ACC basketball, sweet tea and vinegar-based barbecue seem to be some of the few things that North Carolinians have in common. Sean Wilson thinks he may have found some more common ground, and he’ll bet you a drink on that.
Wilson, founder and director of Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, released Cackalacky Ginger Pale Ale Sunday in collaboration with Cackalacky Inc., a family-run food brand from Chapel Hill, after more than a year of planning and brewing.
Beyond the branding, Wilson said that Cackalacky compliments the persona of Fullsteam as a Southern brewery poised to expand in celebration of its Carolina roots.
“The one fun thing about Cackalacky is that it’s one thing we can all agree upon,” Wilson said.
The beer is to be on special at Fullsteam during any Tobacco Road basketball match to embrace North Carolinian unity. Wilson, a Duke graduate, said he hopes people from around the state and beyond will be able to enjoy the new beer.
Although the beer is meant to make a statement about being a North Carolinian, Wilson said he insists there is an emphasis on “taste, first and foremost.”
As a Carolina-inspired beer, sweet potatoes would have seemed a logical route. Instead, Cackalacky and Fullsteam collaborated on a ginger ale style beer.
Page Skelton, a collaborator from Cackalacky, sought to expand from Cackalacky’s famous sweet potato-based Spice Sauce, and Wilson saw this as an opporunity to expand his offerings from his sweet potato-based lager.
Inspired by Blenheim’s Ginger Ale of South Carolina, Wilson said his beer, an alcoholic version of the childhood classic, is meant to incorporate ginger alongside locally cultivated ingredients.
“Their ginger ale was kind of historic, so it was kind of a nod to [our] Southern roots,” Wilson said. “We use tons of local ingredients in our brewing process, anything from cornbread to six-row barley to rye to sweet potatoes. The list goes on and on.”
Fullsteam’s new brew isn’t special because it incorporates classical ingredients, but because it makes a new statement about the South.
“Our whole mission is to explore what it means to be a Southern brewery,” Wilson said. Skelton’s collaboration was crucial in the cultivation of the ale, but it took time and thinking on both parts.
“We both have creative minds, so we both worked on this launch together. [Cackalacky] gave us a lot of creative reign to run with it.”
As for the release, it was meant to play to the same light-hearted tune ginger ale brings to mind. On the eve of “Kazoo Day,” a arbitrary holiday, Wilson simply wanted a fun, silly gathering.
“There’s no particular reason [why we chose Kazoo Day] but it just fits,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of light-hearted and silly and fun, and that’s what we want our beer to be about.”
Wilson said he plans on brewing the beer year-round and expects to expand beyond North Carolina and introduce the new beer in cans.
Wilson will first only offer the beer at the Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, but many of his brews have travelled around the state. Wilson expects Cackalacky Ginger Pale Ale to do the same, pending recipe changes
“We want to tweak it a little bit, and we are also waiting on a big expansion so we can adequately meet the demand we think is going to be out there,” Wilson said.
After three years of brewing, Fullsteam now serves six to 10 beers at any given time in several cities. Wilson said that he plans to stay a Southern brewery, regardless of how far Fullsteam expands beyond North Cackalacky. Wilson’s beers can be found on tap at Porter’s City Tavern, and in growlers at Whole Foods Grocery.
