Drinking Beer in Charlotte

[kermit]

Wow, lots of fractured government disorganizational nonsense related to the Stone RFP. Sounds like both Charlotte Regional Partnership and the Chamber submitted separate proposals.

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Blogs/On-Tap/March-2014/Charlotte-vs-Charlotte-in-battle-to-bring-Stone-Brewing-to-city/#.Uyi6AiFeC1g.twitter

The Chamber suggested a Music Factory site while the CRP suggested nine different sites (even though the RFP only called for one).

The other tidbit of the article was it implied that Sugar Creek Brewing (?) will occupy the old (current) Old Mecklenburg site.

Edited March 19, 2014 by kermit

[grodney]

Interesting about Sugar Creek Brewing.  I added them to my Charlotte list:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmDt3ts8a8dLdDVkUWxkOEtoZmJZNUN2ZEhiZ19CWHc&usp=sharing

 

www.sugarcreekbrewing.com

 

"Coming July 2014" ??

[grodney]

The criteria for making it on my "Charlotte brewery list" is sort-of ill-defined, and pretty-much comes down to Mecklenburg county, and non-chain (sorry Rock Bottom).  Should I add Lenny Boy?  Should I add Rock Bottom?

 

List:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmDt3ts8a8dLdDVkUWxkOEtoZmJZNUN2ZEhiZ19CWHc&usp=sharing

Edited March 19, 2014 by grodney

[HopHead]

I thinking leaving the chains off the list is fine... Unless Stone Brewing does make its way to Charlotte

[grodney]

Yeah, it's pretty dumb for me to even ask in a public forum about "my list", that has no bearing on the world.  I guess part of that was me saying "I didn't even know Lenny Boy was an officially licensed micro-brewer and had their beers in some bottle shops!".

 

http://discoverlennyboy.com/kombucha-beer/

[CLTProductions]

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/real_estate/2014/03/sugar-creek-brewing-will-moveto-olde-mecklenburg.html

 

South End and NoDa have quite the lineup of breweries.

[tozmervo]

I have to admit a little bit of disappointment - I thought OMB was going to start a distilling operation in their old space.

[kermit]

Nice article on the unfairness to providing incentives to attract Stone. While I would really like to see them here, I completely agree with the concerns of our existing brewers.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2014/03/25/would-incentives-for-stone-be-fair-to-charlottes.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2014-03-25

[MilZ]

^On the other hand, if Olde Meck grows to the size of Stone and wants to move to another city offering them incentives to build a larger facility, we would probably offer them something to stay in town.

[HopHead]

Has anyone done a Charlotte Brewery tour yet? It starts in NoDa and hits a total of 4 local breweries (apparently it's NoDa and Birdsong, followed by a rotation of some of the other ones in town). Checking it out this weekend for the first time with some buddies. 

[MilZ]

Has anyone done a Charlotte Brewery tour yet? It starts in NoDa and hits a total of 4 local breweries (apparently it's NoDa and Birdsong, followed by a rotation of some of the other ones in town). Checking it out this weekend for the first time with some buddies.

Well worth it! Mike (the guide) is a super nice guy and started doing the tours because he couldn't find one to take himself. He changes stops but the four we did last spring was 4 friends, olde Meck, triple c, and birdsong.

[kermit]

Not sure if this was mentioned before but this article says that Free Range will be moving in "across from Birdsong and NoDa"

 

http://www.ourstate.com/charlotte-brewery-guide/

 

Once Sycamore and Sugar Creek open we will have two really nice beer clusters -- although I wish that the Southend cluster was a bit more dense. I am surprised that the industrial portion of Central (around the CSX) hasn't seen any brewers yet.

[grodney]

Confirmed via the twitter that Sycamore will have connectivity to the pathway next to the light rail (currently there's a chain link fence barrier). Not that walking around to the front would have been that bad, but the direct access will be nice.

So that makes:

~1000 feet from New Bern station to Triple C.

~0.6 miles from Triple C to Sycamore. Easy walk.

~1400 feet from Sycamore to East/West station.

And also Lenny Boy thrown in between Triple C and Sycamore if you want to swing in there, too.

We love hitting Triple C on the way to a ballgame, or hitting it on the way home after museum visits. This makes it all the better.

Edited April 4, 2014 by grodney

[CLTProductions]

The knights announced that NoDa made a special beer called Knights Ale that will be sold exclusively at the ballpark

[HopHead]

NoDa Brewing's Hop Drop n Roll won the gold medal for IPAs at the World Beer Cup yesterday. They beat out 223 others... Pretty impressive! They won Silver at the Great American Beer Festival for Coco Loco a year or two ago. 

[grodney]

NoDa Brewing's Hop Drop n Roll won the gold medal for IPAs at the World Beer Cup yesterday. They beat out 223 others... Pretty impressive! They won Silver at the Great American Beer Festival for Coco Loco a year or two ago. 

Here is the full winners list. 8 medals from NC. The American IPA category won by HDR was easily the largest category, if I'm reading these results correctly. http://www.worldbeercup.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/WBC14-Winners-List.pdf

[ah59396]

The gold for HDR is a massive achievement. NoDa just rocketed into the upper echelon of breweries. It's the kind of award that gets you national recognition. I'm very excited for them.

Edited April 14, 2014 by ah59396

[CLTProductions]

The gold for HDR is a massive achievement. NoDa just rocketed into the upper echelon of breweries. It's the kind of award that gets you national recognition. I'm very excited for them.

Absolutely, it was the first step for Great Lakes Breweing Co to start expanding on a massive scale.

[grodney]

24oz of local craft at BB&T Ballpark = $12

64oz of local craft at Stateline Elite = $10.88

Related: I see Duckworth's now has their own 32oz half-growlers. Haven't checked pricing for refills/exchanges yet.

Edited April 15, 2014 by grodney

[CLTProductions]

24oz of local craft at BB&T Ballpark = $12

64oz of local craft at Stateline Elite = $10.88

Related: I see Duckworth's now has their own 32oz half-growlers. Haven't checked pricing for refills/exchanges yet.

Comparing stadium prices to liquor store prices is apples to oranges. It's like wondering why a bottle of water is $5 at Carowinds, its the nature of the market.

[grodney]

Comparing stadium prices to liquor store prices is apples to oranges. It's like wondering why a bottle of water is $5 at Carowinds, its the nature of the market.

Agreed. It might be a bigger social statement than what is appropriate, but I hate that we're (collectively, apparently) so well off that the market will bear $12 for 24oz at a stadium (i.e. I wish people wouldn't pay it).

[kermit]

Historic Southend tweeted today that "Beer Growler" is about to open at 109 South blvd (near Carson)

[nonillogical]

Historic Southend tweeted today that "Beer Growler" is about to open at 109 South blvd (near Carson)

They've issued a correction, its 1400 something South Blvd (nothing under 1000 exists). This I think puts it next to the new Adam & Eve where the trophy shop was, across from World of Beer. 

 

We might reach a saturation point of bottle shops before too long, and I like each one of them too much to part with, but if this is a place geared specifically towards the filling of growlers with lots of taps I think it will do fine.

[CLTProductions]

A growler shop across the street from a World of Beer that is already struggling?? Interesting location choice, wonder who will shutter their doors first

[nonillogical]

A growler shop across the street from a World of Beer that is already struggling?? Interesting location choice, wonder who will shutter their doors first

Very different spots IMO, especially now that WOB is adding liquor and food. I hope they make it. I would say this place is probably more competition for Good Bottle Co than anything, and maybe a little bit of Common Market's quick stop customers. 

 

Here's their site: http://www.thebeergrowler.net

Edited April 15, 2014 by nonillogical