When Virginia and I left Durham and moved to Laguna Beach in 2010, there wasn’t much of a craft brewery scene in the Triangle. We pretty much instantly fell in love with the natural beauty and perfect weather of Southern California, not to mention the region’s fantastic beer culture. So it was hard to move…
Author: Aaron Fitt
Aaron Fitt is fortunate to live halfway between Hillsborough’s Mystery Brewing Co. and Durham’s Fullsteam Brewery — his two favorite haunts in N.C. His tastes range from brown ales to pale ales to porters to ambers to sours to Belgians to … OK, he just likes beer.
Picking Favorites From Our First Year
FirstInFlights.com celebrates its one-year anniversary today. We have not yet achieved our ultimate goal of visiting every one of North Carolina’s breweries, but we’re well on our way. In honor of our first anniversary, let’s take a look back at some of our personal highlights from Year One. Mike’s Picks: Top Five Brewery Hangouts 1….
Kinston: City Of Motherly Love
As the year ended and I looked back at 2015, I realized that one of the highlights of the year for me was an overnight trip to Kinston, N.C. That struck me as a bit funny; a decade ago, who would have thought that the little old textile and tobacco town in Eastern North Carolina…
Wedge Issue: Which Beer To Choose?
A burgeoning hub for craft beer enthusiasts, Asheville offers visitors a diverse selection of outstanding breweries spread across town. There’s a cluster of eight breweries in the district that stretches from downtown south toward McCormick Field (home of the Asheville Tourists minor league baseball team), and two more breweries farther south near Biltmore Village. Down…
Wilmington Brewing Co. Makes Drinking Even More Fun
Many of North Carolina’s plucky upstart breweries have come to the same realization: people like to have fun while they drink great beer. You don’t have to spend big money to create an upscale taproom as long as you create a fun space where people like to hang out. Wilmington Brewing Company executes that approach…
Feathers, Fur and Fermentation: Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Most beer drinkers in North Carolina are probably familiar with Duck-Rabbit — one of the most successfully distributed craft breweries in the region. Duck-Rabbit’s Milk Stout, Brown and Amber ales are grocery store staples all around the Southeast, ranging from Florida to Tennessee to as far north as Pennsylvania. You might be surprised, then, to…
Burial Captures The Funky Spirit Of Asheville — And Makes Great Beer
Some breweries have you at “Hello.” Asheville’s Burial Beer Co. had me at, “Hey you guys!” As we walked to Burial from the north on Collier Ave., we were greeted by a giant mural on the side of the building that depicted Magnum P.I. and Sloth from The Goonies, arm-in-arm in front of a wall…
G2B: Durham’s Hidden Gem
From 2006-2010, Virginia and I lived in Durham near the old South Square Mall and the most out-of-place building in the Triangle, University Tower. During that period, we watched as the area’s restaurant and retail scenes struggled to reinvent themselves. Target and Sam’s Club found success in the area, and not far from their plaza…
Lonerider Offers Hideout For The Adventurous
If you’re a fan of North Carolina craft brews, chances are good you’re familiar with Lonerider, one of the state’s more successfully distributed brewers. You can find Lonerider’s popular Shotgun Betty hefeweizen or Sweet Josie brown ale or Peacemaker pale ale at venues ranging from Durham Performing Arts Center to the Lincoln Theater to Carolina…
The Saints’ First Miracle: Water Into Beer
Most North Carolinians probably only know Asheboro as “that town where the zoo is.” And that’s cool — it’s a good zoo. But we recently discovered another reason to make a special trip to Asheboro: Four Saints Brewing Company. The good folks at Four Saints recognize that most visitors to Asheboro are probably there for…
First in Flights 