In the rush to thank North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper for recognizing April as NC Beer Month, the state's main craft beer group accidentally mentioned a different — and controversial — politician as the governor.
The subject line of an email from the NC Craft Brewers Guild thanked "Governor Roy Moore" for recognizing the state's beer industry. It was correct in the enclosed press release, both in the headline and throughout the release.
Moore, a Republican, is the former US Senate candidate from Alabama who was accused by multiple women of pursuing sexual relationships with them when they were teens and he was in his 30s. Moore denied the accusations.
People took to social media Friday morning to joke about the mistake. Soon after, Andrew Lemley, who became president of the Craft Brewers Guild in November, sent out another email clarifying that "of course" he meant to say Cooper.
"I sincerely apologize," he said.
In an interview later, he said he never wanted to create any trouble for Cooper on what was otherwise a positive occasion.
And make no mistake about the most important detail — April really is NC Beer Month.
This is the sixth annual official Craft Beer Month for North Carolina, which now has around 250 breweries that contribute about $2 billion a year to the state economy.
Cooper kicked off the celebrations Thursday by visiting Ponysaurus Brewing, a popular Durham brewery that made headlines in 2016 when it brewed a beer called "Don't Be Mean To People." It donated $40,000 in proceeds from sales of that beer to gay rights groups in the wake of the HB2 backlash that helped propel Cooper into the governor's mansion.
The festivities being organized for Beer Month by the Brewers Guild include parties at local breweries, plus a chance to win free trips to big craft beer festivals in western North Carolina, in the Triangle or on the coast.
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"The big difference for Beer Month this year from in the past is how people are going to be interacting with the breweries," Lemley said.
Instead of getting a "passport" stamped when visiting a brewery, Lemley said revelers this year should download the beer-centric Untappd mobile app for their check-ins. The more you check in on the app, the better your chances are at winning one of the trips that are up for grabs.
There are events planned almost daily all around the state. People can search for events in certain places or dates at ncbeermonth.com/events.
In Raleigh, several breweries will be celebrating their anniversaries, and at least one brand new brewery will have its grand opening. Funguys Brewing, at 2408 Paula St. north of downtown Raleigh will have its grand opening on Saturday, April 14.
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