State of Origin Craft Brew Festival revisited

Definitely one of my favorite beer events of the past year was the State of Origin Craft Brew Festival in Morganton, North Carolina. I’m all in when it comes to local ingredients in local beer, and that is where this festival excelled.

Put together by Todd Boera and others at local Fonta Flora Brewery, this festival was unique in that it brought together over 20 breweries, each bringing beers with North Carolina ingredients.  The following video gives you an 8-minute look at the 2014 festival held on June 14.

The variety of beer was tremendous; the local ingredient list was long:

• Malt
• Hops
• Yeast
• Dandelion flowers
• Honeysuckle blossoms
• Sage
• Basil
• Jalapeños
• Ghost peppers,
• Honey
• Stinging nettles
• and on and on and on.

It is so wonderful to see North Carolina brewers leading the effort to develop authentic terrior in their ales. Makes me proud to say I’m an enthusiast member of the North Carolina Brewers Guild.

If you are getting a bit tired of the same old same old—the typical beer festival that include great beers, but ones you can pretty much get anywhere, then you ought to give this festival a try.  It’s one of those with a narrow focus that tends to attract some pretty unusual and some pretty awesome beers. No, the West Coast IPA will not go away anytime soon,  but  State of Origin gives you more creative and unexpected brews. With the help of festivals like State of Origin, North Carolina brewers and ingredient producers are pushing the envelope of local. It’s a lot of fun to see what they come up with next.

Here are some photos from the 2014 festival. Click on the thumbnails for a closer look.