With Raleigh's "beer week" around the corner, where does N.C. rank in number of breweries

Raleigh Beer Week starts on September 18th - 25th.

By Dathan  | September 15, 2016

Twitter: @TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: @trianglearoundtown

With Raleigh "Beer Week" coming up next week, it seemed like a good time to delve into the state craft beer sales and production stats from last year. With thanks to the Brewers Association, it’s relatively easy to find out where North Carolina ranks in terms of number of breweries, annual production of barrels produced each year and our rank in terms of gallons of beer consumed by adults 21-years of age and older.

The statistics from the BA are for 2015, so some of these exact brewery numbers might be slightly askew, but pretty close. What I’ve done below is ranked the top 10 in the number of breweries, but still ranked the other stats so you can see where NC ranks across the U.S.

The Top 10 should come as no surprise to the beer connoisseur out there. There was one shock to me, and that was the number of barrels produced by the state of Pennsylvania, which came in at No. 1 with a whopping 4,059,330 barrels per year.  And that’s a huge contrast compared the state of Washington, whose 305 breweries almost doubles the breweries in Pennsylvania, but only produces 426,462 barrels per year, ranking them 19th in the country.

Another shocker was if you think the great state of California would be No. 1 in gallons per year drank by adults – you’d be wrong. Californians only drink a total of 4.3 gallons per year, bringing them in at No. 12 on the list. But it’s Vermont that leads the pack, with its adults consuming 17.4 gallons per year per adult. I guess if you can get your hands on The Alchemist and Hill Farmstead on a daily basis, you’d be drinking 17 gallons a year too!

Top 10 states with the most breweries:

10. Illinois
Number of craft breweries: 157
Breweries per capita*: 1.7 (ranks 26th)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 595,237 (ranks 13th)
Gallons per 21+ adult: 2

9. North Carolina
Number of craft breweries: 161
Breweries per capita*: 2.2 (ranks 19th)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 675,469 (ranks 11th)
Gallons per 21+ adult: 2.9

8. Pennsylvania
Number of craft breweries: 178
Breweries per capita*: 1.9 (ranks 23rd)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 4,059,330 (ranks 1st)
Gallons per 21+ adult: 13.3 (ranks 3rd)

7. Texas
Number of craft breweries: 189
Breweries per capita*:1 (ranks 42nd)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 1,135,043
Gallons per 21+ adult: 1.9 (ranks 23rd)


6. Michigan
Number of craft breweries: 205
Breweries per capita*: 2.9 (ranks 6th)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 769,897 (ranks 10th)
Gallons per 21+ adult: 3.3 (ranks 13th)

5. New York
Number of craft breweries: 208
Breweries per capita*: 1.4 (ranks 33rd)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 1,086,718 (ranks 7th)
Gallons per 21+ adult: 2.3 (ranks 21st)

4. Oregon
Number of craft breweries: 228
Breweries per capita*: 7.7 (ranks 2nd)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 1,081,152 (ranks 5th)
Gallons per 21+ adult: 11.3 (ranks 5th)

3. Colorado
Number of craft breweries: 284
Breweries per capita*: 7.3 (ranks 3rd)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 1,775,831 (ranks 2nd)
Gallons per 21+ adult: 14.1 (ranks 2nd)

2. Washington
Number of craft breweries: 305
Breweries per capita*: 5.9 (ranks 6th)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 426,462 (ranks 15th)
Gallons per 21+ adult: 2.5 (ranks 19th)

1. California
Number of craft breweries: 518
Breweries per capita*: 1.9 (ranks 1sy)
Barrels of craft beer produced per year: 3,799,785 (ranks 2nd)
Gallons per 21+ adult: 4.3 (ranks 12th)

*per 100,000 21+ adults
Source: Brewers Association

North Carolina Wine & Grape Month is finally here

By Dathan  | September 4, 2016

Twitter: @TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: @trianglearoundtown

Just in case you haven’t heard – September is officially North Carolina Wine Month.

The picturesque view of Raffaldini Vineyards. This
Winery is known for its Italian-style wines.

Yes, a whole month devoted to drinking wine. Who would say no to that? This is your chance to see, better yet, taste, what the state’s $1.7 billion wine industry is all about. With more than 180 wineries in our state and a whopping 525 grape growers in North Carolina from the mountains to the coast – you’re bound to find a bottle you can call your favorite.

North Carolina has four distinct Viticultural areas, which include Swan Creek, Haw River, Upper Hiwassee Highlands and of course Yadkin Valley. Our favorite destination is a massive stretch of the Yadkin Valley, visiting such well known wineries such as Raffaldini, Shelton, Hanover Park and Jones von Drehle.

We’re fortunate enough to have visited close to 30 of the wineries in the Yadkin Valley, and still have a few more to visit to cross off the list. These are great weekend or even day trips. Our last day trip took us to the tasting rooms of Jones von Drehle, Roaring River Vineyards and Piccione Vineyards – and back home before 7 p.m.

Jones von Drehle Vineyards is
located in Thurmond near Stone
Mountain State Park.

But why should you try these places first hand? Because most of these small, quaint vineyards don’t have any distribution here in the Triangle-area. So the only way to try these wines is to get in your car and pay them a visit. 

Oh, you are one of those who think or heard that North Carolina wines aren’t really that good. I would have to say you are sorely mistaken, but just like everything in this world, there are a few bad “grape” seeds out there. 

Roaring River Vineyards is a
new winery that exists on top of
an old gristmill in Traphill.

There are many wineries in our state producing some award-winning wines with winemakers hailing from all over the U.S. and producing French-, Italian- and New World-style wines that could hold their own against any other region. You might think because we’re in North Carolina, the winemakers here are old tobacco farms who are raised in that good ole’ boy way of the South and have bitten off more than they can chew producing wine. Again, that is not the case.

In the past several years, the two of us have been to around 70 wineries here in the state and have purchased many good wines that we’ve enjoyed with friends or just sitting out on the wine porch watching a storm pass by. And with September being NC Wine Month, we plan on popping the top off many more in the next 30 days … and so should you.

If you can’t make it to any of the amazing wineries here in our state this month, there are still ways to enjoy some NC wine. Check out the wine menu at your favorite restaurant. You might be surprised at what you’ll find. Or pay a visit to your local wine shop and see what they have to offer. Even places like Total Wine has a section devoted to the wines of our state, albeit the wines will be more of the “commercialized” product such as Biltmore, Shelton, Childress or Duplin.

Have fun with the month and try something new … I know we will!

The view from the top of the hill at Piccione Vineyards is a site to see – especially at dusk.