Quaffing in Cornelius

Unless you've been living in a remote cave for the past five years, it should come as no surprise that the beer scene in the Tarheel State has exploded. That explosion has been chronicled in these pages before. Check here and here, as well.

And not only is NC producing a wide variety of exceptional beers, more and more places are opening up to share them. One such, visited just yesterday, is the Cornelius Draft House in, fittingly, Cornelius, NC.

Owned by affable Wes Lucas, it's been serving up suds to satisfied customers (with or without canine companions) for two years now, and Wes says business is "pretty good."

And why shouldn't it be, with 250 bottles and cans from all over, as well as fifteen NC beers on the sixteen tap system? More about the one maverick, a Triple IPA from California later.

While beer distributors flock to his neat, laid-back (and pretty much self-built) drinking emporium with regularity--and a host of beers--Wes says that fully eight of the sixteen tap offerings are from local guys who self-distribute. That ensures that many of Wes's customers will be "drinking local," always a good sign.

You can sidle up to a specially cut, salvaged marble bar, or sit at one of the house-made tables under some rather unique chandeliers and order from an extensive collection, arranged practically library-style. (You do recall libraries, right? The Dewey Decimal System? No? Forget it.)

My son and his brand new bride insisted that we hit this spot, and I'm glad he did. I started with a delicious, 6.5% Lunatic from Wicked Weed, which I pulled from the fridge for just $4. WW is one of the PubScout's favorite breweries, and its bar in Asheville sports the official PubScout Seal of Approval. This Belgian-styled blonde is a good one, offering an interesting array of Belgian nose and palate notes. I almost wished it had been served in a full pint glass.

Until I ordered my second--on Wes's recommendation. The only non-NC beer in the taps, Hop-Trio from Knee Deep in CA was an 11.1% monster that was exceptional in every way, including as a way to celebrate the recent nuptials.

If you look at the picture below for a bit, you can see it smiling at you. And, in the immortal words of Maximus Decimus Meridius from Gladiator, "The best a man can do is smile back."

And I did, with every sip.

If you're an NC resident who lives within a reasonable drive of Cornelius, I'd strongly recommend a visit. Tell Wes The PubScout sent you. (Then run like hell.)

The Cornelius Draft House will be awarded The PubScout Seal of Approval later this week. Stay tuned.