About Us
THE STORY OF TROPHY BREWING COMPANY
Stop by our production facility's taproom and patio on Maywood Avenue for the first taste of our latest creations. With daily food trucks, a dog friendly environment, and great beer—it's the perfect hangout spot. If you're short on time, come say hi and grab a four-pack to go (we'll try not to hold you up talking about fermentation).
2000
Woody and Chris meet and become friends while working together at Bogart’s American Grill on Glenwood Avenue in Downtown Raleigh.
2002
After working many long and hard nights behind the circular bar at Bogart’s, they start dreaming about opening their own spot one day.
2008
Woody, Chris, and David meet and connect over their love of Downtown Raleigh. David is working to revitalize downtown, and Chris and Woody want to open a beer bar downtown. Dreams start to look possible.
2009
As a team of friends and now partners, they open the Busy Bee Cafe and the Hive (an upstairs nightclub) to showcase the best beer from all over the world.
2012
The idea of opening a brewery is born. Chris and Woody dream of opening a brewery that produces exciting beers and helps push the NC beer scene forward. Les Stewart agrees to join the team to help build out the brewery concept on Morgan Street.
2013
Dreams become reality when the tiny Trophy Brewing taproom opens. We open as a private club with an occupancy of 14 seats.
Summer 2013
The work on the kitchen at Trophy on Morgan is completed. We roll out our menu of pizza, salads and a full bar to boot. Sitting area is expanded and the patio is taking shape.
2014
State of Beer opens as a way to “return to our roots.” We get to celebrate great beer, not the biggest list, just our favorites. We open with a well balanced bar menu and a food menu of creative sandwiches and appetizers all made in-house from scratch. In addition to a seemingly endless supply of incredible and thoughtfully sourced beverages of beer, natural wine, sodas and seltzers.
2015
Overwhelmed by the support and demand for more Trophy beer, the team decides to expand and open a production facility and taproom on Maywood Avenue. The growth gives Trophy the chance to expand production, increase barrel aging capacity, and reach more thirsty patrons.
2016
Trophy on Maywood opens with a 20bbl brewhouse and begins limited distribution. Production grows from 600 barrels per year at the brewpub (2015) to a combined 2700 barrels in 2016.
2016
Rebecca Couch, one of Trophy's first employees, becomes Chief Operating Officer and helps take Trophy's operations to the next level, making sure everyone has a lot of fun along the way.
2017
Trophy purchases a canning line and rolls out its first cans of Trophy Wife and Cloud Surfer.
2019
The team begins renovations on the building housing Trophy on Morgan. The patio and seating areas are expanded and start some of our Green Initiatives. A green roof and over 100 solar panels is installed. The kitchen also expands to handle additional seating and eight foeders land in the new addition. The foeders and additional wine barrels expand the already dynamic brewing program further into the wild, sour, and spontaneous.
2020
The newly renovated State of Beer and Trophy on Morgan open early in the year along with the growing COVID pandemic. The team decides to take advantage of the shutdown to renovate and revision the Wilmington Street location as a craft distillery and restaurant.
2021
Young Hearts Distillery, Raleigh's first restaurant and distillery, opens downtown, serving up house-made spirits, incredible food, and good times all around.
THE TROPHY CASE
Best Brewery in Wake County 2021
We were pretty pumped to be named IndyWeek’s “Best of the Triangle” for Best Brewery in Wake County & Best Locally Made Craft Beer (Trophy Wife). If you haven’t tried a Trophy Wife yet, stop by and tell us if you think this award-winning beer lives up to the hype!
World's Top 10 Beer Destinations of 2019
According to VinePair, “Raleigh is having a moment.” Check out this article in which our city was named one of the World’s Top 10 Beer Destinations alongside Paris, Tokyo, Berlin. Trophy was honored to be mentioned alongside other amazing Raleigh breweries.
Best Breweries in the Triangle 2018
Trophy was honored to be one of the top picks in WRAL’s Voter’s Choice Awards. A uniform blush went around the brewing team when we read that “Trophy Brewing is known for its fantastic beers along with their pizza and patio.” Thanks to all our fans!
Join our team!
Since we started in 2013, we've been committed to fostering a strong sense of community, and we believe that starts with our staff. Our team is passionate about ensuring a top notch experience whether someone is popping in for a beer after work or hosting a wedding at the brewery. We care deeply about encouraging our staff to be themselves and to help us be better employers. If you're interested in joining our team, please check our our current postings. We're excited to meet you!
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