The NC State Fair’s successful foray into beer and wine means they’ll be back

When it comes to alcohol, there’s no getting the cork back in the bottle at the NC State Fair.

After the debut of beer and wine at last year’s fair, you better believe breweries and wineries are back this year.

Last year, attendees could grab a drink for the first time in the more than 150-year history of the North Carolina State Fair. The experiment in serving alcohol at the fair proved to be wildly popular, with around 20,000 people stopping by for a tipple, said fair spokesperson Sarah Ray.

“It was awesome,” Ray said. “They were very busy on the weekends. They were very stoked, very excited with the turnout.”

This year’s fair is Oct. 11-21 at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

There’s no bar on the fairgrounds. Instead, fair-goers head to a pair of log cabins, branded the Our State Public House, to sample the state’s breweries and wineries on a porch.

This year will see a few tweaks to the pub. Instead of selling flights of beers or wine, drinkers will make pick two of the following: an 8-ounce pour of beer, an 8-ounce pour of cider or a 3-ounce pour of wine.

Beers styles will include crisp, easy-to-drink lagers and pilsners, malty ambers and Oktoberfests, hoppy IPAs, dark stouts and brown ales and funky sours and wild ales.

Wines will run from sweet to dry reds and whites, roses and ciders made from state-grown apples.

North Carolina’s beer industry is one of the largest in the country at nearly 300 breweries. So far, there are 33 craft beer makers confirmed for the fair, according to organizers, including Oskar Blues, Highland, Mother Earth and Appalachian Mountain Brewery, and Triangle locals like Fullsteam Brewery (Durham) and Lynnwood Brewing Concern (Raleigh).

The state’s wine industry may be somewhat under the radar, but there are 185 wineries in the state. Seven will be poured at the fair, including Biltmore Estate and Cypress Bend Vineyards.

Ciders will come from Bold Rock, GoodRoad CiderWorks, James Creek Cider House and Red Clay Ciderworks.

Offerings will change daily, and unlike last year, when flights were pre-selected among the styles, this year, fair-goers will pick their own drinks from what’s available that day.

And while it’s a second round of drinks for the fair, you won’t have the same luck. Attendees can only purchase one ticket per day.

Beyond the public house, beer will be served at all nightly Dorton Arena concerts, expanding from just a couple concerts last year to the full slate of 11 shows. You can buy a full pint, but similar to the public house, you can only buy one.

“We don’t think people are out here for that purpose,” said Ray. “We’re not opening it up to the full public house atmosphere.”

North Carolina’s beer and wine promoters, the NC Craft Brewers Guild and the NC Grape and Wine Council partnered to operate the public house, and its proceeds will go towards marketing efforts. This year the fair is selling “Kegs & Corks” passes for $15, good for entry to the fair and a drink ticket.

The Our State Public House opens Thursday Oct. 11 at 3 p.m. and will serve from noon to 10 p.m. daily. It’s located near Gate 8, in between the tobacco pavilion and flower show.

Free wine samples will be poured daily at the Hunt Horse Center from Duplin, County Squire and Rock of Ages wineries.

Details

The NC State Fair is Oct. 11-21 at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. For tickets and information, go to ncstatefair.org.

This story was originally published October 3, 2018 at 5:59 PM with the headline "The NC State Fair’s successful foray into beer and wine means they’ll be back."