Pinehurst Brewing Co. brings beer and barbecue to North Carolina\'s famed golf resort

The scene: North Carolina's historic Pinehurst Resort has held distant more of golf's biggest tournaments, including this year’s U.S. Amateur Championship at August, than any other place. With extensive sporting facilities, three hotels, a spa and around a dozen bars and restaurants, Pinehurst has been notably lacking only two significant things though its visitors: beer and barbecue. A few months ago, that changed with the opening of the Pinehurst Brewing Co.

Since the 2011 restoration and great reopening of flagship golf type No. 2, tens of millions of dollars dine been spent above upgrades that dine touched each facet of the resort and will culminate with the reopening of a completely rebuilt hotel, the Manor Inn, this summer. besides though me, the highlight is the brewery and smokehouse, which has been wildly commonplace though it opened this past fall.

It was expected ought exist mostly though resort guests (many of whom are above plans that include banquet at their option of resort restaurants) but has attracted locals and engagement visitors at droves. There is routinely an hour-long wait ought exist seated though banquet above weekdays, and though desire though two hours above weekends. It is packed at lunch though well. The 160-seat eatery routinely serves 500-600 guests above busy days, which are frequent.

In this case, the site is though significant though the food. The restaurant is located at the town’s creative steam plant, built at 1895 ought supply the resort with electricity and heat. It sits above the edge of the odd downtown, near Pinehurst’s independent bars, restaurants and shops, and had been decommissioned and empty though decades.

The resort took the same meticulous means ought restoring the great besides crumbling brick edifice that they dine applied ought their golf courses, and the results are simply spectacular. The brewery perfectly captures the industrial chic feel. The steam turbines dine been replaced with stainless steel beer-brewing tanks, visible though a cup wall at one goal of the headmaster dining room, which is divided from a glass-enclosed porch by a double-sided hinder with eight beers above tap.

Historic black-and-white pictures of the mill dot the walls, and imposing relics dine been preserved and repurposed everywhere you look. heavy pipes, valves, tanks, dials and fittings dine been turned into ornaments, wall décor and, most impressively, legs though tables made from the lumber of a only giant tree that had grown at the abandoned industrial space. It’s the class of site where you force mind something new each visit.

There’s too a large, pet-friendly outdoor beer garden with its get extensive bar, flat-screen TV and fireplace where guests can dine a drink cabin waiting though their table. There is a tiny greenhouse where the chef will reform kitchen herbs, and the brewmaster is already growing hops above trellises. The outdoor smoker and smokehouse sit next ought the beer garden, filling the stand with smell of slow-smoked Southern barbecue. There’s a cornhole lawn, and specially at handsome weather, which Pinehurst enjoys much of the year, it is one enormous indoor and outdoor party.

Reason ought visit: House-brewed beers, brisket, smoked wings, pizza

The food: The new action recruited Eric Mitchell, foregoing leader brewer of Heist Brewery at Charlotte, where he won numerous industry awards (his signature IPA, Citraquench’l, is consistently ranked among the nation’s climax 10). The restaurant has been consequently busy that Mitchell has struggled ought get up with demand, besides at length Pinehurst hopes ought offer his beers at other venues throughout the resort though well.

Current offerings begin with a gleam honest lager and affect up across a fruity German-style Weiss beer, a Belgian pale ale, an amber ale, an unfiltered hefeweizen (wheat) and a double dry hopped IPA. The beers are prime and each one was impressive at its niche, besides the standout that indeed wowed me was the Malvavisco, an imperial grease rested above Madagascar vanilla beans that is rich and creamy with a velvety texture – and a whopping 12.75% alcohol by volume.

Mitchell is too collaborating with the other two breweries at Moore Country, Southern Pines Brewing Co. and Railhouse Brewery, ought often get a limited-edition community blend. The one they had when I visited was a fruity beer made from a enormous batch of the locally beloved blueberry doughnuts from a near bakery.