Carolina Brewery Chapel Hill

Carolina Brewery is much like Natty Greene's in the fact that they have two locations.  This review is on the Chapel Hill location and the small batch brews that are available there.  I will be taking a trip to Pittsboro soon and writing a separate review on that location as well. 

As you walk in you immediately notice the brew kettles and fermenters right behind the bar.  I really liked this touch and as a home-brewer and lover of beer I sat at the bar right in front of the operation.  This is where they brew the in-house pub craft beers.  They brew their distributed beers at the Pittsboro location and they will be reviewed separately.  The staff was very friendly but the manager never came out to speak with me even after the staff advised her that I was there and writing about their beers.  I sensed a little arrogance in the place and that is a character trait of many small breweries. Another thing I really liked was their beer menu has a complete description of the beers along with the ingredients, ABV and IBU's.

Franklin Street Lager is made with an all malt recipe as a Bohemian – style pilsener beer. It contains gentle bitterness, soft maltiness and is hopped true to style with Czech Saaz hops. This clear golden beer style which utilizes bottom fermenting yeast was developed in 1842 in the town of Pilsen at a time when all other beers were cloudy.  Another good example of a beer to convert the masses.  Theve done a good job on this one.

Funky Monk Ale is an attempt to be a trappist style.  You can taste the European Malts and the Belgian yeast but this is a so-so beer and I wasn't impressed.

Old Familiar Barley Wine is an authentic barley wine. It has strength and body approaching that of a wine. It is nicely balanced with Cascade hops. At 8.5% ABV it is interesting and complex and not too bad for the style.

NoDaRyeZ’d  Double Rye India Pale Ale is a collaboration with NoDa Brewing in Charlotte. A solid malt backbone with a hefty amount of Rye, to further the grain bill, plus a 7 hop blend gives this beer an “American” IPA flavor and aroma but also accentuate the spiciness of the Rye.  With 90 IBU's and 8.6ABV it's not for the "light" beer drinker. 

Tripel is very malty and strong and if it wasn't for the Fuggle, Saaz and Hallertauer hops I couldn't say anything nice about this beer.  I think the yeast had some issues with this batch so I will reserve further comment for when I can try another batch.  This one however was not a good beer.

Old North State Stout is made with roasted, pale and caramel malts and English hops. Together they combine to make a full flavored ale with notes of dark chocolate. This would be my "go-to" beer as I felt it was the best small batch they brewed.

I must say I wasn't impressed with the small batch stuff as I have been with some of the other beers I've had from Carolina.  I am sure the Pittsboro review will be much better than this one as I do believe this company brews some good beer.

Cheers!!!

http://www.carolinabrewery.com/index.html

Top of the Hill

Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill wasn't the easiest place to find but then again I did go in the back door.  Once inside I was impressed and devastated all at the same time.  My first thought was a place as nice as this either A. can't brew good beer, B. their going to be so arrogant I'm going to be pissed off or both.  Well, let me start by saying I was dead wrong on both A and B.

When I arrived I ended up in The Great Room.  Top of the Hill has three levels and three bars.  I'll get into that a little more here in a bit.  The young gentleman that met me at the door was very nice and polite and after I shared with him what I was doing he told me to just follow him.  He took me up stairs the back way and through the kitchen on the third floor and right into the main restaurant and brew area.  He introduced me to Chris Atkins.  Chris seemed to be busy but as soon as we were introduced he told me to meet him at the bar.  He ordered up a flight of beer and we started talking about beer.  Chris, the newest edition to the brewing team, is a born and bred Durham-ite. A UNC Greensboro graduate, Chris went on to complete the Brewing Science & Technology Program at the World Brewing Academy and graduated from the Doemens Academy in Munich, Germany. Chris interned at the Lonerider Brewery in Raleigh before joining the Top of the Hill team he started out as a home-brewer and has a true love for the craft.  Chris is truly an asset to Top of the Hill and they are lucky to have him. 

We started with a flight that had Kenan Lager, Caldwell Cream Ale, Old well White, Plott Hound Pale Ale, Singleton Ale, Rams Head IPA.  We then had some Cask Ales and I'll mention that later as well.

Kenan Lager is a typical lager that every brewery in America makes to please the masses.  Kenan is one of the best ones I've had.  Readers of the blog know that I am not a huge fan of this style and will let you decide.  I'll just say that this one wasn't repulsive to me and I could drink it and be happy.  Kenan is one of their three year round brews.

Caldwell Cream Ale really impressed me as it's served on Nitrogen and I've been really getting into the nitro beers of late as I feel they represent the true flavor of beer.  If your a fan of Pubstyle ales then this one is for you.

Old Well White is a Wheat Beer and readers of the blog know that I am not a fan of the wheat brews.  Any fan of wheat will almost certainly enjoy this beer.  This is one of their year round brews.

Plott Hound Pale is mostly impressive as I've never had anything that compares to this.  I'm a Hop Head and this one is well balanced with four type of malts.  This beer is also brewed with 96% of the ingredients coming from North Carolina.  So this is a true North Carolina beer and my favorite on their list.  Not for the faint of heart but a true joy for the experienced beer drinker. 

Singleton Ale was created out of an argument.  This beer is brewed with only one Pale Malt and just the Liberty hops.  It's a high gravity and very complex brew and everyone should at least get a sample of this.  They also have this available in Cask on occasion.

I finished the flight with the Rams Head IPA.  This would be my "go to" beer from here only because it's one of their three year round beers and fits my taste perfectly.  Not overly hoppy as an IPA so even the non-ipa drinker can still enjoy it.  

We finished the flights and I was introduced to Aaron Caracci the other brewer.  Aaron was finishing up some work but I had a chance to chat with him for a bit as well.  Aaron is not your typical brewer.  He had no knowledge of brewing before being hired.  He has grasped a hold of the craft well and you would never know he got the job while playing golf.

Chris, Aaron and I went down to the Back Bar.  Available at the Back Bar only, Cask Beer is a throwback to how beer was made in the 1800’s. Beer is dry-hopped in a firkin, served through a manual beer engine & served between 50-55! which allows natural subtle nuances of flavor to emerge. Top of the Hill is the first establishment south of the Mason-Dixon line to have its own cask beer program.  The beers change constantly as one would expect with cask beers.  I was able to have the Smoked Porter Cask and it was truly heaven in a glass.  I was then able to have the ESB and if you were to close your eyes you would feel like you were have a beer in a pub in 1860.  Both of the cask ales I had were top notch and I'd recommend everyone to visit the Back Bar just to have a sample of true craft beer at it's finest.

Located in the space once occupied by the legendary Carolina Theatre, The Great Room Complex is the only large scale event space located directly on Franklin Street. They host weddings and rehearsal dinners to full-scale galas and concerts.

Finally it is worth mentioning that Top of the Hill also has it's own distillery. Their spirits include hand-crafted vodka, gin, & whiskey, created from scratch, using only organic Carolina wheat and botanicals distilled in a copper pot & columns from a 5th generation German still maker.

I must say that Top of the Hill was a great experience and I will be returning.

Cheers!!!!
http://toporestaurant.com/