A few weeks ago, I reported on the recent rapid growth in the number of craft breweries in the area. Turns out beer isn't the only good news brewing.
In Pittsboro, Starrlight Mead (480 Hillsboro St.; 533-6314; starrlightmead.com) celebrated its grand opening in October. Making and selling honey wine with an ancient pedigree, the Triangle's first meadery is a family-run venture, but hardly an amateur one.
Meadmaker Ben Starr's mulled apple cyser (mead made with apples) won Best in Show at the 2006 International Mead Festival. Starr's wife, Becky, conducts tours and tastings (see the website for a schedule), while beekeeper son Chris provides the wildflower honey that gives the mead its nectarlike perfume.
Starrlight offers two variations on traditional honey mead: semi-sweet (think dessert wine) and off-dry, which isn't nearly as sweet as you might expect, and pairs well with food. The shop also sells a rotating selection of fruit-based meads (blackberry, peach and spiced apple).
In Raleigh's City Market, Benelux Café (309 Blake St.; 763-5267; http://benelux cafe.com ) offers your choice of brew - coffee or beer - under one roof. "I was aiming for what they call in Europe a grand cafe," says owner Steven Halaszi.
The shop offers an assortment of pastries, wraps and quiche du jour to go with your Joe Van Gogh espresso or gingerbread latte - or, depending on your thirst and the time of day, Belgian ale or Dutch lager.
If, on the other hand, the word "brew" conjures up images of hoisted pinkies and Darjeeling in porcelain cups, then Tin Roof Teas (419-B Daniels St.; 834-9000; tinroofteas.com ) ought to be your cup of tea. Brothers Ryan and Richard Hinson offer more than 250 varieties of premium loose tea, a wide selection of bagged teas, accessories and gifts.
