CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA

Three streets away from Top Of The Hill, the more diverse CAROLINA BREWERY, with its casual wood-furnished dining area and second floor plasma-screened VIP lounge, had better fare, July ‘04. More conducive to attracting University of North Carolina students than its brewpub competitor, it blends sportsbar atmosphere and blue-collar ruggedness with family-styled friendliness.

Brewer Jon Connolly bid lemony mild-hopped Kolsch-styled Sky Blue Golden Ale; sharp-fruited mash tun-baked Copperline Amber Ale; imposingly bitter Chinook-hopped grapefruit-peeled lemon-limed Firecracker Pale Ale; resinous salami-smoked banana-fruited clove-spiced West End Wheat; loud stone-fruited spice-hopped Flagship IPA; and coffee-dried mocha-sweet chocolate-powdered Old North State Stout.

www.carolinabrewery.com

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA

On July ’04 trip through Raleigh-Durham, hit upscale downtown Chapel Hill brewpub TOP OF THE HILL for family dinner. This second floor restaurant had lovely balcony area to enjoy fine American cuisine. Connected to the town library and a downstaris Gap clothing shop in a professional building, it’s accessible by elevator.

Quaffed earthy wheat-husked hay-grassed barnyard-wafted Kuralt Ultra Low Carb, soapy yellow-fruited herbaceous bitter Keenan Summer Lager, lemony orange rind-embittered coriander-spiced spritzer Old Well White, dry-hopped date-nut-breaded rye-malted Village Vienna, and sharp mocha-fruited Davie Poplar IPA prior to dinner.

Soft-watered coffee-burnt chocolate-roasted Frank Graham Porter and frothily malt-roasted earthen-grained peat-smoked IPA-porter blend Chuck Stone Black & Tan (merging roasted nut-burnt wood) were a tad better as nightcaps.

www.topofthehillrestaurant.com