(Raleigh, NC) – North Carolina’s youngest brewery officially launches next week. Raleigh, NC-based Lonerider Brewing will hold its first event next Tuesday, Jan. 20 at Brixx in Chapel Hill introducing its Shotgun Betty Hefeweizen. Through distributors, Harris Inc. (Durham) and Harris Wholesale (Raleigh), CEO, Sumit Vohra expects the beers to be available at The Pit and Ruckus Pizza, among others at the start.
This is the second post in our guest blog series recognizing regional beer writers. Thomas Vincent is a BJCP Judge, and runs his own homebrewing operation and beer blog, both under the name of Geistbear Brewing. Late last month, Vincent paid a visit to Lonerider Brewing and got the firsthand scoop on this new brewery.
Last week I had the opportunity along with some of the other folks at American Brewmaster to get a preview look at Lone Rider Brewing. They are just a few weeks from releasing their brews, mostly just the paperwork details that need to be completed. But in January we should start to see their beers around the Triangle.
Mihir was more than generous with his time that evening. It is an unusual operation in the sense the owners have day jobs that they will continue to work as the brewery begins operations. They have hired brewer David Leeds to make sure the fermenters stay full, I didn’t get much information on him but he has a good reputation among the Chicago brewing community I heard.
The thoughts that stood out to me when I entered the brewery was planning, money and care. To start off with the design was well laid out with good potential for future growth. The design should allow for addition fermenters and other equipment as it becomes necessary. It was also shown by the efforts to make pleasant design setting for the brewery. The walls have been painted and their has been a clear plan to how they are going to do things.
Last the 15 barrel brewing system looks great, but besides the system, there has been a lot of early attention to the details so they look right. One example I noted was the kegs they are using are all brand new and most have the breweries name stamped into them. I can think of many breweries that have been around for years that still do not have their name stamped on all the kegs they own.
The brewery had Shotgun Betty and DeadEye Jack available for a taste while we were there. Shotgun Betty is a classic Hefeweizen, with nice banana-clove notes and a healthy carbonation to keep the beer light in body. It hit all my preferences for the style being unfiltered, in fact none of the Lone Rider beers will be filtered initially. The use of white wheat and the classic Hefeweizen yeast in the beer was readily apparent and I am sure it will be a strong starter for the brewery. DeadEye Jack is their porter and hits the roasted character you expect from such an ale, but enjoy it this Winter as it’s planned to be a seasonal release.
They will be offering tours on Friday nights, as a change from the area tradition of a Saturday brew tour. The logic being it will be a great Friday night activity for people at the Research Triangle and surrounding area. They won’t have a taproom, but will be offering keg and growler sales from the brewery. Lone Rider already has a distributor who is ready to send out their beers all around the Triangle so look for their soon in your favorite area bar expect to arrive in January and February.
Thomas Vincent is a BJCP Judge, and runs his own homebrewing operation and beer blog, both under the name of Geistbear Brewing.