North Carolina Is Making It Easier to Visit Its Craft Breweries by Train

For craft beer enthusiasts, stopping at a variety of breweries to sample their wares can be a great way to get a sense of what’s happening in that region. There’s one aspect that complicates that somewhat — you’re also going to want to be mindful of your drinking if you’re taking a car from place to place. (Or making use of a designated driver.) If your brewery tour isn’t being conducted by car, however, that opens up more possibilities — and North Carolina recently announced an intriguing program to see (and taste) more of the state’s craft beer.

The program is called N.C. Ale Trail By Rail, and it’s a partnership between NC By Train and the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild. Trains run between Raleigh and Charlotte, with stops in between in Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury and Cabbarus County. Depending on how far you’re looking to travel, NC By Train notes that beer fans can embark on “day trips, overnight getaways or a weekend of whistle-stop crawls.”

The Guild has also put together a website offering helpful information on breweries located near each train station. There are no less than five breweries that are within a 20 minute walk from Durham’s train station, for instance. WNCN’s Starletta Watson also noted that interested craft beer fans will likely want to order a multi-ride pass if embarking on this excursion.

If you are planning on making a few stops in one day, it’s probably worth stating from the outset that NC By Train does not allow open containers on trains. So if you do pick up a growler or some bottles at one stop, you’ll want to wait until you get home before opening them.

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N.C. Ale Train By Rail does look like a great way to both see a lot of North Carolina and try a host of interesting beers. That said, there are also plenty of other great breweries elsewhere in the state — with Asheville’s craft beer scene being one notable example.