June 12-13, 2021
NC State Fairgrounds, Raleigh
If you follow us on Instagram, you might’ve seen some photos on our story this past Saturday while we were in Raleigh at the NC Hops Festival. This beer festival brought over 50 North Carolina breweries to Raleigh, with the option to have unlimited 2oz. samples from a selection of 100+ beers, ciders, and seltzers. After a little more than a year of not being able to congregate and attend beer festivals, who could turn down an opportunity to spend four hours tasting some of the best brews that North Carolina has to offer? Not the guys of East Carolina Beer & Brewing!
We found out about this event on Instagram, and luckily had time to order tickets. Shop Local Raleigh – one of the organizers behind NC Hops Festival – was able to host the event at the NC State Fairgrounds in the Expo Building, and they offered four different tasting sessions to help alleviate crowding concerns. We opted for the first session, which was on Saturday, June 12 from noon-4:00pm, but there was also a later session that evening, and then two more the following day. This was a nice touch, as we never had to wait long in lines and didn’t have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers for the entirety of the festival.
According to reports from organizers of the event, the NC Hops Festival was devised so that Raleigh could host a beer festival this summer. Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Brewgaloo was an annual beer festival held in Raleigh, which unfortunately had to be canceled in 2020. Shop Local Raleigh is planning on Brewgaloo 2021 taking place this September, but in the meantime, they were able to gather over 50 NC breweries in Raleigh this past weekend, which was a great way to end the beer festival drought. If you missed out on the NC Hops Festival, make sure to check out Brewgaloo 2021 and reserve your tickets!
Now, back to the NC Hops Festival. Having been regular beer festival attendees prior to COVID-19, we have sorely missed the opportunity to get access to dozens of breweries at once and sample unlimited pours of all the offerings. Not only do we really enjoy drinking and tasting new beers, but we also love getting to chat with some of the breweries and socialize with other festival goers. Part of the joy of beer, as we all know, is the camaraderie among drinkers, brewers, and servers alike.
We walked past the food trucks stationed outside and through the entrance station and rejoiced as we saw the beer glory we so sorely missed. The festival was neatly organized with rows and rows of popup tents sporting brewery logos as well as a few beer trucks with taps poking out of the sheet metal. As we looked around the expo center and took stock of what was in store we knew we had to try them all. We surely tried our best, but we still wanted to be able to walk out of the festival.
We were able sample a variety of styles which helped keep our palates fresh and were glad to see breweries that were familiar to us as well as a few new ones which we will definitely be visiting in the future. We were impressed by the variety offered and the festival offered something for everyone with cideries, vendors, and even samples of Bang energy drink if you felt as if the festival was too boring and you needed to run down the aisles screaming.
All jokes aside, it was an amazing experience to get back out and take in the best of what our favorite beverage has to offer. The variety of people attending the festival is a testament to the changing culture and a growing appreciation for craft goods made by local (and sometimes not so local) artisans. Craft beer isn’t just for nerds like us, but can offer a little bit of something for everyone and serve as a bridge to form new friendships with someone you may have never met. Here’s to the return of beer festivals!
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