Pop the Cap, as we know it, is no more.

Sadly, the final Pop the Cap beer dinner occurred while we were in Denver. A huge chapter comes to a close. The evolution of a grassroots campaign to battle stereotypes, religious fervor, and ignorance has come to an end. The official Pop the Cap organized movement is no more.

However, as with all ends, there is a beginning. Sean, our fearless leader, is taking the plunge into opening a brewery. Sites, names, and cities were all discussed and entertained in the past. Soon, something concrete with bricks and mortar and big shiny stainless tanks will come into being. And finally, an official name: Fullsteam Brewery.

A local brewery utilizing all local ingredients [edit 9/4 "when possible"]. I'll be interested to see how this plays out. (Sean, if you ever need a gallon freezer bag of Gordon-grown Cascade hops, I'm your man.)

The story:
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1193808.html

Beer lobbyist group disbands

Founder Sean Wilson has built network of brewers, will open his own brewery

After 5 1/2 years heading a beer industry advocacy group called Pop the Cap, Sean Wilson of Chapel Hill is disbanding the nonprofit group and moving on to a new beer-related venture. Wilson started Pop the Cap in February 2003 to lobby the state legislature to drop the law capping the alcohol content of beer at 6 percent.

In August 2005, the group succeeded, when new legislation went into effect and cleared the way for craft beers -- speciality beers brewed in small batches -- to have higher alcohol content.

Since then, Wilson, 37, shifted the group's focus to improving the state's beer culture and raising awareness of craft beer, dubbing his new effort Pop the Cap 2.0.

But, "it turned into a hobby, and I'm not a hobby kind of guy," he says.

Besides changing the state law and offering North Carolina brewers more flexibility, Wilson and Pop the Cap connected the state's brewers into a network that didn't exist before, said Robert Poitras, owner of the Carolina Brewery, with locations in Chapel Hill and Pittsboro.

"He was really our quarterback," Poitras said. "It's been good for the whole North Carolina beer scene."

Now Wilson will help out with the newly founded N.C. Brewers Guild and is working on opening his own brewery in Durham.

Wilson's establishment, called Fullsteam Brewery, will focus on "Southern agricultural brewing," using local ingredients and grains.

Though a specific site has not yet been selected, Wilson said the brewery could open within nine months.

"There's still a lot of work to do [for the beer industry in North Carolina], but we need to be more politically organized, and I can't do that," he said. "I'm just a beer fan. It's time to move on."

sue.stock@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4649

An exciting adventure to say the least! From the Fullsteam website, here's a peek of the upcoming libations:

On tap:
Experiment - Pomegranate Saison
Control - Fullsteam (our flagship Carolina Common)
Control - English Beat IPA
Control - Belgian Golden

In the tank:
Experiment - Miso Ginger Stout (If it tastes good, next time around we'll make our own miso from local organic soybeans.)

In our heads:
Experiment - Fuzz Buzz (Carolina peaches, heirloom rice)
Experiment - King Kudzu (kudzu cider)
Experiment - Scuppernong Lambic
Experiment - 200 Mile (beer made from ingredients all grown within 200 miles of Durham...we don't yet know if this is possible!)

"Experiment"? "Control"? What the heck does that mean? Let's go back to the Fullsteam website for clarification:

We’re developing two lines of beers.

Control beers are easy drinkin’ session beers. Low in alcohol (under 5 percent alcohol by volume). Well-known, traditional styles like Pale Ale, Mild, Porter, and Stout. Think English pub. Everyday ales. Beers you could drink a few of in the course of an evening, without denting your pocketbook or your head. Inspirations include Young’s and Fullers.

Experimental beers? Well, they’re our own mad creation. Not bound to tradition or to style. Sometimes higher in alcohol. Uses local ingredients in the brewing process — anything from persimmon to heirloom rice to spruce pine. No tobacco, smarty-pants. (We get that question a fair amount). Inspirations: Russian River, Lost Abbey, Stone, New Glarus, Dogfish Head…but with our own Southern Ag twist.

The goal is to serve two needs: the Control when you want a no-nonsense, everyday beer that embraces tradition…and the Experiment for when it’s time to check out something genre-busting: radical Southern brewing.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BREWERY!