So I decided…To Finally Post Again. About Beer.

I love beer. Lots of people do. But I really love beer. I haven’t always felt this way, though. When I was in college, I definitely preferred liquor beverages and if I did drink beer it was Bud Light. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still have to drink cheap beer sometimes. I will drink Bud Light if I have to, although my light, watery beer of choice is Coors Light. And I love PBR. With lime. Redneck on vacation. Don’t ask.

When I can, though, I love trying new craft beers and enjoy learning about what goes into brewing, similar to what lots of people do with wine. I especially love supporting local and NC breweries. If I find a local beer I love, I’ll do what I can to get it. If they bottle, awesome! If not, most of the time you can pick up a growler and enjoy it that way. Aside from just buying their beer, it’s also really great to visit the breweries and tour them. So far, I’ve only seen Lonerider (alternating Fridays and Saturdays), but I can’t wait to tour Big Boss (every second Saturday at 2) and Triangle (every Saturday at 1).

Last weekend, with a group of great friends, I took on the Durham World Beerfest. A-mazing. Albeit, a little overwhelming. Now, it was really hard to remember all the beers that I tried, a) because there were over 100 beers and b) because after so many samples, anyone’s memory would be a little fuzzy. After looking back over the BeerFest Program, I was able to piece back together the most memorable beers to me and I wanted to share my opinion (duh). It will become readily apparent from the list of notables what kind of beers I prefer, but all of these breweries have other phenomenal beers for those who like IPAs, Stouts, Ambers, etc. I’ve included a company or two that weren’t at the BeerFest, but who deserve note, as well as companies whose beer I did not like/try, but that are from NC and encourage others to support. My new personal favorite is the Shotgun Betty by Lonerider. I may be biased since the guys let us hang out after the festival, but I had been looking for a new hefeweizen and I certainly found it. Some surprises of note in the bunch that I liked were Hazed & Infused dry-hopped ale (not usually a hops girl, but this was well-balanced) and the Beerlao lager (brewed with jasmine rice, interesting flavor). Hope you find a beer you’ll love from this list and maybe something new to try! Maybe I’ll find some time to start my own home brew…

NC Breweries:

Lonerider (Raleigh, NC) – Shotgun Betty

Big Boss (Raleigh, NC) – Harvest Time Pumpkin, Monkey Bizzness Farmhouse Belgian, Helle’s Belle

Triangle Brewing Co. (Durham, NC) – Belgian White Ale

Carolina Brewery (Chapel Hill, NC) – Santa’s Secret

Top of the Hill (Chapel Hill, NC) – Old Well White, Blue Ridge Blueberry

Red Oak (Whitsett, NC) – Hummin’ Bird Helles, Amber Lager

Mother Earth (Kinston, NC) – Weeping Willow Wit

Duck Rabbit (Farmville, NC)

Aviator Brewing Co. (Holly Springs, NC)

Highland Brewing Co. (Asheville, NC) – Cattail Peak Wheat

Carolina Beer Co. (Mooresville, NC)

Foothills Brewing (Winston-Salem, NC) – Hurricane Hefe

Outside NC:

Starr Hill (Crozet, VA) – The Love

Terrapin Beer Co (Athens, GA) – Sunray Wheat

Moon River Brewing Co. (Savannah, GA) –Wild wacky wit

Charleston Brewing Co. (Charleston, SC) – Half moon hefe

Boulder Beer Co. (Boulder, CO) – Hazed & Infused dry hopped ale

Spanish Peaks (Denver, CO) – Crystal Weiss

New Belgium (Fort Collins, CO) – Mothership Wit

Sea Dog (Portland, ME) – Blue Paw Blueberry Wheat

Blue Point Brewing Co. (Patchogue, NJ) – Blueberry ale

Dogfish Head (Milton, DE)– Punkin Ale

Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. (Portland, OR) – Drop Top Amber, Hefe

Unibroue (Quebec, Canada) – Maudite Ephemere

21^st Amendment (SF, CA) – Hell or High Watermelon

Lao Brewing Co. (Veintaine, Laos) – Beerlao lager