North Carolina launches first ever Beer Month
With more breweries than any other state south of Pennsylvania and east of Texas, North Carolina is truly the South’s beer stronghold. To celebrate the state’s craftsmanship and the destinations where it’s nurtured, breweries, hotels, restaurants and other businesses combine forces for the inaugural NC Beer Month this April.
Throughout April, beer lovers will find special tours, tastings, dinners, classes and other events as well as lodging packages and deals on North Carolina beer. Travellers can chart a course from urban pub hubs and beer frontiers to lively towns with character to spare. Here are highlights to inspire the journey:
Beer City Experience with Highland Brewing
Asheville has topped the Beer City USA poll for four straight years, and Highland Brewing— the city’s first craft brewery — has created an April 12th -14th package that’s full of trademark Asheville appeal: a stay at Aloft Downtown Asheville, a LaZoom Comedy Tour, visits to Highland Brewing and Riverbend Malt House, dinner at Lexington Avenue Brewery, brunch at Blackbird and a treat from French Broad Chocolates. It’s a bargain at $349 (approx £227) per couple for one night to $499 (approx £325) for two nights.
Hickory Hops
For a one-stop survey of North Carolina’s craft beer spectrum, the highway leads to Hickory in the Blue Ridge foothills. At the April 20th event, 40 to 50 breweries — the majority of them from North Carolina — will pour their finest for about 3,000 attendees, who can query brewers, listen to music and learn who won the Carolinas Championship of Beers competition. Now in its 11th year, the festival is hosted by Olde Hickory Brewing in the heart of a city known for craftsmanship.
NC Beer Lover's Weekend
Greensboro is a destination that knows how to seize the moment, and the locally owned O. Henry Hotel, an AAA Four Diamond property, has lined up a weekend full of opportunities for April 26th -27th. One- and two-night packages priced at $319 (approx £208) to $678 (approx £442) include options for a beer dinner with Highland Brewing and Jay Price of Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen; a beer-cooking class with Leigh Hesling of Geen Valley Grill; a breakfast buffet; and other amenities. The dinner and class may be purchased a la carte.
Mountain Beer Vacation
If you thought that autumn was the best time to visit the Great Smoky Mountains, try spring, a season that unveils the beauty of countless wildflowers. Opt for the $95 (approx £62) Beer Month Package add-on with SunDog Vacation Rentals or Sunset Farm Cabins and enjoy a tour of Heinzelmannchen Brewery in Sylva, two beautifully engraved glass mugs, a copy of the brewery’s “Your Gnometown Cookbook” and dinner — with beer — at City Lights Café.
Brewgaloo
The Greater Raleigh area has achieved critical mass as a beer destination with about a dozen breweries in the Capital City and neighboring towns and 10 more just beyond. Their April 27 convergence in downtown Raleigh showcases the region’s beer craftsmanship as well as culinary creativity from local food trucks. Brewgaloo follows April 13th’s World Beer Festival — Raleigh, which broadens the context for the local pours.
Collaborations, New Releases
If brewers love anything more than winning medals, it’s crafting beer. In that spirit, Front Street Brewing in Wilmington (2012 World Beer Cup gold medal for its FSB Spring Brew) and NoDa Brewing in Charlotte (2012 Great American Beer Festival gold medal for its Coco Loco) will collaborate on a special NC Beer Month brew.
In Western North Carolina, the towns of Sylva, Bryson City and Waynesville are linked by the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway — and a love of well-crafted beer. Brewers are collaborating on an NC Beer Month offering in the style of a Red Rye Ale that will be available at Heinzelmannchen Brewery in Sylva, Nantahala Brewing in Bryson City, and Bearwater Brewing, Frog Level Brewing and Tipping Point Tavern in Waynesville.
William Lenoir is a big name in North Carolina, and people outside the state might read up on this Revolutionary War hero after they taste General Lenoir’s Strong Ale. Historians at Fort Defiance, the home Lenoir built in the Blue Ridge foothills, found his handwritten recipe, and Howard Brewing will produce the ale for NC Beer Month. Howard Brewing, by the way, is located in the town that bears Lenoir’s name.
Get a taste of this
In Wilmington: Jim Beam Bourbon Barrel Dinner with Fred Noe, seventh-generation master distiller, at Front Street Brewing. The evening features dinner with selections from Front Street’s series of Jim Beam Bourbon Barrel-aged beers and Jim Beam Bourbons.
In Sylva: Heinzelmannchen Beer Dinner, April 11th at City Lights Café. Six-course meal paired with Heinzelmannchen beers.
In Blowing Rock: A beer and cupcake tasting on April 27th at the Green Park Inn, a grand turn-of-the-century hotel in a celebrated mountain getaway.
In Cary and Greensboro: Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen, with locations in both cities, will feature a beer-pairing menu and special cask all month long. Classes in making and cooking with beer are also planned.
More on tap
Watch NCBeermonth.com for details and developments for the NC Beer Lovers Weekend at the O. Henry Hotel, a boutique lodging in Greensboro; newly minted festivals in the arts-and-agriculture destination of Pittsboro and the High Country community of Plumtree; and NoDa Brewing’s inaugural Top of the Hop Pro-Am Homebrew Competition in Charlotte and Chickspeare, a Shakespeare in the Parking lot event April 21st- 23rd in honour of the Bard’s birthday.
For more information about North Carolina visit uk.visitnc.com.