Triangle Brewing Company

 I had been told that one of the best brewery tours in the state was at Triangle Brewing Company in Durham.  I've been to a lot of breweries and been through more than my fair share of tours and some of them are pretty good while others are less than desirable.  So I went with high hopes on this visit and I was not let down.  Triangle Brewing opens it's doors most every Saturday at 1:00pm and for the meager price of $3 you get in the door.  The razor-wire fence surrounding the brewery does not lend itself to a welcoming environment but hey even a brewery needs to protect it's assets.  With the quality of beer this brewery produces they should be protected like Fort Knox.

The tap room isn't air-conditioned but who cares when for $3 you get all the beer you want in an hour and a half to two hours.  Get there early as there will be a line and be prepared to show your ID.  It's illegal in North Carolina to drink beer without one and instead of belly aching to the very large door man just pull out the ID card and say "yes sir".  It's well worth it.

 

Triangle Brewing Company Tap Wall

 So you've arrived and tasted a pint or two then the tour starts.  On the say of this writers visit Eric the Assistant Brewer was giving the tour.  If you've been to any brew fest in NC with Triangle present you've seen Eric working the Triangle booth.  His personality is typical of the sarcastic yet witty brewer you typically find in a well run brew house.  His knowledge is spot on and he knows his stuff.  If Triangle isn't careful they could lose Eric to another brewery and while that would be good for the other brewery Triangle would lose a gem.  I don't see them parting ways anytime soon so tell him Hello from me when you arrive.

Eric atop the system.

They brew on an 8bbl system which is par for many micro breweries.  They are planning an expansion soon and will be moving about 100 yards from their current location just across the Rail Road tracks.  I hope they don't upset Rufus when they move or maybe Rufus will move with them.  More on Rufus in a bit.

I was able to chat with  Rick Tufts but Andy Miller wasn't around.  Rick is a neat guy and he summed up Triangle in a short sentence.  "We want to brew beer that doesn't suck."  Simple enough for me.  You won't find fancy names on their beers as they are what they are.  There is no pomp and circumstance in the name or the labeling.  Their pomp and circumstance comes the moment you put their product to your lips.  



 They produce flagship beers as well as seasonal and their beer is canned.  Their cans are produced not far from this writers home base here in Reidsville at the Ball Can Plant.  The Ball plant here in Reidsville was originally owned by Miller Brewing to produce cans for the Miller plant in Eden.  It was sold to Ball and Ball produces cans for many breweries and other beverage manufactures across the South East.

Their Flagship beers are:

Belgian Style Strong Golden Ale
This strong golden ale measures in at 8% & showcases a variety of the ingredients and brewing methods that help differentiate Triangle beers. The Strong Golden is fermented at a higher temperature than our other beers adding an undercurrent of fruitiness (although there is no fruit in the beer). Very lightly filtered, the Golden exhibits complex mouth-feel, strong malt flavors, a spicy hop presence and soothing alcohol warmth, followed by a clean, dry finish.


India Pale Ale
At request of hop heads, (like this writer) Triangle produced this IPA with a deep golden color, plenty of hop bitterness balanced out by an underlying malt backbone.  Because of the extensive dry hopping, there is a floral and citrus hop finish.  This beer has been specially dry hopped with 3 different hop varieties for a wonderful drinking experience.  (This IPA is also know as Revolution IPA, brewed by TBC for their restaurant.)

Belgian Style White Ale
A traditional Belgian wheat beer, Triangle White Ale is unique and truly refreshing. The style gets its name from the white, slightly cloudy appearance of this unfiltered wheat ale. Brewed with a generous amount of white and red wheat that is grown locally in Scotland Neck, NC, and our own special blend of organic spices, makes Triangle White Ale complex in flavor without being overpowering or cloying. Overall, it is a beer that is light, fruity and very drinkable during a hot summer day.

Then you have the Rufus Reserve beers as the seasonal selection. 
Rufus is the patron saint of Triangle Brewing Company. He was discovered tucked away in the clay part of our brewery’s basement during renovations. Due to his overall level of decomposition, his ethnicity was undetermined, and his death remains to this day unsolved by the Durham Police Department, so his story was theirs to create. After a few beers, with creativity and psychic abilities at its apex, we decided his name was Rufus.


They do not know how long Rufus had made his home at the Triangle Brewery Company, but it’s been at least since the invention of trash bags, as he was stored neatly in one (no chance of accidentally crawling in and tying it closed from the inside!). Rufus continues to haunt TBC to this day. He frequently moves things, is heard as faint whispers, and knocks darts out of the board. When the aforementioned happens, they recognize his displeasure and pour a little ale into the drain as a peace offering.

Rufus in Latin, means “Red”, so in honor of their first Rufus Reserve offering, they released an Imperial Amber, a full bodied Double Red with enough hop kick to wake the dead. Rufus continues to travel to festivals with them in spirit only, you may have seen and drank beer poured from his casket.

Rufus's casket on top of the grain room.

 The next time you visit a pub or establishment with good beer be sure to have a Triangle if you've never had one.  If you're ever in Durham on a Saturday the tour is well worth the $3 and very well may be the best tour in the State.

Prost!!!
http://trianglebrewery.com/

Bull City Burger and Brewery

This is a must go place on the NC Beer tour.  Sadly they may have to discontinue their Saturday tours due to space in the brewery portion of the establishment but let's hope they are able to keep it going as Seth Gross gives one of the best tours I've been on to date.

Seth has a degree in microbiology from the University of Florida and is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.  He has more than 27 years of restaurant experience in all facets from dish-washing to cooking to front of the house service to restaurant management. He professionally brewed beer for Goose Island brewery at the Clybourn St. brewpub in Chicago, IL. Seth has brewed beer and formulated recipes that have won gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival.  He has had a thirst to brew beer since the day he left Goose Island.  Seth is the "Goldylocks" of NC Brewers saying that Boston and Chicago were too cold, Florida and Arizona were too hot and North Carolina is just right
 

Parrish Street Pale Ale.This Pale Ale-style beer has an alluring autumn hue. Aromas of caramel, orange zest and light floral hops greet the nose.There is a pleasant sweet malt character up front followed quickly by apricot. The finish is crisp and hoppy, providing a nice counterpoint to the malt. Sporting a fuller body, it is richer and hoppier than our Golden Ale. Despite the name“pale,” this style of beer is darker in color than our Golden Ale. Parrish Street was known as “Black Wall Street” with many local black owned businesses located on Parrish. Hops:Northern Brewer, Goldings, Fuggles

Merrick Märzen.  A spring lager brewed in the traditional old world German style. This is a Märzen or Maerzen lagered beer. Slightly amber-orange in color, malt driven with a hint of sweetness and very clean from start to finish, the hop profile is all German with spice and earth while characteristically not very hoppy on the nose. This lager style is about clean flavors emphasizing malt versus the floral fruitiness of an ale. The lightly toasted Munich malts lend a cracker/bread crust like quality balanced by the bitter German hops. This beer is named for John Merrick, one of Parrish Street and Durham’s founding fathers also called the first dreamer and leader in his time. A former slave, who learned to read and write in a Reconstruction school, Merrick was born on September 7, 1859 and died August 6, 1919. He was a business man, involved in Durham real estate, created several landmark African-American owned businesses, and is one of the three founders of NC Mutual Life Insurance Company still around today.

Wa WA Yonda Blonda (Blonde Stout) From way, way yonder, we present something cutting edge. Well, maybe cutting edge. Ground breaking? Perhaps.Experimental? Definitely. If the West Coast brewers can brew a black India PALE Ale, then we can brew a blonde Stout. Wa Wa is a beer brewed to Stout specifications, with the exception of the darker grain plus a little secret. Body, hops,alcohol and carbonation are the same as a classic Stout.What is a stout without its roasted malts? It’s Wa Wa YondaBlonda Stout. Close your eyes, take a sip, and you decide. Is it a Blonde Stout? Named after the Carr family farm, off Chapel Hill Road called Wa Wa Yonda farm. The street Wa WA Ave is there now. 

Morven’s Alley American Style IPA. Loaded with hop aromas from start to finish, this IPA flaunts it, daunts it and is all about pleasure. Just like famed Morven’s Alley at Golden Belt, aonce haven for gambling, liquor and well all things that go with them. This menage a tois sandwiches Centennial between bitter and aroma. Hold and take it for a spin.  My "go to" beer for this brewery.

Jack Tar Stout.  The Jack Tar is a super drinkable black beer aka “black ale” in Ireland. It won’t fill you up and has plenty of hop and dark malt bitterness to keep the first sip as vibrant as the last. There’s a pot of gold at the bottom of every pint, but be careful not to swallow it by accident on the last sip. The Jack Tar was a hotel located at the end of Parrish Street where the big bull now stands. It was imploded in 1975 in front of a crowd of people from all over NC early one Sunday morning.

A must visit when in Durham.  The food is just as good as the beer with the same attention to detail.  It's also the only brewery I've ever been into that actually has a disco ball in the brewery area.  These guys have it going on.

Prost!!!
 http://bullcityburgerandbrewery.com

Seth giving the tour

Tapwall

 

Fullsteam

Fullsteam has a mission and that is to explore what it means to be a distinctly Southern and North Carolina brewery.  They brew beer with local, seasonal ingredients. Anything from NC six-row barley, grits, basil, honey, paw paws, persimmons, sweet potatoes, oats and other off the wall stuff as well.  They are truly seeking to build a North Carolina beer economy.

They are not an ordinary brewing operation and their community tavern is not an ordinary bar.  They are family friendly and dog friendly.  They also have ping-pong, vintage video games, pinball, corn hole and darts.  Well worth the stop even if you have the kids and dog.

El Toro is a lager-like classic cream ale — yet another American original. This easy-drinking “beer beer” has a 100% North Carolina grain bill (90% Riverbend Malthouse six-row barley, 10% Lakeside Farms corn grits).


Beasley’s Honey White. Uses locally farmed wildflower honey.  It's an interesting wheat beer and I actually enjoyed it even though I'm not a Wheat kind of guy.  It does have a smooth finish.

Carver Sweet Potato.   North Carolina is the largest U.S. producer of sweet potatoes. In their quest to work with local Southern ingredients as much as possible, the humble sweet potato is an obvious choice. Perhaps less obvious: their decision to avoid cloying spices that would only serve to mask the savory-yet-delicate flavors. Why “Carver?” It’s their small tribute to the amazing Southern environmental scientist and farmer, Doctor George Washington Carver. While he may be better known for his work with peanuts, Carver was also passionate about the sweet potato.  250 pounds of local sweet potatoes per batch (one-third of the base fermentables).

Fullsteam Southern Lager Call it “Southern Lager” or even “Lager” if you like, but they simply call this beer “Fullsteam.” I call it a California Common or a Steam Beer (Yes, that is a style) and they have hit it on the head.  One of my favorite styles but not a lager and not an ale but a Steam Beer.   Caramel in color, with a woodsy aroma and biscuity malts. A must try and I call it my "go to" beer for this brewery.

Cackalacky. Brewed in partnership with CACKALACKY™. Ginger Pale Ale (GPA) is refreshing, hoppy, and zippy.  It's much like a homebrew that I did in 1999 and recreated with a new homebrewer earlier this year.

Hogwash is a hickory-smoked brown porter Bacon beer! They house-smoke malted barley over hickory wood, imparting a sweet, subtle smoke to our hickory-smoked brown porter. Depending on your comfort level with smoked beers, you may find Hogwash subtle or overwhelming. Try it with North Carolina barbecue for some smoke-on-smoke action, or go for the Trifecta of Awesome: bacon, beer, and chocolate!  

Working Man’s Lunch
A tribute to the Southern tradition of an RC Cola and a MoonPie. It is brewed with biscuity malts, vanilla, and chocolate nibs from Raleigh’s own Escazu Artisan Chocolates. They get a little zany and brew with a German Weizen yeast strain to impart estery banana notes.  Probably their most popular beer and my 2nd choice behind the Fullsteam Southern Lager.

All in all a great brewery and a great place to visit.  As I said earlier it's not an ordinary brewery and I highly recommend a visit for a brew or 8.  They also are not so arrogant that they don't mind having other beers on tap. 

Prost!!!
http://www.fullsteam.ag/

Fullsteam Brewhouse

Tap Wall