Top 3 Microbreweries and Their Top Brew in North Carolina

Believe it or not, North Carolina is home to some really great microbreweries. And so if you are looking for one to tour, enjoy a little taste testing, or want to know what special microbrew to pick next time you are looking to drink, check out three of the top microbreweries statewide!

Place: Highland Brewing
Best Brew: Gaelic Brew
42 Biltmore Ave.
Asheville NC 28802
Ph 828.255.8240
www.highlandbrewing.com

Starting back in 1994, the Highland Brewery located in the gorgeous blue ridge mountains of Asheville, North Carolina has been creating some of the best beers known! Growing over the years, they now brew 20,000 barrels of beer each and every year. You need to be sure to try the Gaelic Brew, one of their most popular brews, that has a rich and malty body to it. It's a nice balance between sweetness and hoppy bitterness.

Indeed, the delicious microbrews developed by the Highland Brewing Microbrew are beyond compare! The Gaelic Brew for example, as mentioned, is brewed specially from Cascade and Willamette hops, along with less-known Chinook hops to create the perfect brew. It's exceptional hops like this that make their brews so very delicious!

Place: Front Street Brewing
Best Brew: Lumina Lager
9 North Front Street
Wilmington NC 28401
Ph 910.251.1935
www.frontstreetbrewery.com

This brewery, located in the oceanside city of Wilmington, North Carolina, hosts free beer tasting and brewery tours every Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m., and free wine tasting on Tuesdays 6 to 8 p.m. They are located downtown, on Front Street, so it's a perfect place to plan a weekend or just an evening. Make sure to try one of their most popular brews, called the Lumina Lager, which is an award-winning beer created with German malt and hops and having a nice medium body to it.

Indeed, the Lumina Lager is made from some of the most popular hops available - German! Yes, made from German hops and malt, it's the type of smooth taste you would expect to find in some little bar in middle of beautiful Germany!

Place: Carolina Brewery
Best Brew:
460 West Franklin Street
Chapel Hill NC 27516
Ph 919.942.1800
www.carolinabrewery.com

This brewery is locally owned, with a restaurant, and has been around for 15 or more years! Make sure to try one of their signature, most popular, beers called the Copperline Amber Ale, brewed with caramel and pale malts. It's got a great aroma, and is a very tasty beer to enjoy.

In fact, the Copperline Amber Ale is their top seller! What makes it so exceptional is that their is a touch of fruit in the brew - which works wonders on the bold, smooth flavor! Also made with Kent Golding hops - a popular variety to use to make a beer just that more drinkable! Absolutely delicious!