The NC State Brewery, located on the ground level of Schaub Hall, provides beer to more than 50 on-campus events per year. However, it does not yet have the license to commercialize the beverage.
The 500 square-foot microbrewery uses a new wild yeast that considerably reduces time needed in the brewing process. The yeast creates sourness by itself, so the addition of bacteria in the beer recipe is no longer needed.
“There has been some interest with our yeast from local breweries, but we haven’t given it to them yet because of this intellectual property issue with the university,” said John Sheppard, a professor of bioprocessing and the undergraduate coordinator for Bioprocessing Science.
However, Sheppard said he thinks the beer will eventually make it to the market due to the innovative yeast.
NC State’s brewery produces five to six different types of beers on a regular basis. It also brews seasonal beers such as Wolf-toberfest that will be served at Centennial Rocks, a concert for Centennial’s employees, on Oct. 1.
Raleigh has numerous craft beer brewers and retailers, and the industry in North Carolina is booming. North Carolina is attracting bigger breweries such as Sierra Nevada and Oskar Blue.
“Craft beer bars are popping up every day, and they are constantly growing the community,” said Josh Germeroth, general manager at Paddy O’Beers.
Niall Hanley, owner of Raleigh Beer Garden, described the Raleigh beer scene as “very progressive, very innovative and very rapidly moving.”
The demand for beer has shifted in the past years, according to Germeroth.
“Craft beer is going back old school — using good ingredients, reviving old recipes and pushing things forward,” Germeroth said.
Thomas Clawson, a graduate student studying food science, said Raleigh’s beer scene is hard to describe.
“It’s even harder to predict how it will evolve in the next few years,” Clawson said.
Hanley said he predicts the wine industry will see some competition within the next five to 10 years.
“It’s a perfect time to be a craft beer drinker in the history of America,” said Zack Medford, director of marketing at Paddy O’Beers in downtown Raleigh. “Never before has there been so much variety available to the common guy.”
