More beer love for N.C.

CNN has an article about the great "beer regions" of the United States. One expert gives North Carolina the nod in the South.

"Although other beer lovers often skip over the South because of restrictive brewing laws in some areas, [craft beer consultant Matt] Simpson insisted that some of the best brew can be found below the Mason-Dixon line," says the article.

" 'One of my top three is North Carolina, with Asheville being the center of that. Not only is it a really fun place to visit, they make amazing beers,' he said. 'There's Foothills, a brewpub that has a breakout hit called Sexual Chocolate, an imperial stout that put them on the map of craft beer.' ..."

Well done, North Carolina.

Hooray, (N.C.) beer!

"Welcome to the revolution. North Carolina is the craft beer state of the South."

Those are the opening sentences to this News & Record article about the rising reputation of North Carolina brewmasters.

To wit:

Right now, as you read this, there are 42 breweries operating across the state with at least a half-dozen expecting to open by year’s end. In the big cities of Tobacco Road. And in far-flung places such as Farmville and Holly Springs and Jarvisburg, a pinprick of a place in northeast North Carolina where the idea of a craft beer pub was born.

Why? Well, that’s anybody’s guess.

Hang on any bar stool and you’ll hear a dozen reasons: the changing laws, the increasing interest, the supportive retailers, the growing number of festivals, and the natural tie-in to the homegrown food movement.

And of course, the brewers themselves. They’re making good beer here.

You’ll also hear barroom proclamations about North Carolina becoming more hip and hear how Beer Advocate magazine picked Asheville over Portland, Ore., earlier this year as the No. 1 beer destination in the country. ...

It ain’t just Miller Time in North Carolina anymore.