GREENSBORO, N.C. — Five years ago, Khalif Mathieu looked at North Carolina from the snowy, northern winters of Michigan and saw a land of greener pastures where the water ran pale gold (or amber, or dark, depending on your preference). The state was on the cusp of a craft beer uproar and it could be heard around the country.
"My wife and I decided we wanted to go somewhere warmer," Mathieu said. "So we picked the 'State of Southern Beer' figuring it would be a good fit for us."
Today, the evidence suggests he was right. Mathieu is the Head Brewer at the Pig Pounder Brewery on Grecade Street in Greensboro, North Carolina. In a state now littered with craft breweries, his English-style "Boar Brown" has risen to the top like a fine foam, winning gold at the USA "World Beer Awards" three out of the past four years.
The rising popularity of craft beer among millennials has driven much of the success, but Mathieu sees changes in preference as a major factor in the craft beer explosion.
"The easier regulatory environment doesn't hurt. That doesn't impede the creation of craft beer," He said.
"But I think people are really looking for more flavor culinary, and beer is a part of that."
As the craft brewery business expanded, canning and selling the beer became increasingly important. In stepped, Niels Larson and Patrick Sanecki, Co-Owners of Tap Hopper Canning.
"There only used to be 35 craft breweries in North Carolina," said Mathieu, "Now it's pushing 200-plus."
Tap Hopper Canning wheels their mobile canning machine right up to the door of their clients, assemble it, and can the beers right on the brewery's property. The machine takes an hour to set up, and spits out 44 sealed and labeled 12 oz. cans a minute. It's a localized, micro-brewery approach to big-volume packaging.
"Cans are really the future of craft brewery in North Carolina and all over the country," Larson said.
"But especially in this area, we saw how [the breweries] could use this as a next step to grow."
The duo has worked in the hospitality and restaurant business for years, but became familiar with the beer-making process through their agri-tourism business, Tap Hopper Tours. The company buses patrons to Triad breweries to taste beer and give a behind-the-scenes look at how craft brewers, like Pig Pounder, make their drinks.
It all feeds off the growth of craft beer, and what Sanecki said is a de-stigmatization of alcohol consumption.
"It's not looked down upon like it once was," he said, "and where breweries go, business follows. Everyone knows that. We've seen areas revitalized with the help of craft beer. Breweries are gathering places."
"It's an awesome side-business for them," Mathieu said of Tap Hopper Canning.
"We've really enjoyed working with them. It helps both of us," he said.