Field Trip! Raleigh Beer Garden Part 2

Many Hoppy Returns

(A quick note: This post represents “Part 2” of our series on Raleigh Beer Garden and Ben's pursuit of his Beer Judge Certification.)

So far, it had been another fine afternoon at Raleigh Beer Garden. Rebecca and I were greedily sizing up our delectable smashburgers and fries as our next flight of carefully selected beers was being poured. Two seats down the bar, a man was ready to make his beer selection. Squinting at the mass of taps behind the bar, the customer asked “Do you have Coors Light anywhere on that wall?!”

We remained calm and composed, as did our server. Rebecca and I locked eyes for a moment in a meaningful glance that said, “In a taproom with 350 beers to choose from, this is how far your sense of adventure travels?”

The Basics

Location: 614 Glenwood Ave Raleigh, NC 27603

Parking: street and nearby lots

Website: theraleighbeergarden.com

Social media: facebook.com/raleighbeergarden, instagram.com/raleighbeergarden

Vibe/atmosphere: urban, indoor/outdoor, industrial chic, social, endless varieties of beer and other bevs

Beers we tried: Coors Banquet Lager, 3 Floyds Delux Lager, Lexington Brewery Kentucky Tangerine Cream Ale, Yuengling Amber Lager, Bell’s Hopslam Imperial Double IPA, Lagunitas IPA, Parish Brewing Ghost in the Machine 2X Imperial NEIPA, Moody Tongue Brewing Cold Kiwi Cold IPA, Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Imperial Stout

Important NC Beer Explorer Tip: When consuming alcohol, always have a designated driver. Be safe out there, friends! Follow these simple tips for safer consumption.

Truely, we don’t judge anyone’s beer choice, or their choice to not drink beer at all. We strive to always remain respectful of preference and recognize that there is a time and place for every brand and style of beer. We also reflect back on how little we knew when we first walked into a brewery and talked about beer with someone who had extensive brewing experience, and we marvel at our audacity. And we still have so much to learn!

The two very different types of customers seated at the upstairs bar makes you appreciate the huge challenge that Raleigh Beer Garden has to meet: select many fine beers from all over the world so that beer nerds like ourselves can try something novel and complex, while “Daryl” (not his real name) can belly up to the bar and have his Coors Light. Their ability to deliver each of us what we want is proof that Raleigh Beer Garden is doing something right.

All American

We had decided to make a series of visits to RBG to sample a wide range of beer styles in preparation for my Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) exam. BJCP recognizes 86 “core” beer styles, 19 of which are American styles, and the rest are Old World. Of course, there are many American versions of Old World Styles (e.g., Pilsner, Irish Stout, Belgian Wheat), but the focus of our second visit was on those “purely American” styles like American IPA, American Lager and Cream Ale. We were sampling only non-NC beers on this visit, since we already have tickets to the Big Frosty Beer Festival coming up at RBG on Feb. 28 when many NC breweries will be present.

We had a chance to talk with Bar Manager Matt Polletta on our second visit, and he was very generous in spending some time with us and sharing his considerable insights and interest in our process. Between Matt and our two terrific servers, Toni and Thomas, we had an almost constant dialogue running for our extended visit.

Matt shared that he had passed his Cicerone Level 1 exam on his first try and was contemplating Cicerone Level 2 or BJCP next. Of course, Matt has an extensive knowledge of RBG’s beer selection, and he shared some stories about waiting serving some serious beer aficionados. He once even had a Master Cicerone (extremely rare, only 28 in the world!) at his bar at midnight one evening!

Lots to Love

We sampled nine of the 19 BJCP American Beer Styles (watch our short video for how we do this while remaining clearheaded). The remaining 10 we didn’t try were ones we either already knew well or obscure or rare styles (e.g., American Wheatwine). All the beers we tried were good examples of their type, but two really stood out for us: Lexington Brewing’s Kentucky Tangerine Cream Ale and Bell’s Brewery’s Hopslam Imperial/Double IPA.

Lexington’s Cream Ale was our first-ever taste of this American brewing style – and we were not prepared for the unique and subtle experience. “Creamsicle” is a shorthand way to describe the beer, but there was much more depth and subtlety involved. The dark gold beer presented a nose of sweet caramel and fruit, followed by a taste that revealed lightly sweet tangerine, vanilla, spice, and a touch of chocolate with caramel malt showing in the background. The mouthfeel carried the beer to the next level, with a creamy, pillowy texture and medium carbonation. The finish was long and resolved to chocolate/vanilla/tangerine.

Bell’s Hopslam Double Imperial IPA was the other star of the day. I admit that I am currently in a romance with Imperial IPAs after I was recently gifted a few cans of some excellent NE Style examples from Maine, and Hopslam held its own against those stellar examples. True to its name, Hopslam loaded the bases and hit one out of the park, with a stadium full of hop varieties and flavor notes including grapefruit, orange zest, pine, stone fruit, floral and white pepper. Combining those flavors with a balance of caramel malt, medium/full body, and a long, complex finish, Hopslam was a home run! And so was our return trip to Raleigh Beer Garden.

Matt Poletta is the Bar Manager of Raleigh Beer Garden and a certified Cicerone Level 1.

Besides a plethera of beer choices, Raleigh Beer Garden has great food, including the heavely Bacon & Bleu Smashburger.

NCBE's Beer Notes - Raleigh Beer Garden Part 2

• Coors - Banquet

  • Style: American Lager

  • ABV: 5%

  • Color: Straw, brilliant, light foamy head

  • Aroma: Light malt

  • Taste: Corn, rice, bread. Corny bitterness

  • Mouthfeel: Thin, high carbonation

  • Aftertaste: Corn/bitter

  • Overall: Drinkable, but that corn/rice taste… !

• 3 Floyds – Floyds Delux

  • Style: American Lager

  • ABV: 4.5%

  • Color: Straw, clear, light foamy head

  • Aroma: Light malt, herbal, slightly catty

  • Taste: Floral, fruity, spicy, a little tangy, light malt

  • Mouthfeel: Light, med/high carbonation

  • Aftertaste: Fairly long finish, fruity, bitter cracker

  • Overall: Very different from mass-market American lagers – esp. the floral note

• Lexington Brewery – Kentucky Tangerine Cream Ale

  • Style: Cream Ale

  • ABV: 5.5%

  • Color: Dark gold, light head

  • Aroma: Sweet, caramel, fruit

  • Taste: Lightly sweet, tangerine, vanilla, spice, chocolate

  • Mouthfeel: Creamy, med/full body and carbonation

  • Aftertaste: Long finish, tangerine/chocolate

  • Overall: One of our favorites! – see notes in article above

• Bell’s Brewery - Hopslam

  • Style: Imperial Double IPA

  • ABV: 10%

  • Color: Amber, lightly cloudy

  • Aroma: Pine, grapefruit peel

  • Taste: Pine, grapefruit, orange zest, white pepper, well-balanced w/caramel malt

  • Mouthfeel: Med/full body, med carbonation

  • Aftertaste: Bitter, pine, grapefruit, orange

  • Overall: this was the other star of the day – see note in article above

• Lagunitas - IPA

  • Style: American (West Coast) IPA

  • ABV: 6.2%

  • Color: Deep yellow/gold

  • Aroma: Catty, pine, citrus

  • Taste: Catty, pine, alcohol, a little malt sweetness showing through

  • Mouthfeel: Crisp, dry

  • Aftertaste: Astringent, citrus

  • Overall: A little more balanced than many WC style IPAs using “C” hops

• Yuengling Brewery – Amber Lager

  • Style: American Amber Lager

  • ABV: 4.5%

  • Color: Amber, clear, lt foam

  • Aroma: Light floral, biscuit/caramel malt, vanilla

  • Taste: Same as aroma, plus a little fruity

  • Mouthfeel: Light body, high carbonation

  • Aftertaste: Cracker/caramel, fruit, a little bitter

  • Overall: OK example of the style, clean but light on overall flavor

• Parish Brewing – Ghost in the Machine

  • Style: Imperial Double NEIPA

  • ABV: 8% (and 100 IBUs!)

  • Color: Gold, cloudy

  • Aroma: Fruity, pine, grapefruit

  • Taste: Citrus and tropical fruit, hoppy but well- balanced

  • Mouthfeel: Medium body, pillowy, med carbonation

  • Aftertaste: Dry finish

  • Overall: Excellent example of the style – brewed in Louisiana!

• Moody Tongue – Cold Kiwi

  • Style: Cold IPA (Specialty American IPA)

  • ABV: 5%

  • Color: Yellow, clear, light foam

  • Aroma: Biscuit, lemongrass, tangerine

  • Taste: Semi-sweet, herbal, umami, oyster/sea breeze

  • Mouthfeel: Medium body and carbonation

  • Aftertaste: Clean, dry

  • Overall: Begs for seafood – tempura battered cod, mmmm

• Goose Island – Bourbon County Brand Stout

  • Style: Imperial Stout- Bourbon Barrel Aged

  • ABV: 14.8%

  • Color: Black, light head

  • Aroma: Sherry, bourbon, chocolate, tobacco

  • Taste: Intense, sweet, molasses, chocolate, vanilla, cashew, tobacco, white pepper

  • Mouthfeel: Full body, light carbonation

  • Aftertaste: Smooth, sweet

  • Overall: A little too cloying-sweet for our tastes, preferred the Cherries Jubilee version we also tasted

What do you think about Raleigh Beer Garden?