It pains me to not trumpet the Raleigh Beer Festival as a must-attend event - after all, how can a NC-Beer-centric blog not champion the confluence of multiple North Carolina breweries in less than 4 acres? Two main reasons: first, this was the most popular booth (caption must be: "F*** these meddlin' kids thinking they're hip drinking this crap...and f*** that Pringles guy.")
Second, the 4 acres. Yes, Moore Square park is one of only two parks left from Raleigh's original 1792 plan, which is cool, but cramming more than 100 beer booths in that area is, shall we say, not exactly conducive to thoughtful tastings of highly varied brews. However, lest we sound as old as we actually are, let's hit the highlights of the festival from the NC perspective, which did offer a few new brews from old friends.
The NC beer tents were absolutely packed all day. However, because CP has such extensive (expensive, say some) experience with the local offerings, we were able to try only the non-standard brews and savor them without re-tasting our Peacemakers, Hoppyums (Hoppyi?) and Sky Blues. Notable were Carolina Brewing Co.'s Spring Bock, better than Shiner's with a little bit more alcohol heat and Foothills' India Style Brown. Dogfish's IBA is the CP favorite, but we are excited to visit Winston-Salem to try the Brown on draught very soon.
A new one for the CP staff was Huske Hardware from Fayetteville (actually the first beer of the day) - their "Ale Yeah" - very much like a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, though I would say that there is a malty complexity under the hoppy finish that distinguishes the "Yeah" a bit from its West Coast brethren.
Let me interject here that the hip brews in late 2012 and early 2013 seem to be Saisons and Sours. Let me as quickly interject that these styles are, shall we say, not at the top of my preference list - this weakness prevents CP from accurately evaluating these offerings. Lonerider's "The Preacher"and Aviator's "Saison de Aviator" (creative) from what I hear, are excellent examples.
A few other favorites that will be reviewed shortly with their breweries: Mother Earth (Kinston)'s Dark Cloud Dunkel; Raleigh Brewing Company's Hidden Pipe Porter; Railhouse Brewery (Aberdeen)'s Mastiff Stout (fantastic); and, my personal favorite from the day, Mystery Brewing (Hillsborough)'s Queen Anne's Revenge, described as a Carolinian Dark. Even at the beer's young age, CP is fairly sure that this is the first example of this style.
CP has been and will continue to be, for the most part, positive in its reviews - particularly towards its NC brewery roster. However, we feel it is our duty to steer our dedicated readers away from wasted earnings on brews that we, even after extensive research, cannot find redeeming qualities. The rogue's gallery of said beers on display at the Festival is blessedly short and is as follows:
Also notable in their absence were Asheville's Highland and French Broad. Never fear, CP's is heading to the mountains for a long weekend in early May for a thorough caning (or at least a timid questioning) of each brewmaster.
See everyone next Saturday at Brewgaloo in Raleigh, where the focus is (thankfully) more on local brews and should allow for a fitting close to North Carolina Beer Month.
Second, the 4 acres. Yes, Moore Square park is one of only two parks left from Raleigh's original 1792 plan, which is cool, but cramming more than 100 beer booths in that area is, shall we say, not exactly conducive to thoughtful tastings of highly varied brews. However, lest we sound as old as we actually are, let's hit the highlights of the festival from the NC perspective, which did offer a few new brews from old friends.
The NC beer tents were absolutely packed all day. However, because CP has such extensive (expensive, say some) experience with the local offerings, we were able to try only the non-standard brews and savor them without re-tasting our Peacemakers, Hoppyums (Hoppyi?) and Sky Blues. Notable were Carolina Brewing Co.'s Spring Bock, better than Shiner's with a little bit more alcohol heat and Foothills' India Style Brown. Dogfish's IBA is the CP favorite, but we are excited to visit Winston-Salem to try the Brown on draught very soon.
A new one for the CP staff was Huske Hardware from Fayetteville (actually the first beer of the day) - their "Ale Yeah" - very much like a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, though I would say that there is a malty complexity under the hoppy finish that distinguishes the "Yeah" a bit from its West Coast brethren.
Let me interject here that the hip brews in late 2012 and early 2013 seem to be Saisons and Sours. Let me as quickly interject that these styles are, shall we say, not at the top of my preference list - this weakness prevents CP from accurately evaluating these offerings. Lonerider's "The Preacher"and Aviator's "Saison de Aviator" (creative) from what I hear, are excellent examples.
A few other favorites that will be reviewed shortly with their breweries: Mother Earth (Kinston)'s Dark Cloud Dunkel; Raleigh Brewing Company's Hidden Pipe Porter; Railhouse Brewery (Aberdeen)'s Mastiff Stout (fantastic); and, my personal favorite from the day, Mystery Brewing (Hillsborough)'s Queen Anne's Revenge, described as a Carolinian Dark. Even at the beer's young age, CP is fairly sure that this is the first example of this style.
CP has been and will continue to be, for the most part, positive in its reviews - particularly towards its NC brewery roster. However, we feel it is our duty to steer our dedicated readers away from wasted earnings on brews that we, even after extensive research, cannot find redeeming qualities. The rogue's gallery of said beers on display at the Festival is blessedly short and is as follows:
- New Belgium Shift Lager - It just can't decide between lager and pale ale. Should have given up.
- Cervaceria Centro Famosa- "Winner of 14 International Medals!" (apparently from the East German judge)
- Goose Island IPA - You're not a microbrew! You ARE Anheuser Busch! Stop!
- Leinenkugel anything - Your German-sounding name doesn't fool anyone.
- National Brewing Co. National Bohemian - "Premium Bohemian-style beer". I was always fairly sure that I wasn't a Bohemian - now I'm VERY sure.
- Sweetwater Blue - This pains me, as I love Sweetwater in general, but good gracious.
Also notable in their absence were Asheville's Highland and French Broad. Never fear, CP's is heading to the mountains for a long weekend in early May for a thorough caning (or at least a timid questioning) of each brewmaster.
See everyone next Saturday at Brewgaloo in Raleigh, where the focus is (thankfully) more on local brews and should allow for a fitting close to North Carolina Beer Month.
Great write-up! Thanks for letting me comment after you wrote the post.
ReplyDeleteBasically our reasons are the same as BCBB and Triangle. We are at capacity, and the World Beer Festival drains between eight and ten very valuable kegs. The staffing requirements (to do it right) are significant. In short, I'm not sure I see the return on investment.
We're a "zig when they zag" sort of brewery, and at this point in our brewery's life cycle, I'm not sure competing among a big clump of breweries (including mega-brands) is the best way for us to stand out. Especially considering the expense can be $1k to $2k in labor and opportunity cost.
I'm impressed and appreciative of other NC breweries that commit to both area WBF fests. We'll continue to participate in the Durham WBF (it'd be quite the slight if we didn't), but Raleigh for now is on hold. And we'll continue to do beer dinners and events galore in the City of Oaks.
Please know that we love Raleigh and are heavily involved in the community. But we're passing this year on WBF, Brewgaloo, and a lot of other festivals throughout North Carolina.
Cheers,
Sean