In the steamy flatlands of the so-called Inner Banks of North Carolina, there’s a small oasis called Kinston. It’s a town that grew out of the tobacco fields surrounding it.
As those fields have shrunk thus has the town, whose population has steadily but slowly decreased since the middle of the last century. Yes, tobacco’s been toppled from its throne and the manufacturing and textile plants that sustained so many Southern towns have relocated to overseas climes.
Even so, some Kinston-area folks still have capital and the wherewithal to use it. They want to remake the town and so are creating surprising pockets of sophisticated revitalization among the half-full brick storefronts.
Me and head brewer at Mother Earth Brewing. That’s my look of joy and amazement.
I made the trek to Kinston last week to visit the 10-month-old craft brewery called, without irony, Mother Earth Brewing.
MEB is the brainchild, business, and brewing Mecca of two lifelong Kinston residents, Stephen Hill and his son-in-law, Trent Mooring. The twosome’s smart enough to recognize a trend—the craft beer explosion—and take a no-holds-barred leap. They’re also wise enough to do it in an area where no one else has taken the brewing plunge. In the process, MEB can parch the thirst of a part of the state where the asphalt shimmers with light-distorting waves for at least half the year.
I’ve spent a lot of time in breweries, and MEB is a Mercedes brewery. Unlike most small start-up craft breweries, the MEBers jumped right into bottling and distribution—which, given their locale, makes sense. They also had to start off right by making that most significant of decisions–the head brewer hire.
And by gosh, hiring Chicago-native, big beer aficionado and charming guy Josh Brewer may have been the owners’ best move. In fact, Mooring told me it was about the smartest thing he’s done in so far in this business.
Yes, in one of those lovely cases of predestination, Brewer truly is his surname.
Josh Brewer, brewer
So you’ve renovated an old building (according to Mooring, it once housed the first drive-through pharmacy in N.C.). You’ve brought high-end brewing equipment. You’ve hired your brewer and let him put together his team (Greg, Pete and Travis). So, it’s time to put the mash in the tanks and brew the damn beer. I probably don’t have to tell you that all these ingredients can be perfectly rendered, but if the product’s not amazing? Well, then you’ve got a couple tons of pricey stainless steel on your hands and some smart folks out of work.
As I’ve noted before, you can’t sell craft beer in this state unless it’s great craft beer. While I’ll try any beer once, I only go back to those that are excellent. And Brewer’s are that.
In fact, I decided to make the trek to MEB based on a mere sip of Brewer’s Four Roses Bourbon barrel-aged Tripel Overhead Belgian at Asheville’s Beer City Festival in June. One taste of that nectar was all the impetus necessary to get my heiney road-tripping.
Brick, stainless steel and beer heaven
Even so, I was surprised—both by the forethought put into Mother Earth’s brewery and the quality and creativity of the beers.
Brewer’s standard palette (so far) includes Sisters of the Moon IPA, Weeping Willow Wit, Endless River Kolsch, and Dark Cloud Dunkel Lager. All of which are solid, great-tasting craft beers.
But what I love, and what struck me as his really strong suit, are Brewer’s “experimental” brews. May I wax rhapsodic for a few lines about some of these beers? Two words: lemon lager. While they’re the norm in the big domestic beer world, lagers are rarer in the craft beer universe. They’re typically not big flavorful beers, and they take longer to ferment than ales. But when they’re done right and well, they’re amazing. Brewer’s lemon lager is one of these—light, easy-to-drink, perfectly carbonated, with just a touch of lemon tang. I think my slightly out-of-proportion enthusiasm for this brew surprised Brewer. But yes…I love that lager.
Enlivening the other end of the beer spectrum is MEB’s barrel-aged Imperial Stout. I’m a stout junkie, and this one rocks. It’s a smooth chocolate-rich dark brew with a bourbon bite finish and a creamy head that’ll make you want to lick your lips (or someone else’s).
Sadly, these “experimental” beers are only on draught–some only at the brewery—though I hear that a few might be bottled as seasonal specials. Please make it so.
As I mentioned earlier , the MEB team decided to put a good bit of their capital straight into bottling and distribution, which given their location, makes sense. But what’s remarkable to me is how quickly they’ve grown. Mooring says they now have about 550 accounts throughout the state — at least 25 of those in Beer City, USA (Asheville). They’ve doubled their capacityin the past month, adding a couple 60-barrel fermenters that shoot up into the space where most of the building’s second floor once resided.
Josh and me in MEB conference room, looking down on the tanks (well, I’m talking). But wow.
That’s pretty phenomenal growth, even with Tryon Distributing on your side. And those accounts are only in the Tarheel state. Next up for MEB is a possible excursion into the Atlanta area. Like Asheville, Atlanta’s got some great breweries, but there’s lots of room for craft beer growth there.
Back to Mother Earth. The brewery’s adjoining taproom also is rather unexpected—think LA meets Deep South. And I’m not talking Lower Alabama. Wall-high white curtains kiss the rough-hewn floor planks. Black leather sofas mix with modern-retro floor lamps and red pod chairs inviting decadence. A simple and elegant central four-sided bar offers either small group tête-à-têtes or surreptitious people watching. The bar top’s lit from within by blue LEDs. Not exactly the best lighting for me personally, but an interesting touch.
MEB’s taproom. Brewer pours.
Another way that MEB is making their mark is more subtle, but important in today’s marketing world. This would be their “green” emphasis (solar panels, green building materials, use of locally grown products when possible, etc.). And their feminine logo, labeling and packaging complements that Gaia theme. Their labels are locally-inspired landscape paintings by Mooring’s high school art teacher.
Mother Earth Brewing is hometown equals femme power equals amazing beer equals let’s quaff to save the world. I kind of fell in love. With everything except the blue LEDs.
As y’all know, one of my beer-writing goals is to help educate the more beautiful half of the beer-drinking world about my favorite beverage. And, despite being mostly run by guys (albeit cute ones), MEB clearly understands that seducing half the population to quaff their product is indeed half the battle. And I appreciate that.
So, if you’re anywhere nearby, it’s worth making a trip to Kinston and Mother Earth (only about an hour and a half drive from Raleigh). And I haven’t even mentioned the amazing restaurant around the corner—Chef and The Farmer—owned and run by another Chicagoan and his locally-born spouse. Amazing food. And thanks to Josh Brewer, the restauranteurs know beer too.
This would be the best appetizer I’ve eaten in my life. It’s fresh sliced peaches wrapped in proscuitto and topped with sweet mustard and a spicy pecan puree. Chef and the Farmer Restaurant. Go eat there. Period.
My trip last week also included visits to Carolina Brewery in Chapel Hill and Big Boss Brewing in Raleigh. Those stories to follow.
Skaal, y’all. Peace, love & beer.
