the folks mentioned in that post. This incoming email sums up the event nicely:
I just wanted to thank you all for putting on a wonderful Black Friday Beer Fest. The beer was fantastic and the poker was a hoot. All the while you raised some money and collected toys for a great cause.
Looking forward to your next event.
Seems like we may have the makings of a tradition here.
Anyway, on with the pictures! Clicky here.
Rick Tufts and his wife, Chris, somehow managed to have a baby shortly after Rick and Andy opened Triangle Brewing Company. Congrats to the family, and welcome, Abigail!
(Abigail with an “I”…man, I was *this close* to becoming the first person in the world to misspell Abagail’s name. D’oh! I just did it!!!!)
***
On a totally unrelated note, Tony Kiss the Beer Guy called me today. We chatted about whether North Carolina is now a good or bad state for beer laws. Like many things North-Carolina-on-a-national-level, I’d put the Old North State’s beer laws as neither terribly bad nor terribly progressive. The theorists of Beer Advocate seem to agree: one post, “Worst state for liquor laws?“, did not mention North Carolina at all. A related post, “Best state for liquor laws?“, er, did not mention North Carolina at all. That kind of speaks volumes.
And before you go off on a tangent about the 15% limit, dry counties, or liquor-by-the-drink restrictions…realize what I’m saying: NC isn’t the greatest, but there’s no way it’s the worst. Even states with great beer culture have screwy laws — Vermont has an 8% ABV cap. (Bet 95% of you didn’t know that!) In Colorado and a handful of other states, you can’t buy beer above 3.2% ABW on Sunday. In Pennsylvania, six-packs of beer are more rare than a vegetarian at Geno’s. Most beer in PA is sold by distributors…and only by the case. Can you imagine having to buy a full case of Rodenbach? I mean, I love Gueuze, Flemish Sours, Barleywines…I love ‘em all, pretty much. But I don’t love cases of ‘em for $80 a pop. Consumer choice is a good thing, and we’ve generally got it in spades here in NC.
Look for my rambling thoughts in Tony’s upcoming beer article (and possibly a podcast). He’ll be talking about the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition.
***
And lastly, on an actual related note, I am happy to report that Senator Robert Pittenger will not be seeking re-election for his Mecklenburg senate seat. He is considering a run for lie-you-tenant goobernor, that one elusive legislative position more obscure than Comptroller.
Why should you care about Senator Pittenger? He was the spinmeister who opposed the Pop The Cap bill, following up his failure to defeat HB392 with this little ditty of a press release:
…”Again, the long arm of State government interferes with local autonomy in areas that are not necessary”, stated Pittenger. “Now judges and law enforcement in counties that are concerned about the impact of DUI and teenage and college binge drinking must face a greater challenge because Raleigh has decided they know best”, said Pittenger. “
WRONG, Senator. The people spoke…from just about every county in North Carolina. Our campaign was about as grassroots as it gets.
Now, two years later, I’m a little wiser. I realize press releases for this are more about appeasing constituencies, retaining votes, and gaining power (er, did I say wiser? I meant jaded.) It’s just that, Senator Pittenger, on your website, you fancypants yourself a “CONSERVATIVE BUSINESSMAN.” Two years after HB392, North Carolina has no “long arm of State government” restricting consumer choice and limiting the rights of retailers, brewers, and restaurants. The data show that, in fact, we have no greater problems with DUIs and teenage or college binge drinking because of the Pop the Cap measure:
|
Crash Year |
Total Fatalities |
Total Alcohol-Related |
Fatalities Where |
Fatalities Where Highest Driver |
|||
|
|
|
Number |
Percent |
Number |
Percent |
Number |
Percent |
|
2002 |
1,576 |
592 |
38% |
527 |
33% |
444 |
28% |
|
2003 |
1,553 |
528 |
34% |
452 |
29% |
403 |
26% |
|
2004 |
1,573 |
549 |
35% |
488 |
31% |
423 |
27% |
|
2005 |
1,547 |
562 |
36% |
495 |
32% |
429 |
28% |
|
2006 |
1,559 |
554 |
36% |
482 |
31% |
420 |
27% |
source: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/STSI/37_NC/2006/37_NC_2006.htm
What do we have? Business expansion. Award-winning breweries. Best of all, we have, by some estimates, 300 new jobs in the state resulting from the booming craft beer scene. Think about it: 300 new jobs from a only-in-America mix of deregulation and entrepreneurship. Compare that to the $165 million in state incentives Google received for bringing 200 jobs to Lenoir, N.C. in Caldwell County. Pop The Cap cost us nothin’, other than a bunch of beer parties and some creative t-shirts. CONSERVATIVE BUSINESSMAN my you-know-what. The people spoke, Senator. Not Raleigh. We the people. And when the people speak again, hopefully it will be to resoundingly defeat your quest for more power.Crap. This got long. Those of you who stuck with me and read this far…cheers to you. It’s 4pm on Friday and now I’m ready for a beer. A virtual tip of my pint to you, to Tony Kiss for calling me and for giving me an opportunity to reflect more on this issue. And cheers to any and all of you who, two years ago wrote, called, and spoke for the people.
This is how all brown glass recycling bins should look. Picture taken after the Black Friday Beer Fest, in case you’re wondering.
A free PTC t-shirt to the person who can identify all 11 craft beers in this shot. Seriously, I’ll mail you one. Post in comments!
My email autosignature proudly proclaims that Pop The Cap is 94.1% beer-related. Please indulge me with a 5.9% moment.
If you’re a teenager wearing a Misfits t-shirt, it’s probably not a good idea to clutch the arm of your girlfriend and go skipping down Southpoint Mall.
Thursday, December 13th is a good day for North Carolina beer lovers. At the most, you’re four hours away from either of these events. Go!
ASHEVILLE — Bruisin’ Ales (big surprise, I know)
Keepin’ It Local beer tasting with Pisgah Brewing Company
A flight of five beers: Porter, Equinox, Red Devil, Solstice, and Baptista
Not that it’s all about big beers…but all of these are 6% or higher!
– More info at the Bruisin’ Ales Blog
Bruisin’ Ales, Asheville
RALEIGH –The Raleigh Times Bar
Holiday Beer Dinner with Don Richardson
Saison Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux
Boon Kriek Lambic
St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel
Fantome Noel
Scaldis Noel
Bosteels DeuS Brut des Flanders
$49 for some dang good food and some crazy-expensive beer. Hm…I could go “Christmas shopping” tonight…
The Raleigh Times Bar, Raleigh
From the Wine Authorities newsletter. (Actually, from beerinator.com, which was from the Wine Authorities newsletter!) This looks like a lot of fun. Devin is a great guy, and the Wine Authorities are proving to be just as passionate about beer as they are about wine…
—
Attention all beer fanatics and hop heads - this is the deal. We have Devin Arloski direct from Dogfish coming to the store for a free tasting of Dogfish beers from 5 PM to 6:30 PM along with cheeses from our artisan cheese selection. He is also bringing two surprise beers, not available in the state of NC.
But wait there’s more… For those who want the full monty we have just 24 seats available for a seated beer seminar starting at 7:15 PM covering the beer basics and beer evaluation with video presentation as only Wine Authorities does it. The seminar lasts about 45 minutes, then Devin will cover specifics on Dogfish beer.
Finally we break into a “round table” discussion, beer in hand and free pint glass to take home, to talk about the craft beer industry today. It’s your chance to ask questions of a real beer industry insider. Note: This segment will be video taped and you may appear in a future video on our website. Reservations are $15 each, book now! Beer Hotline: 919 489-2884
I’ll add these to the PTC calendar and put them in the upcoming newsletter:
Saturday, January 19th: Asheville Winter Warmer Beer Festival
3:00 — 7:00 P.M.
$35, includes BBQ from Luella’s
Music by Marc Higgins Band & Dehlia Low
Tentative participating breweries include:
French Broad Brewing Co.
Highland Brewing Co.
Green Man Brewing Co
Pisgah Brewing Co.
Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co.
Heinzelmannchen Brewery
Catawba Valley Brewing Co.
A portion of proceeds will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.
French Broad Brewing Company, Asheville (The Garage is right next door)
Thursday, January 24th: GameDinner.com and Highland Brewing Company present:
Big Game and Beer
The Crest Center, Asheville, NC
Hors D’oeuvres at 6:30, Dinner at 7:00
$100 per person; purchase tickets online at gamedinner.com or call 828-768-1783
Hors D’oeuvres
Various preparations of venison, quail, bison, and duck; assortment of local cheeses.
Soup
American Bison and Barley Tasgall Stew served in a Toasted Boule with Homemade Chestnut Crackers.
Beer pairing
Tasgall Ale
Fish
5-Fathoms Terrine with wild Pacific salmon, cold-water scallops and Maine lobster tail garnished with blue crab ceviche and NC rainbow trout caviar.
Beer pairing
St. Therese’s Pale Ale
Salad
Live butter crunch lettuce topped with a crisp “slaw” made from shredded jicama, chayote and sunchoke with toasted sunflower seeds and a light vinaigrette. Served with wild onion relish crostini.
Beer pairing
Kashmir IPA
Intermezzo
Prickly pear ice and homemade fortune cookie
Meat
Six-ounce grilled elk strip loin steak with shitake friti, sauce chasseur and roasted shallot marmalade.
Beer pairing
Gaelic Ale
Dessert
Cranberry spice cake with warm lemon sauce, whipped cream and glaced cranberries. Served with a Cold Mountain shandy.
Beer pairing
Cold Mountain Winter Ale
Please refer to the blog post for more information.
Please refer to the blog post for more information.
—from Beerinator.com, posted by the James Joyce —
This Wednesday, January 9th, we will be having a beer tasting at the James Joyce. This time we will be tasting some of the favorites from the last few beer tastings, as well as 2 new beers. This will be a good chance to try a wide variety of beers, we should have at least seven or eight different samples. The price will be reduced to 10$ for tasting and a glass, and 7$ for those of you who already have a glass. This is an excellent chance for you to get your tasting glass at a reduced price for all future tastings. It will be held at the usual time, 6:30 to 10pm.
This looks like a great beer dinner featuring local breweries. Chef Amy Tornquist has lined up Triangle, Foothills, and Highland to participate in this event. All three breweries will be in attendance.
Haven’t been to Watts Grocery? You should go, well before this beer dinner. You know, just to get more familiar with the place. Greg Cox of the News and Observer recently awarded the restaurant 4 1/2 stars.
LE MENU!
Feb. 25th BEER DINNER
$50/per person. Two seatings: 6pm and 8:30pm
Call 919.416.5040 to RSVP!
Tabled Appetizers
Fried oysters with remoulade
Zuke’s deviled ham on toast points
Foothills Torch Pilsner
First Course
Steamed mussels with andouille, onions, and pale ale
French fries with remoulade and catsup
Triangle Brewing Company Pale Ale
Second Course
Pan-seared quail with a mustard pan sauce and warm bacon slaw
Triangle Brewing Company Belgian Golden Ale
Third Course
Zuke’s house smoked pork ribs with Dave’s overnight molasses beans
Foothills Seeing Double IPA
Fourth Course
Southern raclette with chowchow, artichoke pickles, and Zuke’s house sausage served with Pop’s bread
radishes and fresh butter
Highland Brewing Company Gaelic Ale
Fifth Course
Hazelnut brown butter financier with praline cream and sauteed winter fruit
Highland Brewing Oatmeal Porter
From the guys at Big Boss:
Just wanted to let everyone know that we will be tapping a cask ale @ Milltown in Carrboro on Thursday, 1/17, at 6 p.m. What’s in the cask you ask? It is a belgian black chocolate stout, using only the finest European malts, conditioned with Valrona chocolate! It promises to be pretty good, so I hope to see some beerinators there!
Today!
5 - 7 PM
Bruisin’ Ales, Asheville
The holidays have come and gone, but the beer is still here. These seasonal winter releases are tasty beyond the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Come on out for this Belgian-style line-up of winter’s stronger brews.
Klein Duimpje Kerstbier
“Klein Duimpje–Tom Thumb in Dutch–is the life’s work of Erik Bouman, a terrific home-brewer who has managed to parlay his passion and his talent into a tiny but full-fledged brewery in a matter of a few short years. Kerstbier, or Christmas beer, is a deep, dark amber, very earthy and full-bodied, with some roasty and fruity malt flavors balanced by a perfectly stated hop bitterness.”
[Belgian Strong Dark / 7.5% abv / Netherlands]
Kerstmutske Christmas Nightcap
“Big, hoppy nose with aromas of overripe fruit and earthy herbal hops. Reddish-brown with a huge, pillowy head. Nice malt complexity with a touch of sourness, some fruity esters and a long, rich finish. The Belgian yeast character is unmistakable.” (via Celebrator)
[Belgian Strong Dark / 7.4% abv / Belgium]
La Moneuse Special Winter
“A very festive and hardy holiday ’saison’ homemade at Belgium’s smallest family brewery. Extra rich for the holiday season, at 8.0% alcohol by volume. As the label says, really just a richer version of La Moneuse, using a little caramelized malt and maybe more hops. The malt flavor of the Special is a little darker, roastier, and certainly sweeter.”
[Saison / 8.0% abv / Belgium]
St. Feuillien Cuvée de Noël
“This beer has a generous head–compact and firm. Its slightly brown colour is the result of the roasted barley. It has a dark ruby brown colour and a very intense aroma. The aromatic herbs and spices used greatly enhance its delicious smell. This beer is full-bodied with a smoothness that is the result of the synergy of caramelised malts, carefully controlled fermentation and long cold storage.”
[Belgian Strong Dark / 9.0% abv / Belgium]
From the Triangle newsletter. Triangle’s cask ales are amazing.
Triangle Brewing Company will be tapping our first firkin of 2008 on Friday January 18, 2008 at Alivia’s Durham Bistro. Alivia’s is located at 900 W. Main Street in Durham. This is the first time they have ever held this kind of event, so come help Alivia’s pop their cask cherry! The cask will be tapped at 5:00pm and will flow until it is empty. TBC will be serving an unfiltered version of our Xtra Pale Ale that has been specially dry hopped for this occasion! This will be a great event on Main Street. If you typically hang out at the Federal or James Joyce why don’t you stumble on down to Alivia’s and enjoy a pint or two many. Cheers.
Four North Carolina breweries will represent the state’s great craft beer scene at a January 29th media event in New York City. Around 100 writers for national and regional publications have RSVPed for the after-hours gathering, which will take place at the Museum or Arts and Design in Manhattan.
The event is sponsored by the North Carolina Tourism Department and organized by LKM Solutions, a Charlotte-based marketing agency . In addition to featuring North Carolina beer, the Tourism Department will showcase and serve North Carolina wine and NC-style barbecue.
But the beer will be what brings ‘em out. You and I both know that.
The four participating breweries are:
Many thanks to these four breweries for donating beer and contributing funds! Thanks to their generosity, Sean Wilson from Pop The Cap will be able to pour and present these beers at the NYC event.
Our goal is to get media coverage about the great craft beer scene here in North Carolina, with a special focus on these four breweries.
Questions? Ideas? Pithy remarks? Post ‘em here or email me!
When touting a new web address in a press release, it’s a good idea to spell the URL correctly. Just like it’s a good idea to spell “Governor” the right way when announcing your candidacy.
Press release from http://wrallocaltechwire.com/business/local_tech_wire/wire/story/2318204/
N.C. Technology Association Changes Web Address
RALEIGH - The North Carolina Technology Association has changed its Web address.
The new site is www.nctehcnology.org.
NCTA, the primary trade organization for technology firms in the state, will host its annual meeting on Jan. 25 at the Embassy Suites in Cary. Bob Young, a co-founder of red Hat and the founder of Lulu Enterprises, will be the guest speaker.
From Paul at Duck-Rabbit…a special invite to check out the new barleywine.
Fellow Beer Lovers,
Everyone is invited to a pre-release tasting of this year’s Duck-Rabbit Barleywine on Saturday, Jan 26. We’ll get rolling here at the brewery at 3:00. As those of you who come to previous events at the brewery know, this is very informal. We’ll taste beers, and talk about beers and have some food. I hope to see some of you here!
Highland Brewing Company and MALT (Mountain Area Ale and Lager Tasters, website currently down) are sponsoring a new homebrewing competition. The winner heads to the Great American Beer Festival.
MALT and Highland Brewing Company have teamed up to put on a competition to choose a homebrewer’s beer for Highland to enter the Brewer’s Association Professional/ Amateur Series this year. Malt will help organize the competition which will take place on Saturday, April 5th at Skyland Distributing (same place as the BRBO). We will need volunteers for stewards and judges but most of all, we need entries!
The winner (Best of Show) will earn a trip to Denver with Highland for the 2008 GABF in October to help Highland promote the beer. The winner will brew the beer with the Highland brew team at the brewery and get some of it to take home.
More details at the MALT website, when the site is up and running.
Not in the Asheville area? Check out a new home brewed beer competition in Wilmington, organized by Brent Manning, head of Cape Fear Biofuels (and long-time Pop The Cap supporter and organizer back in our change-the-6%-law days).
1st Annual Homebrewed Beer Contest Information
Cape Fear Biofuels will be hosting a regional homebrewed beer contest on February 23, 2008.
This event will feature local homebrewed beers and live music from The Casserole. Click here to fill out a beer submission form.
Location: WHQR Gallery, Front Street (Downtown Wilmington)
Time: 7-11PM
Tickets: $20 (All proceeds go to support Cape Fear Biofuels co-op reactor in Winnabow, NC)
For more information on the Wilmington contest, clicky here. Download the full-sized flyer here.
Found on beerinator.com…
Sexual Chocolate will be released in 22 oz. bottles beginning at 11:00am, February 2nd, 2008. Please lineup on Fourth St. near the front door of Foothills Brewing. The first 100 places in line will receive a bracelet for the purchase of 4 22oz. bottles of SC. Should there be more than 100 in line, the next 50 will receive a bracelet to purchase 2 22oz. Bottles are $15 each.
RateBeer.com is an online beer community that, while based in the US, showcases beer from all over the world. In the site’s recent “Best of 2008″ lists, North Carolina represents quite well…and quite often!
Here’s a summary of the methodology for you stats geeks out there. Go own, click…you know you want to…
The Top 100 Beers In The World: 2008
26. Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout
70. The Duck-Rabbit Baltic PorterThe Top 100 Brewers In The World: 2008
Best Beers of the United States 2008
14. Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout
37. The Duck-Rabbit Baltic PorterBest Beer Bars in the World 2008
47. Flying Saucer Draught Emporium (Raleigh)
Best Beer Retailers in the World 2008
2. Bruisin’ Ales (Second-best beer store in the world!!!)
32. Brawley’s Beverage
34. Sam’s Quik Shop
50. Greenlife GroceryBest Beer Restaurants in the World 2008
5. Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria
14. Tyler’s Taproom and Restaurant (Durham - American Tobacco Historic District)
15. Mellow Mushroom (Asheville)
This is a pretty incredible showing by North Carolina retailers and restaurants — particularly the great accomplishments of Foothills and Duck-Rabbit, three top beer restaurants (out of 18 total gold metal winners), and the state’s beer retailers. I’d add at least one more to that retail list…Chip’s Wine and Beer Market in Kill Devil Hills. I think they actually had a higher rating than some of the other “bests,” but might not have had enough reviews to be included.
Not that you asked, but this is what makes me so happy about the lifting of the cap. In just over two years, North Carolina has turned from the butt of beer jokes to the most respected beer state in the South. My hat goes off to the retail and restaurant entrepreneurs, distributors, and breweries who have made the most of the law change. Congratulations to you all…whether you’re on this list or not.
Many thanks to John of Dr. Beer Love for forwarding this event to us!
Special events at Table (Charlotte):
Oregon Microbrews Beer Tasting
Thursday, Feb. 21st - 6pm
5 beer tastings
$15 per person
Call 704.369.5170 to RSVP and reserve your space.
Directly from the purveyor of the #2 beer store in the world…
January 24
This week, we’re heading across the pond to sample some brews from countries we haven’t visited before. Cost will be $2/pp (at the register) and we’ll be giving that to our charity, Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Susan Mills, Executive Director, and Greg Brown, VP of Adminstration, will be on-hand for part of the tasting to tell you exactly how they help maintain America’s favorite scenic drive. You all helped us raise nearly $1,000 for them in 2007!
Tusker Lager is the beer made famous by Ernest Hemingway. Brewed in Kenya with malt grown in the Kenyan Rift Valley, Tusker is known as “the beer from the shadow of Kilamanjaro.” The words Bia Y Angu Nchi Yangu on the label are Swahili for “My beer, My country.”
[Africa / Lager / 4.2%abv]
BFM La Meule is one of the hidden gems at Bruisin’ Ales. This deliciously creamy blonde ale with sage pairs well with most anything. “In the depths of La Meule lurks a truly amazing fresh, herbal kick that’ll instantly convince you this one deserves to be put in a class of its own.”
[Switzerland / Blonde / 6.0%abv]
Lammin Kataja Olut is a variation of the juniper-laced Sahti by replacing the Finnish Baker’s yeast through a regular ale yeast. “This brew has a very robust shelf life of over 12 months. Dark orange in color, with peachy, citrusy and lemony notes on the palate. Rather big body with a dry, almondy finish.”
[Finland / Sahti / 8.0%abv]
Nogne-O Winter Ale is a dark ale “with a rich, complex taste of caramel.” Nogne-O has recently been named the 23rd Best Brewery in the World. Dark and sweet, this is a nice finish before we send you off into the cold!
[Norway / Porter / 8.5%abv]
_________________
beer•lan•thro•py™–noun def: concern for the welfare and advancement of beer.
We care about our neighbors here in the South, right? Let’s prove that maxim true by lending a hand to our brethren with Free The Hops in Alabama, the group that has tirelessly fought to lift the same alcohol cap on beer that we lifted in 2005.
One opponent stands in the way of raising the alcohol cap in Alabama: A-B Distributor Birmingham Budweiser. From the FTH newsletter:
This is our third year attempting to get this bill passed. It has only taken this long because one single business - Birmingham Budweiser - has engaged in underhanded tactics to maintain a government control that inhibits competition and removes consumer choice. We will no longer engage in their time-wasting “negotiations” which ultimately lead nowhere.
The situation in Alabama has gotten so bad that Free The Hops has reinstated a boycott of Budweiser products, as negotiations with the corporate entity went nowhere earlier this week. A-B is in a tricky position: they’re promoting beer and food pairings with high-priced marketing efforts like Here’s To Beer, yet the company must maintain relationships with a few our-heads-are-stuck-in-the-1970s wholesalers.
Let’s help free the hops. I’m sure if the roles were reversed, you would have really appreciated hundreds of calls of support from another state.
Call Birmingham Budweiser at 205-945-4893. Ask for Vice President Pat Lynch, the person that Free The Hops identifies as the biggest obstacle to their three-year-old campaign. He’ll probably be “out of the office”…he was for me — but leave a message. Be respectful but firm, please. Express how his opposition hinders beer. That North Carolina has done exceedingly well since lifting the cap — and that lifting the cap benefits all beer, not just craft beer. That his position is inconsistent with a key message promoted in A-B’s Here’s To Beer: “to give beer the respect it deserves.”
One person can put an end to tyranny; no one person can stop freedom.
Please call Birmingham Budweiser right now.
205-945-4893. Ask for Pat Lynch, Vice President.
Thank you.
** this post (and the previous one) relates to Free The Hops of Alabama, which is facing intense opposition from a key distributor. For more information, visit the source at freethehops.org. **
Many thanks to the people who have written to me, letting me know they contacted Pat Lynch of Birmingham Budweiser.
He may tell you that he supports the movement to raise the alcohol cap. Uh, don’t believe him. Unless he puts out a press release and publicly announces that 1) he supports the bill and 2) he will shut down his business if he’s ever caught undermining the effort, I wouldn’t put to much stock in his surface-level words.
Nevertheless, it’s good to contact him and let him know how many people nationwide think his self-interested, short-sighted position undermines beer — and damages Anheuser-Busch’s reputation.
Remember our (frustrated) postulate “the issue is never the issue?” That people will tell you one thing and do another, and that hidden agendas represent the guiding forces of both big business and politics? Let it be the beer drinker who is true to his and her word. Our goal as craft beer lovers is equal respect and freedom of choice — and a defeat of special interests that hinders both. Regardless of where we live.
Cheers to our good friends in Alabama, who have worked harder than any other cap-lifting movement in the nation. Your efforts will soon be richly rewarded. Until then, folks, B’ham Bud’s number hasn’t changed: 205-945-4893.
About once a month, I get this question. Often times the tone of the email is a little snarky, implying that we fell short of the real goal by accepting a 15% cap. If you’re reading this page, it’s likely that you were one of the correspondents inquiring about the higher, but still artificial, cap. It’s a legitimate question — so I’ll address it here. Hopefully you weren’t snarky, because it kind of bums us out.
The quick answer as to why we have a cap: negotiation.
You have to give up something little to gain something big. Note the pattern: all of the states that have recently lifted the cap negotiated an increase. Ohio in 2002 (12%), Georgia in 2004 (14%), North Carolina in 2005 (15%), South Carolina in 2007 (17.5%). Interestingly, the final (new) level crept up a bit each time as the house of caps started to fall. But no state that has had to raise its cap has been able to remove the cap completely.
The long answer: settling on 15% kept the alcohol percentage distinct from wine.
Beer in North Carolina is defined as being between 0.5 and 15% alcohol. Unfortified wine is less than 16% alcohol. Fortified wine is between 16 and 24% alcohol. Nice, crisp, clean distinctions. No messes. Lots of important industry groups like that. And we liked keeping them happy to have a prayer of changing this law. All we gave up was the ability to buy around ten beers. No North Carolina brewer, by the way, expressed dissatisfaction with the illegality of brewing a beer above 15%. Let’s be real: these ultra-high alcohol beers are mostly for novelty and bragging rights.
– Intermission –
Quiz time: in North Carolina, what’s the difference between fortified and unfortified wine?
Answer: Nothing.
It’s all about the alcohol percentage. A 17% Cabernet is fortified wine, which is taxed at a higher rate. A 12% port (a fortified beverage) is considered unfortified, because it’s less than 16% alcohol.
Still with me? Good!
The even longer answer: Legislators are busy, busy people who don’t understand how beer is made.
Nor do they care. In their decision-making process, legislators bring with them a preconceived notion of what beer is. Sadly, the point of reference far too often was a fizzy, bland, yellow drink that people — especially teenagers — drink for no other reason than to get drunk. The notion of “gourmet beer” was a complete oxymoron to most.
Some legislators thought that one of the big three beer companies would immediately create a 40 percent “super-alcohol” beer if the state removed the cap entirely. As if they did this in the 46 other states without a cap.
Others publicly claimed that strong beer was like “drinking straight vodka.” It’s true — I personally met with these people. I saw first-hand how confused they were about beer. My daughters likely know more about beer than your representative. Need a reminder? Hear the debate on the Senate floor (large MP3 file, not for dialup!).
We all know it’s inconsistent to sell Everclear in state-run liquor stores but not allow Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA or Sam Adams Utopias. But sadly, reason and politics have little in common.
In reality, there are perhaps a dozen beers you can’t still get in North Carolina. The state is now quite beer-friendly: brewpubs and breweries can sell directly to the public and self-distribute, you can buy beer on Sunday after 12 P.M. (unlike states like Colorado and Oklahoma), and there’s no crazy case law like in Pennsylvania. So you can’t get a dozen beers. I’m happy to focus on the 400 new ones you can. In fact, I’m doing so right now.
And in a way, our 15% cap makes those rare high-alcohol exceptions all the sweeter to track down.
Lastly, it’s very unlikely the cap will be lifted to accommodate these dozen or so beers. I’m not interested in pursuing it. I and others worked way too hard as volunteers to help spur the 2005 law change. Feel free to give it a whirl if you’re still inspired!
Thanks for reading this. It’s cathartic for me to write it, nearly three years later.
Sean Lilly Wilson
Past President, Pop The Cap
February 2008
** Job is still open as of March 6! **
This from a friend. The email address just may give away the company. Or it could be a trap!
Durham-based publishing company seeks experienced, self-motivated Event Director, with competency in organizing and executing large local festivals. Minimum 6 years experience event logistics, VIP management, sales/marketing, sponsorship, staffing, budgeting. Trade show or association management experience a plus. Compensation package includes salary, commission, benefits. Some travel required. See www.allaboutbeer.com for details. Send letter and resume to operations@allaboutbeer.com. No calls.
To further the mystery, the aforementioned website does not have additional details on the job. I’ll pass them along if I get them. It’d be great to have a PTC reader / supporter leading this effort!
In the battle of “which state will be the last to lift its 6% ABV cap,” West Virginia has a decided disadvantage. Check this out from PTC’s Mississippi cohort, MEBA:
There is a bill in the Senate Finance Committee now that would raise Mississippi’s alcohol by weight legal limit from 5% to 17%. We will have more information later this week about the next steps we need to take so please check back. We will need your support. In the meantime, you can view the bill here: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2008/pdf/SB/2800-2899/SB2851IN.pdf
Pretty much my wife’s entire family lives in Mississippi (see a previous PTC post I’m particularly proud of). It’d be great to enjoy a specialty beer in Oxford. Or Starkville, Hattiesburg, and Jackson, for that matter.
Good luck, Mississippi!
If you’re active US military, you may want to hunt this one down. It’s a private function for the rest of us.
Beer Tasting @ MCAS New River, Jacksonville, NC
Organized by a Pop The Cap supporter and reader!
Beers include St Teresa’s Pale Ale, Kashmir IPA, Cottonwood Brown, and Duck Rabbit Porter.
An excerpt from today’s Brewers Association forum. Bold mine.
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 9:22 AM
Subject: Boston Beer Hop Sharing
“For a couple of months now, we’ve all been facing the unprecedented hops shortage and it’s affected all craft brewers in various ways. The impact is even worse on the small craft brewers–openings delayed, recipes changed, astronomical hops prices being paid and brewers who couldn’t make beer.
So we looked at our own hops supplies at Boston Beer and decided we could share some of our hops with other craft brewers who are struggling to get hops this year. We’re offering 20,000 pounds at our cost to brewers who need them. Specifically, we are able to spare 10,000 pounds of East Kent Goldings from Tony Redsell, a top English grower featured by Michael Jackson in Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion (page 75 has a picture) and 10,000 pounds of the German Noble hop Tettnang Tettnanger from small farms in the Tettnang region in Germany. These are both type 90 pellets from the 2007 crop and are the exact same hops we brew our own beers with. ”
There’s more to the email (including pricing and instructions on how to get in touch with Boston Beer Company), but it’s the spirit of the letter that really matters. As you probably know, the craft beer industry is facing major challenges with hop shortages. Boston Beer’s outreach to the craft beer community makes for good PR, goodwill, and a continued good flow of good beer on store shelves. Cheers to Jim Koch.
Hello there! My name is Sean Wilson. I’m the co-founder and president of Pop The Cap, a craft beer advocacy group in North Carolina.
As I understand it, you RSVPed to the January 29th “NC comes to NYC” after-hours social at the Museum of Arts and Design. I’m hoping you made it to the event! I had all the intention in the world to collect business cards, ask people to sign up on a list, and otherwise cull names of attendees — but alas, I was too busy pouring beer. So I’m sending out a mass email to all of you who RSVPed.
Some of you made it to the event. Some of you didn’t. A few of you drank only wine. But based on my recycling bin at the end of the event, I think most of you receiving this email had a North Carolina beer or two. I hope you enjoyed what I poured. It truly was an honor to serve you.
I’d like for you to consider writing about the North Carolina beer scene. If you’re not the right person within your company or network to write about North Carolina beer, I’d very much appreciate it if you’d pass this email along to the right person.
The North Carolina craft beer scene has been booming since 2005, when the state legislature voted to lift the 6% alcohol-by-volume cap on beer brewed and sold in the state — a restriction that had been in place since the end of Prohibition. Getting rid of that cap has helped legitimize and strengthen the craft beer industry here in the state. The four breweries I represented at the event symbolize the diversity of the North Carolina beer scene. They’re based in four distinct regions of the state, from Asheville to the Outer Banks. Triangle Brewing Company less than a year old; Weeping Radish was the state’s first brewpub. Highland Brewing Company has been bottling beer for over ten years; Natty Greene’s is a brewpub that, just this past year, expanded its facilities and started bottling.
I’m incredibly proud of our state’s breweries, brewpubs, distributors, restaurants, and retailers. So much so that I came up with a little list. I hope you enjoy it.
Top Eight Reasons Why North Carolina is a
I decided against making it a Top Ten list. Not because I ran out of ideas, but because I’ve left it to you to discover two other reasons. This may involve difficult research like drinking more North Carolina beer or visiting places like Asheville or the Outer Banks. I apologize in advance for any undue stress this may cause you.
In all seriousness, as a craft beer enthusiast, I’m eager to answer your questions or put you in touch with a North Carolina brewery, brewpub, distributor, beer retailer, or restaurant. I don’t draw a salary from this work: I do what I do because I love the craft beer scene in North Carolina
Which reminds me…I really need to get back to my paying job.
Cheers from North Carolina — The State of Southern Beer,
Sean
p.s. here’s the contact information for the four breweries I represented at the event. Give them a call should you have any story ideas or questions.
Natty Greene’s Brewing Company (Greensboro)
Chris Lester
clanelester@bigdraft.com
336-210-1165Weeping Radish Eco-Farm and Brewery (Outer Banks)
Uli Bennewitz
uli@charter.net
252-491-5205Highland Brewing Company (Asheville)
Mary Eliza McCrae
maryeliza@highlandbrewing.com
828-299-3370 x304Triangle Brewing Company (Durham)
Rick Tufts
rick@trianglebrewery.com
919-683-2337
Sean Wilson, President
Pop The Cap: North Carolinians for Specialty Beer
sean@popthecap.org
919-225-4982
Musings, events, opinion…now 94.1% beer-related!
http://popthecap.org
(this email went out to the four participating breweries in the “NC in NYC” media event.)
Dear (),
Last week’s “NC in NYC” media event went great! It really did.
I was pouring beers and hosting the table the entire time of the event. I personally introduced and poured your beers to writers for
Over 100 media professionals attended the event. Not all of them drank beer, but most of them did! (Or at least stopped by the table).
I will forward a media list to you once I get it later this week. Once I have this list, we can work on targeting media contacts and appropriate follow-up.
Overall Impressions
Craft beer was the cool kid in the room. Among the somewhat stuffy arts, wine, and upscale catered food, we were clearly the group of people having the most fun. At the presentation beforehand, the Executive Director of North Carolina Tourism introduced and talked briefly about craft beer. The crowd whooped it up in excitement and appreciation. Literally, they cheered.
As you all know, craft beer is about education. At this event, we had two groups of attendees.
1) People not all that familiar with craft beer
2) People not aware of the great craft beer scene in North Carolina
Sure, a few people knew the breweries down here, mostly from visits or being beer geeks who know the name of the two brewpubs in downtown Belgrade, Montana. You know you’re in the right place when a media professional says to me matter-of-factly, “I didn’t know they brewed beer down in North Carolina!”
The two-hour tasting was frenetic, but I was able to match people’s beer interests and preferences with the right beer. I’m pretty sure that everyone had at least one beer they liked. It helps that the breweries provided such a wide range of beers for people to sample.
(The next section addressed each brewery individually..I’ve taken it out)
Next Steps
As mentioned, I will follow-up with a media list so we can talk about appropriate follow-up. Getting national or regional coverage is more of a marathon; this event was a successful first sprint. The day after our event, I joined a small group to talk with Jen Murphy from Food and Wine at their corporate office. I’ve already followed-up directly with Jen.
For national magazines, my primary focus is to get them interested in the “beer event season” around September and October — either highlighting it beforehand, or coming down and covering it while it happens. The NC brewing industry and associated retailers and restaurants may want to create a “North Carolina beer week” between the (tentative) September 27 Charlotte Oktoberfest and the October 4 World Beer Festival. It may be a way to throw together a couple of beer dinners and events during that week to entice North Carolina beer lovers as well as local, regional, and national media writers to cover all the great beer we have in NC.
Already we have a small write-up in All About Beer:
North Carolina Beer in the Big Apple
Who would have thunk it? The North Carolina Department of Tourism went to Manhattan last week and exposed a large group of “sophisticated urbanite” media types (mostly travel and food writers) to the delights of all things North Carolinian—the mountains, the Piedmont, the shore, museums, art, crafts, literature, foods (including tasty Carolina BBQ, of course), wines—and beer. Yes, that’s right. The Department of Tourism had the wonderful forethought to invite Sean Wilson, president of Pop The Cap: North Carolinians for Specialty Beer, to join the party, realizing that NC beers would be a wonderful addition for the New Yorkers because, as Sean said, “North Carolina is the best beer state in the South.” And it was a good decision.
The four sponsoring breweries were Weeping Radish (Jarvisburg), Triangle Brewing (Durham), Natty Greene’s (Greensboro) and Highland Brewing (Asheville). Sean also brought a few singles of seasonal beers, including big beers from Carolina Brewing (Holly Springs), Duck-Rabbit (Farmville), Pisgah Brewing (Black Mountain) and a 2005 Highland Cold Mountain.
With more coverage to come. Feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, or ideas. And expect to hear from me in a few days with a media list and specific recommendations on how to capitalize on these contacts!
Thank you so much for participating in this event. Attached is an invoice — I hope you find it well worth the investment.
Best,
Sean
It’s great to see cask ale make a more regular appearance. Hey Charlotte and Asheville folks — who’s serving real ale in your neck of the woods? Anyone? Let me know and I’ll update this post.
Foothills Brewing Company: Seeing Double cask ale at Tyler’s in Durham, February 20
I’m pretty sure this one starts right around 5pm. Pilot Mountain also on tap…
Big Boss Brewing: dry-hopped Tavern Ale on Cask, February 21
When-Thursday, 6 p.m.
Where- Horniblows Tavern
Admission- FREE!
“So this is going to be a very special cask ale. This cask is filled with none other than our Horniblows Tavern Ale! That in itself is pretty special by my standards. But wait, there’s more! I’m not sure if you all remember or not, but we grew some hop vines up the front of the brewery over the summer. We harvested the hops and had been saving them for something special. We decided this was the something special. So this is not only a Tavern cask ale, but it has been conditioned with the hops we grew ourselves. Should be pretty tasty… you should come and find out.”
Triangle Brewing Company: Cask ale at Alivia’s in Durham, February 22
“Triangle Brewing Company will be tapping two casks this Friday Feb. 22 at Alivia’s on W. Main Street in Durham. The first cask will tap at 5pm and will be our Xtra Pale Ale dry hopped with Cascades. Following the completion of this cask, we will be tapping the first cask release of our Winter Stout.”
Relax, relax…it’s just a blog. But a pretty darn funny one, if you like ironic, self-deprecation (well, many of you, I presume).
Anyway, Microbreweries are right up there with other white people favorites such as Expensive Sandwiches, Living By the Water, and Sarah Silverman. Hey, is that a Chapel Hill Comics t-shirt?
I had a totally indulgent evening last night in Raleigh. The night started out innocently enough: an Ed Mitchell barbecue sandwich at The Raleigh Times, paired with a refreshing Samurai rice ale from Great Divide.
But I ended up at Chef Ashley Christensen’s new venture, Poole’s Downtown Diner. That’s where things got interesting…and where I disregarded my Lenten pledge not to overindulge.
The culprit? A coconut meringue pie, paired with a Highland Oatmeal Porter. The toasted coconut matched perfectly with the roasted flavors of the draught porter. A beautiful and surprising hint of salt cut through the sweetness of the pie, giving my palette just enough incentive to take another sip of beer. Sweet. Alcohol. Salty. Alcohol. Sweet. Alcohol. Sweet Jesus, I overdid it last night.
Not only did I fall short of my pledge of moderation, I face-planted myself into sheer excess. But at least I went head-first into airy meringue and the head of a beer, cushioning my fall.
The beer dinner at Watts was great. Many thanks to Chef Amy and to Triangle, Foothills, and Highland. It’s especially cool that Oscar of Highland came down from Asheville, and Scott and Jamie traveled from Winston-Salem.
Two seatings of 45 and 50 people. It’s nice to see that great beer and great food brings out such a crowd.
Pictures here.
Foothills Brewing and Natty Greene’s are the featured breweries at the 2008 Governor’s Conference on Tourism. On Saint Patrick’s Day, the conference will feature an evening social with beers from both breweries, Irish soda bread, and ceili dancers.
Many thanks to Foothills and Natty Greene’s for representing the Triad at this conference!
I don’t know much about this, besides what was posted on Beerinator.com. I’d recommend calling your local Total Wine to confirm.
March 15 noon-6pm
The flier says:
Free Admission
Featuring over 15 Beers
Experts on hand to discuss beers
Appetizers will be provided
Best I can tell it is at all NC locations.
James Joyce Irish Beer Tasting
6:30 to 10:00 P.M.
From beerinator.com
“The 1st Wednesday of the month is almost upon us, and you know what that means! It’s time for the James Joyce Irish Pub beer tasting. With St. Patty’s Day right around the corner, this month’s theme is Irish and Irish-inspired beers. You will get to taste some classic Irish beers, as well as some unique interpretations of traditional Irish style beers. The cost is $12, which includes a tasting glass for you to keep, or $9 if you already have a glass from a previous tasting. This is a great and inexpensive way to try some outstanding beers! Festivities start at 6:30pm and wrap up around 10pm. Come out and support this local beer event!”
It ain’t pub grub when they serve Osso Bucco!
Foothills presents a Northern Italian beer dinner, March 5th at 6:30 P.M.
$35 a person plus tax and tip
35 people max!
RSVP: (336) 777-3348
First Course
Goulash served with Foccocia and paired with Total Eclipse Stout
Second Course
Grilled Escarole with Tuscan beans, Roasted Red Peppers, Shaved Parmesan with Lemon Grass Vinaigrette
Paired with Salem Gold
Third Course ( Choice of one)
Osso Buco with Gremolata served over a bed of saffron risotto
Paired with Torch Pilsner
Gamberi fra Diavolo served over potato & fontina gnocchi
Paired with Hoppyum IPA
Fourth Course
Tiramisu
Paired with People’s Porter
Xavier Van Honsebrouck of the Van Honsebrouck brewery (makers of the great Kasteel and St Louis brews) in Ingelmunster, Belgium will be at Milltown in Carrboro on Thursday, March 13th from 6:30-9:00pm for a meet and greet.
For me, the Kasteel Rouge has been one of the standout beers of this past year. Come meet the person behind this great beer…and many other legendary brews! It should be great fun.
Milltown
307 E Main St
Carrboro, NC 27510
Hi loyal readers!
I’m going to turn my attention away from blog posts to a few other matters, including the upcoming NC Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Winston-Salem, where Pop The Cap will pour Foothills and Natty Greene’s beers for several hundred folks. I also need to crank out the printed North Carolina beer map we’re putting forward in the spring. Plus, I’ve got a couple of other projects and partnerships in the works that are keeping me busy. Oh yea, and the paid job…
So please bear with me as the blog posts slow down for a couple of weeks. I’ll continue to update the PTC calendar with retail and restaurant events, so for those of you who send them…keep ‘em coming! Readers: be sure to check the forum on beerinator.com, which lists many (if not all) of the events I list on PTC. For those of you in the Triangle, check out the Tri-Beer Meetup group, which gets together at area beer schmoozefests. And our links section lists a number of NC breweries (though yoikes I realize I need to update that, too). Most NC breweries now offer an email newsletter subscription.
Thanks! Good stuff on its way!
From Mongo at Beerinator! Come get some!
“Just wanted to let everyone know that we will be releasing our oak aged Surrender Monkey this Thursday at Horniblows Tavern. It’s weighing in at 7.9% abv and tasting mighty good! It will be on tap from 5 p.m. on, so come out and get ya some!”
Triangle Brewing Company is celebrating the first Friday of March (3/7) at the Sawmill Taproom with a cask of our Belgian-Style Strong Golden Ale. The Golden has been dry hopped in the cask with Glaciers.
March 6—Pisgah Open House
Randall Goes to Pisgah
http://www.bruisin-ales.com/beerblog/2008/03/events/randall-goes-to-pisgah/
Cash bar
March 13—Brewery Tasting
Magic Hat Opens Pandora’s Box
http://www.bruisin-ales.com/beerblog/2008/01/beer/thursday-tasting-magic-hat-brewing-co/
Free
March 15—Beer Pairing
St. Patty’s Day Party at Windows on the Park (follow link for menu)
http://www.bruisin-ales.com/beerblog/2008/02/beer/st-pattys-party-beer-pairing/
$30/pp
March 20—Beer Dinner
Unibroue Dinner at Zambra (follow link for menu)
http://www.bruisin-ales.com/beerblog/2008/02/beer/unibroue-beer-dinner-zambra/
$60/pp
March 21—Brewery Tasting
Terrapin’s Side Project
http://www.bruisin-ales.com/beerblog/2008/02/beer/terrapin-has-a-side-project/
$2/pp, Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway fundraiser
Last night, Jamie of Foothills and Sebastian of Natty Greene’s were the featured brewers and pourers at an evening celebrating North Carolina beer. The audience? Around 300 attendees of the North Carolina Governor’s Conference on Tourism, held this year in downtown Winston-Salem…literally two blocks from Foothills Brewing.
The attendees were mostly tourism, marketing, economic development, and convention and visitor bureau professionals from all across the state. We saw name tags from all over the North Carolina map: Blowing Rock, Charlotte, Emerald Isle, Wilson, Edenton. We poured beer for mayors, state employees, PR executives, and Governor Mike Easley. Only a few people of them asked for green beer. Most people “got” the fact that this was North Carolina beer — beers brewed two blocks away (Foothills) or twenty-five miles away (Natty Greene’s). My hope is that the attendees got something a little deeper: that the beer they were drinking is the economic lifeblood of the brewer who served it to them.
Last night’s event and the New York media trip in February represent an important shift in the Pop The Cap mission. Over the past year, restaurants, retailers, beer bars, and breweries have stepped up to the plate big time, organizing beer dinners and tastings statewide. Quite frankly, Pop The Cap’s efforts to promote beer culture in North Carolina has been greatly eclipsed by the industry’s own momentum. Beer businesses statewide are doing such a great job leading events that we don’t really need to. We still do events because, well, we like them! And people continue to show up.
But there’s still a lot of work to be done — just with a slightly different focus and target market. Instead of “preaching to the choir,” our slightly-shifted mission is to influence the influencers: national food and beverage writers on the thriving North Carolina beer scene. Attendees of the Governor’s Conference on the importance of drinking local. And perhaps, once again, the state legislature as we seek to gain marketing benefits that the state’s thriving wine industry currently enjoys. It’s only because of the great strides the state’s craft beer industry that we’re able to shift our energies. To land a national feature story on North Carolina beer. To get a visitors bureau to recommend a brewery tour to inquiring tourists. Or, perhaps, to get a mayor or a governor who thinks — possibly for the first time — that the thriving craft beer industry in North Carolina is worth toasting, promoting, and celebrating.
Last night was a whirlwind. Ninety minutes of pouring beer, with little room for networking. But pride was on tap last night: pride for the craft of local beer…and pride for our great state. Even among the three people who asked us for green beer.
How do they do it? — PTC
Join us for our first ‘08 beer dinner on Thursday, March 20. This six-course beer pairing features the beers of Unibroue and the delectable tapas yummies of Asheville’s Zambra. Chef Adam is cooking with the beer in every single course! We can barely contain ourselves. This is one bad*ss menu.
Cost: $60/pp including tax & gratuity
Please call Zambra for reservations, 232-1060.
Reserve early! Seating limited to 50. A vegetarian option is available.
Welcome at 6:30. Seating at 7:00pm.
Welcome—Ephemere
[Belgian-style witbier with apple / 5.5% abv]
Selection of cheeses, apples and honeyChambly Noire
[Black Ale / 6.2% abv]
Dirty rice croquettes with bittersweet chocolate
Vegetarian: Eggplant and rice croquettes with bittersweet chocolateLa Fin du Monde
[Belgian-style Tripel / 9.0% abv]
Traditional Belgian mussels in ale with pommes frites
Vegetarian: Onion and ale soup with pommes fritesTrois Pistoles
[Belgian Strong Dark / 9.0% abv]
Veal cheek braised in ale with sultanas and brussel sprout potato gratin
Vegetarian: Beer-glazed portobello mushroom with sultanas and brussel sprout potato gratin16 & 17 Anniversary Ales
[16: Belgian Strong Pale / 10.0% abv]
[17: Belgian Strong Dark / 10.0% abv]
Pan roasted rockfish with crispy oysters, served with Belgian endive and piquillo mantequilla
Vegetarian: Crispy tofu served with Belgian endive and piquillo mantequillaQuelque Chose
[Fruit Beer (cherry) / 8.0% abv]
Chocolate Belgian waffle with cherry gelato and Quelque Chose caramel
Tickets for the World Beer Festival — Raleigh are on sale now.
These tickets sell out in a couple of weeks…perhaps days. Not bad for a three-year-old festival that brings in 8,000 people to Moore Square in downtown Raleigh.
Prices are higher this year: $40 for general admission and $75 for the VIP tickets (which always sell out, though I’m not sure to whom). I personally like mingling under the tent, meeting the brewers / reps, and buying whatever vendor food I’m in the mood for. (Usually greasy and delicious.)
Most of you know the drill: two sessions, each four hours long (12 noon to 4pm; 6 to 10pm). Tons of breweries, though the list of actual attendees isn’t up yet. Good music, lots of local food vendors, and the inevitable odd US Smokeless Tobacco Shack and their sales guys with buzz cuts. And, during the early session, a few clowns to scare the youngins!
If you don’t want to purchase tickets online, visit one of these fine locations for printed tickets…but do it soon!
DOWNTOWN RALEIGH
Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, 328 W Morgan St.
NC STATE AREA
Village Draft House, 428 Daniels St.
CAPITAL BLVD AREA
American Brewmaster, 3021-5 Stoneybrook Dr.
NORTH RALEIGH
Sawmill Tap Room, 7701 Lead Mine Rd.
Falls Tap Room, 5009 Falls of the Neuse
CARY
Harrison’s Bar & Grill, 301-C N. Harrison Ave.
MacGregor Draft House, 107 Edinburgh South Dr.
HOLLY SPRINGS
Bass Lake Draft House, 124 Bass Lake Rd.
DURHAM
Sam’s Quik Shop, 1605 Erwin Rd.
WINSTON-SALEM
Foothills Brewing, 638 W. Fourth St.
Greetings from Pop The Cap!
When we first started the Pop The Cap campaign five years ago, our focus was united around one single goal: lift the archaic 6% alcohol cap on beer in North Carolina. We reached that goal in two years and have been enjoying (and buying) the fruits of our labor ever since.
Once we lifted the cap, Pop The Cap shifted its mission, knowing that the opportunity to promote craft beer in North Carolina is unlimited. Over the past two years, we’ve traveled throughout the state to lead beer dinners, head up small festivals, and promote North Carolina craft beer. Within the past two months, we’ve served local beer to the governor in Winston-Salem and promoted North Carolina beers in New York City.
Now, it’s time to take on that next challenge. It’s time to take beer beyond the bar.
Introducing Barley Legal by Pop The Cap, the first ever Farmhouse Ale perfume for women. Fruity malts and fresh, circusy hops provide the perfect balance of spicy and sweet. Barley Legal by Pop The Cap is for that discriminating woman who knows the intoxicating power of beer. Plan accordingly: the slightest application and two lovers will want to dry-hop for 30, 60, or 90 minutes. (120 minutes is not legal in North Carolina; we have no plans to pursue its legalization).
Because of the added SD Alcohol-40, Barley Legal can only be sold in North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) stores. Ask for it by name!
Proudly brewed and bottled by world-renowned parfumeur Brasserie d’Imbéciles d’Avril.
from Paul at D-R:
“Spring is beautiful in eastern NC! Come enjoy it at The Duck-Rabbit Brewery for a pre-release tasting of 2008 Rabid Duck Russian Imperial Stout. We’ll dodge the basketball madness by having our celebration on Sunday, April 6. We’ll kick off at 1:00, with some food available a little thereafter. I hope to see you here!”
You may be able to find some tickets at local retailers. Git goin’ if you don’t have tickets and want to go…Craigslist ain’t gonna help you out none.
(Tyler’s Apex is just a few doors down from the Beaver Creek movie theaters. I think we’ll be there around 6:30 tonight. Or I might sneak off on my own a little later. Perhaps I’ll see you there! )
Tyler’s Restaurant & Taproom
1483 Beaver Creek Commons Drive
Apex, North Carolina 27502
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TYLER’S NEWEST LOCATION IN APEX OPENS TODAY @ 5PM!
The day has finally come to open our doors in Apex! Please come by to say, “Hello” and share a pint and some food with friends. With 80 beers on tap and over 75 hand selected bottles we offer something for everyone! We look forward to seeing you soon!
~Tyler’s
NOT SURE when this starts. CALL (919) 833-7999 to RSVP!
Plank Beer Dinner
April 28, 2008
$59 per person (excludes tax and gratuity)
Menu
Pretzel and Sausage Platter
Bavarian Hefeweizen
Mussels with Currywurst and Radish-Watercress Salad
Bavarian Heller Doppelbock
Roasted Pork and Spiced Pineapple Confit with Sauerkraut and Sweet Mustard Jus
Bavarian Weizenbock
Braised Beef Cheek with Smoky Lentils
Bavarian Dunkler Weizenbock
From Seen Through A Glass, Lew Bryon’s awesome beer blog:
“Putting in Prohibition to fight booze business corruption was like shooting your dog because he farts real bad when you feed him beef jerky.”
That’s all for today. It’s too nice out to blog.
Congratulations to Foothills Brewing and Ham’s Brewhouse for winning medals at the 2008 World Beer Cup in San Diego! This year’s competition had the most entries and largest number of participating breweries. Over 1,500 people attended the gala.
Good news for those of us that love North Carolina beer!
Foothills won GOLD in the Robust Porter category for their People’s Porter (first place out of 49 entries) and SILVER in the American Style Stout for the Total Eclipse Stout (20 entries).
Ham’s Brewhouse and Restaurant in Greenville won BRONZE in the America Style Strong Pale Ale category for their Peg Leg Pale Ale (52 entries).
Congratulate these breweries by drinking their beer! Way to go, Jamie and TL!!!
http://www.beertown.org/events/wbc/
Hopefully this will be rescheduled for a future date.
The chefs at Jujube KNOW beer and food, and regularly craft some of the best beer dinners in the state. This one is outside in the new covered patio…it comes highly recommended.
[b]Left Hand Beer “Dinner”[/b] (more like supper)
Jujube, Chapel Hill
Sunday April 27th 5pm
CALL 919.960.0555 to reserve!!!
$50 pp (plus tax and tip, I believe)
Garlic shrimp with rice fritters and Chinese mustard
Polestar Pilsner
Tuna belly “prosciutto” with carrot-daikon terrine and crème fraiche
Juju Ginger
Thai coconut, chicken, and mushroom soup
Jackman’s Pale Ale
Pork and Reggiano agnolotti with soy-stained foie gras and Korean barley
broth
Deep Cover Brown Ale
Black soy braised short rib with local bitter greens
Black Jack Porter
Milk Stout and Vietnamese coffee ice cream float
Join Bruisin’ Ales Tuesday, April 29! A five-course pairing features the beers of Unibroue and the delectable tapas yummies of Asheville’s Zambra. Chef Adam is cooking with the beer in every single course. Mike Hruska of Unibroue will provide beer commentary. Free take-home glass, too!
Cost: $50/pp
Please call Zambra for reservations,
828-232-1060.
Reserve early! Seating limited to 50. A vegetarian option is available.
Welcome at 6:30. Seating at 7:00pm.
Welcome—Ephemere
[Belgian-style witbier with apple / 5.5% abv]
Selection of cheeses, apples and honey
La Fin du Monde
[Belgian-style Tripel / 9.0% abv]
Traditional Belgian mussels in ale with pommes frites
Vegetarian: Onion and ale soup with pommes frites
Trois Pistoles
[Belgian Strong Dark / 9.0% abv]
Veal cheek braised in ale with sultanas and brussel sprout potato gratin
Vegetarian: Beer-glazed portobello mushroom with sultanas and brussel sprout potato gratin
16 & 17 Anniversary Ales
[16: Belgian Strong Pale / 10.0% abv]
[17: Belgian Strong Dark / 10.0% abv]
Pan roasted rockfish with crispy oysters, served with Belgian endive and piquillo mantequilla
Vegetarian: Crispy tofu served with Belgian endive and piquillo mantequilla
Quelque Chose
[Fruit Beer (cherry) / 8.0% abv]
Chocolate Belgian waffle with cherry gelato and Quelque Chose caramel
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Chris Davis meets famous people at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego! See the pictures at popthecap.org if you’re getting this as an RSS feed!
Wow,
Lew Bryson, in an article for Conde Nast Portfolio and MSNBC, names Durham’s World Beer Festival one of the top six beer fests in the world! He even mentions the cask and barrel tent (bold mine)…
World Beer Festival (October 4)
At World Beer, All About Beer magazine gathers together not just craft brewers from around the country but also importers who bring beers from around the world. On the first Saturday in October, they all arrive at the historic ballpark in Durham, North Carolina, where “Bull Durham” was filmed. There are specialty presentations of aged beers, cask-conditioned beers, and rare and expensive beers. It doesn’t hurt that Durham sits smack-dab in the middle of some of the best barbecue country in the South.
And it’s not like Lew is glowing about the WBF because he’s heard good things about it. He was there!
Join Foothills Brewing and The Lobster Trap on Tuesday,May 6 for a beer dinner featuring the brews of Jamie Bartholomaus and food of Chef Tres Hundtermark…pairings as follows:
Hurricane oyster shooter & salad Hurricane Hefeweizen
Low Country Boil (shrimp,sausage, corn & potatoes) Salem Gold
Trap Bangers & Mash (trout sausage) Trout ESB
Hoppyum Fondue (mussels,scallops,bread&vegetables) Pilot mt. Pale Ale
Sexual Chocolate (Espresso stout float & flourless chocolate cake)
Spaces still available…Call 828.350.0505. 6:30 dinner; $55 all-inclusive.
Triangle Brewing Company will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the MacGregor Ale House in Cary, NC. We will be tapping a cask of our Belgian Strong Golden Ale that has been specially hopped for this event. Not sure what Belgian Ales and Cinco de Mayo have in common, but who cares!! J/K! The actual celebration is for Carolina Beer Night at MacGregor’s and to break in the patio. Just serendipitous that it will occur on the 5th of May. The cask is set to tap at 5:30pm. Cheers, Adios, and later days.
Foothills is the lone North Carolina representative at this inaugural celebration of great beer and food. From the Foothills newsletter:
SAVOR
Foothills is headed to the capital for SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience, which takes place May 16-17 in Washington, D.C. 35+ appetizers will be paired with 96 beers from 48 breweries. Foothills will be the only North Carolina brewery featured at the event, which is the first of its kind. SAVOR will also include educational tasting salons and opportunities to meet brewers from around the country. Tickets must be purchased in advance; visit the official website to learn more.
Another “world cuisine” offering from Foothills:
Russian Beer Dinner
Join us on May 7 for the latest installment of our Beer Dinners Around the World series, held on the first Wednesday of each month. This month, Chef George will be featuring Russian cuisine. Space is limited, so call today at 336-777-3348 to make your reservation or to find out more. The menu is below:
First Course
Borscht served with white bread & smetana
Paired with Pilot Mountain Pale Ale
Second Course
Beef Tartar with wheat blini and smetana, topped with caviar
Paired with Hoppyum IPA
Third Course
(choose one)
Kotmis Sataivi: roasted pheasant with a walnut sauce, served with potato & mushroom croquettes
Paired with Gruffmeister Maibock
-or-
Beef Stroganoff: Tender beef served in a mushroom cream sauce served over bowtie pasta
Paired with Total Eclipse Stout
Fourth Course
Ponchiki with sour apples
(Russian Donut)
Paired with Hurricane Hefeweizen
Bruisin’ Ales is hosting three special pre-game events at McCormick Field throughout the summer months to support our Asheville Tourists. All prices include admission to that night’s game.
Each will be added to the calendar as further details are planned, but here’s the skinny:
June 27—$25/pp
Pop the Cap: A Celebration of NC Craft Beer
Sean Wilson, President of Pop The Cap, joins us for this pre-game event celebrating North Carolina’s craft brews from the coast to the mountains. A selection of beer samples from around the state (and around the corner) will be sampled. Hors d’ouvres included.
Participating breweries:
It’s great to see that a winery from the state’s highly-successful wine region is adding beer to the mix! Also great to see is that the winery/brewery is thinking about growing its own hops. It’s important for the state’s breweries to show first-hand beer’s agricultural roots.
From the Winston-Salem Journal:
Old North State adds a beer to its repertoire
Old North State Winery in Mount Airy recently became the first winery in the state to also brew beer.
The winery is selling its first beer, an American pale ale, at its restaurant, Scuppernongs, winemaker Ben Webb said. A pint costs $4. Samples of the pale ale are also available in the winery’s tasting room.
Webb said he would like eventually to add five Old North State-made beers to the winery’s rooster of 12 wines. He currently is developing an India pale ale.
Old North State is not the only winery in the state to branch out from grapes. McRitchie Winery in Thurmond makes hard cider. Buck Shoals Winery in Hamptonville produces mead (a fermented beverage typically made with honey and yeast).
Webb is experimenting with growing his own hops for the winery’s beers.
Contact the winery at 789-9463 for more information.
Folks, I’m not writing much on the PTC blog these days. Soon I expect to share with you some exciting new news that will take PTC into new directions.
For now, I simply ask that you enjoy this Carl Lewis video.
What’s the point of promoting beer culture…when the industry is doing it so well?
Pop The Cap has done its job, certainly in v1 and I think in v2. So I’m moving on to other projects:
Join us as we thank PTC’s long-time brewery supporters for a final, blow-out dinner, featuring the amazing talents of Chef Ashley Christensen. Menu coming soon.
Call 919-832-4477 to RSVP.
What’s the point of promoting beer culture…when the industry is doing it so well?
Pop The Cap has done its job, certainly in v1 and I think in v2. I’m thrilled to be moving on to
Join us as we thank PTC’s long-time brewery supporters for a final, blow-out dinner, featuring the amazing talents of Chef Ashley Christensen and the beers of our long-time Grand Cru sponsors.
Menu coming soon.
Call 919-832-4477 to RSVP.
Highland Brewing Co.
Tuesday September 9th 7pm
Grilled Shrimp with citrus-cured onions
St. Terese’s Pale Ale
Fried banana and red rice “crostini” with roasted peanuts, watercress, and sweet chili
Cattail Wheat
Cured and roasted pork loin with sour cherries and ginger
Kashmir IPA
Braised beef short rib with toasted almonds and black vinegar caramel
Gaelic Ale
Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream Bombe
Black Mocha Stout
$50 per person plus tax and gratuity. RSVP by calling Jujube directly.
Today (August 13th) marks the three-year anniversary of the lifting of North Carolina’s 6 percent alcohol cap. Go celebrate! There’s no official event planned to mark the day, but I’ll have more info on the August 26th dinner at Poole’s soon.
It’s been a good three years. Many thanks to all the breweries, retailers, and distributors that took advantage of the change in the law and who bring us incredible beer — from lands far away and from right here in North Carolina.
Pop the cap on something special today! I’ll be opening up the Heinzelmännchen growler of Hefeweizen I bought yesterday in Sylva.
If upon reading that headline, you’re all, “I know! It does!” …well, then Food Network wants to document you, make fun of you, then redeem you in front of millions. (That’s how these shows work, right?)
Casting call in Charlotte on August 16th.
The scoop, direct from Food Network:
Are you a hopeless home cook? Or is someone you know totally incompetent in the kitchen?
Food Network is looking for the most disastrous cooks in the country to participate in a very different
culinary competition show! This is the opportunity of a lifetime—to work with the best chefs in the country and learn to cook like a professional. Seeking outgoing people with a genuine inability to cook, but a need and desire to improve!
Come to our open call:
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Blake Hotel
555 South McDowell Street
Charlotte, NC 28204
10am – 2pm
NOMINATE YOURSELF
• Do your kids beg to eat out, after you’ve worked hard to make a family meal?
• Has your husband/wife told you it was probably better if you ordered take out?
• At the big potluck dinner, are you always asked to “just bring the napkins?”
NOMINATE SOMEONE YOU KNOW**
• Is someone you know constantly offering you food that you have to turn down?
• If you know a mom who can’t scramble an egg, a colleague who can’t convince anyone to try their culinary creations, or a friend who tries but can’t seem to get it together in the kitchen, this is your chance to get them the help you BOTH need!
**Nominators: you must attend the interview with the person you nominate
HERE’S HOW TO APPLY:
• Email us at hopelesshomecookchar@optomenusa.com
• Tell us why you (or the person you are nominating) is the most disastrous cook in the country
• Include name, age, hometown, occupation, contact phone number, and a recent photo of the hopeless home cook
For any questions, please refer to http://www.foodnetwork.com/hopelesshomecook or call (646) 216-4282.
Okay, that’s their spiel. Here’s mine…Clicky to see the above in PDF goodness. Now go freakin’ learn how to cook an egg! (Hint: crunchy scrambled eggs are delicious! Use both the egg and the shell for this special morning treat.)
On August 13, 2005, Governor Mike Easley signed into law House Bill 392, which raised the allowed alcohol cap on beer brewed and sold in North Carolina from 6 percent to 15 percent.
What are you doing to do to celebrate? I’m going to pop open the growler of Green Man Imperial Stout that’s been aging in my fridge.
Cheers to beer freedom! Enjoy the day responsibly.
Join us at Poole’s Downtown Diner on August 26th for the final Pop The Cap beer dinner. We’re wrapping this venture up with a bang, pairing beers from our earliest “Grand Cru” brewery and distributor sponsors with Chef Ashley Christensen’s amazing creations. Gathering at 6pm.
Call 919-832-4477 to RSVP.
Opening
Rosemary Tellicherry Popcorn, Chicken Liver Pate, and Farmhouse Cheddar
Unibroue Éphémère, Chambly, Quebec
A light, refreshing ale brewed with green apple and spices. 5.5 % ABV.First
Chilled potato and heirloom apple soup
Highland Cattail Peak Wheat, Asheville, North Carolina
Highland’s summer seasonal, brewed with wheat and rye, flavored with hibiscus. 4.7% ABV.Second
Braised fresh bacon with roasted beets
Unibroue 17, Chambly, Quebec
A Belgian Strong Dark Ale with layers of dried fruit, pepper, and caramel. 10% ABV.Third
Roasted poblano with North Carolina shrimp and roasted tomato
Rogue Imperial Red, Newport, Oregon
A spicy and malty strong red ale from one of the Pacific Northwest’s standouts. 9% ABV.Fourth
Braised short rib with wild mushroom and white sweet potato gratin
Ommegang Abbey Ale, Cooperstown, New York
Ommegang’s flagship ale: a complex Belgian-style Dubbel with layers of dried fruit and spice. 8.5% ABV.Dessert
Crème caramel
Brooklyn Black OPS, Brooklyn, New York
A bombastic bourbon-barrel aged Imperial Stout. Incredibly dark, with a mouthfeel of coffee, caramel, chocolate, and bourbon. Extremely limited release. 10% ABV.After-dinner
North Coast Old Stock Ale, Fort Bragg, California
The perfect after-dinner beer: whiskey-like in its smoothness, with hints of vanilla and molasses. 13.25% ABV.
Going out in style! Here are a few pictures of the final PTC beer dinner. Many thanks to our host, Chef Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Diner. A special thanks to our original “Grand Cru” sponsors featured at the dinner:
– Brooklyn Brewery
– Highland Brewing Company
– Unibroue
– North Coast Brewery
– Rogue Ales
– Ommegang
More pictures.
Stone was one of Pop The Cap’s first supporters…and here they are, finally coming to North Carolina!
Stone Brewing Invades The Tarheel State
Wednesday, September 17th — 5:00pm ’til Close
The wait in North Carolina is nearly over…the wait for beer…but not normal beer…beer with loads and loads of hops…Stone Brewing beer!
Come join craft beer fans and aficionados from all over North Carolina at Tyler’s Taproom on Wednesday the 17th to celebrate the long awaited arrival of Stone Brewing Co. in the Tarheel State. Choose from Stone’s stellar year round craft creations as well as some rare archived gems we’re dusting off just for you folks! And since you’ve been waiting since you all “popped the cap,” you may want to sit down before reading further.
The lineup will include:
Stone Pale Ale, Stone IPA,
Arrogant Bastard Ale,
Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale,
Stone Ruination IPA,
Stone Smoked Porter,
Stone Levitation Ale, 2
006 Double Bastard Ale,
Stone 11th Anniversary Ale,
Stone 07.07.07 Vertical Epic Ale,
and the 2008 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine!
Make plans now to sample the amazing beers and meet our amazing East Coaster, Scott as he meets, greets, and educates everyone about Stone’s great ales!
Tylers Restaurant and Taproom
324 Blackwell St
Durham, NC
919.433.0345
get your tickets here.
Pop The Cap’s web connection and email service isn’t all that great. Plus, we’re focusing on new opportunities and ventures.
If you’d like to get in touch with Sean Wilson, (former) president of Pop The Cap, email him at sean at fullsteam dot ag.
To see how things are progressing with the members of the North Carolina Brewers Guild, check out http://ncbeer.org. For a complete list of North Carolina breweries and brewpubs, visit http://knowyourbrewer.com.
Thanks for all the support over the years! We’ll see you at the tavern.
| « Aug |
|
Oct » |
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | ||
Bad Behavior has blocked 358 access attempts in the last 7 days.
