Coffee and Beer pair up in Raleigh!

So last Friday night, we landed at New Raleigh's FIRST FRIDAY @ Oak City Cycling Project welcoming Slingshot Coffee Company's new HQ,  to sample two fairly new forces in Raleigh joining together to create an outstanding combination of beer and coffee. Each one standing unique and fabulous on their own, and yet together it was a uniquely exclusive Raleigh experience.

Slingshot Coffee Company, of Raleigh, is bottled cold brew coffee hand-crafted right here in Raleigh, NC. They were celebrating their new HQ space at Oak City Cycling. This company has really hit it off and is now distributing in several locations around the area.  The folks from Slingshot Coffee could not have been friendlier and were great to meet.  Slingshot Coffee has been a hit from the start, and I have followed it around town, finding it popular in several of the local bottle shops and often sold out. On Friday night, I was able to sample a Slingshot Coffee cocktail that was out of this world (need to get the recipe!).  Next, we got in line for to try the clever combination of Trophy Brewing's Slingshot Porter. Trophy Brewing is a nano brewery located on Morgan Street downtown and is scheduled to be opening in early 2013 with a full bar and growlers to go. They had two savory beers on tap to sample Friday, the Slingshot Porter and a delicious Saison.

The thing I enjoyed the most about Friday night, was attending another hip, laid-back event happening in downtown Raleigh that brings out a great mix of urbanites in the city that mostly know about such events via social media. The event was held in the bike shop at Oak City Cycling and when we got there, food trucks were parked across the street serving up delicious food options, only to go inside and sample delicious combinations of beer, and coffee mixed in with light conversation, local visual artist (Becky Joye, Raleigh-based designer), and even the guys from Megafaun did an acoustic session later in the evening. Families were there, kids were running around, couples young and old were hanging out and I loved the fact that I felt like I was at someone's backyard party...just the relaxed, cool vibe eminating from another impromptu awesome night out in Raleigh.

Sampling Trophy Brewing's beer offerings.

Slingshot Coffee Company's cold brew coffee.

Food trucks outside.

Oak City Cycling playing host.

Slingshot Coffee Co. new HQ.

Instagram contest.

Talking beer with Trophy Brewing.

Secret ingredients for Slingshot Coffee Cocktail.

Outside art at Oak City Cycling.