Sippin' Under the Sun at NC Hops Fest
By Dathan Kazsuk
After spending a week sounding like dueling elephant seals honking at each other across the room—thanks to some mysterious bug that rendered us sleep-deprived, alcohol-deprived and cranky as hell—Jen and I decided it was time to rejoin the land of the living.
And nothing screams we’re back, baby, like cracking into some North Carolina brews at the NC Hops Festival.
Hosted by Shop Local Raleigh and held at Midtown Park in North Hills, this annual beer bash isn’t your typical madhouse. You know the type: beer fests where sweaty crowds line up like it’s Black Friday at a liquor store, elbows out, unsure where one line ends and another begins. Nope. This was chill. Like… “walk up and sample beer without uttering a single ‘excuse me’” kind of chill. Which, for us, was perfect.
Armed with our tiny tasting cups and zero plans, we strolled in on June 14. No maps. No strategy. Just the heat of the sun on our faces, the crisp scent of food truck aroma in the air, and the buzz of being among fellow craft beer lovers who weren’t aggressively yelling over each other.
We needed this. Badly.
First up on our impromptu beer crawl? A Guava Wheat from Thirsty Skull Brewing out of Siler City. Maybe it was the seven days of sobriety talking, but damn if that wasn’t the most refreshing sip of fruit-forward beer we’ve had in a while. Then it was on to Brewery Bhavana, where the Glean, a mango and peppercorn saison, added a funky, spicy twist to our comeback tour.
Next, we caught up with Thomas Vincent, head brewer at Hatchet Brewing (locations in Southern Pines and Selma), who poured us a Death Machine Belgian Tripel—big, bold and exactly what we needed. We even chatted about our upcoming JoCo Wine, Beer & Shine Trail adventure this July. Stay tuned for that one.
By this point, the sun was doing its best impersonation of a blowtorch on my cap, so we zigzagged over to Komana Brewing of Cary for something a little different—its hard kombucha called Pina Komana. It tasted like a tropical vacation in a cup. I'm talking toes-in-sand, steel drums-in-distance vibes.
Then it was time to visit our friend Chris Nadeau over at Sneaky Penguin Brewing. We sipped his Cold IPA and caught up on his recent trip to New York before stepping aside to let a crowd of curious tasters swoop in. He's got a good thing going over there—always worth a stop.
Other standouts included the Watermelon Undercurrent American Lite Lager from Incendiary Brewing, which basically screams “summer in a pint glass.” And over at Mordecai Beverage Company, we both dove into a Blueberry Peach Sour that was tart, punchy and worthy of another round (if we weren’t pacing ourselves).
Spaceway Brewing brought the variety—Double IPA for me and a Cream Ale for Jen.
Then came Forgotten Road Ales, where we discovered our dessert beer: Fruity Fossil Fuel—a sour ale brewed with Fruity Dyno Bites cereal, marshmallows, and a fruit bowl’s worth of cherry, grape, lime and lemon. Basically, a sugar rush with a boozy backbone. This one’s not for the faint of heart, but it is for people who like to laugh at beer purists.
We also tried a Watermelon and Spices Lager that had just enough heat to make you pause mid-sip and nod approvingly. It’s the little surprises like that which make these festivals worthwhile.
Other breweries on our highlight reel: James Creek Cider House, NoDa Brewing, Bragging Rooster, Ginger’s Revenge, Dirtbag Ales and Hoptown Brewing. Some were familiar favorites, others new finds. All were worth the pour.
We also got some “work” done, if you can call sipping 11.4% ABV stouts work. Over at Abyss Brewing—a dark beer-focused offshoot of Southern Pines Brewing—we tried their Black Volga, a bourbon barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout that tasted like a velvet sledgehammer. Even on a sunny day, this beast of a beer was calling our names.
Oh, and we met the new owners of Casita Brewing. That chat’s going to lead to another story soon, so file that under “productive networking.”
But that’s kind of how these festivals go for us—we can never just “clock out.” We’re always scribbling notes, meeting new brewers, planning new trips. It’s part of the gig, and honestly, part of the fun.
So yeah. The NC Hops Fest? Totally worth the sweat and sunburn. Easy parking. Relaxed crowd. Cold beer. Good chats. And a handful of new places added to our ever-growing beer trail.
Now excuse me while I chug a gallon of water and relax in our shady hammock out back.
#craftbeer #raleighnc #nchopsfest #drinklocal #beerfestivals #trianglearoundtown #beerloversunite