CHARLOTTE, NC—NoDa Brewing Company is excited to announce their entry into the package market with a roll out of 16 oz. cans of Jam Session, their pale ale, and Hop, Drop ‘n Roll, their signature IPA, in late September 2013.

“Jam Session and Hop, Drop ‘n Roll are two of our most popular beers and having them available in a portable form (can) is the next logical step for us,” said Todd Ford, Co-Owner of NoDa Brewing Company. “Instead of the traditional 12 oz. cans, we have opted for a 16 oz. can. If you are going to drink a 16 oz. pint in restaurant or pub, why accept less from your can?”

Initially, NoDa Brewing cans will be available at bottle shops, specialty markets, bars and restaurants in the Charlotte metro with a roll out to supermarket chains within the year. In addition to its current draft presence at Panthers games within the Bank of America Stadium, both Jam Session and Hop, Drop ‘n Roll will be available at the stadium in cans starting in October.

“Cans basically act as small kegs with many of the same benefits including complete light protection, which minimizes the risk of ‘skunking’ the beer,” said Chad Henderson, Head Brewer of NoDa Brewing Company. “The cans are also more durable, easier to transport than bottles and more environmentally friendly. In past years the inner lining of cans has evolved so the fear of off-flavor from the can material is no longer an issue and the canning line itself will allow for lower levels of dissolved oxygen increasing shelf life for the product.”

About NoDa Brewing Company:

NoDa Brewing Company currently has five year-round beers and multiple seasonal offerings available on-tap at local bars & restaurants and the brewery tap room. Its on-site tap room sells beer by the glass & take-home growlers and provides brewery tours as well as hosts special events. Look and ask for NoDa on tap at your local restaurant and bar. For more, visit www.NoDaBrewing.com.

CHARLOTTE, NC—NoDa Brewing Co. of Charlotte, N.C., and The Rare Beer of the Month Club, which ships unique craft beers nationwide, are teaming up on a special limited release beer to benefit the Pints for Prostates campaign.

NoDa Tart Attack is being brewed exclusively to create awareness and support the mission of Pints for Prostates, which uses the universal language of beer to reach men with an important health message.

“NoDa Brewing is proud to be partnering with Pints for Prostates and excited to be making Tart Attack, which is the first time we’ve made a Berliner Weisse on our production system,” said Todd Ford, Co-Owner at NoDa Brewing. “Pints for Prostates has done so much in bringing awareness of what prostate cancer is and the importance of screening and testing. I have no doubt they’ve saved many lives over the past five years and will continue to do so in the future.”

The limited edition beer features the Pints for Prostates logo on its label, which includes the blue ribbon to remind people of the ongoing search for a cure to prostate cancer, a leading cause of death among American men. A donation from every 750 milliliter bottle of Tart Attack sold will be made to Pints for Prostates.

According to NoDa Brewing Head Brewer Chad Henderson, Tart Attack is a Berliner Weisse style beer brewed with blackberries. The 4.2 percent alcohol by volume beer achieves its tart and dry sourness from an old brewing method, sour mashing. This brewing method involves steeping the grain after the initial sacchrification rest at a lower temperature and adding additional grains. The lactobacillus on the newly added grain are right at home in the new temperature and begin to consume sugars and give off the classic tart Lacto sour character. We allow this rest to take place for several days before boiling and adding only a small amount of hops to the boil. After fermentation begins we add our blackberries and let the fermentation take off. The result is a complex sour ale that is both clean and refreshing and layered with notes of sour lemon, wheat, and both the tart and sweet aspects of blackberries.

“This is a rare beer that will help us reach men with an important message. Pints for Prostates wants men to take charge of their health and get screened for prostate cancer,” said Rick Lyke, a prostate cancer survivor who founded Pints for Prostates after successful prostate cancer surgery in April 2008. “NoDa Brewing and The Rare Beer Club™ teaming up for this project will help get our message to men who need to hear it.”

“This is the fourth year The Rare Beer Club™ has partnered with Pints for Prostates and our members really look forward to a unique beer each year, largely distributed exclusively through the club. NoDa is a respected new brewery having earned a Silver Medal at its first Great American Beer Festival in 2012, so this beer will sell out quickly,” said President Kris Calef. “We’ll donate $1 for every bottle sold and include a Pints for Prostates coaster in each October shipment to remind our members to get tested. A little education and early detection goes a long way to save lives.”

There are only two ways for beer lovers to try the limited batch of NoDa Tart Attack:
· Join The Rare Beer Club online or call 800-625-8238Call: 800-625-8238Call: 800-625-8238 and be sure to start your membership in October or earlier. The ordering deadline for October is 10-15-12.
· Visit NoDa Brewing’s tasting room at 2229 North Davidson St. in Charlotte on Nov. 3 from 4-7 p.m. when the brewery will release the beer and host a Pints for Prostates awareness event.

According to the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer will claim the lives of nearly 30,000 men in the U.S. during 2013. Prostates cancer is 33 percent more common in men than breast cancer is in women, yet few men know they should get a prostate health screening at age 40.The NoDa Tart Attack release is part of the Pints for Prostates Oktoberfest for a Cure observance that is taking place from August through October.

About NoDa Brewing
NoDa Brewing Company currently has five year-round beers and multiple seasonal offerings available on-tap at local bars and restaurants and the brewery tap room. Its on-site tap room sells beer by the glass and take-home growlers, and provides brewery tours as well as hosts special events. Look and ask for Noda on tap at your local restaurant and bar. For more, visit www.NoDaBrewing.com.

About The Rare Beer Club™
The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club™ offers four different options for consumers. From the very inception of our original domestic beer of the month club in 1994, we’ve focused on consistently providing three primary product characteristics: Quality, Variety & Freshness. And in that spirit, we now offer you four outstanding beer club options, each dedicated to those same principles. Our owner’s favorite club features the finest the world of beer has to offer in limited-release, celebratory, artisanal beers from some of Michael Jackson’s favorite breweries. Two different selections are presented each month in 750 ml bottles, often cork finished, and some individually tissue wrapped. Members experience bold U.S. and imported interpretations of Farmhouse Ales, Russian Imperial Stouts, Barley Wines, Belgian Abbey Ales, varied Imperial, Extreme, Strong Ale and Grand Cru offerings, oak-aged ales imparting bourbon and vanilla notes, and much more. Many selections are pushing the envelope of creativity, are not yet distributed in the U.S., and brewed such that they can be cellared and aged.

About Pints for Prostates
Pints for Prostates is a 501(c)3 a campaign that reaches men through the universal language of beer to encourage them to take charge of their health. The group was founded by prostate cancer survivor and beer writer Rick Lyke in 2008. The grassroots effort raises awareness among men about the importance of regular health screenings and PSA testing by making appearances at beer festivals, social networking and pro bono advertising. According to the National Cancer Institute, 240,890 new prostate cancer cases were diagnosed in the U.S. in 2011. More information is available at www.pintsforprostates.org. Pints for Prostates also has a presence on Facebook and Twitter (@pints4prostates).

The brewery population in Atlanta recently reached double digits.

Not terribly long ago, we explored the idea of confronting Jack Frost mano a mano and actually heading north in our wintry beer travels. Bold, but there’s a more comfortable way to soak up beer culture that puts hop bite ahead of frostbite. And with craft beer culture permeating every corner of the country, consider visiting existing and emerging hot spots in the American South.

It took the South a bit longer to appear on the beer map, considering, historically, it was more difficult to brew quality beer below the Mason-Dixon line (hotter temperatures spoiled the beer. Plus, no hops). But modern technology and passion know no bounds. So forget about talk of secession—the South is rising and even Yankees ought to pack a few growlers and shorts and prepare to eat more biscuits and gravy with breakfast than some folks might ordinarily get all year.

Atlanta

When RateBeer.com users vote two beer bars in Atlanta among the top in the U.S. (OK, one’s in Decatur, but they’re less than four miles apart), it’s clear The Big Peach plays a dominant role. No wonder the brewery population has reached double digits.

Brewerywise, it starts with Red Brick Brewing (2323 Defoor Hills Road). Georgia’s first craft brewery, founded as the Atlanta Brewing Co., counts Hoplanta IPA and Red Brick Brown among its core beers. It created the Brick Mason series for bigger beers, including a Double IPA and Vanilla Gorilla that sees a smoked porter receive smoked vanilla beans before aging in whiskey barrels. Red Brick’s 17^th Anniversary Ale is an imperial version of its brown ale, then aged in Jim Beam barrels.

SweetWater Brewing Co. (195 Ottley Drive NE) in the Buckhead neighborhood, was founded in 1996 and has grown into one of the country’s largest on the strength of its flagship 420 Extra Pale Ale. Its growing barrel program keeps it at the forefront of intriguing new beers. Visit the brewery for a tour Wednesday through Saturday, but really, just skip the tour and spend your time kicking it at the tasting room, where a ten spot gets six 5.5-ounce beers.

Atlantans have thrown their arms around 5 Seasons, now with three locations stretching from 5 Seasons-Midtown (1000 Marietta St.) to the original in Sandy Springs tucked inside The Prado shopping center (5600 Roswell Road) and 5 Seasons-North in the suburb of Alpharetta (3655 Old Milton Parkway). Two talented brewmasters helm the brew houses, both esteemed for the brews. On the pub side, the fare leans more toward gastro than grub. There’s no going wrong with the Organic Brisket Reuben with amazing hand-cut sweet potato fries (with cocoa chili). The entrees are always elegant, and, this being Atlanta, definitely go for the Coca-Cola Cured Duck Breast. (Do this preferably after visiting the World of Coca-Cola, aka the Coke Museum, at 121 Baker St. NW; worldofcoca-cola.com).

As if brewpubs aren’t fun enough on their own, Twain’s (211 E. Trinity Place in Decatur) is both a billiard hall and brewpub. Well, it started tapping only other people’s beers, but in ’06 the pub wisely started to brew its own. The Tropicalia Project is its series of single-hopped IPAs. The food menu is beered up, too, in small but fun ways like making spent-grain bread and offering IPA-brined pickles. With pool tables as well as shuffleboard and arcade games, hope you weren’t in a rush to go somewhere else.

The beer joint often seen as synonymous with Atlanta is the Brick Store Pub (125 E. Court Square in Decatur). On the main floor, it feels like you’re in a British pub, down to the horseshoe bar and British classics such as shepherd’s pie on the menu. The draft list is far-reaching, but you’ll certainly find a few taps dedicated to in-state brews from SweetWater and perhaps something from Athens’ Terrapin. Upstairs, the beer culture changes to little Belgium in the Belgian Room. Here, you can get your geek on with a bottle list that’s even longer than the one printed for downstairs, and—it goes without saying—pricier, too. But hey, Cantillon is worth the cost, and it’s on the list.

Newer on the Decatur scene but from the same Gallagher brothers who brought us The Pub is Leon’s Full Service (131 E. Ponce de Leon Ave.), its name taken from its former use as an actual filling station. Here, beer shares the spotlight with its cocktail brethren, and the munchies menu has gone more upscale, including Georgia shrimp and clams in a white wine broth. But fans of finger foods will love the frites served with a staggering array of dipping options (the curry ketchup and smoked tomato mayo are my faves) and the most talked about is the glassful of bacon strips with a side of peanut butter for dipping.

The Porter (1156 Euclid Ave.) in Little 5 Points is the other beer mecca in town. With over 800 beers to be enjoyed (including 40 on draft), how could it not be? Order a glass of the L5 Project Imperial Porter from Wrecking Bar, one of Atlanta’s other fine new breweries, or a bottle of Hard Time Barleywine from one of Georgia’s newest and most exciting micros. Happily, since you’ll be doing some serious drinking here, you get to do serious eating, too. The half-pound burger is a meal to behold, and if the Wrecking Bar is your first stop of the day, at least on weekends, the brunch options are mouthwatering. The toughest decision you make may be whether to go sweet with pancakes topped with bananas flambé and toasted pecans, or savory with a “Biscuit’wich” holding scrambled eggs, cheese and choice of breakfast meat (including soysage for those who don’t do meat).

Since I forgot to mention that Leon’s offers a bocce court, now’s a good time to do so, seeing as Ormsby’s (1170 Howell Mill Road) in Westside sports bocce action, too. It even hosts (Atlanta Bocce) league play. The smartly curated draft options are apt to include some of the other Atlanta-area breweries such as Monday Night Brewing, which morphed from three guys who met in a Bible studies group and learned how to homebrew together into a company that, after a year in operation, is expanding into a 30-barrel brewery that’ll see the addition of a tap room and, duh, bocce courts.

Last but nowhere near least is Taco Mac, the chain of family-friendly sports bars that kick-started beer education in Atlanta—now with 22 locations—and expanding throughout the South. By getting patrons to enroll in the chain’s Brewniversity program and continue trying new beers (not hard when the bars have over 140 taps), Taco Mac deserves the credit for expanding people’s craft-beer perceptions and palates.

In fact, once you have more than a few beers punched on your member card, you can gain access to The Fred (5600 Roswell Road), hidden away in the basement of the Taco Mac-Prado location. Taco Mac beverage director Fred Crudder says he has the best job in the world. This is his tangible proof: Order up a Mac ’n’ Cheese Kobe Burger, pair it with something off Fred’s Secret Stash list you thought you’d never get to try, and sink into a night of rarefied beer culture.