Story by Matt Young. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – St. Paddy’s Day is coming. Want to try something besides green beer (ugh) or the usual Guinness?

First, An Ode to Guinness

Even though this article suggests expanding your aperture a little on March 17, I would never discourage anyone from lifting a pint of brown heaven. In the mid-1700′s Arthur Guiness got a 9000 year lease (NOT a typo!) on a brewery in Dublin. Soon they were producing the legendary stout and eventually Guinness became the biggest brewery in the world for quite a spell.

Guinness is delicious, not harsh like stouts can be. It has a cream-colored head and a pleasant aroma. Nice.

May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows your dead.

Irish Reds

“Irish Red” is a beer style. Something nice to try if you are throwing a St. Patrick’s Day party. While it’s not the most commonly drunk beer in Ireland, the labels say “Irish” on them. The style is pretty agreeable to even the biggest beer scaredy-cats. By definition it is low in alcohol content and lightly hopped. I won’t get onto the technical specs, but suffice it to say that it is similar to the average pale ale. And it has a pleasing dark amber or reddish color from the addition of roasted barley.

If you are interested, try Smithwick’s, Samuel Adam’s Irish, Harpoon Celtic, Great Lakes Conway’s, Saranac and Killian’s versions…and there’s many more.

May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!

Waiter, There’s an Oyster in My Beer!

I love seafood. I love fruit. Neither belongs in beer! Yuck.

…Or so I thought…until I had a Porterhouse Brewery (Dublin,Ireland) Oyster Stout.

I’m sticking by the “no fruit” comment though.

Anyway, here’s the deal. Someone got the crazy idea to throw some shucked oysters in the fermenting vessel. While it didn’t initially make sense to me, the combo has been around for hundreds of years as oysters have always been commonly served as a beer accompaniment. And in fact there are hundreds of homebrewers sharing recipes on the web for the stuff.

First of all it comes in a bottle with a pull-top. Very cool. Ask to take a look at one when you are beer shopping.

Some claim they can taste the salinity of the oysters, or a sea-like flavor. While I wasn’t sure I was getting that, I was tasting a darn good stout. Looks like cola in the glass, and has that almost burnt (but not unpleasant) stout aroma. If you like stout, this is a “must try”.

The saying on the side of the bottle: “Not suitable for vegetarians”. Brilliant.

May the roof over your heads be as well thatched as those inside are well matched.

St. Patrick’s Best Ale

If you are marketing a beer, and you want to sell it on St. Patrick’s Day, this is the best name you could choose. Face it.

AND it’s brewed in County Down where Patrick himself is buried by Strangford Lough Brewing Company.

This is a beer lover’s beer. And I was in love at first sip.

It has a mahogany color, is low in alcohol (4.2%), but is flavorful. It is what I would expect a traditional Irish ale to taste like: earthy, malty, bold and grassy. It has a dry and bitter finish.

May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty.

“The Hoppiest Beer on Earth”

That’s the slogan on the bottle of Moylan’s Brewery’s “Hopsickle Imperial Ale”.

Someone bought me a 22 ounce bottle for Christmas. Wow! A beer for hopheads.

Brewed in Navato, California by owner and founder Brendan Moylan (of Irish descent, I believe) this is a beer that boasts IBUs (International Bitterness Units) of over 100 (that’s a LOT)! And it is not force-carbonated with CO2 like most mass-produced beers. It has live yeast in the bottle and is thus, naturally carbonated. It packs a wallop at 9.2% alcohol.

I liked this one so much that when I first tasted it I contacted Mr. Moylan and asked if he share his “grain bill” (recipe) with me so I could brew it at home. And he happily did.

Description: Citrus-y and piney (from the types of hops used), and caramel-y (there is a lot of malt in here, that’s why the alcohol content is so high).

This beer is for people with serious hop-monkeys on their backs.  If you never had an IPA before, start with something tamer. Otherwise this might scare you. It made me, well, “hoppy”.

Moylan’s Brewery also boasts the likes of Dragoon’s Dry Irish Stout,  Tipperary Pale Ale, Celt’s Golden Ale, Irish Style Red, and Ryan Sullivan’s Imperial Stout. Irish enough for ya?

May those that love us, love us. And those that don’t love us, may God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles, so we’ll know them by their limping.

Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!

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The Wine & Beer Series on CaryCitizen is sponsored by Triangle Wine Company on Davis Drive in Morrisville.

Cary, NC – Beginning January 1, 2011, CaryCitizen will run six ads instead of four in our ad spaces.

We’ve experienced tremendous growth thanks to our readers, sponsors, supporters and neighbors. Just a few months ago, a typical advertiser got about 500 exposures a week. That number has grown to over 3,800 impressions per week.

We decided to keep the prices steady and just increase the number of rotating ads.

With our growth continues, we expect the ad space to once again prove a bargain and be an amazingly effective vehicle for reaching Cary citizens in 2011.

Learn more about Advertising in CaryCitizen.

More Stats – We’re Over 200,000

People seem to enjoy hearing about our stats from time to time. Maybe it’s the Tech Town thing.

So here are a few other analytical tidbits:

• Just passed 200,000 total page views
• CC has grown to approximately 40,000 reads a month
• We’ve had 81,732 unique visitors
• Top 8 markets reading CaryCitizen: Cary, Morrisville, Raleigh, Apex, Durham, Asheville and Chapel Hill
• Banner space has a click-through rate (CTR) of .52%, more than twice the national average
• We published 80 stories in August; this one is #77 for September

Help Us Grow

You can help us grow by turning your friends on to CaryCitizen. Just send this note to one friend:

“Have you seen CaryCitizen? You can subscribe by email. It’s free.”

That’s it!

Thanks for your help, Cary citizens (and friends in Morrisville, Apex, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill & Asheville, too).

Buy a Shirt, Buy a Photo or Tell Us a Story

If you have news about Cary, email Managing Editor Matt Young.

For events, contact Associated Publisher Lindsey Chester. Please check the calendar for your event before rattling her cage.

We’ve opened an online CaryCitizen Store full of Cary spirit-wear including shirts, mugs, bags and hats. Show your civic pride and support local journalism.

If you’d like to buy a photo you’ve seen on CaryCitizen, contact Chris Adamczyk or Karl Fisher. We’re in the process of putting together a Citizen Photo website, but they’ll be happy to help you in the interim.

Cary, NC – Get your business revved up for fall with our CaryCitizen end-of-summer sale.

Save Hundreds

Everyone knows that CaryCitizen is the best advertising value in town. And, through August 31, 2010, you can save 20% off our already low rates.

You could save hundreds of dollars. Lock in low rates now for autumn and the holidays.

A Big Audience, Right Here

CaryCitizen gets over 25,000 page views a month, more than 14,000 unique visitors.

Our ad space is more than twice as effective as the national average for banner ads. And, 92% of our visits come from within 5 miles of the town.

If you want to talk to Cary, you should be talking to us.

Act Now

Sale goes on through August 31, 2010 (or until we’re sold out).

Email Lindsey Chester or call (919) 244-6463 to reserve your spot in CaryCitizen at 20% off.

Cary, NC – It’s really our pleasure to bring you stories of the good things happening in Cary. And our advertisers make that coverage possible.

This week, we’re pleased to welcome Don Frantz for NC House and The Grove School. We’d also like to thank Rallypoint for their continuing support and congratulate The Cary Players on selling out their show.

This is the last week to take advantage of our 50% off sale on advertising and sponsorships. Not many spots left. Contact Lindsey for more info.

We’d also like to give a shout to a pair of advertisers rolling out campaigns over the next few weeks – the Carolina Railhawks and Friends of Page Walker.

Thanks to all of our very generous sponsors!

• Amy Shair, Realtor - We’re pleased to welcome one of Cary’s most experienced real estate professionals as an advertiser.
• SHMaK - Cary’s rock and roll band, playing Friday January 8 at Rally Point.
• A Fifth of Blues – One of the top ten blues acts in the Triangle for over 68 weeks according to ReverbNation. Playing at Rally Point on Thursday January 14.
• CaryCitizen – Banner ads in the header at 50% off through Feb 1. As low as $20 per week.

If you’d like to advertise or sponsor CaryCitizen, email Vanessa Mouton.

A Fifth of Blues at the Aviator Brewing Company on Dec 12

If you like the blues, don’t miss this show at the Aviator Brewing Company’s new Tap House in the old Fuquay-Varina train depot. There’ll be plenty of Muddy Waters, B.B.King and Robert Johnson to go with the best craft brews in North Carolina. Show starts at 7 PM, no cover. More info.

Goodtree & Co – Websites for Business

Goodtree & Co produce some of the best known sites in the Triangle including North Hills, JoCoPlants and CaryCitizen. Learn more about our services including websites, video, photography and copywriting.

50% Off on Ad Space - Intro Special

Want to reach the citizens of Cary? Try CaryCitizen. With over 10,000 page views a month, it’s the fastest growing publication in town. Now through February 1, 50% off on ad space for any length contract. Introductory rates start as low at $17 a week. Learn more about advertising on CaryCitizen.