From BeerNews.org:

(Asheville, NC) - Word came last night from Julie Atallah, owner of the #2 rated retailer in the world according to RateBeer, Bruisin’ Ales, that North Carolina beer stores will soon be able to ship beer out of state. Atallah says that her Asheville beer shop got its FedEx permit and is awaiting finalization of the states to which she can ship.

Let’s break down what this could mean to beer people around the U.S. North Carolina has had a quietly up-and-coming beer scene for a while now. Unfortunately, some of the better brewers and brewpubs in the state don’t distribute very far, if at all — Pisgah Brewing, perhaps, being the prime example.

Pisgah’s ‘green’ philosophy has been well-documented; the brewery has no interest in large trucks carting its beers around the country. Aside from trading in the forums, this may become the only other loophole in Pisgah’s initiative. A look on the Bruisin’ Ales site shows that the store has previously stocked the brewery’s gem, Valdez. Unfortunately, there is never a guarantee that special releases like these will be made available for shipping. Even so, their other beers are certainly nothing to scoff at and several of them have been bottled. 17 of Pisgah’s 18 brews are rated B+ or better on Beer Advocate. Bruisin’ Ales reported Hellbender, a Barleywine, Cosmos, a Baltic Porter, and Solstice, a tripel, all available on store shelves as of yesterday evening.

This goes far beyond Bruisin’ Ales and Pisgah Brewing though. Ever wanted access to fellow Asheville breweries, Highland and French Broad (who just started bottling their ESB and Wee Heavy-er Scotch)? How about The Duck-Rabbit Brewery? Or easier access to Terrapin beers?

There are four North Carolina retailers in the RateBeer Top 50 and over 30 on Beer Advocate rated A- or better. Hopefully, some of these stores will try out the online beer market. Regardless, this opens up a pocket of the country to which most of us have never had access, and that is pretty exciting.