Brews a boomin'.

• Position: NC TREND: Pulse

Or is it? Craft-beer sales have increased 2.5% by volume this year through May after double-digit growth for much of the last decade. Still, a new study says beer contributes more than [dollar]8.8 billion annually to the state's economy and supports 58,949 jobs. North Carolina ranks No. 10 in the U.S. for the number of craft breweries, though it falls toward the middle of the pack at No. 20 for the number of breweries per capita.

Here are three of the most-anticipated summer releases in Durham at Sam's Quik Shop, which calls itself North Carolina's largest and oldest craft-beer store.

FOOTHILLS BREWING

HOPJOB

Hopjob is a slightly less famous seasonal beer than Winston-Salem-based Foothills Brewing 's winter Sexual Chocolate, whose annual release has fans lining up at 2 a.m. Foothills brewed more than 40,000 barrels last year, putting it at the top of the state's craft breweries.

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