Carolina Beer Guy

Exploring the Carolinas one Pint at a time

Author: geistbear

  • Dry January – A Modest Counter Offer

    Though I am writing this, it’s my wife’s idea. January always kills taproom business, while Friday and Saturday aren’t terrible the month as a whole is a loss. The temptation to save money and close for the month I heard uttered by more than one owner. Of course bartenders would suffer of no fault of their own. I have even heard the canning staff at a local brewery participating and to my mind that’s negligent, to not be sampling what your packaging. Some people want to step back, I completely relate. I understand the need for moderation and that’s actually the key to the counter proposal.

    If you took a day off each week throughout the year it would total 52 days, 21 more days than January. If you took a second day off the impact would be even greater and it wouldn’t impact your local brewery, bottle shop or bar as much.

    Part of the success of course is the memetic tone of the words ‘Dry January’. But this practice could be incorporated with the proposal…

    Moist Mondays, because you really may want a drink after those January Mondays. Or given to the modern reaction to the word moist another word may be necessary.

    If you spoke German you might consider Dry Dienstag (Tuesday). or maybe Temperate Tuesday.

    Wetless Wednesday anyone?

    Thirsty Thursday has been a long standing tradition.

    Free Fridays?

    And the weekend offers a plethora of options.

    Consider it to help support your local establishment. What’s your favorite idea from the above or perhaps you have suggestion of your own?

  • Brew News

    Charlotte is the center for beer news this week with three four stories. First from Charlotte Ledger last month, normally the craft beer community is very friendly to each other, according to the article Sycamore wasn’t. Also it’s Syc-no-more news, the rebranding I mentioned last week has become a reality. 

    In a late addition from Charlotte Observer Cavendish Brewing is closing with Sugar Creek taking over the production space.

    Lastly from Charlotte our friends at BeerCPA have a post on how Charlotte reflects the future of craft beer.

    Then in a similar vein Dathan Kuzsuk chats with John Szymankiewcz also discuss the future of beer.

    Sebastian Wolfrum, Epiphany Malt, and the BMC crew discuss bagging malt at a brewer’s lunch Epiphany hosted.

    Featured Event – NC Rare and Vintage Festival, been a fan of for years and they have a multi-day format this year January 22-25th. 

    Catch all the latest and upcoming Carolina Beer events here.

  • Throwback Thursday – Barrel Aging

    These posts highlight a story from the past, mine for now, it originally was produced for Sand and Pine for December 2022.

    The days are getting shorter, there is a briskness about the air that wasn’t present at the beginning of November and the decorations are everywhere. It’s the return of the holidays and for brewers it means we can take a break from the IPA fanatic pace and focus on something a little dark, richer, and just perhaps a bit more on the boozy side of the equation.

    At Hatchet Brewing we have been playing with a barrel aging program for the first time. I am a big believer that in making beer it is a combination of Art and Science. Working with barrels falls firmly into more of the Art side of the equation. Barrels can be bought new, but far more often we get them second hand from another producer. Bourbon and whiskey manufacturers are the most common source for barrels, but they could have been used for rum, mescal, tequila, wine, or heck even maple syrup even made a recent appearance at a broker house. If you get the barrel fresh from a distillery often you may get the ‘Angel’s share’ or a wet barrel. A wet barrel still contains some of the original product aged in the barrel. This always makes the brewery staff happy because we can conduct a ‘quality’ inspection of the origin of the barrel and see what character will likely emerge from the barrel. And yes, I mean drink a sample. First use of the barrel you have the character of the spirits that have resided in the barrel before our use, on further uses while the spirits will have faded the toasted oak character becomes more dominant. 

    Each barrel has its own unique character that will emerge over time. Time is an important factor in barrel aging a beer. The beer absorbs the barrels character, this happens through as the barrel is exposed to temperature variations that causes the wood to draw the beer in and out. While a fresh barrel the spirit character may become evident in a short time, further uses require months for the condition to become apparent. 

    This process is a big commitment for a smaller brewery. It requires specialized equipment to prepare and fill the barrel for use. The barrel takes up space in the brewery that could be put to other use. Lastly is the cost. Used barrels start around $150 but rapidly increase if the barrel comes from a highly sought distillery. Then there is the cost of making a high gravity beer which will have typically a lower yield per batch than an average beer like a pale ale. It’s a bit of a gamble for a brewery that typically takes two or three weeks to bring a batch to market, to make an investment that won’t be returned for months or even a year.

    Larger breweries dedicate entire buildings to barrel programs like Wicked Weed in Asheville or Goose Island in Chicago. Black Friday, while known for early morning shopping deals for TVs or other bargains, for beer lovers they will often line up for the limited release of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout. This beer release has gotten to be so large that they need to source barrels from 4 different distilleries.

    So as we were planning to dip our toe into a barrel program, when a friend offered us some barrels that he had finished using. We took advantage of the whiskey barrels that we have filled with a Winter Warmer. Winter Warmer isn’t a formal style but a range of ideas. It has a wide range of ABV (alcohol by volume) between 5.5-10%, usually on the darker side, and often is spiced to help warm you during the winter months. In our case we made this ale with honey I have from Combat Farms. This honey goes into Hatchet’s Combat Honey ale, but I wanted to make something that could really showcase the rich flavor and higher alcohol. Beside the honey notes there is a rich malt character with hints of vanilla. It will be going on tap in early December.

    This was just the start of our barrel adventures. Now I am working on Death Machine Belgian Tripel and paired it with a Rum barrel. Death Machine is a golden ale that has a light body and drinks deceptively smooth. It hides its 9% abv well with spicy and banana notes. I think it will finish having a Banana Foster like character with notes of butter and vanilla from the oak, plus just a hint of cinnamon. Plus of course a good dose of rum. As we finish off the Winter Warmer in January expect the barrel aged Death Machine will hit the taps.

    So watch this Winter to see what barrel aged beers make it to your favorite beer destination, they may be more pricey than your regular pint, but they are worth the expense. Happy Holidays!

  • Style Spotlight – Belgian Tripel

    The Brewers Association started with 12 different styles of beer, according to The Audocity of Hops, but currently they identify over 120 different styles of beer. But a step back, what’s a beer style and why so many? Beer style is a generally agreed set of attributes that unify the naming convention. It’s a fairly modern construction going back to the 1970s roughly. So if I say pale ale you may think of Sierra Nevada’s pale ale. As brewers have gotten more experimentaland complex further categories and boundaries have been indexed.

    I love Belgian beers if you ask the bartenders at the taproom what my favorite style is, they would likely say Belgian Tripel. Generally golden, but can range as deep as amber. It’s a strong beer at 7-10% but moderate body. Low hop aroma, but bright fruity notes including banana and sometimes a bit of clove. Because they are strong you may not find them in draft, but it’s a perfect beer to enjoy at home.

    Style Examples

    Lowes Foods Beer Den Belgian Tripel 9% ABV

    Lowes has contracted with Foothills and they are making a great version of the beer.

    Hugger Mugger Hastur, The King in Yellow 9% ABV

    Great yeast character and to me a little more body than most examples.

    New Belgium Trippel 8.5% ABV

    Still in the market at grocery stores in 6 pack or in a mixed Belgian case, great boozy character to it. 

    Victory Golden Monkey 9.5% ABV

    Okay this is only local if you are in Charlotte and visit Brewers at 4001 Yancey, but you can find it in grocery store, they make variations, but the original is my preference.

    Check back next Wednesday for another style with some local options.

  • NC Brews News

    New year, new project. There is a lot going on across the Carolinas even for all the trouble in the last year, so I am try to make sense of it. Mondays will be beer news and upcoming events, Wednesday style spotlight (focus on a beer style and some local examples), Throwback Thursday (examine an older piece of writing and commentary on it), Friday for bigger think pieces.

    Sycamore Closes Taproom

    Since the news broke last month, I expected more updates on the Sycamore Brewing front. They have announced they are closing the taproom temporarily. I would not be surprised by a rebranding attempt, but it will be difficult at best. Mountain Candy was on tap at many accounts across the state but since the news broke I have witnessed many of the accounts removing or donating all proceeds to charities. I checked tap lists on Untappd locally and could only find a single account still selling their beer. This is a brand that in 2024 produced roughly 30,000 barrels in 2024 according to Brewers Association numbers. Developing a brand takes time and closing to the taproom the slowest month of the year makes sense operationally and to reduce expenses, but based on what we saw in 2025 anything could happen. Wish them best of luck in their future efforts.

    Calendar note as mentioned above it’s a slow month for the trade, but if you know of anything especially in Charlotte, Asheville or the Coast areas please let me know so I can add to the list.

    Calendar

    January 17 – Girl Scout Cookie Pairing, Glass Jug, Durham

    January 23 & 24 – NC Rare and Vintage, Durham – historically one of the gems of Winter events it has expanded to a 2 day affair with brewer’s panel in addition to one of the best tasting events in the Southeast.

  • 2025 Wrap Up

    It’s been a rough year for craft. Brewer’s Association estimates the industry is down over 5%. We lost some big and fairly well established names Rogue, 21st Amendment, and Seattle’s  Pike’s Pub. Here in the Carolinas it seems every week someone is announcing a closure. Every case is different but lease renewal increases, reduced consumer spending, or simple aging out with no successor are all being cited. It used to be common that if a brewery made it past the first three years it would make it, but obviously those days are gone.

    So what’s next? What will 2026 bring us?

    I don’t know, but I’d like to stay engaged in the beer world and so this website is my plan for 2026. Write about the beer and people who make it special. I hope you’ll join me for the ride.