DURHAM (NC) - The Glass Jug and Sam's Bottle Shop, two of the Triangle area's premiere craft beer retail destinations, are partnering up to put on their second annual 2-day festival of wild-fermented and sour ales. "Where the Wild Beers May Potentially Be," first held in 2015, is the brainchild of the two stores, where each location features at least a dozen different wild and sour beers on draft. These specialty drafts will include local brews, as well as beers from across the US and abroad. This year's event will start at Sam's Bottle Shop on Saturday, then continue to The Glass Jug on Sunday.
The Glass Jug Announces Plans for 1-Year Anniversary Celebration
The Wonderful World of Sour Beer
As long as beer has been made, there has likely been sour beer. Now, it probably wasn't all purposeful, but since beer was being brewed before we had microscopes or knew what yeast was and it's impact on fermentation, most beers would have some level of sourness imparted by wild bacteria that assisted in fermentation. Sour beer is created by bacteria consuming the sugar in the freshly brewed wort (what will eventually become beer). When it consumes the sugar, one of it's byproducts is acid. Depending on what bacteria, it could be lactic acid or acetic acid, or many other (often less desirable) acids. The acid lowers the pH of the beer, creating a tart, puckering flavor and mouthfeel.
The Monday Night Special
Mondays suck, right? I mean you've spent the last two days catching up on yardwork and chores, and now that you're finally a bit rested, you're ready to go hit the pool....except that it's Monday, so you have to go back to work instead. We feel your pain.
To us, that means that Monday is the perfect day to have a pint of beer, but for some reason Monday's are typically a slow day in the beer biz. So we decided to give you a little extra motivation...
We've begun offering select pints at half-price every Monday. This could be anywhere from 1 to 5 beers we're featuring, and they're always delicious. They taste even better at half the price!
And since we usually have several kegs that are close to empty after a busy weekend, we want to enlist you to help us kick 'em so that we can bring in some new beer for the week ahead. If you drink the last pint out of a keg, you'll get the opportunity to pull a prize out of our brewery swag bag.
The "swag bag" is...well...actually it's a box...but "swag bag" sounds better...we think. Anyway, the swag bag is where we keep lots of cool swag that has been donated by local and craft breweries. This is everything from glassware to t-shirts, bottle openers, coasters, and more. And you'll get to take your pick if you kick the keg.
So hey, maybe Monday's aren't that bad after all!
April is NC Beer Month!
If you haven't yet heard, April is the official "NC Beer Month." It's a month to promote and support the beer industry right here in North Carolina. And that means a lot to us. I overheard a customer say, not more than a few months after we opened, that he didn't typically drink much local beer, but since we opened and have put so many unique and interesting (and delicious) local beers on draft, he's consumed more NC beer than he has ever before. That is more than a compliment to The Glass Jug and the curated selection we've put together - it's a compliment to the NC beer community and how the quality standards for NC beer have continued to rise over the years.
Check out our ongoing monthly events!
Every good beer store offers free tastings every so often, but not every beer store has a knitting and crafts club or women-only beer education and social events. It is things like this that make The Glass Jug different. We're really proud of our fun and unique events, and we hope to continue expanding our selection of events throughout the year. Below is a listing of our events that happen on a recurring basis every month. We hope you'll join us for one (or more) of them, next time you are able.
Festivus Celebration and Toys for Tots
Our brewery of the month for December is going to be the new kids on the block, Haw River Farmhouse Ales. They just opened up in Saxapahaw (between Chapel Hill and Greensboro), and are already cranking out some delicious brews. To ring in the holiday month, we decided that we needed to really do something special, so what better way than to revive the Festivus celebration!?!
JUGs (Just Us Gals) Events
What lady wouldn't like a night out to try some great beers, learn new things & hang out with some awesome chicks? Well, we planned one. What is it?
We are planning monthly ladies-only events, and our first get together is Tuesday, October 21 at 6 pm. We're doing a flight of fall beers, so everyone can get a better idea of which styles and beers they like most!
