View source for Triangle Brewing Company

{{Infobox Brewery
| name           = Triangle Brewing Company
| image          = [[Image:Triangle Brewing Company Logo.png|150px]]
| caption        = 
| location       = [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]], [[North Carolina]], [[United States|USA]]
| owner          = Rick Tufts and Andy Miller
| opened         = 2007
| production     = 
| active_beers   = 
| seasonal_beers = 
| other_beers    = 
    {{brewbox beers|type=Triangle Year-Round}}
    {{brewbox beer|name=Triangle Golden Ale|style=[[Blonde ale|Belgian Strong Golden Ale]]}}
    {{brewbox beer|name=Triangle Xtra Pale Ale|style=[[American Pale Ale]]}}
    {{brewbox beers|type=Triangle Seasonal}}
    {{brewbox beer|name=Triangle White Ale|style=[[Witbier|Belgian Wheat Ale/Witbier]]}}
    {{brewbox beer|name=Triangle Abbey Dubbel|style=[[Dubbel]]}}
    {{brewbox beer|name=Triangle Bourbon-aged Abbey Dubbel|style=[[Dubbel]]}}
    {{brewbox beer|name=Triangle Imperial Amber Ale|style=Double [[Amber Ale|Red Ale]]}}
    {{brewbox beer|name=Triangle Stout|style=[[Stout]]}}
    {{brewbox beer|name=Triangle Mild Ale|style=[[Mild ale|British Mild Ale]]}}
}}

'''Triangle Brewing Co.''' ('''TBC''') was a [[microbrewery]] owned and operated entirely by business partners (and high-school friends) Rick "the Brewer" Tufts and Andy "the Bloke" Miller who, in 2005, resettled in [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]], [[North Carolina]] from Connecticut.<ref>[http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A159999 Great Harvest Bread Co.; Local chef Sheri Castle; Triangle Brewing Company; Southern Foodways Alliance: Food: Now Serving: Independent Weekly: Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>  Andy Miller had extensive local restaurant management experience, and Rick Tufts apprenticed at [[Flying Fish Brewing Company]] and was an avid [[Homebrewing|homebrewer]] long before founding a new [[brewery]].  TBC began selling beer on July 4, 2007 and was the only microbrewery in Durham.<ref>[http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/food_fitness/bradford/2007/story/718752.html newsobserver.com | A toast to Durham brewery<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725142501/http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/food_fitness/bradford/2007/story/718752.html |date=2008-07-25 }}</ref> The arrival of a microbrewery in Durham is arguably{{says who|date=February 2022}} part of the current{{when|date=February 2022}} downtown art, building, and cultural Renaissance.

==About Triangle Beers==
TBC did not plan to be cast as a [[Belgian beer|Belgian style]] brewery when they developed their first beer, the Belgian Strong Golden Ale; rather, they wanted to enter the market with something notable and different.<ref>[http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/11/08/Diversions/Four-Cheers.For.Local.Breweries-3085660.shtml Four cheers for local breweries - Diversions<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708194102/http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/11/08/Diversions/Four-Cheers.For.Local.Breweries-3085660.shtml |date=2008-07-08 }}</ref>  The goal of TBC was to produce balanced, full-flavored, yet highly drinkable Belgian and American style ales.  TBC was distributed across North Carolina, primarily in the Triangle Area ([[Durham County, North Carolina|Durham]], [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orange]], and [[Wake County, North Carolina|Wake]] Counties) but as far as [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]] and [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]]. TBC did not [[pasteurize]] any of its beers.  TBC also produced a small amount of [[cask ale]] in [[English brewery cask units#Firkin|firkin]]s for use at special events.  TBC was one of the first NC breweries to offer its flagship beers in cans. 

On April 30, 2016, Triangle closed due to operations issues and heavy competition from the growing North Carolina micro and craft brewing industry.<ref>[https://www.indyweek.com/food/archives/2016/04/27/durham-beer-pioneer-triangle-brewing-company-talks-why-its-closing IndyWeek | Durham beer pioneer Triangle Brewing Company talks why it's closing]</ref>

==List of beers==
*'''Triangle Belgian-style [[Blonde ale|Golden Ale]]''' is the TBC's flagship beer, and continues to be brewed year-round.  It is 8% ABV, fermented at warmer temperatures than the other [[ale]]s to further develop the significant [[bottom and top fermenting yeast|yeast]] complexity, lightly filtered, and uses TBC's proprietary Belgian yeast strain.
*'''Triangle American-style Xtra [[American pale ale|Pale Ale]]''' is the TBC's second year-round beer, meant to be a session beer at 4.5%.  It is a straw-colored, hoppy American craft brewery style of [[Pale Ale]], using Washington grown Palisade, Centennial and Magnum hops.  It uses the TBC's proprietary American yeast strain.
*'''Triangle Belgian-style [[Witbier|White Ale]]''' is the TBC's Summer [[Seasonal beer|seasonal]] offering, a [[wheat beer]] that is totally unfiltered, made with white wheat, with limited use of hops and incorporating the traditional spices - orange peel and coriander.  5% ABV.  It uses TBC's Belgian yeast.
*'''Triangle Belgian-style Abbey [[Dubbel]]''' is a seasonal offering of another complex, yeasty beer, at 7.2% ABV.  The style is characterized by a large head, moderate maltiness, fruitiness, and warmth from the alcohol content.  There has been a [[Bourbon whiskey|bourbon]]-[[Aging barrel|barrel-aged]] version.  It uses TBC's Belgian yeast.
*'''Triangle Imperial [[Amber Ale|Amber]]''' is a heavily hopped Double Red ale, around 90 [[International Bitterness Units scale|IBUs]], and is 8.2%ABV.  It uses very high amounts of malt to balance the very high level of [[Taste#Bitterness|bitterness]], resulting in the high alcohol content as well.  It uses TBC's American yeast.
*'''Triangle [[Stout]]''' is a winter seasonal in the Foreign Stout style using [[Mash ingredients#Chocolate malt|chocolate]] and other dark roasted malts, resulting in a deep ruby color appearing almost black, and flavor notes similar to coffee.  It is 5.6%ABV.  It uses TBC's American yeast.
*'''Triangle [[Mild ale|Mild Ale]]''' is a British-style seasonal using domestic and imported malts to get at the complex nutty flavor of the style, meant to be a session beer.

==See also==
*Other [[North Carolina breweries|breweries in North Carolina]].
*[[Barrel-aged beer]]
*[[List of defunct breweries in the United States]]

==External links==
*[http://www.trianglebrewery.com/ TBC Homepage]
*[http://trianglebrewingcompany.blogspot.com/ TBC "Hoppenings" Blog]
*[http://popthecap.org/ Pop the Cap NC - promoting beer cultulre]
*[http://beerinator.com/ Beerinator - an NC beer community]

==References==
<references/>
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[[Category:Beer brewing companies based in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Defunct brewery companies of the United States]]