The Daily Tar Heel

Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Diversions

Sitting down for a cold pint is nothing new.

Neither is sharing one with friends. But how about brewing one with them?

That's exactly what Joe Zonin and brothers Greg and John Shuck did in 1995 when they opened Carolina Brewing Company in Holly Springs, N.C. The three friends had looked at moving from their Seattle homes to Richmond, Va., Washington, D.C., and Charlotte before deciding to open the brewery in Holly Springs. The place since has become one of the state's most successful microbreweries.

"We've managed to grow every year," Zonin said.

He said the brewery has increased production to four or five times as much as when it started.

The success of Carolina Brewing Company could be attributed to popularity of its first and flagship beer, Carolina Pale Ale, or to the "friendly neighbor" atmosphere that seems to surround the beer community.

Many breweries, including CBC, invite beer enthusiasts to visit their facilities for free. The tours often include free samples as well.

"Usually when people come down to visit, I bring them here," said Cory Dams, of Fuquay-Varina, at a recent CBC tour.

Dams said he typically prefers a locally brewed beer because of the flexibility of a small brewery.

"They can basically experiment with a lot of different things," he said.

Newcomer Triangle Brewery is doing just that. The brewery, which opened in Durham on July 4, decided its first beer would not be one of the typical American styles and chose to make a Belgian ale.

"We didn't begin as a Belgian brewery," said brewmaster Rick Tufts about the initial idea to go into the brewing business with his high school buddy Andy Miller. "We wanted to be different."

Tufts said the state's beer culture is very positive.

"The North Carolina beer community is a pretty tight group," Tufts said.

He cited the blog beerinator.com and the Pop the Cap organization, which led efforts that repealed a holdover prohibition law in 2005 that prohibited beers more than 6 percent alcohol by volume in the state.

"Without all of (Pop the Cap's) hard work and the work of many others, Triangle Brewing Company would not be producing our current offerings," Tufts said.

Local residents said they are glad for the organization's work, too.

"I couldn't believe in my wildest dreams a brewery was open 15 minutes from where I live," said Bob Allegretti, of Durham, at a recent tour of Triangle's close-to-downtown warehouse. "I've been to Belgium.

"It's great to have a style I like right in my own backyard."

Tufts said the microbrewing industry is different than traditional capitalistic ventures.

"The brewers that I have had the pleasure to meet have been extremely friendly and forthcoming in their attempts to ensure that all North Carolina breweries continue to produce high quality beers," Tufts said.

"This is truly the only industry that I am aware of that openly shares what most people would regard as precious secrets.

"My hope is that soon N.C. beer lovers will be able to obtain a high quality beer of whatever style they choose from a local N.C. brewery."

At times the relationships extend beyond the brewery.

"We have occasional beer league softball with Top of the Hill," said Matt Clements, general manager at Carolina Brewery on Franklin Street. "There's a healthy camaraderie among us."

Clements also said homebrewers make up a sizeable share of the culture he experiences at the brewery, often giving their own advice on the beers made at the restaurant.

"They're very entertaining," said Clements. "They can't help themselves. They seem to enjoy giving tips."

The Carolina Brewery is a brewpub, or restaurant that brews its own beer. It wasn't long after it opened that Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery opened up the street.

But even the competition of a similar establishment on the same street has done little to diminish the uniting aura of the beer community.

Top of the Hill's brewmaster John Withey said the relationship between the Franklin Street brewers is exactly where it should be.

"We're all friends," Withey said. "We help each other out if we run out of something. We borrow from each other. We'll visit each other.

"We've been down to the new Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro, and they come up here to get a drink sometimes when they can get away."

The uniting qualities of beer can be witnessed on any weekend night in Chapel Hill, but it seems that it extends further than the occasional weekend binge.

Local brewers exhibit that raising a glass might not only be a sign of enjoyment, but a sign of friendship as well.



Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.

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