Carolina Brew Scene - Fall 2023

Carolina Brew Scene

DEDICATION

It’s often said around the Carolina BrewScene offices that “the hardest part is saying goodbye,” and as we send this issue to the press, we’re compelled to say a hard goodbye indeed. Whether it’s breweries closing, losing touch with friends we’ve met on the road, or people who helped us get the magazine out the door not working with us anymore, we’re always walking forward towards tomorrow, and not everyone stays on the road with you the whole journey.

And as we start the process of getting the latest issue out the door, we have a hard goodbye to say, indeed.

Gene Metrick was the second editor of Carolina BrewScene, but was one of our earliest supporters as we mooted the crazy idea of a craft beer magazine seven years ago. Very few people internally understood the concept, and even fewer seemed to “get” the vibe and attitude we were going for, but Gene did, and had respect for his tireless editing work, and in lending the idea of BrewScene credibility, he lent us credibility, and we worked hard to justify that faith. Under his stewardship we went from an unlikely prospect to an established magazine, and in the time since his tenure, an enduring part of an entire scene in ways even those of us who came up with the idea in the first place couldn’t have foreseen.

Gene passed away in September of this year. It seemed right and fair that we take this time to thank him for what he did to make this possible, and remember him. And so, it is to Gene Metrick that this issue of BrewScene is dedicated, with respect and gratitude. We’ll gladly raise a glass in his honor every chance we get.

Here’s to you, Gene–in memory, always bright.

Lewis Smith Editor

Photo by Kate Magee

Bright Lights, Beer City

A Craft Beer Insider’s Guide to the Queen City

By Jeremy Selan

As befts one of North Carolina’s largest and most affuent cities, Charlotte possesses a diverse craft beer scene made up of many neighborhoods, all of which have their own distinct blend of shops, breweries, restaurants, etc. All have their own qualities and unique vibes, each element combining to form a singular experience that must be visited to appreciate in full. Below are a few of my favorites, along with an insider’s guide to what you should try at each.

Noda is a vibrant area along North Davidson (hence “NoDa”) along Charlotte’s light rail for easy commuting. Salud Cerveceria is one of the best breweries in the city, as well as the top ranked beer bar in the country, according to USA Today. When I’m going to Salud, I’ll start with an IPA from Veil, Aslin, or another sought-after brewery in the bottleshop downstairs. Then I’ll head upstairs to their blended garden/90’s hip hop brewhouse for a SpottieOttieDopalicious pizza and either one of their big stouts or a fruited Dairelynerweisse, a berlinerweisse named after owner Jason Glunt’s wife, Dairleyn. If their 11.5% imperial stout, Banana Keys, is on tap, get a pour and some and cans to go--you’ll feel the strings of the banana line the glass you’re drinking this decadent stout from.

Heist is a short walk from Salud in NoDa and has amazing beers of all styles. Along with their awesome menu, Heist makes stellar IPAs, fruited berlinerweisses, and has recently started releasing some barrel aged stouts that are on par with the most sought-after stouts in the state. Their staple IPA, Citraquench’l, put Heist on the map and they are always worth a visit in the heart of NoDa. When visiting either of their locations (Heist Barrel Arts is their production facility with a taproom about 3 miles away), try whatever is their newest and freshest IPA. They also have a fruit forward series of sours, Big Pick’n, that my wife orders immediately when we see them at bottleshops. Their Barrel Arts location serves up artfully crafted brick oven pizzas and has a large outdoor area to keep the kids entertained. Around Halloween each year, Heist hosts Night and Day, one of Charlotte’s premier beer festivals each year. With the exclusive crowds this event attracts, Heist brings in some of the best stout breweries in the country, pouring offerings that you’ll only see once a year.

Other NoDa beer destinations include Divine Barrel, Free Range, Birdsong, Petty Thieves, and Fonta Flora in Optimist Hall, a sprawling food market with plenty of great places to eat and drink.

Plaza Midwood is a short drive from Noda and has several artful spots to grab food and beers, all within walking distance. If you’re making an evening of visiting Plaza Midwood, start at Burial. Founded in Asheville, it’s no surprise that Burial has been a huge addition to an already amazing beer scene in Plaza Midwood. Although Burial is known for their high-alcohol pastry stouts, this death-obsessed brewery also brews malt forward hazy IPAs and smooth, drinkable lagers and pilsners. Innertube lager was recently voted Best Beach Beer by the Charlotte Beer Collective, and is frequently consumed by brewers that need something lower in ABV to imbibe during brew days. Order tasters, as most of their

HEIST BIRDSONG FREE RANGE

WOODEN ROBOT OLD MECKLENBURG

IPAs and pastry stouts are higher in ABV. Make sure to try the Skillet Donut Stout, or one of its variants if you see it on tap or for sale in the bottle shop connected to the brewery.

About 1/2 mile from Burial is Resident Culture, a brewery with a cult following from brewers and beer enthusiasts around the country since their inception in 2017. Brewer Chris Tropeano, formerly of Russian River has made several collaboration beers with notable out of town brewers like Dancing Gnome, Vitamin Sea and Eighth State, to name a few. Resident Culture also makes one of the best stouts in the country, Ego Death, for which they released 5 variants to celebrate their 5 year anniversary. If they’re sold out of your favorite adjunct stout or collaboration beer, grab a Lightning Drops IPA, Mouth Wooed sour or one of their other offerings--you won’t be disappointed.

While in Plaza Midwood, stop into the original Legion location for a bite to eat and try their Hop Chiller Cold IPA, which just won gold at Great American Beer Festival in the Indian pale lager category, or stop into the original Common Market to take in the sights and sounds of Plaza Midwood while opting for one of the awesome draughts or bottles in this gas station / bottleshop venue.

SouthEnd is slightly south of Uptown, and easily accessible via the Light Rail. There are over a dozen breweries, brewpubs, and beer bars in the walkable SouthEnd neighborhoods.

Located right in the heart of South End, Triple C is one of the most recognizable breweries in Charlotte. Recently, Triple C won the Best in Show award at Queen City Brewer’s Festival for their fruited gose, North of the Border, in collaboration with Fort Mill’s Amor Artis Brewing. Their 3 C IPA can be found on most tap lists around Charlotte, and they’ve been producing some of the most approachable styles since 2012. When stopping into Triple C (Craft Community Charlotte), try their newest release IPA. If it’s warm out, their Citra Acid Test GABF bronze-winning sour is a good call; for cooler temps, one of the variants of their Chocolate Covered Pretzel Stout. Either way, you can expect quality and consistency when ordering something from Triple C.

From Triple C, you can check out Wooden Robot’s original location, stop in for a spell at both Lenny Boy and Suffolk Punch to make a proper afternoon of it. The next stop south on the Light Rail is Lower SouthEnd (or LoSo) one of Charlotte’s newest beer neighborhoods.

SUFFOLK PUNCH

Originally from San Antonio, Weathered Souls is one of two black owned breweries in Charlotte. They’ve brought some sessionable warm weather German beers and their vast array of adjunct stouts to the queen city in the past year. In 2018, Weathered Souls initiated the Black is Beautiful collaboration beer project, raising funds for minority groups. Owner Marcus Baskerville brings craft cocktails, artwork, and a lineup of artfully crafted barrel aged stouts to one of the newest brewery districts in Charlotte.

Also in the Lower South End neighborhood are the German brewery Olde Mecklenburg Brewery and Belgian inspired Sugar Creek Brewing. Grab a pint and a slice of pizza from Protagonist and end your night at one of the most authentic Charlotte breweries: Lower Left Brewing Company. Lower Left reminds the visitor of a brewery scene from the inception of craft beer in the early aughts -- good beer, bar snacks, and a host of amazing people that love craft beer.

On your next trip to Charlotte, pick a location to visit around the neighborhood with the breweries you’d most like to visit. In a city with such an abundance, we’re sure you’ll be planning your next trip to hit some of your favorites, and discover a few new ones.

Enjoy your trip. Cheers!

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Carolina BrewScene would like to thank the following breweries and organizations for their help in donating material for this feature: The Charlotte Beer Collective, Wooden Robot Brewery, Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, Lower Left Brewing Company, Resident Culture Brewing Company, Weathered Souls Brewing Co. and the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. Without their assistance this would not have been possible, and all involved have our sincere gratitude]

By Lewis Smith

Pender County Famous

wife Emmaline, to learn about the big doings In this particular small community.

air makes that a somewhat iffy proposition.) This versatility offers plenty of potential fun and adventure for craft beer travelers, providing a chance to to expand one’s palate with well brewed beer and broaden the mind with travel to interesting places they might not have journeyed to otherwise. Quite often in our travels through North Carolina we’ve found that the renaissance of the small town usually has a little craft-beer magic involved. There’s something about the meld of a small town with a brewery that’s perfectly matched with the town that hosts it that goes together like metaphorical chocolate and peanut butter.

Such a place can be found in Burgaw, a town in Pender County most widely known as the site of the annual NC Blueberry Festival. Now they can add another distinction, however, because Burgaw is undergoing a bit of a revitalization thanks to a long-range plan and some of craft beer creativity, courtesy of Burgaw Brewing. Recently, we were lucky enough to sit down with Kevin Kozak, the head brewer and co-owner of Burgaw Brewing along with his

Kevin’s story began in Northern Virginia and the DC area in 2004, where he took a summer job at a DC brewpub. Two years later, he moved to Wilmington NC and became head brewer at Front Street Brewing, the genesis of the Wilmington craft scene, which soon led he and Emmaline to Burgaw, which was in the process of a renaissance of its own, thanks to the investment of Burgaw Now who had bought the old Tim’s Heating & Air Conditioning building after Hurricane Florence struck in 2018.

They thought Kevin would be a good ft for the project, and he was eager to come on board, as he had plenty of ideas and ambitions with regards to making great beer in Burgaw, and exploring a specifc group of styles that had always appealed to him.

“I’m a lager guy,” he added. “Always have been.”

Well, that’s music to our ears. And so, I sat down with Kevin for a command performance, of sorts, in which I tried four of his fnest beers. How do they stack up? Well, let’s fnd out:

The Flight

103 Lager (Helles) Festbier

This was an excellent example of the Helles stye, and featured some nice crispy favor all the way through, very bright and warm, with a sweet, savory, fnish. This was an ideal starter beer for the novitiate, balancing lightness and drinkability adroitly without the dry fnish most Helles can have, Very inviting, and pairs great with food.

We were lucky enough to get here just in time for a sneak preview of their offering for Oktoberfest season. This was a delight—really smooth and drinkable, with a lovely caramel favor in the middle that fnishes smooth and well-balanced. An excellent choice for this most festive of beer seasons—I was quite delighted by it.

Pender County Famous (Wheat Beer) Switchblade Posse (West Coast IPA)

In this lovely selection, Burgaw’s latest addition meets its most well-known, courtesy of local blueberry powerhouse Ivanhoe Farms. Surprisingly, the addition of the blueberry juice doesn’t make for an overwhelming bluebarry taste all the way through at all—the notes are subtle initially, then fourish into a more robust blueberry taste in the middle, before fnishing sweet, with a lovely pure sugar fnal note. There’s a lot happening on the palate in this one, and I quite liked the interplay here—it moves from favor to favor with consummate skill. An ideal beer for hot summer nights for sure, but a great choice any time of the year.

We close out this tetralogy of tantalizing tastes with a West Coast IPA, fueled by some mighty Comet hops. There’s a lot of piney taste all the way though (I mean, it’s an IPA) but about midway through it evens out into what feels almost like a splash of orange— not like an orange juice taste, but a light hint that cuts the pine and refreshes, making for something with the desired IPA power, but balanced with real easy drinkability. There’s a real accessibility to this one that I ended up liking very much.

Over the course our visit to Burgaw Brewing we were quite impressed with the skill and experimentation on display here, and just as impressed with how readily the locals have embraced the new addition. On the day we stopped in, they were doing great business and seemed to have built up a large and very faithful following. And we can absolutely see why: They’re really doing interesting things with styles that aren’t widely represented in our region and coming up with some enjoyable and innovative beers as a result. This pairs superlatively with Burgaw Brewing’s food offerings, and the positive vibe that seems to suffuse the locale. The beer is great, the food’s fantastic, and the people couldn’t be nicer. We’re already planning a return trip!

Celebrating 100+NCbreweries ontapsinceJune 2017!

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We here at BrewScene are bringing you the latest news and notes from our friends in the NC craft scene in their own words, as a way to convey the unique favor of their corner of the Old North State!

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MILTON 66 (Milton, NC)

Hosanna Pennell, Managing Partner

The Milton 66 is a beer garden located inside a renovated 1970s era gas station in historic downtown Milton, NC, close to the Virginia International Raceway and Hyco Lake, NC. Opened in July 2022, we offer craft beers from North Carolina and Virginia, as well as local wines. Also we have houseplants in stock year round, and seasonal items like outdoor plants, fowers, herbs, fall decor, and fresh North Carolina grown Christmas trees. Our mission is to build community as a place of creativity and connection by providing a welcoming space for gathering and hosting community centered events like live music, food trucks, trivia, bingo and comedy nights, plant and art workshops, seasonal vendor markets, farmer’s markets, and as a space for small meetings and parties. We believe building community means giving back, and Milton 66 gives back to the Caswell County community with monthly fundraising nights for local nonprofts and charity organizations. Find out more at www.milton66.com, and on our social media.

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INCENDIARY BREWING COMPANY (Winston-Salam, NC)

Brandon Branscome,

Owner

Incendiary Brewing Company has been awarded two gold medals at the 2023 World Beer Cup competition. Known as “the Olympics of Beer,” the WBC is the most prestigious beer competition in the world, featuring 10,000 entries judged across 103 beer styles. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded May 10th at the Music City Center in Nashville TN establishing the best examples of each style.

Incendiary Brewing was recognized best in category in the Brown Porter and German-Style Schwartzbier beer categories. Both classic styles are malt driven, allowing complexity to shine from the grain bill.

“Winning any award at the World Beer Cup is a truly special honor,” said Brandon Branscombe, co-founder of Incendiary Brewing Company. “But to take home two gold medals is simply a remarkable feat. I couldn’t be more proud of our team and what they were able to accomplish. I believe 10 North Carolina breweries were recognized. It’s really awesome to know there is so much world-class beer being brewed in our state.”

WHALEHEAD BREWERY COROLLA (Corolla, NC)

Christin Crowley, Owner

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Whalehead Brewery is located at 887 Albacore St in the Food Lion shopping center in Corolla NC. Owner Christin Crowley’s vision is to honor the tradition of quality hand-crafted beer and celebrate the history and vibrancy of the Outer Banks community. Patrons will enjoy creative, innovative and full-favored craft beers brewed on-site with a 5-barrel brewhouse, and served from a self-pour tap wall. As part of the taproom experience, consumers will be educated on craft beer styles, proper glassware, the beer making process, beer ingredients, and food/beer pairings. Artisanal pizza will highlight the food menu.

NC CRAFT BREWERS GUILD (NC)

Lisa Parker, Executive Director

2023 marked the 12th anniversary of the NC Brewers Cup competition, administered by the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild and sponsored by Pro Refrigeration, Inc., Tryon Distributing, and Lowe’s Foods, the “Offcial Grocer of NC Beer”. This year, 873 entries were submitted by 122 independent North Carolina craft breweries, making this the largest commercial competition in the Southeast.

All entries were received and organized at Pro Refrigeration, Inc in Mocksville, NC and then transported by Tryon Distributing to the two competition judging venues: Edit Beer Co. in Raleigh, NC and White Labs in Asheville, NC. Judging occurred simultaneously at the two locations over the August 26th-27th weekend. Certifed beer judges from across the Southeast traveled to participate in this beer style competition, sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certifcation Program (BJCP). Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded in 36 style-based beer categories, based on the 2023 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines, (also used for Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup competitions.) Unique to North Carolina is the NC Homegrown category, which requires the beer to have at least 55% of the beer’s dry-weight ingredients sourced from North Carolina agricultural products.

In addition to the category medalists, one brewery will be presented with the NC Brewery of the Year trophy. This award celebrates the brewery who secured the most overall points, based on medals won. The NC Craft Brewers Guild will announce the NC Brewery of the Year and present the trophy and all medals at this year’s NC Beer Industry Awards Banquet taking place at the NC Craft Brewers Conference in Winston-Salem on November 14th, 2023.

TRYON DISTRIBUTING (NC) Melissa Johnston, Head of Marketing

Tryon Distributing Owner and CEO Brad Johnston was enthroned into the Knighthood of the Belgian Brewer’s Paddle during a ceremony that took place at the Brewer’s House in Grand-Place, Brussels. Johnston was chosen by the Belgian Brewers Guild for the honorary knighting following his role in helping to “Pop-the-Cap” in North Carolina, and for his contributions in facilitating the

importing of Belgian beer to the state ever since.

To be considered for nomination, candidates must have at least a decade of continued experience, and a proven list of successful efforts surrounding Belgian beer. For American nominees, this usually means someone who has worked closely with retail, wholesale, import, or promotion of Belgian beers.

“Belgian beer is world class, and it didn’t make sense to me that we could not sell it in North Carolina. That is one reason that I was so passionate about popping the cap – it allowed us to introduce so many amazing and historic beers to the people of my home state. To be recognized by the Belgian Brewers is an honor and a privilege. Being chosen from a pool of candidates from across the globe is something I will always remember,” said Johnston.

If you’re a brewery, bottle shop, distillery, homebrew supply store, restaurant, or otherwise connected to the craft beer business and want to tell your story in future installments of Draft Lines, please contact us through or email or social media channels. Contributions are generally 100-200 words and 3-4 pictures would be ideal as well. Submissions may be edited for clarity, content, and brevity. There is a maximum of ten contributed stories per issue--first come, first served. Submissions may not be consecutive.

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By Erin Lawrimore

Bøøtlëggïñg “Just a Way of Life” in the Outer Banks

Since the frst laws controlling the distribution of alcohol were passed by the North Carolina Colonial Assembly in 1715, people across the Old North State have created ways to circumvent those laws. North Carolina was an early adopter in passing various city and county-wide prohibition laws, and it also served as a stronghold for bootleggers.

The Outer Banks was certainly no exception to these statewide efforts both to pass laws against alcohol and to fnd ways to illegally make and sell booze.

In fact, like most of North Carolina, the northeastern part of the state was early to adopt a prohibition mindset.

In 1887, Dare County passed laws preventing alcohol sales throughout the county; exceptions were made only for incorporated towns (many of which had their own prohibition laws) and “Nags Head in season.”

Even the resort area of Nags Head could not escape the move towards prohibition, with another law restricting liquor sales only to hotels with a capacity of at least ffty guests.

Many of the things that made Dare County a popular tourist destination also led to it being a stronghold for illegal liquor production.

The area was largely isolated from the mainland, but still close to transportation hubs like Elizabeth City.

There was a consistent, high-quality water supply. Many of the long-time industries in the area (namely, fshing and lumber) faced a downturn, and many people in the region actively looked for any opportunity to make money.

As Outer Banks native Josie Ferebee put it in a 1973 interview with the Coastland Times, “the Dare Lumber Company moved away and left only bootlegging as a business in East Lake … Bootlegging was just their way of life. They did it to eat.”

The Outer Banks region was also home to many supply boats that could be used in various ways to support illegal liquor operations. Businesses could easily ship supplies inland where bootleggers could then use those supplies to make alcohol.

Passenger boats, a ubiquitous sight in the Outer Banks, were repurposed for traffcking whiskey without drawing attention. Liquor was smuggled under shipments of lumber or fsh.

Some boat operators even tied the jugs of alcohol to a rope that

trailed behind the boat, making it easy to dump the cargo if the boat was boarded by the authorities.

To a large degree, however, the local authorities did not go out of their way to clamp down on bootlegging in the Outer Banks.

In a 1922 newspaper interview, E.R. Jackson, a federal offcer stationed in Elizabeth City, stated that 95 percent of county offcers opposed the enforcement of prohibition laws.

The North Carolina Anti-Saloon League called out the sheriff of Pasquotank County for not raiding any stills, even though the county was a well-known site for liquor production.

Federal offcials were slightly more heavy-handed in their enforcement of liquor laws.

In July 1921, Federal Prohibition Commissioner Roy A. Haynes reported that his agency was increasing activity in the area, with both the Coast Guard and the Navy assisting with patrols.

A raid in 1927 resulted in the destruction of twelve stills, reportedly worth $35,000.

Nine “practically new” stills were destroyed in 1928, although with 50 gallons of liquor, 28,000 gallons of mash, and 140 sacks of whiskeysoaked sugar.

The destruction of these stills, however, only put a small dent in the growing illegal liquor industry in the region.

National prohibition came to an end in 1933, but North Carolina took two more years to pass its frst laws allowing locals to decide on alcohol sales in their county.

Pasquotank County was one of 18 counties where citizens were allowed to vote on whether to permit liquor sales.

Dare County followed suit in 1937 when its citizens voted to allow

“Bootlegging was just their way of life. They did it to eat.”

in unincorporated parts of the county.

Not everyone was happy with the changes, however.

While some citizens remained committed to the tenets of prohibition, others saw an economic dilemma - the repeal of prohibition and the establishment of state-run ABC stores hurt the local economy.

The liquor money that had stayed in the region was now going to Raleigh or to out-ofstate distillers.

As Brian Edwards put it in a 1999 article, “liquor, it seems, fed more than just moonshiners.

Through investment in real estate, expensive consumer goods, and construction, money could legally, and quietly, enter the economy.”

To learn more about bootlegging and liquor production in the Outer Banks, see Brian Edwards’ article “A Brief History of Prohibition in Northeastern North Carolina,” in Tributaries (October 1999).

The Three Boys, a mailboat docked at a fish camp in East Lake. Randell Holmes Collection, Outer Banks History Center. liquor

Federal revenuers at a raid in East Lake. Viktor Meekins Papers, Outer Banks History Center.

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Meet a local distillery ReimaGINing a traditional spirit

By Christina Ruotolo-Franey

Gin is a juniper-forward alcoholic spirit made by distilling fermented grain with a variety of botanical ingredients. Although the liquor is clear, waves of favor lie just beneath the surface.

The Hackney, located at 192 W. Main Street and is owned by Nick Sanders and Susanne Hackney. They lived in London (the spiritual home of gin) for 25 years. In 2019 they moved back to Washington, N.C. and opened the Hackney Distillery. It took Nick and Susanne

three years to develop their award-winning gin, called 1000 Piers Coastal Carolina Gin. This gin is an 88 proof botanical style London dry gin that goes beyond typical favors of juniper. They use 22 different botanicals including lemongrass, ginger, and galangal, which is similar to turmeric, orange, grapefruit, kaffr lime, and star anise, just to name a few. It was awarded the U.S.A. Spirits Ratings Gold medal in 2020.

The gin is crystal clear, and the frst thing to notice is the aroma of bright citrus and warm spice. Add in foral and fruity notes on the top of the tongue, and get ready to enjoy the slow-warming burn down your throat. The back fnish is a smooth anise favor, which tastes like black licorice and seizes the tongue but brings it alive with favor at the same time.

The process of making gin involves the stripping of essential oils from different botanicals, which are then distilled to build an overall favor profle. The Hackney extracts their essential oils via two methods: pot distillation and vapor distillation. This begins with a base of 192 proof GMO-free Winter Wheat Neutral Grain Spirit (NGS). This is added to the pot still with some water and the botanicals and left to macerate for three to four days to allow the alcohol to blend with the essential oils. For the vapor distillation, fresh peels are added to the gin basket along with several other botanicals. As

the mixture in the pot is heated and the alcohol evaporates, the hot alcohol vapors pass through the basket on the way to the condenser, stripping the essential oils from the peels and botanicals within. Once the distillation process begins, it takes roughly fve hours to produce about 80 gallons of unproofed gin.

The Hackney Distillery, unlike many other distilleries, uses fresh botanicals, not dried and sources locally whenever possible.

“We use more botanicals than most other gins, packing as much favor punch as possible into each bottle. With our signature gin, the London Dry denomination means that we fully respect the craft of distillation so what’s in the bottle is what comes off the still, meaning no favors are added after the fact. We also use a carefully considered combination of distillation methods to ensure we extract the very best favors from of our botanicals,” Sanders says.

One of their notable varieties is the 1000 Blueberry Piers Gin,

which is made by distilling a fruit foral gin base and infused with local N.C. blueberries. The base is distilled with Juniper and a blend of 17 other botanicals including hibiscus, elderberry, elderfower, peach and sloe berries to name a few.

“We use also use a careful combination of distillation methods to ensure the optimal extraction of essential oils from our botanicals. We then muddle this base with about 100 pounds of local blueberries and leave it to marry up for about three-four weeks before fltering. Unlike many other favored spirits, all the ingredients we use are totally natural,” Sanders says.

The blueberry gin offers up a slightly sweet perfumed nose with notes of citrus, spice and pine. On the palate hints of sweet orange and lemon on the front explode into waves of Jammie black fruits in the mid-palate evolving with notes of cardamon and bitter orange.

The log fnish is dominated by a pleasant heat from the juniper, cinnamon and ginger.

In 2022, The Hackney introduced their newest gin, the Creme de Fruits Noir Liqueur.

This new gin showcases the marriage between the delicious rich dark fruit favors from blueberries, elderberries and sloeberries and the complex fruit foral notes from the 17 botanicals in their blueberry gin.

There is a beautiful balance between the sweetness of the liqueur and the tartness of the elderberry and sloes.

It can be drank neat as a digestive or added as a cordial to a myriad of different cocktails.

Currently this is only available for sale from the distillery.

The future of the Hackney Distillery looks crystal clear and full of promise.

“Currently we are looking at growing our footprint in N.C. by getting both our 1000 Piers Coastal Carolina Gin and our 1000 Piers Blueberry Gin into as many stores in North Carolina and South Carolina as possible. We will also planning to launch our Creme de Fruits Noirs into the N.C. ABC,” Sanders says.

When they opened the Hackney distillery in 2019 there was no craft scene in Washington. In fact they had to get the City laws changed to allow them to open in the area.

“Things have changed dramatically in the time since we have opened. There is now a brewery next door to the distillery and one planned across the road. A tap room from one of the breweries in Greenville has also recently just opened. So we have a very vibrant craft scene here now,” Sanders says.

The distillery is open for free tours and tastings every Saturday from 11a.m. to 5:30p.m. and also accept bookings for private tours. During your time there, they will introduce you to the delights and history of gin, and sample their variety.

For more information on The Hackney Distillery, please call 252-623 2368 or visit their website, www.1000piersgin.com.

Located

TLS FRM TE CRYPT: CRYPTBRWOLGY

By Lewis Smith

The persistent monsoon that moans in the night, its breath a searing fame from the bowels of the underworld, carries on its breast an urgent plea from the cotillions of lost souls who roam the dark dimension. And this message vibrates, serpentine-like across desolate wastelands through the oily waters of the amphibian infested swamp, over the crest of the ice-capped peaks, and down to the blasted hearth to shriek in our attentive audio receptors that “Ales From The Crypt” is once again at hand.

Our regular autumnal excursion into the realm of spooky-adjacent returns with a look at six of North Carolina’s classic cryptids: those fascinating creatures of legend that allegedly roam the woods and waters of the Old North State matched with six beers, sampled for what is tenuously considered “research purposes.”

Let’s laugh a little and learn a lot!

The Beast

The Cape Fear River Mermaids Moncure NC

The Cape Fear Mermaids are a notable variation on the common mermaid, as not only do they appear in freshwater, but also because they were spotted so frequently where the Deep and Haw rivers meet that the spot became known as “Mermaid’s Point.” In a striking coincidence, most sightings happened in the vicinity of nearby Ramsey’s Tavern. The likelihood the witnesses were drunk at the time was, I’m sure, coincidental.

Around the time of the 1800s, sightings of mermaids at the Point fell after the Tavern was submerged in a great flood, because it’s not a proper mermaid story without something being drowned.

The Ferryman’s f American Porter, Edward Teach Brew ng Company Wilmington, NC

It’s from a little further down the Cape Fear, of course, but close enough.

The Ferryman’s Fee is indeed robust, featuring sweet and savory notes of coffee and chocolate with a little bit of roast and malt on the edges that had this lovely smoky finish.

As this was a perfectly balanced collection of some of my favorite flavor notes in a beer,

I really enjoyed it.

The Beast of Bladenboro Bladenboro NC

Back in the 1950s, Bladenboro was beset by a series of savage animal killings.

Eyewitnesses described the attacking animal as a bear or cat (or possibly a bear-cat) but details were sketchy.

The beast was never caught or destroyed, and in the intervening decades the town has dealt with the Beast with the best kind of good humored neighborliness: they throw a party.

The Beast of Bladenboro Festival has been a fixture in town every October for the past 16 years in honor of the legend.

To date, the Beast hasn’t actually attended.

I guess it’s shy.

Vampire Tendencies Sour-Fruited Gose

The Beast BTher

Mythic Brewing Co. Rocky Mount, NC

The Beer: Vampiric Tendencies Sour— Fruited Gose, Mythic Brewing Co. (Rocky Mount, NC)

Mythic was a shoo-in for this list, and indeed inspired this year’s column. And they brought a great beer for it. Vampiric Tendencies is really intriguing—mixing blood orange fruit juiciness with ginger to create something I wouldn’t have thought I’d enjoy, but was compelling and drinkable.

The ginger hits hard and makes the whole thing feel a bit fizzy and light on body, but the burning ginger taste one might expect is cut by the fruit, which is balanced by the ginger and you get a dry and slightly fruity finish. I appreciate its experimentalism and rock-paper-scissors balance as much as I do the Nosferatu can art.

The Beast

The M n-Eyed People Cherok , NC

Hidden away in the mountains of Appalachia there is said to dwell a race of beings who have lived underground for a very long time and rarely venture out in the daytime, as their eyes are unused to sun.

There have been statues of the Moon-Eyed People built that refect that description, but their story is more a jumble of of multiple legends, some native, some colonial.

For instance: one legend holds that Welsh explorer Prince Madoc led an expedition to the New World, got lost, and decided to settle down and just start digging, which I think is a lesson for all of us all just how much of a difference Google Maps makes in our daily lives. How easily we might otherwise go astray.

Albino White Stout Horny Goat Brewing Company Milwauk , WI

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From Alice Cooper’s favorite city to visit (it’s Algonquin for “the good land,”) comes this selection, and it’s an interesting one. There’s notes of coffee and vanilla combining to give it an almost cream soda taste to it, which is interesting, because this has all the hallmarks of a good dark stout, but none of the weight, which makes for something very drinkable when you want heavy taste without the “heavy.”

I enjoyed the heck out of this, as much for confounding my expectations as much for being delicious.

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B jum Waynesvi e NC

Boojum is a a cryptid with a story arc: Tall, dirty, and covered in gray hair (no, he’s not Gandalf) Boojum whiles away his days in the mountains doing stuff you’d expect: sampling moonshine, collecting diamonds, and trying to date the local mountain girls.

One of these, named Annie, he took a special fancy towards and would call to her from the forest, which is where we get the term “hootenanny” from.

In several of these local legends, Boojum and Annie even get married, thus proving the old adage that there is indeed a lid for every pot.

Beware of Yetis New England IPA

Funguys Brewing Raleigh, NC

It would have been perfect for Boojum Brewing to have one of their beers featured here, but they never returned my calls. But nature finds a way, and Funguys provided an alternate that fit with the theme.

Beware of Yetis is a triple dryhopped concoction, which suggests it’s full of that IPA pine taste that can feel like quaffing a Douglas fir, but while there is a lot of pine on the front end, there’s a nice earthy middle and pleasant finish that keeps it balanced and drinkable.

Great choice for those who like IPAs but haven’t learned to love them yet.

The Beast

The Santer Statesvi e, NC

The Santer, sometimes also known as the Wampus Cat, the Vampire, and Bladehands McStabbykitten (I made up one of those) is like the Beast of Bladenboro if it went to a rave: It’s supposedly a dog/ cat hybrid with glow in the dark fur, long fangs, and beady eyes, that cries like a baby.

Its rampages were occasionally credited to the Beast of Bladenboro, because a neon monster catthing being able to swiftly cover 200 miles is the least implausible thing about this story.

Screamo Engine Fruited Sour DSSOLVR

Milwauk , WI

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There are some breweries that just demand to be on lists like these, and DSSOLVR is always in the conversation. Screamo Engine takes the idea of a fruited sour and puts a cinderblock on the accelerator.

It has an aggressive level of tartness that should be off-putting and extremely lip-puckering but is amazingly drinkable.

The tartness remains on the palate from start to finish, but an intriguing sweetness lingers around the edges until the dry finish.

There’s a confrontational quality to it that I enjoyed.

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Normie The Lake Norman Monster Lake Norman, NC LIGHTNING DROPS IPA

Our final featured creature hails from Lake Norman, a man-made lake in Iredell County, created on top of a several submerged towns, buildings, graves, and at least one airplane.

Creepy enough, right? It gets better: among the heelsplitters, walleyes, crappies, et al, lurking like a Cheerwineflavored Godzilla is Normie, an alligator/ catfish/sturgeon thing that allegedly lurks in the waters Lake Norman, doing cryptozoology researchers call “monster stuff.” There are no records of Normie every attacking any of the many curious divers that explore the sunken mysteries in the lower depths, and so, after careful research, I have formulated the following theory: Normie is in fact the mayor of this sunken city of fish and mollusks, appearing infrequently to promote good fellowship with the surface dwellers above. Like the mayor from “Jaws,” except the mayor IS Jaws. You might assume I just made that up, possibly because I did.

Our second IPA this go-round, Lightning Drops is mighty and piney, but there’s a healthy juiciness all the way through that keeps it even and thirst-quenching, with a dry splashy, energetic finish that comes off with a hint of pineapple.

The flavor grew on me the longer I drank it, and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

My first Resident Culture beer, but definitely not going to be my last one—I think.

next time—here’s to great beers and the stuff of legendary fears! Cheers!

And there you have it, my fine fiends! Another Ales From The Crypt treat to make Halloween

RESIDENT CULTURE BREWING COMPANY CHARLOTTE, NC

complete. Until