Durham Celebrates NC Beer Month With CollaBEERation

UPDATE: Per Bull City Burger and Brewery's Facebook page, info about the CollaBEERation:

CollaBEERation "Trinity Ale" now on tap. Equal parts of Fullsteam, Triangle Brewery and Bull City Burger and Brewery in one beer. To celebrate NC Craft Beer Month, we joined hops, malts and forces to create a one-off beer for craft beer lovers. A pale amber color with hints of bronze and a rocky white head from the NC rye and wheat malts, this medium bodied beer packs a punch with over 6% ABV and tangy hop bitterness on the finish. This beer was filtered and then dry-hopped with Northern Brewer and Fuggles hops, plus a hint of Durham’s Rosemary bushes at the corner of Mangum and Parrish to make certain we have included Durham in every glass. We are donating $1 from every pint sold to a local Durham charity. This beer is sold only by the pint for $5 including tax. Sorry, no growlers or pitchers. VERY LIMITED at all three breweries. Hops: Northern Brewer, Nugget, Goldings.

In April, Durham has a little something special up its sleeve for North Carolina Beer Month.  Soon, Durham beer aficionados will have a new local draft beer to call their own.

On April 3, Durham beer drinkers will be able to celebrate North Carolina Beer Month with a CollaBEERation from Durham's three breweries; Bull City Burger and Brewery, Fullsteam Brewery, and Triangle Brewing Company. The unique styles from each of these three breweries have been blended together to create a uniquely Durham brew.

About the Beer

Brewers from each brewery assisted with mashing in the grain, and adding hops. Each contributed a third of pale malt from three different maltsters, one bag of specialty grains (Triangle contributed wheat, Fullsteam contributed NC Rye and  Bull City Burger and Brewery added Caramel 40), and hops from their signature beers (Triangle added hops from Nugget, Fullsteam added hops from Northern Brewer and Bull City Burger and Brewery added hops from Fuggles).

A taste of Durham is also included from the big rosemary bush at the corner of Mangum and Parrish streets in Downtown Durham. The beer will be lightly filtered with a copper colored ale around 6% ABV with a high level of hoppy bitterness and aroma to please NC craft beer lovers. The style is not defined and will henceforth be known as Durham's style. The beer will be available at each of the three breweries on draft. Each brewery will donate $1 from each pint sold to a local Durham charity selected by each brewery.

Name the Beer
The name of the beer will be decided by a contest.  All three breweries will ask their Facebook fans to nominate a beer’s name and the brewers will pick from the top 5 most liked beer names. Find them on Facebook: Bull City, Fullsteam, and Triangle.

About North Carolina Beer Month
North Carolina is truly the South’s beer stronghold with the most breweries of any state south of Pennsylvania and east of Texas. To celebrate the state’s craftsmanship and the destinations where it’s nurtured, breweries, hotels, restaurants and other businesses combine forces for the inaugural NC Beer Month. Throughout April, beer lovers will find special tours, tastings, dinners, classes and other events as well as lodging packages and deals on North Carolina beer. Travelers can chart a course from urban pub hubs and beer frontiers to lively towns with character to spare. Visit www.NCBeermonth.com for details on specials, and developments on other newly minted festivals, beer classes, and other activities.

Durham April Beer Month events include:

• Triangle Brewing Company holds Saturday brewery tours at 1:30 PM. Cost is $3 per person.
• Bull City Burger & Brewery offers an official brewery tour at 4:00 PM on Saturdays. Cost is $5 per person and includes a tour and tasting of the beers on tap together.  The $5 can be credit toward a growler deposit that day only.
• Beltline Brew Tours give tours of Fullsteam, Triangle Brewing Company and Bull City Burger and Brewery. Tickets are $40-$45. Tour is 11:30-4 PM on April 6.

For more information about Durham, read online.

The Cookery to Host A Culinary Spectacle for all Ages

Regardless of whether you are a fan of food in general, certain chefs, or the food truck movement that is directing a lot of attention toward Durham, there is something going on there to satisfy every taste.  In a few weeks, yet another bright spot will emerge on the landscape in the place where great things happen.

Triangle residents can eat sausages made by WUNC’s The State of Things host, Frank Stasio, sample vegan sausages prepared by Rue Cler’s award winning chef, Aaron Benjamin, or consume any variety of fare from The Cookery’s popular food truck members, all in the name of charity on Saturday, September 15th from noon to 3:00 pm. The celebration of culinary talent will take place in the Front Room, a new event space in The Cookery on West Chapel Hill Street, benefiting the Durham Crisis Response Center’s emergency shelter which provides a safe environment for women and children fleeing violent and dangerous situations.

“We are thrilled that the culinary community of the Triangle area has rallied to show their support for this fundraiser,” said Rochelle Johnson, who co-owns The Cookery with her husband, Nick Hawthorne-Johnson. “The funds raised through our food sales during the event will go directly toward the kitchen remodel at the shelter, which will improve the lives of countless families on a daily basis.”

Food truck favorites at the benefit will include Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Monuts Donuts, The Parlour, Pie Pushers, Sympathy for the Deli, and Triangle Raw Foods.  Each of them are members of The Cookery, where they take advantage of the innovative concept of sharing a state-of-the-art kitchen for chefs to prepare and share their creations with the public. In addition, many celebrated chefs in the foodie-centric Triangle have committed to participating in the event, as well as special musical guest Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes. To add to the afternoon, a free wine tasting will be hosted by The Clever Vine, and beer tastings will be led by local brewers Bull City Burger and Brewery, Fullsteam, Lonerider Brewing Company, and Triangle Brewing Company.

“We are so excited to expand upon this building’s food-focused history,” said Johnson.  What once was the Durham Food Co-op building has transformed into an elegant event space featuring exposed brick walls, distinctive metalwork salvaged from historic Durham landmarks, and a ceiling stretching 20 feet high. 

The fundraiser will serve as the unveiling of The Cookery’s Front Room, which will serve as a space for The Cookery to host a series of pop-up restaurants, specialty food events, Culinary Workshops, and wine and beer dinners, as well as private dinners and receptions.  The space accommodates up to 200 people, and includes a mezzanine and outdoor patio, a full bar with local NC beers on tap and audio/visual equipment.  In addition, the Front Room’s access to The Cookery’s kitchen facility will equip chefs and caterers with a commercial kitchen and bakery facility to expand upon their culinary repertoire to design unprecedented events.

Learn more about all of Durham's great food options online.

Durham Distributor Adds More Craft Beer

Craft beer is a big deal in Durham.  A really big deal.  With two breweries opened in as many years bringing the total to three in town, and rumors of more on the way, Durhamites love all things made with integrity.  Craft brewers rely an awful lot on integrity, so the marriage between the two (Durham and beer) is likely to be blissful for years to come.  Even one of the leading publications on the subject is produced right here in Durham: few lovers of beer don't know about All About Beer magazine.

Now Durham distributor Harris, Inc is even more serious than ever about distributing craft beers.  Says Jay Harris, President and Head Coach of Harris, "Aviator Brewing Co. is an outstanding compliment to our local craft beer portfolio, offering styles that retailers and beer lovers are truly pining for in the Triangle market."

True, Aviator isn't a Durham brand, but is locally made just down the road in a neighboring community.  If rising tides lift all boats then having their product be as celebrated as it is and sold here in the place where great things happen can only be good for all beer lovers and brewers. Right?  As it is, Harris distributes Durham-made Triangle Brewing Company beers.

Harris, Inc. recently modified their Durham facility to handle the growing thirst for local and craft beer.  The company employs 60 people in Durham and has annual sales of $30 million.

Bull City Burger and Brewery Opening Delayed...by Willy Wonka?

Durham is soon to welcome it's third brewery, and another farm to table restaurant - just not yet. 

Originally scheduled to open on Monday, March 21st, Bull City Burger and Brewery has had to delay the opening due to "Wangdoodles, Hornswogglers, Snozzwangers and rotten Vermicious Knids," according to a statement on the restaurant's social media. The new date is set for Friday, March 25th.  Owner Seth Gross has weaved language from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory through out the businesses materials, obviously again going to that well for this release again.  Gross is something of a kid at heart.

Really, the delay is a permitting matter regarding some lighting issues according to owner Gross.  "On the positive side, this gives a little more time for preparation when we do open," he said in an interview on Thursday.

The brewery will begin brewing beer upon its opening and therefore will not have its own product available on tap when the doors open.  "We'll open with NC beers to support our brothers and sisters while we brew our own," Gross added.

To generate buzz about the restaurant, Gross launched a contest to get the word out about the opening by hiding five brass bulls around Durham and then releasing clues as to their locations on the company's social media.  "That seemed to be very successful - we started that process with about 100 fans on Facebook and now we have lots more," Gross added.  A check of their Facebook page at this writing showed 905 fans.  The contest also generated its own hashtag on twitter, #goldenbull, which will likely get continued use as the contest will be revisited in the future with additional opportunities to win.  Gross was cagey about providing more details on that.  However, given the clever way information about this venture has been distributed so far, the contest will likely get plenty of attention when it is restarted.

Upon BCBB's opening, Durham will have three breweries.  Fullsteam opened last August and Triangle Brewing Company has been brewing in Durham since July 4, 2007.