by Joan Wilkerson Hoffmann | Feb 19, 2020 | Blog, Breweries, Local Beer
Wilmington’s favorite kombucha brewery (boocherie?) has now expanded into a full restaurant! Situated at 4107 Oleander Drive, Panacea Brewing Company is now offering a menu filled exclusively with all of the vegan treats one’s heart desires. I haven’t been yet, but I’ve gazed lovingly upon their menu for tens of minutes and my first thought is that I’ll start with the black bean & lime soup and move on to the street tacos. But then my mood shifts and I think instead I’ll do the house-blended burger with a side of fries and beet ketchup. The Santa Fe salad also appeals to me. No matter what I know that I’ll leave fed—both body and soul—and that my body will be grateful that I’ve taken a break from my normal dumpster diet.
Panacea is also serving up their usual menu of delicious, nurturing kombuchas (I like to take home the one that helps calm my mind during sleep so that I have good dreams), their boozy booch, and now a lineup of cocktails. I saw an instagram post about the “Love Potion” which includes Cape Fear Maritime gin, lime juice, elderflower liqueur, and rosé prosecco. Yes please!
The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 9pm, but the taproom is open everyday during those hours. Their menu is listed online, but specials and creative concoctions can be found on their Instagram and Facebook.
by Joan Wilkerson Hoffmann | Feb 16, 2020 | Blog, Breweries, Local Beer
Moon Fire: 7.2% From Head Brewer Alexis, “A sweet, chocolatey stout with a spicy surprise. This “Mexican Hot Chocolate” style stout sat on cocoa nibs, cinnamon sticks, and a dash of cayenne pepper. The combination of flavors provides a full mouthfeel and a warm, lingering spice on the finish.”
Sinful Stout: 6.1% From Head Brewer Christopher, “The mocha latte of beers. This luxurious indulgence is brewed with chocolate coffee beans and golden naked oats for a silky, sensual experience, while roasted black malt imparts a bittersweet, dark chocolate intrigue. Each sip will leave you craving more. ”
Ledermolesen: 4.8% From the brewery, “This Bavarian style Pilsner is light, crisp and clean with a welcomed bitterness to round out the bready finish.”
Lemur Party: 8.2% A milkshake double IPA dry hopped with Citra, Amarillo, Cashmere, and Idaho 7 hops, and brewed with mangoes and lactose. Available in 4 packs of 16 ounce cans.
Kleptocracy: 7% From the brewery, “A Barrel Aged Saison aged for 3 years in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels and finished with cranberry, plum, and guava. Available in 500ml bottles.”
Raspberry Honeybush Saison: 6.8% From the brewery, “Alcoholic kombucha brewed with saison yeast. Tart, crisp, very dry, slightly sour, nice balance of raspberry.”
by Joan Wilkerson Hoffmann | Feb 12, 2020 | Blog, Breweries, Local Beer
A weekly roundup of local and craft beer that can be found around the area on tap, in bottles, or in cans. These are not beer reviews and should be used for entertainment purposes only.
Electronic Fog: 6.3% From the brewery, “This Hazy IPA is 6.3% with notes of grapefruit and pineapple and the brightness of this libation will make it explode off of your tongue.”
The Fog of Topsail: 5.9% Now available in cans! From the brewery, “Tropical notes of kiwi, mango, and starfruit are at the forefront of this bright IPA. Delicate citrus and candied lemon coat the palate and hop bitterness carries the finish. This beer is a great middle ground between West Coast and New England IPAs.”
Merganser: 5.9% From the brewery, “This lager is super clean, with a light body and notes of roast and chocolate.”
Doormouse Porter: 5.5% From the brewery, “Back to back Best in Show winning porter! Light-bodied, notes of coffee, chocolate, smoke, and soy.”
Tripel: 10% From Head Brewer Dani, “This brew features big classic Belgian flavors against a malty sweet body.”
by Joan Wilkerson Hoffmann | Feb 3, 2020 | Blog, Breweries, Community, Local Beer
Sup Bräu: 4.9% A super crispy crusher that’s extra light with a hoppy kick on the finish.
The Grind: 7% From the brewery, “We know the daily grind. So does Port City Java. We’ve both been brewing tasty beverages in Wilmington for 25 years. So we teamed up at what we do best. This brew is for people who take their coffee black. Roasty depths of cold-brewed Sumatra coffee beans permeate the dry malt richness of our oatmeal stout, whose hops help keep it fresh.”
Midnight Sunroof: 7.3% An American IPA brewed with Cascade and Citra hops.
Falconer’s Flight: 5.9% A traditional pale ale brewed with Falconer’s Flight hops.
Cape FEAR Beer: 6% From the brewery, “Fermented with yeast harvested from Middlesound Loop, isolated, cleaned and banked now by White Labs -then “dry spiced” with local Jalapeño. Super delicious, perfect flavor and not too much heat. Taste True Local Flavor!”
Chocolate & Toasted Coconut Porter: 5.7% From the brewery, “Think of the box of chocolates, except this is the one you want to get!!”
by admin | Jan 30, 2020 | Blog, Bottle Shops, Local Beer
Lemon Ginger Gose: 4.7% From Brewer Dani, “Tart and savory, lemon ginger was the winner of the first gose-off in 2018. Organic lemons compliment a classic gose base, with a touch of ginger juice to round it out.”
Pure Molevolence: 11% From the brewery, “This is our classic Belgian Dark Strong “Molevolence” without the blackberries. With a dangerously smooth finish and 11% ABV this beer is sure to kill. Come try it for yourself!”
Still Night: 5.4% Warm caramel with hints of stone fruit are scattered throughout the aroma of this malty brew. Cracked white pepper and subtle notes of banana coat the palate and are balanced by a prickly, dry finish.
New School Hip Hops: 6.8% From the brewery, “New England Style IPA brewed with Citra, El Dorado, Sabro & Galaxy hops, 6.8% of hipness. Pick up a 4-pack!”
Profusion 3.0: 5.7% From the brewery, “NEIPA with Galaxy, Lemondrop, and Citra is sure to be a juice bomb for your facehole.”
Vanishing Point: 7.3% From the brewery, “A ‘Vanishing Point’ allows us to create drawings, paintings, and photographs with added depth that exhibit a three-dimensional quality. This beer is our painting and the ‘vanishing point’ our inspiration. We created an oatmeal stout with layers of complexity, centered around a simple premise: drinkability. On the first sip, this beer is teeming with notes of milk chocolate, dark fruit and creamy coffee. Yet, as you dive deeper into the glass, you’ll begin to experience notes of toffee, caramel and dark chocolate. Just as a vanishing point adds depth to a painting, this beer will create a canvas of flavor on your tongue. Currently on NITRO.”
by Jeremy | Jan 30, 2020 | Blog, Breweries, Community, Local Beer
Full Disclosure: Wilmington Ale Trail is a sponsor of Marchtoberfest and the owner of the Ale Trail is one of the organizers for the beer festival. This is a puff piece.
If you have seen the videos you may be a little confused as to what Marchtoberfest actually is. Well, at its core it’s a beer festival . We talked to Ellie Craig, the marketing director at Front Street Brewery and one of the organizers for Marchtoberfest.
AT: So what is Marchtoberfest?
EC: Marchtoberfest is a beer festival based on the German Fruhlingsfest, in Munich. Traditionally, they celebrate in late April or early May when the weather turns warmer. It is really just a smaller version of Oktoberfest with the same costumes, games, and rides just on a smaller scale. We wanted to throw a Spring beer festival and use that as the theme.
AT: Do we really need another beer festival?
EC: There was a beer festival called Cape Fear Beer and Wine festival during this time in previous years. We found out that the owner was not going to continue so we approached the convention center about Marchtoberfest. It will be a very different type of festival. All our breweries are from NC and they will all be bringing at least one “German-style beer”. We hope everyone will dress in their finest German festival attire and come ready to have a great time!
AT: Who benefits from the festival?
EC: ILM Beer is our charity partner. They host local beer-based events to raise money for charitable organizations and local people in need. The beneficiary of this year’s Marchtoberfest is the Steve Haydu St. Patrick’s Day Lo-Tide Run. They are an all-volunteer organization that donate 100% of their proceeds to cancer patients in New Hanover county. They put on a great event and are a great organization that has helped some of our local beer peeps.
There are variations of bitcoin gambling games, really: the game’s biggest story line and a bet that could come down to the final whistle. For customers outside of Great Britain Target Slots is regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. Coaches from Kuala Lumpur can get visitors there within an hour, so it’s not as out-of-the-way as it might initially seem, and the adjacent theme park and hotels mean that gamblers won’t get bored if they feel like taking a break from the tables here. However, there may be a short delay between your self-exclusion and marketing materials being stopped.
There will also be a smaller donation to the NC Brewer’s Guild. They are integral in ensuring that our craft beer industry continues to grow. We are grateful for their support and they will be on hand to sell some cool NC Beer merch as well.
AT: What’s up with the Oktoberfest Trip Giveaway?
EC: Being a first-year festival, we knew we were really going to have to catch the public’s attention. We partnered with, AwayBug Travel, to plan an awesome Oktoberfest adventure. The owner, Angie, has been to Oktoberfest several times and lived in Germany. She was instrumental in our planning to make sure we got the best deal possible.
We are giving away two trips to Oktoberfest 2020 in Munich. If you have a VIP ticket, you will be entered into the pool of VIP ticket holders. We are only selling a maximum of 600 VIP tickets.
We are doing the same for General Admission ticket holders. We can only sell a maximum of 2000 general admission tickets. The trip itself includes airfare, hotel, and a reservation in one of the beer halls. Check out our website for the details. Angie will help you addon any extra days, tours, or excursions you want to do.
AT: Bottom-Line, why should people come to Marchtoberfest?
EC: Well first off, the beer. Over 40 NC breweries, including all your local favorites as well as breweries from Asheville, Charlotte, Triangle, and other parts of the state. Many of these breweries don’t distribute to this area so this might be the first-time people get to try them.
We are also going to have the HarborTowne Fest Band which is amazing. They will pump up the crowd and get people dancing. I just met with Ken, the band leader, yesterday and he is really excited for the event.
Finally, we are going to have games. We will have around ten carnival-style games for people to win small prizes. We are also working on a couple larger surprises.
It’s going to be a great time and we are looking forward to turning it into a multi-day event in the future.
Aletrail fans use code WILMALETRAIL to take off $5.
