Crank Arm Brewing Company Raleigh, NC Use to be a Rickshaw Company

When I was much younger and new in Charleston, SC, my friends and I would rent Rickshaws( after an evening of drinking) with strong, lean young men peddling them and we would have them race down King St in Charleston offering cash to the winner. Great fun!  I wonder if any of the rickshaw drivers in Raleigh were conned into racing in the middle of the night?

We were at the Raleigh Beirgarten in October and we met the folks from Crank Arm Brewing Company.I had been interviewing the barkeep about the local beers on tap when Adam Eckhardt, Natalie  Anderson and Michael Morris came in for a beer before work. They are the crew from Crank Arm Brewing. We were just tasting one of their beers so we started talking and I said I was a blogger wanna be who was writing about Women Who Love Beer. They bought us a flight of their beer which was a great surprise and we talked beer for a while. Michael and Adam, the owners of Crank Arm

have 25 years of combined experience brewing and they have been brewing professionally for 17 years. They have created an award winning brewery with a delicious variety. Natalie is the knowledgeable taproom manager. She said besides enjoying beer, she loves to manage, and she enjoys making pottery. She is the mother of a 17 year old. They finished their beer and had to go but invited us over to check out their brewery at 3.

One of the first things I learned was they do their tasting of beer first thing in the morning when their palates are still fresh. Being critical of themselves keeps their beer fresh and original. I also watched them sanitize a wooden cask with 170 degree hot water. Hopefully the water will also tighten the ribs and there won't be any leaks they told me.

On tap is :Rickshaw Rye IPA  7% ABV This is a nice IPA brewed with nugget hops. Wonderful nose and a nice spice to it. This beer won "Best of Show" for the North Carolina Brewer's Cup.
They also won a First Place Ribbon for their Brett Saison which was brewed with tart cherries and aged in white wine barrels.
Whitewall Belgian Wheat was brewed with Citra and Falconer's  Hops 4.4 ABV . This is a good, flavorful, mildly citrusy beer that is light bodied. I really enjoyed it.
With over 50 beers brewed, they always have something great on tap. They also distribute regionally. You can go to their website at www.crankarmbrewing.com or find them on Facebook. Definitely worth a visit when in Raleigh!!!