Fishing For NC Beer | Brewery

Then to the Carver Sweet Potato Lager (5.5% abv.) -- my first sweet potato beer, this was really very good. A flavor that I think would have broad appeal, a very high drinkability and excellent taste for a southern meal. You come expecting yams, but the sweet potato flavor manifests in a earthy tone. If you had never eaten a sweet potato I do not think you would detect the flavor as a specific ingredient. Excellent beer, as noted by the growler that went home with me, and more impressive is how this beer got better with each degree towards room temperature. It opened up beautifully with warmth.

About this time Chris Davis came in pointing to a “mystery keg” and wondered aloud if it’s contents had been identified. Sean indicated he believed it was from their first batch of Summer Basil Farmhouse Ale (5.2% abv.) from the previous year. “TAP IT!” I recklessly blurted out. The seasonal would not be available until late spring/summer and I was most intrigued to get a taste of an aged sample. Done and done, they pulled me sample. The basil was deliciously intense, it hit my mouth and moved back quickly into my sinus. The rich basil flavor in such a light beer was a unique and delicious experience. For me, an amateur, this beer really was a fresh surprise and unlike any beer I have sampled.

Eat Your Cookies and Beer

Sean brought the Fullsteam Southern Lager (5.5% abv) over in a new glass but not before reaching under the counter, grabbing a bag of cookies and pulling one out to give to me. “This is a curry spice cookie, or beer biscuit if you will. Eat a bite then drink the beer.” (If I only had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that!)

The cookie was awesome by itself. As I tried not to stuff the whole thing in my mouth after the first bite, Sean told me that their friends at South Durham Confection Company had developed a special line of beer biscuits to pair with Fullsteam and other craft beers.

“Now take a sip of the beer.”

I have stated I do not have a cultured palette, but this clearly was what a successful pairing of food and spirits should be. The resulting tongue-”asm” was similar to riding a wasabi rush, without the nose hammering, but with all the flavor. The southern lager was in the tradition of a classic steam beer, and I don’t know what that cooky did to my tongue, but it damn sure made the beer light up with essence and flavor. I was satisfied right there and could have eaten the rest of the bag and a couple of pints of lager, but there were a few more brews to be tested.

Although out on the taps, Sean had a bottle of Rocket Science IPA (6.8% abv) he opened and poured me a sample of. The hoppy-ness hit my nose with an aroma almost reminiscent of a fine bud and Sean reminded me hops bud and “the healing kind” were cousins. I could see why it did not stay on tap long; the brew had an outstanding dry finish but left me salivating. That typical dryness of an IPA almost always triggers my “gotta smoke a cigarette” feeling and I shifted on the bar stool nervously waiting for the call. (you cannot smoke in NC bars anymore, though you can still grow tobacco). But the call never came, as the flavor just kept going, begged for another sip and that was all. No need to punch your lung after all!

As I drank through the menu there was no denying the commitment to a well thought out and distinct brand and brewing program that spotlights the flavors of the south. The Hogwash Hickory Smoked Porter was no exception. Fullsteam smokes their own barley with hickory. The rich, distinctive flavor wanted, neigh deserved, some form of BBQ pork. But Sean had something better, offering me a piece of Escazu Artisan dark chocolate to sample... wait what, What, WHAT!... chocolate? Escazu is another local business partner for the brewery out of Raleigh, and their chocolate nips go into the Working Man’s Lunch Dark Ale. I could not see this combination, but the bold smokiness of the brew was more than a compliment to the dark chocolate. It was like a chocolate hand in a taut beer glove. While I have not oft pictured myself regularly having several beers and enjoying fine chocolate, I was now open to another new experience. I will sample this again when I get by my favorite BBQ shack.

The beer I had heard the most about was last on the sample board -- Working Man’s Lunch Dark Ale, (mentioned above, 6% abv.) - inspired by RC cola and a Moonpie. Now if you know what a moon pie is, god bless you for having a southern masterpiece of fast fooditude. And if you have ever had said Moonpie accompanied by an RC cola, well then you have been blessed with a Southern Working Man’s power lunch. If you have not had it, I can’t explain it. But in the Working Man’s Lunch, Fullsteam’s recipe brings it all together in a dark ale that is brewed with with white beer yeast and a light banana heffe hop and a dry hop finish. Delicious.

A great visit and another inspirational stop on the tour. My old job was working with start-up companies and there is no beating the energy that surrounds a new business. Fullsteam is a calculated, well branded, but more importantly, well intentioned business that is making good on it’s promise to be thoughtful in every aspect of it’s development and utilization of local resources. I believe them to be a fine contribution to Durham and a game changer for urban renewal.

Fullsteam has plans to bottle or can, and they currently self distribute in central NC offering growlers, cylinders and kegs. Well worth the trip, it is an essential stop on any connoisseur’s tour.