CHESHIRE
GRIN
Belgian Wit
★ 3RD PLACE / SHAMROCK OPEN XXIV
01 / THE ORIGIN STORY
IT STARTED
IN A KITCHEN.
Two coworkers. One stout kit.
A whole new obsession.
We’re Brad Carpenter and Adam James. After working together for a couple of years, Adam asked Brad a simple question: want to learn how to brew a beer?
On December 21, 2014, we started in Brad’s home kitchen in Raleigh. That first stout wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t great, either. The soy-sauce note probably wasn’t what the kit had in mind.
An introduction to homebrewing class at Bull City Homebrew in Durham changed everything. Brad dove headfirst into learning the craft, and our next brew was an all-grain porter: Hyper Spicy Kitty, infused with chocolate, coffee, and Thai Dragon peppers. That one was delicious.
From there, we kept brewing. Sometimes we chase a classic style. Sometimes we follow a flavor combination just to see where it takes us. Curiosity is always part of the recipe.
To Bull City Homebrew: thanks for lighting the fuse. Rest in peace. ♡
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
A nod to Nine Inch Nails. A wink at a cat’s nine lives. And a little German “nein” for attitude. Put them together and you get Nein Lives.
