Best beers from Brewgaloo 2017

RALEIGH — Prior to the massive downpour in Raleigh and the surrounding areas, Brewgaloo filled Fayetteville Street with 100 North Carolina breweries on a sun-drenched afternoon that led to a warm night in downtown Raleigh.I’m not going to lie and say I was able to sample every single beer from all 100 breweries — mostly because I have limitations and wanted to at least be able to walk home under my own power.However, of the myriad breweries that my group did sample, there were a handful of beers that topped the list. Here’s a look back at some of the best beer straight from the tap at Brewgaloo, starting with a Kinston favorite.Mother Earth Endless 
River KolschSummer is coming, and with it comes delicious, crisp beers to crush on a hot afternoon.That was on full display on a warm Saturday at Brewgaloo with a Mother Earth Endless River in your glass. This Kolsch has been around for years, but never fails to satisfy craft beer lovers of all varieties with its unmistakably smooth flavor.Despite walking past several tents of breweries that I’ve frequented in the past, it’s nearly impossible to pass up Mother Earth when Endless River is on tap.Birdsong Jalapeno AleThis was another beer that Birdsong has rolled out in the past, but it’s still as unique as any that were found on Fayetteville Street. With a great ale flavor and distinct peppery, jalapeno aftertaste, Birdsong packs a lot of punch in one beer.While the jalapeno notes are not for everyone, they are not overpowering in the beer either. The jalapeno ale is perfect for an afternoon of golf or heading to the beach with this drinkable brew that comes in four packs if you can’t get to Charlotte to get it straight from the tap.Bombshell Strawberries & Cream Summer AleContinuing with the seasonal beers from Saturday, Bombshell brings us a fruity beer that is as smooth as it is tasty. This was my wife’s favorite beer because it wasn’t too overpowering with a fruity flavor, but offered just the right amount of strawberry aftertaste until the next swig.Bombshell was founded by three “bombshell” women in 2012 and has been rolling out a variety of delicious beers since. With a beer perfectly catered to nearly any beer drinker looking for something different this summer, Bombshell has a winner in the Strawberries & Cream 
Summer Ale.Pig Pounder Swinestein WitThis brewery is admittedly one I hadn’t tried prior to Saturday afternoon at Brewgaloo. I regretted every second of never trying Pig Pounder after sampling the Swinestein Belgium Wit. Oh, then after sampling I went back for another full beer just to, you know, confirm my original assessment.The Swinestein has a perfect blend of citrus notes and is left unfiltered, giving it a thicker color in the glass. It’s a perfect complement to the Boar Brown, Pig Pounder’s gold medal-winning English Style brown ale that was also a huge hit at Brewgaloo.NC State Brewing Chancellor’s Choice IPATucked away on Martin Street just off to the side of Fayetteville Street was NC State Brewing, which brought two beers from the Sheppard Brewing Lab. Both were tasty, but the Chancellor’s Choice IPA was first class.Already an award winner at the N.C. Brewer’s Cup for the top overall IPA in the state, the Chancellor’s Choice is a hoppy beer perfect for the summer. While it doesn’t offer any deviation from some of the top IPAs in the craft beer scene, NC State has a great staple to build around for the future.