Restaurant
Unclaimed profileCarolina Ale House - Cary
Cary, NC · $$
Inebrious
Beverage Program Score
The editorial take
Carolina Ale House - runs a beer-first program with more than 50 options spanning drafts, bottles, and cans, from light lagers and pale ales to sours, stouts, and local North Carolina picks. Rotating specials keep domestic pints at $4 and craft pours at $5, with a $12 domestic pitcher on most days. Cocktails lean on named house drinks like the Playmaker Margarita and Blueberry Vodka Lemonade, plus $6 well cocktails and $7 daily LITs. Wine is a Wednesday-only $5 pour, and nonalcoholic choices include zero-alcohol beer and a full slate of juices and sodas.
- What should I order?
- Start with a rotating craft pint at $5, or the Wednesday all-craft pint and tulip special at the same price. For a cocktail, order the Playmaker Margarita or Blueberry Vodka Lemonade, or take the $6 well cocktail if you want the everyday price. The rotating domestic pint at $4 is the budget move.
- Who will enjoy this place?
- Beer drinkers who want a broad draft and package list with rotating daily pricing will find plenty to work through. Groups ordering pitchers, and anyone who wants a named cocktail or a zero-alcohol beer alongside the table, are well covered.
- When should I go?
- Wednesday is the value day, with all wines at $5, all domestic pints at $4, and all craft pints and tulips at $5. Daily rotating beer specials run the rest of the week.
- What should I expect to spend?
- Beer is the value center: rotating domestic pints at $4, rotating craft at $5, and a $12 domestic pitcher most days. Cocktails run $6 for well drinks and $7 for daily LITs. Wine drops to $5 on Wednesdays.
- What makes the beverage program distinctive?
- The beer list goes well past the usual sports-bar lineup, with sours, stouts, strong ales, ciders, and local North Carolina options alongside standard lagers. Zero-alcohol beer and a long nonalcoholic drink list give non-drinkers real choices instead of a single token pour.
Beverage categories
We only score what a venue sets out to do. Categories a venue doesn't attempt are left unscored rather than penalized.
Cocktails
The drink specials page names two craft cocktails, the Playmaker Margarita and Blueberry Vodka Lemonade, alongside a $6 well cocktail and a $7 daily LIT. Pricing is the clear strength, and the named drinks give the list a defined house core beyond generic well pours.
Menu strengths
- — Two named craft cocktails, the Playmaker Margarita and Blueberry Vodka Lemonade, are promoted on the drink specials page.
- — Well cocktails hold at $6 all week, and daily LIT cocktails are $7.
Standout selections
- — Playmaker Margarita, a named craft cocktail on the drink specials page.
- — Blueberry Vodka Lemonade, a named craft cocktail on the drink specials page.
Pricing: $6 well cocktails all week; $7 daily LIT cocktails
Wine
Wine here is a Wednesday price play: all wines are listed at $5 during Humpday Happiness.
Menu strengths
- — All wines are $5 on Wednesdays, an explicit and consistent weekly price.
Standout selections
- — Wednesday Humpday Happiness lists All Wines at $5.
Pricing: All wines $5 on Wednesdays
Beer
This is the core of the program: more than 50 beers across drafts, bottles, and cans, covering light and dark lagers, pale ales, IPAs, dark ales, sours, stouts and porters, wheat beers, ciders, and non-beers, with local North Carolina options. Daily rotating specials keep domestic pints at $4 and craft at $5.
Menu strengths
- — More than 50 beers across drafts, bottles, and cans, spanning lagers, ales, IPAs, sours, stouts, wheat beers, ciders, and non-beers.
- — Rotating daily specials: domestic pint $4, craft $5, and a $12 domestic pitcher most days, with Wednesday extending the $4 and $5 pricing across all domestic and craft pours.
Standout selections
- — Cigar City Jai Alai, an American IPA on draft.
- — Guinness Draught, an Irish dry stout on draft.
- — Victory Sour Monkey, a sour ale on draft.
- — Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, an English strong ale on draft.
Pricing: Rotating domestic pint $4; rotating craft $5; domestic pitcher $12; Wednesday all domestic pints $4 and all craft pints and tulips $5
Nonalcoholic
The zero-alcohol side is broader than the format requires: multiple non-alcoholic beers including Athletic Lite, Blue Moon Belgian White Non-Alcoholic, Heineken 0.0, and Michelob Ultra 0, plus a nutrition-guide list of juices, teas, and sodas. An Arnold Palmer drew specific praise from a customer.
Menu strengths
- — Multiple zero-alcohol beers are listed on the beer menu, including Athletic Lite, Blue Moon Belgian White Non-Alcoholic, Heineken 0.0, and Michelob Ultra 0.
- — The beverage list covers brewed sweetened and unsweetened iced tea, cranberry, grapefruit, orange, and pineapple juices, hot tea, and a full range of sodas.
Standout selections
- — Arnold Palmer, which a customer said was mixed perfectly.
- — Athletic Lite, a non-alcoholic beer in bottles or cans.
- — Heineken 0.0, a zero-alcohol beer in bottles or cans.
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