First visit to a Triangle Treasure: Carolina Brewing Company

I've explored various craft brews and breweries for the past decade or so, a time line that I thought roughly paralleled the lifespan of the craft brew industry itself. This past week, I learned my estimate of the industry's time line was far off.

While in Holly Springs for a shoot on Thursday afternoon, I decided to stop at Carolina Brewing
Company, which I knew was one of North Carolina's oldest craft breweries. I'd seen its beers and iconic lion logo (right) in most shops that sell packaged beers in the area. I just didn't realize how old it was until I got home and did some research on it.

In fact, Carolina Brewing is the oldest craft brewery in North Carolina's Triangle area. It made its debut in a Chapel Hill brew pub in 1995, and there is another brew pub in Pittsboro in addition to the company headquarters in a Holly Springs.

The headquarters is at 140 Thomas Mill Road, an address in a non-descript building in Holly Springs Business Park. The GPS on my phone lacked precision in leading me to the appropriate turn off Thomas Mill Road, so I ended up driving past it once before determining that I had missed a turn.

The place has two doors -- one on the left for the brewery and tours, and one on the right that opens to the taproom. The photo leading off the post is the tour door, where you see several of the items shown in the photos below, starting with the sign on the door to enter.

In the taproom, I tried six beers: a brown ale, three IPAs (the Wiggo, the Hop Roar West Coast and the Be Like Mike New England style) and a special barrel-aged bourbon bock. I was familiar with CBC's pale ale, which I liked a lot ... and which I probably go back to regularly. But I wanted to explore other brews in its lineage. One I did not sample -- but wish I had -- was the Manestay Kolsch-style ale.

The brown ale was as rich as I was expecting, and delicious. I did not find a lot of difference between the Wiggo! and Hop Roar, though I liked them both. Be Like Mike was the fruity hazy brew I expected of a New England IPA, and not being a fan of fruity beers, I did not care for Be Like Mike. I should have cleansed the palate before sampling the bourbon bock because it landed the wrong way when I sipped it. I'd tried a bourbon influenced brew a few weeks ago at Elevated Grains, and was surprised how much I appreciated it. It's not a style I'd turn to much, but ... I guess it has its moments.

I really wanted another six-pack of the pale ale, but I felt adventurous, so I went for the Wiggo! (last picture below) and am enjoying the decision.

A portion of the bar area in the taproom (above) and samples of the copper-colored Wiggo!, Hop Roar and bourbon bock below (in that order).