This past weekend I was able to hang out with some of my cousins from Michigan in Raleigh. As a treat, I decided to take Monday off and take us younger ones on a  beer tasting and leave the parents with each other! So we ended up hitting three spots – one of which was not beer related.

First, we went to Tyler’s Taproom & Restaurant, which has locations all over the RTP area. I highly recommend  this place. Great food, good service, awesome beer selection (draft & bottle), and they have seasonal beer flights of NC draft beers! We did a flight of 4 NC beers, plus a Black Forest specialty beer mix. YUM. MY. NESS.
1) Foothills Brewing Seeing Double. This 9.5% ABV double IPA is the first high gravity beer by Foothills. 126 IBUs, and you can taste the citrus of the IPA with the heartier malt taste of the double IPA complimenting all the hops.
2) Duck Rabbit Brewery Rabid Duck. This 10% ABV Russian Imperial Stout was delicious, truly chocolatey and coffee-esque like a good stout, and with a hint of almost a light licorice flavor (to me). This is Duck Rabbit’s first higher ABV beer release into NC!
3) Highland Brewery Little Hump. This 4.5% American Pale Ale is a session beer that is very light yet full of flavor, with a light and crisp flavor that reminds you of spring in a glass.
4) Lonerider Brewery The Preacher. This 7.3% ABV belgian saison beer is an American Twist on the classic Belgian seasonal with a spicy kick to the hoppy and grapefruit flavors. Nice finish to the palate with an almost light hint of cherry or white grapes that is almost hidden. That may just be my palate but that is what I tasted!
5) Black Forest – a wonderful concoction from Tyler’s that combines the yummy Wells & Young’s Double Chocolate Stout with the deliciousy fruity Lindeman’s Framboise Lambic.

So Rob rated his favorite beers as the Little Hump, followed by the Black Forest. Paige said her favorites were Black Forest, Little Hump then Rabid Duck. My favorites were The Preacher, Rabid Duck, and then Black Forest. Looks like we had a good collaboration of tastes going here!

Next, we went to the Duke University Gardens. BEEEEEAUTIFUL. Here are a few pictures to highlight the awesomeness of this adventure. No more words are needed, pics say it all.

Lastly, we went to Fullsteam Brewery in Durham (right around the corner from Duke University as it turns out – good planning on the driver’s part, right?!?). We actually made our own flight up in an arrangement with the barkeep. We tried all the beers they had to offer – sampler sized! Really. Some may only have gotten 6 sips, but we tried them all! 🙂

Beer Tasting at Fullsteam!

1) El Toro, a 4.2% ABV cream ale with NC grits. This was the “what on earth?!?!” description that first nabbed our attention. All of us being from Michigan, grits are this really strange concoction that is white and scary looking. 😉 However trying it, was a very pleasant surprise. This beer was delicious. Similar taste comparison of Coke to Cream Soda when compared to a typical ale. It was light, but not super citrusy, and not super hoppy. It was more just smooth and cool and refreshing.
2) Carver, a 4.8% ABV sweet potato lager. This was a light yet spiced and hearty ale. It had a light start and finish, but a hearty flavor and the aftertaste was slightly spiced and sweet.
3) Working Man’s Lunch, a 5.6% ABC Moonpie-inspired chocolate ale. This ale was a spicy chocolate ale with a heavy feel but a crisp aftertaste. I didn’t taste the for-me-expected graham or marshmallow flavors but it wasn’t a bad beer. Not quite a stout, but still a heavier beer.
4) Carolina Shandy is a 3% ABV concoction that is 2/3 El Toro ale mixed with 1/3 Lemonade. This is a very crisp, light and refreshing drink that was incredibly nice for a hot summer afternoon!
5) Beasley’s Honey White is a 5% ABV wit beer made with oats and honey. This was a delicious, incredibly honey-flavored white ale that tasted crisp with just a little “heavy” feel from the toasted oat flavor.
6) One Hop Rye, a 7.2% ABV rye IPA. This was a wonderfully rye flavored beer that was hoppy but not overpowered by the hops. Rather the rye flavor dominated this beer, but not so much it knocked you over. Yum.
7) Overtime is an 8.5% ABV imperial version of the Working Man’s Lunch. This is a stout beer, a heavy smoked chocolate flavor that brings out all the subtleties of the Moonpie that I missed in the WML alone. I, as many of you know, really like stouts, so I really enjoyed this one much more than WML alone. Delicious.
8) Hogwash is a 5.5% ABV BACON beer. You read that right. Only you find out when you ask (yeah, I’m sure you thought I was shy), they don’t actually USE bacon in the beer, they just smoke the hops. Huh. It tasted like bacon to me. It actually was a little much on the smokey side, for me, though I would have sworn on a stack of Bibles it was made with real Bacon. It tasted that bacon-y. For all my bacon-loving friends out there: definitely try this one, if for no other reason than the experience. And to say you had a bacon beer.

So Rob’s favorites were the Honey White followed by the Carver and then the Shandy. Paige’s favorites were the Carver followed by the Shandy. And my favorites were the Rye followed closely by the Honey White and then the El Toro (not the Shandy, just the ale). 🙂

Observer their tap selection (3 of which are other breweries that they feature on a rotating basis, which I thought was pretty nifty!):

Regardless, you should try these spots out, all 3 of them!, if you are in the Durham area ever! Let me know if you have tried any of these beers, and what you thought of them all! Have a great Monday all!

Craft You Later,
Beth