Brewery Visits

BEERCATION 2022 – FRONT STREET BREWERY – NORTH CAROLINA

The final brewery that Hoppy visited in North Carolina was Front Street Brewery in Wilmington. The historic building that it is located in began as a dry goods store in 1865. Front Street opened in 1995, as the first brewery in the city. As well as being a brewery/restaurant, they carry an extensive collection of bourbons and other whiskeys.

While here Hoppy quaffed a flight of the following ales:

Port City IPA – Wilmington’s original IPA since 1995, is a hybrid of West Coast and New England styles: bold, citrusy, and juicy at first, but finishing dry and refreshing with notes of pine. 6.9% ABV

Black Razz House Blend – high notes of real Raspberry wheat played against the mocha depths of chocolatey Scottish ale. 6.2% ABV

Tomb Rocker Heather Ale – an incomparably smooth complex ale bursting with flavor including vinous notes of red wine, tangy cherry, honey, delicate flowers and herbs, and old-fashioned candy. 9.2% ABV

That Kind of Jive Blueberry Sour Wheat – a sour wheat fermented with lactic yeast, conditioned on vanilla extract from End of Days Distillery, plus copious blueberry puree. 5.1% ABV

Dr. Purple Barrel-Aged Sour – brewed with a mind-blowing amount of tangy purple blackcurrant juice and aged in oak barrels for three years for a perfect sour depth and complexity. 5.8%

BEERCATION 2022 – BROUWERIJ CURSUS KEME – NORTH CAROLINA

Hoppy’s next brewery visit in Asheville was at Cursus Keme. Here he went back to his hop roots and imbibed a Cat Mummy Double IPA at 8.1% ABV.

BEERCATION 2022 – NEW ORIGIN BREWING – NORTH CAROLINA

Hoppy visited two nearby nano breweries in Asheville, North Carolina this Summer. The first of these was New Origin Brewing which has a 4.16 overall rating on Untappd! Here he enjoyed a Birthday Stacks Whiskey Barrel-Aged Florida Style Stout conditioned on Moose Mountain Maple Syrup from Vermont. It clocked in at 12.5% ABV.

BEERCATION 2022 – SIERRA NEVADA BREWING – NORTH CAROLINA

Hoppy visited Sierra Nevada Brewing in Mills River, NC this summer. Here he had a flight of the following beers:

Dankful IPA – A hop-forward West Coast IPA that supports nonprofits working in their communities. 7.4% ABV; 55 IBU

Barrel-Aged Life and Limb (2022) – An American Imperial/Double Brown Ale having roasted malt caramel-like and chocolate-like characters and a medium hop flavor. 12.8% ABV: 20 IBU

Barrel-Aged Oro De Roble – A tequila barrel-aged golden ale with oak, bready, vanilla and tequila flavors. 11% ABV; 35 IBU

Hoptimum (2022) – An intense triple IPA made with Amarillo, BRU-1, Pahto and Simcoe hops. 11% ABV; 75 IBU

Pictures follow:

BEERCATION 2022 – GIRDWOOD BREWING – ALASKA

Hoppy visited the town of Girdwood, Alaska this summer where he stopped by Girdwood Brewing. (It is located near Alyeska Ski Resort.} There he enjoyed a No Woman, No Cryo Hazy IPA. It clocked in at 7.5% ABV, 50 IBU. Pictures follow:

Another must visit in Girdwood is the Double Musky Inn, home of “the best steak in America,” per Jill Cordes of the Food Network. and here it is!

TRADERS BREWING VISIT – INDIANAPOLIS

Hoppy also visited Traders Brewing on Saturday. It is located on the NW side of Indianapolis in an Industrial Park off of Zionsville Rd. Here Hoppy sampled a Sour Ale and Pale Ale before imbibing an IPA. The information on each beer is listed below:

Kettle Sour Vol. 3 – 4.7% ABV, 5 IBU

Building 1 Pale Ale described as a dark, earthy pine smash pale with Simcoe hops. It is 5.6% ABV, 40 IBU.

Badass IPA is brewed with a simple grain bill to accentuate the hops – dry hop additions of Simcoe and Citra add the flavor and dankness the hopheads love. It is 7.5% ABV, 80 IBU.