Hey, Nurse! What's This Hare Doing in my Beer?

Just two months in the "Low Country," and I've already discovered, not one, but TWO breweries within a figurative stone's throw from my house. (The first was Makai Brewing reviewed here.)

The second is Red Hare Brewing, doing its brewing just six miles away in nearby Shallotte. After 140 miles on two wheels, on what had to be one of the ten best riding days of the year so far, my thirst needed some slaking. And Red Hare was on the way home.

Housed in a building separate from its landlord (the famous Wing and Fish restaurant of Shallotte), the comfortable, inviting taproom beckons from the street. Airy and complete with a second floor which houses a coolship, the ten-barrel operation brews beer just once a month in Shallotte when Georgia brewer Bobby Thomas (below) comes up to do his thing.

That Georgia heritage is reflected in Red Hare's beer list, as three of the tap offerings on this day were peach beers. The Pubscout can vouch for the smooth, fragrant peach presence in the finish of Peach State (below). The hint of peach sweetness may not be for everyone, and if that's the case, just slide over to the gose section of the menu, where you'll find a dark, a pineapple and a blackberry to get your tart on.

My favorite at this visit was one of three IPA's called "Soft J IPA." Below, right. The Gangway and Farmhouse versions were also good, but Soft J won this contest for me. The Gangway, however, is used in the creation of what the company terms its "SPF" series, Radlers made with half beer, half soda. According to Byron the Beerman, these radlers are flying out of the taps, especially as the weather warms. And Long Day Lager certainly doesn't last long, either.

Almost every beer made here finds its way into one of the red wine or Chardonnay barrels which line the walls of the back work area. The frame structure, which I thought was going to be a decorative, old world-type roof above these barrels, was the result of a fire inspector's visit. The inspector wanted his men to be able to gain entry, if necessary, from the high windows above the barrels. So the barrels can only be stacked so high.

No such restrictions were necessary for the coolship upstairs, however. What's with these new brewers, hearkening back to the Old World Ways? Second coolship I've seen at a craft brewery in a week, and I think it's a very cool idea, pun intended. I don't know which wild yeasts have been identified in Shallotte as yet, but they're working on it.

And they're working on other things as well, like Paint and Sip nights. The next one is a patriotically-themed one due to the approach of Memorial Day. Byron says that they are well attended and enjoyed by those who come. See the brewery's web page or FaceBook Page for more information.

Byron also allowed that "the busy season" is April through September, where it can get "nuts," and even the first winter season was better than anticipated. I was the only one in the place at 3 PM, but my solitude didn't last long, as the place started to fill.

I didn't mind, either, because four comely lasses walked in to celebrate their graduation from a Nursing Program that very day, making them "real" nurses now. Crystal, Lindsey, Chelsey and Nicki were nice enough to pose for a pic, and not a one of them looked like the "card-playing type," if you catch my drift. I wished them all well. We should all be nice to nurses. You never know when you might see (read need) one of them under different circumstances...like if I fell while taking this picture below.

The company's base for the past eight years has been in Georgia, and the Shallotte shop, part of an expansion entitled the "34ºN Experiment," just celebrated its one-year anniversary in grand style, with a huge party, special deals and bands.

During the event, a local cop, also a regular Red Hare customer, had to come in and ask if they could lower the music level, as there was a funeral going on in the church across the street. Red Hare happily complied, of course.

I wouldn't mind a loud party, dancing, beer and bands playing at my funeral. But that's just me.