To kick off North Carolina Beer Month, Our State magazine is hosting a craft beer event — the first event of the “Meet the Maker” series — tonight at Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery.
“The way in which we wanted to make this real for people is to encompass all of the most well-known and well-loved breweries in North Carolina,” said Alyssa Griffith, event coordinator of Our State and 2011 UNC graduate.
Griffith said this is the first time that Our State is hosting an event to celebrate North Carolina Beer Month.
“Especially with Our State magazine, we celebrate all that is North Carolina, so to have something like this to kick off N.C. Beer Month is a great way to celebrate all of the breweries popping up in North Carolina,” said Katherine Bonney, marketing associate for Our State.
This event features a panel of representatives from breweries across the state: Chris Atkins and Aaron Caracci of Top of the Hill Restaurant, Brewery and Distillery; Josh Brewer from Mother Earth Brewing in Kinston, Chad Henderson from NoDa Brewing Company in Charlotte, Robert McInerny from Big Boss Brewing Company in Raleigh, Leah Wong Ashburn of Highland Brewing Company in Asheville and Erik Lars Myers of Mystery Brewing Company in Hillsborough.
“Craft beer is largely produced just locally in small batches and more flavorful than beers produced on larger scales — it’s handcrafted and less automated,” said Atkins, co-head brewer at TOPO.
Bonney said the North Carolina beer scene is set apart by its variety of land regions, using local ingredients to create their own unique brews.
In addition to hearing the panelists, attendees will participate in a tasting of various beer and food pairings. For VIPs, they will be able to get brewtails — beer cocktails — and taste a cask beer made by TOPO.
“Cask beer, by definition, is basically the way beer was made when we had less technology, so its served with less refrigeration around 50 degrees and without forced carbonation,” Atkins said.
