Raleigh Beer Week is around the corner ... and here are some ideas!

By Dathan Kazsuk

It’s Raleigh Beer Week, or in other words, another excuse to indulge in your favorite Raleigh beers. Did you know that Raleigh is home to 20 breweries? And not to mention the plethora of bottle shops supporting our local and state breweries. So, if you find yourself scratching your head wondering how to celebrate this week, we thought we’d help you out with these helpful tips on how to get the most out of 8-beer-filled days.

HIT UP A NEW BREWERY
For the next 8 days, try to stay within the city limits. Raleigh is home to 20 breweries, so there’s a good chance you haven’t been to all them – yet. While we have some of the big mainstays such as Lonerider and Big Boss, there are some relatively new breweries such as Brewery Bhavana or Lincoln Brewery’s new Raleigh digs. I’ve now been to 19 of the 20 here in town, so to practice what I preach, I will be hitting up Tobacco Road Brewing this next week.

BRING HOME SOME CANS OF RALEIGH BEER
With more bottle shops in Raleigh than actual breweries (or so it seems), you can probably throw a stone and hit the side of one bottle shop or another. So this one should be pretty easy. Head on over to your favorite shop and pick up some Raleigh beer to enjoy at home. I’m thinking anything by Trophy Brewing or Lynnwood Brewing Concern. My parents will be in town from California this week, so we’ll probably enjoy several Raleigh beers!

DRINK A LOCAL PUMPKIN BEER 
Fall begins right in the middle of Raleigh Beer Week. So this is the perfect time to sample some gourd and yam beers. I'm not sure how many Raleigh breweries will be doing pumpkin beers other than Big Boss' Harvest Time, so if you have to go outside the city proper, I’d select Deep River’s Pumpkin Pie Porter or Double Barley’s Gourd Rocker.

CELEBRATE A BIRTHDAY
A couple local breweries will be celebrating birthdays – Crank Arm will be turning four. And White Street Brewing will celebrate five years. Sure, they're in Wake Forest, but let's cut them some slack. Crank Arm's festivities will happen September 16, and will feature music, food trucks and rare beer releases all day long. Nicklepoint Brewing will celebrate its 3 year anniversary with an Oktoberfest on September 16 with a selection of German-style beers. White Street's celebration will start on September 17 and will feature live music, food trucks and new and vintage beers releases throughout the day. Oak & Dagger will celebrate 1 year of brewing beer on September 24. During that time, they'll release a wine & bourbon barrel-aged Oaktoberfest.

SPEND SOME TIME WITH ADDIE AND JOSIE
Lonerider will have two different events to honor a couple of its girls – Addie and Josie. On September 22, Lonerider will have six different variants of it's IPA, Addie's Revenge on draft. Then on September 24, look forward to six different variants of its Sweet Josie Brown. We don't know what these variants are, but know one year these sold out pretty fast!

PARTY WITH SOME TROPHIES AND OYSTERS
Trophy Tap and Table is having a rooftop party –  and you're invited. On Wednesday, September 20, you can enjoy a fresh oyster bar, low country boil and hushpuppies. The Trophy gang will pair them up with an amazing flight of its beers. The flight will include a Brett IPA, Ground Rule Double IPA, Loving Cup Kölsch and Kick Start My Heart Berliner. The cost is $30 in advance and $35 at the door.