“Green” Beer In August: The Beer Road Visits A Wind Powered Brew Pub With Darn Good Brews.
Now, don’t get me wrong. When vacationing at the beach, I do enjoy the occasional distraction from the sand. Very occasional. Most beach communities have more than their share of good restaurants, good bars – the kind only the locals know of, and other fun attractions. But I usually reserve such things solely for rainy days though, gladly choosing to spend every last sunny minute beside the ocean, starring in my own Coron, no, craft-beer-on-the-beach moment. On my family’s recent Outer Banks vacation week, I really had only one off the beach destination in mind. However, sunny day after glorious sunny day passed, with thankfully no sign of rain. With no precipitation in sight, and the week passing quickly, I decided to sacrifice a single afternoon for a trip to the Outer Banks Brewing Station, “America’s First Wind Powered Brew Pub”, and as I found out, home to some really outstanding beer. I trusted the beach would forgive me.
Sitting at the bar, with vacationers and locals alike sampling the brews, I began to feel comfortable that I was away from the simple enjoyment of the beach. I noticed locals chose darker and lighter beers both, and were happy to make conversation as I moved through my four beer sampler of the Brewing Station’s Kolsch, Lemongrass Wheat Ale, Golden Ale, and IPA. All were flavorful and did not disappoint, with the Wheat Ale and IPA standing out – the former, an unfiltered, lighter bodied, effervescent brew with a slightly yeasty and noticeable lemongrass taste – the latter starts out quite pine like but moves into citrusy hop flavors quickly, balancing both on the tongue with sufficient bittering and a malt backbone which sits over in the corner trying desperately to be heard. After all the small 4 oz. sample glasses were gone, the bartender affectionately offered to get me a “big boy’s beer”, and I complied with one of the IPAs. The Lemongrass Pale Wheat Ale came home with me though.
The Brewing Station itself certainly is a comfortable point of escape away from the heat of the beach. Featuring plenty of seating, a large bar, an outdoor seating and recreation area, and architecture modeled after a lifesaving station, the brew pub was certainly worth the sacrificed afternoon from the beach. A wind turbine provides partial power to the brew pub, and gives it a noticeable landmark to both find it by and to feel good that you’re supporting the establishment. In a promotional video on the brewpub’s website, the founders state that part of their intent is to create a starting point on the Outer Banks for wind power usage. I highly recommend that if you’re at the Outer Banks, get by the Brewing Station and support their idea. It’s pretty easy, as it turns out. Just take a seat at the bar, as I did, and enjoy the good beer. The beach will forgive you.
The Beer Road 