GAME DAY: N.C. STATE

from Carolina Brew Scene - Fall 2018

TIGHT LINES

GAME DAY

Fans Flock to nearby brewpubs

Story by Patrick Mason • Photos by Moddri Armstrong & Anthony “Brad” Mitchell

ed and white, the colors of choice for those out and about on Hillsborough Street and Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh were inescapable.

It was as if a special occasion nudged everyone to coordinate the sea of red that flowed from one noisy watering hole to the next.

It was college game day, the first of many to come, as September beckons cooler weather, seasonal beers and the reason for so many early mornings and long nights — football season.

For those wearing red shirts, hats with ‘Wolfpack’ stitched across the top or just plain love watching their local team, the start of football season beckons new hope. Just ask Daniel Blythe, a Raleigh transplant who was

Rswept up in the mania on Sept. 1. Blythe, originally from pro-sports town Atlanta, hopped on the college fandom train and now follows all three Triangle schools and their sports teams. But with Duke playing the Friday before and North Carolina across the country at California, N.C. State stole the stage as the only show in town on that Saturday.

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TailgaTers conTinue fall TradiTion

Story by Samuel Evers • Photos by Moddri Armstrong & Anthony “Brad” Mitchell

here aren’t many things that can hypnotize tens of thousands of people into waking up at the crack of dawn, dressing in unison with the same color-themed shirts and sitting together in 95-degree weather for four hours.

But football is certainly one of them.

And it’s football season in ACC country, which means Saturdays in Raleigh are again filled with redsplotched Wolfpack fans, their coolers, their grills and their red tents for muchneeded shade.

Tey line the outside of CarterFinley Stadium, creating a buzz of corn hole and hopes for a new season. Tat was the case on Sept. 1 for N.C. State’s season-opener against James Madison University.

TOf course, there’s another thing that motivates people to participate in such an activity. Te fact remains: Beer makes the tailgate. Even in craft brew-crazy North Carolina, though, the Coors Lights, Miller Lights, Bud Lights and so on were winning out as the drink of choice on this particular early-season and early-

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He watched the game from his apartment but raced to his favorite hangout in the fourth quarter to be part of the celebration. All he needed was the Wolfpack to hang on to keep the good vibes going.

“Tere’s something about football that brings all kinds together like no other sport does,” Blythe said, standing in front of Raleigh Beer Garden. “Basically you can yell at the TV, have a couple drinks, and fit right in.”

Raleigh Beer Garden boasts more than 350 beers on tap, and the multiple levels, as well as a spacious outdoor space, means it’s a welcoming place for sports fans with taste buds of all kinds.

And as the Wolfpack clamored for solid footing in its season opener, the stadium emptied as the game wore on, mostly due to the unrelenting heat. Many of those fans followed the game at the many local bars and breweries that dot the surrounding area of Carter-Finley Stadium.

When N.C. State needed a late field-length drive to put away a pesky James Madison team to escape with a season-opening win, the bar scene reflected the victory.

“Everyone’s in a better mood when your team wins,” said Devin Tomas, who sipped on one of the rotating beers on tap from Wicked Weed Brewing at Backyard Bistro. “I normally watch the games here, but I had tickets to the opener so I went in.

“It didn’t take long for me to find my way here, though.”

Backyard Bistro is just down the street from the stadium, and is a popular hangout for Wolfpack fans. Tomas said the atmosphere was a mix of excitement and doubters who couldn’t fathom the thought of their team losing in Week 1.

“Either way,” he said. “It’s always a good time to go through the swings with people who all want the same thing — drink a good beer and watch a win.”

Te last stop on a journey of hangouts that could have taken days to properly see it all was a popular spot called Te Players’ Retreat. A little off the beaten path from the stadium, the PR offers a large menu and plenty of beer on tap.

You won’t find the rowdy football swarm that rolls through like a tornado on game day, but instead will find a long-lost haven from a different time where socializing and soaking up the company you keep is paramount.

Still, football fans dotted the lounge, cold drinks in hand, reveling in a new season with unlimited possibilities.

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But there were some glimmers of the industry that’s taken over the state. Take Wolfpack fan and frequent tailgater Brett Moseley. In her college days, which ended with graduation in 2013, she might have gone with the quantity over quality approach; a light beer in one hand, and, perhaps, a light beer in the other.

Nowadays, it’s more simple: A few craft beers before the game. Tis time, the choice was a summer-friendly beer from a brewery in Virginia.

“We don’t go nearly as hard as we did in college, but we load up on a select few,” she said. “But then again, we weren’t very good back then. Now there’s more reason to enjoy the game.”

She and her husband, Taylor Moseley, both 2013 graduates of N.C. State, now work and live in Richmond. Tat hasn’t stopped them from watching the Wolfpack at CarterFinley.

For the James Madison game, they woke up “at right about the crack of dawn,” Taylor said. Ten they loaded the car and took the two-and-a-half hour drive to Raleigh. Tey’ve done that for almost every home game since they moved.

What keeps them coming back? Tere’s the pregame, the game and the post game.

“I mean, it’s everything about the experience of college football,” Taylor said. “Te tailgate is obviously fun, but it also gets you ready for the actual game. Seeing friends out in the parking lot, that gets you kind of pumped up. Once you get in there, you’re ready to go for the national anthem, the fireworks, the kickoff.”

One night sticks out to both of them. It was a Tursday last season, and the Wolfpack were playing host to Louisville. Both took off work and made the trip. N.C. State won, and so did the tailgaters.

“We beat them and it was the best feeling in the world,” Brett said. “Te stadium was going crazy. Te tailgate after was the best part. After you win, everyone wants to celebrate. We even snuck out to tailgate at halftime.”

A few hundred feet away from those two, a more high-key pregame was going on with a group of about a dozen current college students.

Tey were all for the Wolfpack. Most went the light beer route. One was holding an IPA from a local craft brewery.

In that regard, Jonathan Avery, a junior at N.C. State, was willing to be different.

“’I’m a beer hipster,” he said. “I gotta keep it classy.”