More and more often, visitors to North Carolina come here for the North Carolina Craft Beer scene. The word is out that our state is home to more (and yep, a lot of them are better) breweries than any other state in The South.

Sure, if you’re lucky enough to live in the midst of all this innovative beer goodness, you’re happy to show out-of-town guests around.  But are you missing out on taking your own beer exploration weekends?

If you haven’t spent a beer weekend in Raleigh lately, you may not have reaped the benefits of the capital area’s craft brewery boom.  Sure, there are museums to enjoy here, but we now have more local breweries than museums. Not that you can’t enjoy both. You’ll want to try many — or maybe all — of the brews at each place you visit on your personal beer trail. You’ll also enjoy some of your best times at our nearby beer-pouring cafés, taprooms, saloons and assorted watering holes.

Why not base yourself not far from Lonerider’s tasting room, which we call “The Hideout,” tucked away near the Raleigh-Durham airport and our local William B. Umstead State Park? (Grab a fishing pole. Technically you would be a genuine, literal outlaw if you took tall cans of our outlaw brews to drink at the park. So if you’re watching your back, have a delicious beer before and after fishing in a park.) If you’re meeting out-of-towners, bring ’em on in to our outlaw HQ first, then start to visit our 20 fellow breweries and all the amazing joints where their suds and ours get poured. Come to think of it, you may want to take more than one weekend.

We’re also easy for our fellow Carolinians to drive to. Designate your favorite sweet tea drinker to point your vehicle towards the junction of 70 and Interstate 540, and get to one of our tour weekends when you can.

For suggestions on where to stay in town, tips on where to go beyond the Raleigh area, or to tell us your own outlaw destinations and travel strategies, just contact us any time. Thanks, and get out there, outlaws!