Pop the Cap Turns 21!
Date: Thu, Aug 13, 2026
Time: 1 PM - 3 PM
Venue: Fullsteam Brewery's new location at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, NC, Durham
Price: Free
Category: Community
You are invited to celebrate the movement that made our state a craft beer powerhouse. In 2003, a group of North Carolinians launched a grassroots movement to shatter the state's rigid 6% ABV limit. The three-year-effort to lift the cap was passed on August 13, 2005.Tryon Distributing, Fullsteam, and the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild have teamed up to throw a birthday bash exactly 21 years later. The party will be held at Fullsteam’s highly anticipated new location at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham on August 13 – so come get a sneak peak before their grand opening!The event will kick off at 5 pm with an exclusive panel discussion featuring the original organizers, lobbyists, and trailblazers who fought to change NC beer laws and pave the way for craft breweries. After the panel, we’ll transition into party mode featuring Fullsteam beer and the guild’s limited-edition collaboration release, "Breweries Make it Better." This West Coast Pilsner is a pourable celebration of North Carolina’s incredible brewing community. The beer is brewed using 100% local North Carolina malts sourced from all three of the state’s malt houses: Epiphany Malt, Riverbend Malt House, and Carolina Malt House.The event is entirely free to attend, and all members of the public and media are welcome.
