Museum hosts 3rd annual Natural Selections beer & science event Aug. 19

For immediate release ‐ June 17, 2016

Contact: Jon Pishney, 919.707.8083. Images available upon request

Natural Selections header

Updated August 9, 2016

RALEIGH — Join brewers from the Triangle area and beyond at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh for a one-of-a-kind evening of beer and science. At this third annual sampling session, held Friday, August 19, 7–10 p.m., more than 20 North Carolina breweries will offer unique creations fitting the Museum’s natural science focus. You can also enjoy live music by The Hey Brothers, a brewing demonstration by Atlantic Brew Supply, hands-on science-of-beer activities, discussions on ingredient “hits and misses,” and interactive games (like “beer goggle” corn hole). Vote for your favorite beer during the event and award the first annual Natural Selections People’s Choice Award to one lucky brewery. Food from Rocky Top Hospitality will be available for purchase during the event.

Additionally, members of three North Carolina State University research labs will be represented at this year’s event:

  • Beer Yeast Science. Yeast, one of the four ingredients in beer, can contribute up to 50 percent of a beer’s flavor. Members of the Dunn Lab invite you to see, smell, taste and learn about these microscopic creatures. Learn about where wild yeasts exist in nature, and how they capture them to make beer.
  • Wild Yeast: Effect on Beer Flavors. Sheppard Brew Lab has isolated two strains of wild yeast from social insects — a wasp and a bumblebee. They have made a lambic-style beer using the same recipe, but different strains of this wild yeast. Visitors to their booth can taste the two beers and guess which is from the bumblebee yeast and which is from the wasp yeast.
  • Altered States. Try your hand at corn hole while wearing “beer goggles” – prism goggles that mimic the visual impairment of intoxication by shifting your vision using Fresnel lenses. See how your coordination suffers “under the influence” with members of the Meitzen Lab.

Tickets are $30 ($25 for Museum members) and are available now at naturalsciences.org/beer or from the Museum Box Office (on-site or via 919.707.9950), which will be open until 8pm on event night for last-minute tickets. Ticket price includes collectible Natural Selections tasting glass. You must be 21 or older to attend. Photo ID is required for entry.

Free Ride: The Museum has partnered with Uber to give you free rides to (or from) Natural Selections. Enter the code NATSELECT16 to ride free in style! If you already have Uber, try referring someone who hasn’t signed up yet — you’ll both receive $20 off your next ride.

Participating breweries include:

  • Aviator Brewing Company
  • Big Boss Brewery
  • Bold Rock Hard Cider
  • Bombshell Beer Company
  • Bond Brothers Beer Company
  • Brüeprint Brewing Company
  • Carolina Brewing Company
  • Clouds Brewing
  • Compass Rose Brewery
  • Crank Arm Brewing Company
  • Deep River Brewing Company
  • Double Barley Brewing
  • Fortnight Brewing Company
  • Fullsteam Brewery
  • Lincoln Brewing Company
  • NC State Sheppard Brewing Lab
  • Nickelpoint Brewing Company
  • Ponysaurus Brewing Company
  • Raleigh Brewing Company
  • Trophy Brewing Company
  • White Street Brewing Company
  • and More!

Natural Selections 2016 is sponsored by White Street Brewing Company and held in partnership with Atlantic Brew Supply, Craft Beer Collective, NC Beer Guys, NC State: The Dunn Lab, NC State: The Meitzen Lab, Rocky Top Hospitality, The Oak City Collection and Uber. Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Museum.


The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (11 W. Jones St. and 121 W. Jones St.) in downtown Raleigh is an active research institution that engages visitors of every age and stage of learning in the wonders of science and the natural world, drawing them into the intriguing fields of study that are critical to the future of North Carolina. Hours: Mon.- Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sun., noon-5 p.m. Visit the Museum online at www.naturalsciences.org. Emlyn Koster, PhD, Museum Director; Susan Kluttz, Secretary, N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; Pat McCrory, Governor.

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDNCR’s mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state’s history, conserving the state’s natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development. NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science museums, three aquariums and Jennette’s Pier, 39 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.

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