Foothills Brewing - Dash City

Foothills sponsors the Dash minor league baseball team (and the Foothills Brewing Flight Deck beer bar in right field), and the moniker of both the team and this beer is an homage to Winston-Salem’s hyphenated name. The brewery set out to make an easy-drinking beer locals could call their own, and we think they succeeded nicely. On the pour, we get a richly golden hue capped by a head of off-white foam. In the aroma, look for this to come across nicely balanced between lightly bready and biscuity notes with a hint of caramelization on one hand, and a mild hop profile offering subtle floral touches, mild citric tones evoking lime & orange, and some woodsy pine resin on the other. This pleasant malt-hop balance carries on to the flavor too, with a core of prominent biscuity character offering just a hint of residual sweetness while the balancing hops provide some light drying bitterness amidst a floral and herbal-spicy quality. For pairing options, ballpark favorites sound great to us, like grilled hot dogs or brats, loaded nachos, burgers & fries, pizza, and warm pretzels. Cheers!

Foothills Brewing opened for business in 2005 with a brewpub/restaurant location on Fourth Street in downtown Winston-Salem, NC. At first, co-owner Jamie Bartholomaus was pretty much alone in the brewhouse, crafting Foothills’ beers from homebrew recipes he had developed while attending the University of Georgia in Athens.

Bartholomaus’s experience as a homebrewer had initially led to him working for Athens, GA’s now defunct Blind Man Ales. After relocating to North Carolina, he did a stint with the respected Olde Hickory Brewery before jumping into business for himself with Foothills. Since then, growth has been quite dramatic. After maxing out their brewpub system, Foothills acquired a new, larger, 48,000 sq. ft. facility a few miles to the southwest, which they put into production at the end of 2011, a year which saw a 46% increase in production compared to the year prior. Also in 2011, Foothills acquired the brewing division of Carolina Beer & Beverage, including their Carolina Blonde and Cottonwood Ales brands and all their brewing equipment – giving Foothills the ability to package beer for retail sales instead of relying solely on draft accounts. For more info on the brewery and tasting room, their brewpub restaurant, or their myriad year-round, seasonal, and limited-release beers (including their legendary Sexual Chocolate imperial stout, released annually for Valentine’s Day in very limited amounts) visit www.foothillsbrewing.com.