Of the many ingredients in Page Skelton’s tangy Cackalacky Spice Sauce – including the secret ones – one is missing: ginger.

Skelton compensates in his newest venture, showcasing the spicy root in a unlikely but delectable collaboration with Fullsteam Brewing Company’s founder, Sean Lilly Wilson. Together, the longtime friends and beer lovers produced Cackalacky Ginger Pale Ale.

The copper-hued, malt-forward, subtly spiced GPA (as it is called) debuted Sunday at the brewery in Durham with a fanfare befitting the zest of the two local companies. The launch party celebrated National Kazoo Day-eve and included Cackalacky-spiced chicken wings.

“This takes our brand beyond just a spice item and into a lifestyle item,” Skelton said. “It’s a way to go beyond whatever we’re being defined as.”

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The long-awaited Fullsteam Brewery opens Friday at exactly 6:14 p.m. – the average time an Englishman arrives at the pub.

Friday also marks five years since former Gov. Mike Easley signed a law that allows higher-alcohol beers to be sold in North Carolina. That date holds special meaning to Fullsteam’s owner, Sean Wilson, who helped organize what was called the "Pop the Cap" campaign to raise the 6 percent alcohol limit. The law's passage was celebrated by N.C.'s beer enthusiasts who were tired of traveling out of state to get the brews they wanted.

It’s taken five years for Wilson to realize his own dream of opening a “plow-to-pint” brewery devoted to Southern agriculture and culinary traditions. Among Fullsteam’s brews are a sweet potato beer,  Hogwash, a hickory-smoked porter, and El Toro, a cream ale made with roasted North Carolina corn grits. My favorite for its whimsy is the Working Man’s Lunch, a stout made with Moon Pies.

While much has been written about Wilson, 39, (go HERE and HERE) not as much has been written about the beer brains behind Fullsteam’s operation: Chris Davis, 33, (left) and Brooks Hamaker, 49 (right).