Sidetracked Brewery Is Crafting a Signature Beer for Waiting for the Train

Local train enthusiasts are invited to a beer-tasting event to help choose the type of beer Sidetracked Brewery’s award-winning brewer Joseph Ackerman will craft for Waiting for the Train.

Some partnerships are simply built for each other.

Sidetracked Brewery already has several in-house beers with railroad-themed names, including Whistleblower, Thomas the Dank Engine, and Light Rail, but they don’t currently have one dedicated to bringing passenger rail back to Burke County.

Well, change is brewing.

Sidetracked Brewery is collaborating with Waiting for the Train to craft a beer to raise support for the proposed passenger rail line between Salisbury and Asheville. The beer is expected to be released by this October, just in time for Waiting for the Train’s annual “Drinks at the Depot” event.

And local train enthusiasts have an opportunity to help choose Waiting for the Train’s signature beer.

Mimi Phifer, Joseph Ackerman, and Barbara Lynam stand behind the bar at Sidetracked Brewery, a mere 100 feet from the Historic Morganton Train Depot.

On Wednesday, August 7th, Sidetracked Brewery is hosting a “Tasting for the Train” event where you get to sample a variety of delicious beer types and vote for your favorite.

This will then inform what Sidetracked Brewery’s award-winning brewer Joseph Ackerman crafts for Waiting for the Train.

Every future pint sold will bring western North Carolina one whistle closer to restoring passenger rail service.

A $10 ticket gives you a generous sampling of five types of Sidetracked beer. Proceeds go toward fueling efforts for a brighter, more connected future. The event runs from 6 to 9 pm.

“We’re thrilled that Joseph was so willing to help us out,” says Mimi Phifer, co-founder of Waiting for the Train. “The eventual convergence of our two great enterprises was inevitable.”

Join your neighbors, make your voice heard, and lift a glass to Burke County's future. 

By choosing a signature beer, you're laying the tracks for improved local transportation. Someday you’ll get to tell everyone you were a part of selecting the beer that brought passenger rail back to Burke.

You can buy tickets online or at the door.