Carolina Brewing Company

As craft beers have become more popular over the past few years, MM and I have developed into a bit of beer snobs.  I do enjoy me a Labatt Blue or two, but with the increasing number of craft beers that are available, I would choose a good Pale Ale by a small brewery over a mass-produced bottle that I can have any time.  North Carolina has started to become the East Coast gem of craft brews, with most of the growth in Asheville, on the western side of the state.  Landing New Belgium (Fat Tire) and Sierra Nevada as site of their East Coast facilities will catapult them into a beer lover's mecca.  Not to be outdone, the Triangle area has a handful of breweries with their own delicious offerings.  The most popular brewery is Carolina Brewing Company, which is housed in suburban Holly Springs, about 30 minutes southwest of Raleigh.  Their Carolina Pale Ale is available in many bars and restaurants in the Triangle area.

Every Saturday at 1pm, they have a free brewery tour to show their facilities and their brewing process.  MM and I get to the brewery, which is nestled in a business park off a major state highway, about 10 minutes before the tour starts.  We grab a pint glass, and walk into the facility and get our pre-tour complimentary beer.  I get a Wiggo, which is a seasonal IPA, with more hops that their traditional IPA, and MM gets a Carolina Nut Brown Ale, which is one of their original brews.  The Wiggo has great flavor, but the Nut Brown seems to be slightly lacking.  The tour begins by Mark (one of the 4 partners in the brewery) giving an overview of the history of the brewery, which has been in existence since 1995, and distributes to 25 counties through North Carolina.  Then he goes through the brewing process and shows the bottling line, which is only being used at 2/5 capacity, as they look to stay small and work only with bottles and kegs.  

Once the tour concludes, the taps re-open, and I enjoy the seasonal Spring Bock - a seasonal Maibock to complement my pint glass that says "Fear the Goat."  MM enjoys another seasonal - the Winter Porter.  The taps stay open for approximately another hour.  We move to the retail room to get some A/C (60 people + brewing supplies = HOT), and chat up a couple that live nearby, and learn the husband always comes up on Saturdays to have a couple pints, have a quick tour, and pick up a six pack for the week.  Quickly, we learned there are many "regulars" on these tours, but it is quickly compensated by the stream of people leaving with kegs and six packs, since the retail room is only open on Fridays and Saturdays.  We leave with a six pack of Wiggo, and the promise to head back to the brewery again - next time with some friends.

Carolina Brewing Company

140 Thomas Mill Road

Holly Springs NC 27540

www.carolinabrew.com