Richard Cox, David Gwynn, and Erin Lawrimore, “North Carolina Triad Beer: A History” (January 26)

Richard Cox, David Gwynn, and Erin Lawrimore, Co-Founders of Well Crafted NC

Authors, UNCG Libraries

North Carolina Triad Beer: A History

Since North Carolina legalized the operation of retail facilities by craft breweries in 1985, craft beer has become big business in the state. More than 300 independent breweries exist in North Carolina, a number that has quadrupled since 2010. By one estimate, the annual economic impact of the craft beer industry in North Carolina exceeds $2 billion.

The Triad region may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think “North Carolina beer,” but it was home to one of the state’s earliest brewery operations, to the state’s largest brewery operations and to some of the state’s earliest craft brewpubs. In 2019, three of the top five highest-producing craft breweries in North Carolina were anchored in the Triad. Craft breweries have filled abandoned textile mills and tobacco warehouses across the region, providing economic growth and sparking redevelopment of Main Streets and other neighborhoods and business districts.

Join the authors of North Carolina Triad Beer: A History as they introduce you to some of the people, places, and events that have helped build the North Carolina craft brewing industry today.

Biographical Information

Richard Cox, David Gwynn, and Erin Lawrimore are the co-founders of Well Crafted NC (www.WellCraftedNC.com), a project focused on researching and documenting the history of beer and brewing in North Carolina, and the authors of North Carolina Triad Beer: A History (The History Press, 2021).

In addition to their work as local beer historians, they are all employed in the University Libraries at UNC Greensboro. Cox is the Digital Technology Consultant, Gwynn is the Digital Projects Coordinator and Associate Professor, and Lawrimore is the University Archivist and Associate Professor.