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Drinking Beer in Charlotte

ah59396

By ah59396
in Charlotte Coffee House

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turbocraig
turbocraig

Birdsong is our go-to brewery.  Not only is it just two turns away, but they have great beer (I’m lookin at you, MexiCali), are totally unpretentious, have a friendly and surprisingly long-term staff

tozmervo
tozmervo

where's that red downvote arrow when you need it

grodney
grodney

I'm sure you all know a bill was passed into law (effective Sep 1) that allows dogs in breweries (ed. note: gross, don't at me).  But are you aware of all the other stuff that was in the same bill?  H

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carolinaboy Burg

carolinaboy

Posted
Posted

I feel like an honorary citizen of Charlotte this weekend.

While out to stock-up on beers for this long weekend I happened to find the Cheerwine Ale from NODA Brewing company. As I have never had this ale before I was intrigued and got a few four packs. I love Cheerwine and I love ale so win-win for me. It is really good. Next time I'm in town I'll have to go to NODA Brewing Co and try their other offerings.

It is rare to find Charlotte beers this far east as most of the NC beers are usually from Asheville or other mountain locations. Have seen some Sycamore recently.

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grodney Town

grodney

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 5/26/2023 at 6:30 PM, kermit said:

Sycamore 2.0 appears to be open

 

 

So, what was the deal here?  Was their new space just not ready yet when they closed the old place?  Was the new place behind schedule?  I mean, they lost 8(?) months of taproom business, didn't they?  Recourse against the new building owners?  Not that I care.....I'm just curious how these things work.

Also.....they're not brewing at the new place, are they?  Taproom only?  Or do they have some brewing/fermenting?

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InSouthPark Burg

InSouthPark

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, grodney said:

So, what was the deal here?  Was their new space just not ready yet when they closed the old place?  Was the new place behind schedule?  I mean, they lost 8(?) months of taproom business, didn't they?  Recourse against the new building owners?  Not that I care.....I'm just curious how these things work.

Also.....they're not brewing at the new place, are they?  Taproom only?  Or do they have some brewing/fermenting?

They have an off-site production facility (and have for quite some time now).  Not sure where it is.  

The owners profited like 8 million on the land deal alone, and if I were to guess, got a nice rent deal in the new space as well.  In that time, their distribution has also grown , now in NC, SC, GA, TN, OH, KY, WV, and VA.  Taproom profits are a blip on the balance sheet (especially in winter when their beer garden is not that busy) and they probably would have earned more in interest on that 9mill than profits at a tap room (like $250k at 3.5%). 

I have to say though, while the new tap room looks great...it's nothing like what got them popular.  I hope Chad and Emily like the fancy new digs and beers starting at $7.  Cheap pitchers and wood picnic tables are a thing of the past.  

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CTiger Hamlet

CTiger

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, InSouthPark said:

I have to say though, while the new tap room looks great...it's nothing like what got them popular. 

Yeah I've been saying this since this redevelopment came about.  Sycamore isn't popular because the beer is so good.  They have been popular because they had a wide open lot where you could sit out in the sun with your dogs and a kid or two and be right on the rail trail.  I'm sure the new taproom will be successful with the Southend crowd, but for the life of me I cannot think of a reason I would visit it.   I can go to a million places in Charlotte and sit under trendy lights and next to a fake ivy covered wall and drink a bad $8 IPA.  Its lost the only thing that differentiated it from all the other breweries in Charlotte.

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CLTProductions City

CLTProductions

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, grodney said:

So, what was the deal here?  Was their new space just not ready yet when they closed the old place?  Was the new place behind schedule?  I mean, they lost 8(?) months of taproom business, didn't they?  Recourse against the new building owners?  Not that I care.....I'm just curious how these things work.

Also.....they're not brewing at the new place, are they?  Taproom only?  Or do they have some brewing/fermenting?

Taproom only. Delays of the new space but Portman needing to get going on the old space is the reason.

As far as the dog and outside space...there is 11 THOUSAND square feet of outdoor space, and plenty of it gets sun soaked. While it's not a wide open lot with picnic tables, there is even more outdoor space than before, including directly on the rail trail

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CTiger Hamlet

CTiger

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, CLTProductions said:

Taproom only. Delays of the new space but Portman needing to get going on the old space is the reason.

As far as the dog and outside space...there is 11 THOUSAND square feet of open space, and plenty of it gets sun soaked. While it's not a wide open lot with picnic tables, there is even more outdoor space than before, including directly on the rail trail

Its not the quantity of outdoor space, its the type of outdoor space.  And sure it gets plenty of sun now, but what about when it is bookended on the other side with the new residential tower?  I just think its far less welcoming to people walking by that just want to drop in to take a load off, listen to some live music, drink some beers and check out some food trucks.

Again, I'm not saying this is going to be a flop.  It is going to be a major hit and I'm sure it'll continue to do great business with the Southend demographic.  I'm just offering one guy's opinion on why I won't be going.

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CLT Development Burg

CLT Development

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, CTiger said:

bad $8 IPA

I have to say the beers I had at the Media Opening were actually quite good. Way better from brand spanking new draft lines than a can. I had Beach Candy, Mountain Candy and Drippy. Drippy might have been my favorite IPA I've had in recent memory. The food was great, the outdoor areas were awesome and will be very popular for not just the South End demographic. 

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go_vertical Burg

go_vertical

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, CTiger said:

I can go to a million places in Charlotte and sit under trendy lights and next to a fake ivy covered wall and drink a bad $8 IPA.

The fake ivy wall trend is the latest example of how the people running these places have zero originality and creativity.  The first couple of times I saw one I was like, "that's interesting ", but the subsequent ten thousand times just made me vomit in my mouth a little bit.  Now I can't help but think about all the dust and cobwebs that are building up on these walls that you and I both know aren't getting cleaned properly.

An attempt to create a unique and quirky space has become the fast food equivalent of commercial interior design.

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grodney Town

grodney

Posted
Posted

Did a CLTBEER blind tasting last night with a friend.....always a good time.  Last night's category was Hefeweizen.  I chose OMB as the best, he chose Middle James (okay, Pineville).  Armored Cow was 3rd for both of us, and bringing up the rear, easily, was Blue Blaze.  My wife had the Hefe on tap at Blue Blaze just last weekend, and it was fine....and she agreed this can was off.  I think it must have been old (purchased yesterday at Total Wine), but there wasn't a date on it. 

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InSouthPark Burg

InSouthPark

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, go_vertical said:

I met a friend for lunch at Middle James a little while back and I was pleasantly surprised with their beers.  I REALLY liked the pilsner they had at the time, but cant for the life remember what it was called.

Middle James makes solid beers all around and people are always friendly.  Their big downfall in late spring / summer / early fall is that their grass area has zero shade and is full sun all day and inside isn't really setup for kids (and no dogs inside since they serve food).  When it is nice out though, the outside is packed with people/kids/dogs.  I know they don't own the property but it would do wonders if they could get permission to plant some fast growing oak trees on the west side of the grass. Even if I go without my dogs, I prefer to sit outside as there is usually games on with sound on TV and unless its football, I am not interested (its a very popular spot to watch European soccer matches).

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InSouthPark Burg

InSouthPark

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, wilmore said:

Monday Night opening up this week on Tryon St. looks like a very nice atmosphere. They look to be putting a lot more effort into it than most breweries. 

More effort as in how (genuine question)? 

They are a 5 chain taproom and restaurant so they are going to have more cash available than say someone like a startup like Lower Left.  But for the most part, all of our "multi-taproom" location seem to have spent a lot of "effort" as well as new start ups.  

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grodney Town

grodney

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, wilmore said:

Monday Night opening up this week on Tryon St. looks like a very nice atmosphere. They look to be putting a lot more effort into it than most breweries. 

Do we know if they're brewing?  Or is this a taproom with their beer shipped in?  And I'm also not clear what you mean by "a lot more effort" than most breweries?  Prettymuch all Charlotte breweries are very shiny and seemed to have done a crapton of work.  

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wilmore Whistle-Stop

wilmore

Posted
Posted
On 6/21/2023 at 6:33 PM, grodney said:

Do we know if they're brewing?  Or is this a taproom with their beer shipped in?  And I'm also not clear what you mean by "a lot more effort" than most breweries?  Prettymuch all Charlotte breweries are very shiny and seemed to have done a crapton of work.  

Mostly just that it isn't a blank warehouse build with a bunch of picnic tables thrown outside, they did a lot of landscaping and have a different setip. It is true that a lot of the other ones (OMB comes to mind) also have this, I just don't really go to those. 

Sycamore is an example of somewhere that put in very little effort, especially with their new space (yet seemingly has tapped into a massive audience?) 

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grodney Town

grodney

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Posted
16 hours ago, wilmore said:

Mostly just that it isn't a blank warehouse build with a bunch of picnic tables thrown outside, they did a lot of landscaping and have a different setip. It is true that a lot of the other ones (OMB comes to mind) also have this, I just don't really go to those. 

Sycamore is an example of somewhere that put in very little effort, especially with their new space (yet seemingly has tapped into a massive audience?) 

Okay thanks for that perspective.  Definitely different than mine, hahaha!  Always good to hear other views.

 

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rancenc City

rancenc

Posted
Posted

There might be some changes concerning buying and drinking liquor soon in NC....stay tune..

North Carolina may loosen alcohol laws

(The Fayetteville Observer)
North Carolina may soon allow its liquor stores to open on Sundays and most holidays and let bars and restaurants offer discounted alcohol sales. An omnibus alcohol bill was debated in the state House Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee on June 26. The legislation had 36 pages of changes to state’s alcohol laws.
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grodney Town

grodney

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yesterday I went to Armored Cow for the first time......and I've now visited all 25 Charlotte* breweries, unless something has opened since Midnight Mulligan that I'm not aware of, haha.  Plus, of course, many closed ones like Four Friends, Bold Missy, Three Spirits, Thirsty Nomad, Sunstead, Unknown, and was Southend a Charlotte original??

Of course there are tons of other "Charlotte Breweries"......2nd locations, breweries from out-of-town, taprooms, Meck but not Charlotte proper, etc., etc.  I've visited LOTS of those, but I don't consider them canon and they aren't a priority.....for me. 

Anyway, Armored Cow was pretty great.  Very un-crowded on a Sunday at 2pm-ish.  Good space, good beer, nice people, great bathroom.

*Charlotte breweries that are relatively undisputed as Charlotte breweries:  OMB, NoDa, Birdsong, Triple C, Heist, Lenny Boy, Sugar Creek, Sycamore, Free Range, Wooden Robot, Legion, Blue Blaze, Suffolk Punch, Resident Culture, Divine Barrel, Pilot, Town, Protagonist, Armored Cow, Lower Left, Devil's Logic, Edge City, Petty Thieves, Vaulted Oak, Midnight Mulligan.

 

 

Edited by grodney
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CLT Development Burg

CLT Development

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 6/27/2023 at 2:48 PM, wilmore said:

Sycamore is an example of somewhere that put in very little effort, especially with their new space (yet seemingly has tapped into a massive audience?) 

Very... Little... Effort? I'm flummoxed by this assertion. I'm pretty sure the upfit was the second most expensive in Charlotte history behind Trolley Barn. They have done a crap ton of work, they hoisted a airstream that serves food onto the second floor, how did they put in very little effort? If you were talking exclusively about their first space I would have agreed, but their new one is fully outfitted with two places to order food, a coffee shop, two indoor and one outdoor bar, skimmed with hardwood, has custom lighting everywhere, and honestly they even improved their beer. The only knocks against them tbh is sound dampening (which is in the works), the weird built in lamps (someone is gonna rip one off one day) and the complete lack of bathroom space. 

Edited by CLT Development
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