Here are some of the better stories to make their way around the North Carolina beer world. Asheville Scene in WSJ Asheville, a Blue Ridge Mountain town of 75,000, has 10 breweries, with two on the way. That can’t compare with the 40 in Portland, Ore., but it stacks up to other beer havens like Milwaukee and Boulder, Colo., which both have fewer than a dozen. “Asheville is definitely on the map and well recognized in the craft-brewing industry,” says Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association in Boulder. Full story on: online.wsj.com Nantahala Brewing Company Nantahala brewer Chris Collier explains his story and why North Carolina is a great place for beer in the south: “Basically, the reason I went to North Carolina is threefold: You can self-distribute, we can have a taproom and sell off-premise, and as you grow your business, you can write your contract anyway you want,” Collier said. Collier estimates North Carolina has more breweries and brewpubs than the rest of its Southern neighbors combined. “That is not coincidence,” he said. Brewers pay expensive excise taxes — about $25 per keg — on their beer, but it is a price that allows them to operate their businesses with relative freedom READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE CONGRATS TO Jason McCammon The Hendersonville, N.C., resident, who will turn 30 in a couple of weeks, now has something else to celebrate besides the milestone birthday. His award-winning home-brew — a German-style dark lager called Monkey’s Uncle Munich Dunkel — has been released commercially by Olde Hickory Brewery and is available at a few Asheville-area bars and restaurants. In late April, McCammon’s beer won a Best of Show gold medal at the Olde Hickory Pro-Am home-brew competition, beating out 130 other entries from the Southeast. COMPLETE STORY FOOTHILLS EXPANSION Video from WXII shows Foothills staffers at brewpub and new production facility in Winston Salem. http://www.wxii12.com/r-video/28781866/detail.html Brewmaster Jamie Bartholomaus said the brewery has purchased a building off Stratford Road to start bottling its beer. The expansion allows production to move from a 7,000-square-foot space to a 48,000 square-foot-space. The current facility can produce two 22 ounce bottles each minute. The new facility, which will be operational within the next six weeks, will boost production to about 100 bottles per minutes, owners said. MOTHER EARTH TOUR Micro Beer Reviews posted this video of the Mother Earth Brewery: BELT LINE BREW TOURS Crossdrinker.com posted this video of Beltline Brew tour outside the beltline tour of Durham, featuring Bull City Burger, Fullsteam & Triangle brewing. TASTY BEVERAGE OPENS Sean Pratt of Cary, graduated from Cary High School in 2002 and then went to NCSU, graduating in 2007. While studying in Sweden he fell in love with craft and specialty beers. He partnered up with Johnny Belflower (Rocky Mount Senior High School and Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida). After years of planning they have opened a new shop called Tasty Beverage Company at 327 W. Davie St. Suite 106, in Raleigh in the historic Warehouse District of Downtown Raleigh. carycitizen.com © 2011 Craft Beer Collective / Away Team Media Bringing you the craft and culture of beer in North Carolina --> Raleigh, Durham, Asheville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Wilmington, NC and beyond Contact us at dave (at) away (dash) team (dot) com

Tags: Kinston, Olde Hickory