While the Triad is now bustling with high quality breweries, Foothills Brewing has been a Winston-Salem icon since St. Patrick’s Day in 2005 – the perfect day for a brewery’s grand opening. Known as the pioneer brewery of Winston-Salem, along with its place in history as North Carolina’s 18th brewery (there are now almost 400), Foothills Brewing serves customers in its tasting room, its brewpub in Downtown Winston-Salem, and its newest member of the family, Footnote Coffee & Cocktails.
What originally drew me to Foothills wasn’t its acclaimed craft beer or one of the many craft cocktails available at the Brewpub’s bar. When I heard about the Brewpub’s smoked wings with a brown sugar rub, I knew I was in for a treat. In fact, the wings pair perfectly with most beers on tap – not to mention the option to drench your wings in Foothills’ own Hoppyum IPA barbecue wing sauce. To top it off, all sauces, salad dressings, beer cheese, and even ketchup and mustard served at the brewpub are made in-house.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard of Foothills Brewing’s award-winning Jade IPA – one of the brewery’s most popular pours. A large reason Foothills became such a dynamo so quickly is due to the team’s emphasis on high-quality ingredients and the integrity of each product. Spearheaded and owned by couples Jamie and Sarah Bartholomaus and Matt and Meredith Masten, all hands are on deck at Foothills Brewing to ensure each product delivers consistent quality to customers. Rather than chasing trends that don’t always produce the best tasting beers, the Foothills team prefers to stay true to creating beers that they would like to drink themselves. As a newfound lover of sauvignon blanc, I was sad to hear that I was a couple of years late to the limited-time Sauvignon Blanc Barrel-Aged Jade IPA. For anyone who might question Brewmaster T.L. Adkisson’s attention to detail and commitment to quality, T.L. once pulled enough strings in New Zealand to snag sauvignon blanc barrels from the same region that the fruity and tropical Pacific Jade hops are grown. This iconic Jade IPA variant was aged in the exclusive sauvignon blanc barrels and is considered one of the best beers ever brewed at Foothills.
Fortunately, early birds no longer have to wait until lunchtime to get their Foothills fix. Having naively ordered a cappuccino at Footnote and having been charmed by its atmosphere, I was not surprised when I later learned that Footnote was the youngest ‘child’ in the Foothills Brewing family. With such a stellar reputation to uphold, I would have expected nothing less than an impressive third venture. What makes Footnote such a unique downtown staple is the option to not only order a latte or cappuccino with a homemade sweet treat, but to order craft cocktails and reserve the space for wedding receptions, retirement parties, and other major life events. It’s no coincidence that the third-born in the Foothills family mimics the stereotypical personality of the youngest child in the family – quirky, laidback, and having a knack for entertaining.
For those itching to be out and about this August, Foothills has nearly every night of the week covered with activities at one of its locations. Bring your pup to the Tasting Room’s Yappy Hour Doggie Social Hour on Tuesdays from 4 to 6 p.m., or stop by for live music on the weekends. With Foothills Brewing’s Craft Happiness Project, patrons can give back to the community by purchasing a rotating themed beer named after a community need. The Tasting Room holds events for nonprofit organizations that service those needs, while a portion of the themed beer’s proceeds are donated as well. So far, the Craft Happiness Project has helped over 50 nonprofit organizations and has donated nearly $20,000. Drink for a good cause and use the hashtag #goodbeerthatdoesgood to spread awareness.
Interested in staying up-to-date on the latest Foothills Brewing events and products? Visit www.foothillsbrewing.com, check out the team on Facebook and Twitter, and follow @foothillsbrewing on Instagram for everything Foothills.
