Drinking Beer in Charlotte

[KJHburg]

Your handy neighborhood by neighborhood area brewery guide

https://www.charlottemagazine.com/a-charlotte-taproom-directory-2022/

[grodney]

On 8/7/2023 at 7:07 PM, KJHburg said:

Your handy neighborhood by neighborhood area brewery guide

https://www.charlottemagazine.com/a-charlotte-taproom-directory-2022/

Hippin Hops isn't open yet, right?  And LOLers at listing Jekyll and Hyde locations.

[CLTProductions]

18 minutes ago, grodney said:

Hippin Hops isn't open yet, right?  And LOLers at listing Jekyll and Hyde locations.

Nope, getting close tho

[CLT Development]

King Canary is looking for in-town locations.

[turbocraig]

Went to Sycamore finally last night.  I've never been a huge fan of Sycamore's beer, but did want to check it out.  It's obvious they sunk a huge amount of money into the place (even craning the Airstream food truck onto the upper level terrace).  It's definitely a more refined and upscale atmosphere than the revamped warehouse feel of the old one, but it left me a little cold.  We felt like we were in a hotel lobby bar.  Place was PACKED but we did find a table upstairs outside to eat at.  Fried pickles, pizza, and even the dipping sauces weren't very flavorful, but they did keep us alive for a few more hours.  I doubt I'll go back; it just isn't my vibe, but it is an impressive set up for folks looking for a big brewery with a slick veneer.  

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

Any ideas where the larger space they will be moving into is? Think it would be awesome if they took over the old bbq place and knocked the wall down to expand 7th st market. Don’t see that happening but this would be a great opportunity to expand it while that space is vacant. Nice to see some decent hours at this location too at the market.
 

Recently went to the new resident culture at south park mall. Big place, food, coffee shop. Don’t mind being dragged to that mall now lol. 

[turbocraig]

Wow.  Biz Journal reporting that Catawba shut down their Belmont taproom basically without notice.  Staff was informed today that they were being let go - without severance.  Ownership says they want to find a better place in SouthEnd, but wouldn't you... oh, I don't know... have another location in the works at least before turning the lights off with zero notice?  So weird.  I feel bad for the staff that just got shafted.  Says they also had a Wilmington taproom they closed too.  This doesn't sound too good.

 

“We’re just really trying to find a better location for the taproom. This really is just a location change and nothing else,” he says.

A former Catawba employee said that the staff was informed on Monday morning that the brewery would close and they were all being let go. No severance was offered — and there was no talk about plans to reopen, the employee says.

"We had no prior knowledge," she says, noting there were four full-time employees and eight part-time.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/08/14/catawba-brewing-belmont-taproom-closes-breweries.html

[InSouthPark]

20 hours ago, turbocraig said:

Wow.  Biz Journal reporting that Catawba shut down their Belmont taproom basically without notice.  Staff was informed today that they were being let go - without severance.  Ownership says they want to find a better place in SouthEnd, but wouldn't you... oh, I don't know... have another location in the works at least before turning the lights off with zero notice?  So weird.  I feel bad for the staff that just got shafted.  Says they also had a Wilmington taproom they closed too.  This doesn't sound too good.

 

“We’re just really trying to find a better location for the taproom. This really is just a location change and nothing else,” he says.

A former Catawba employee said that the staff was informed on Monday morning that the brewery would close and they were all being let go. No severance was offered — and there was no talk about plans to reopen, the employee says.

"We had no prior knowledge," she says, noting there were four full-time employees and eight part-time.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/08/14/catawba-brewing-belmont-taproom-closes-breweries.html

I'll bet you a beer they never will open another tap room here and never seriously discussed it.  And after this PR debacle, good luck winning patrons back LOL.

[CLT Development]

21 hours ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

Any ideas where the larger space they will be moving into is? Think it would be awesome if they took over the old bbq place and knocked the wall down to expand 7th st market. Don’t see that happening but this would be a great opportunity to expand it while that space is vacant. Nice to see some decent hours at this location too at the market.
 

Recently went to the new resident culture at south park mall. Big place, food, coffee shop. Don’t mind being dragged to that mall now lol. 

The space beside 7th Street Market will be a music venue and beer bar. 

15 minutes ago, InSouthPark said:

I'll bet you a beer they never will open another tap room here and never seriously discussed it.  And after this PR debacle, good luck winning patrons back LOL.

agree 100%

[KJHburg]

they are moving to the the Joinery on N Brevard. 

""Protagonist’s plans for an Optimist Park facility will help position the Charlotte brand in the fast-changing craft-beer market.

The brewery has plans to shutter its 1,700-square-foot NoDa location in October, when its lease ends, says Mike Salzarulo, co-founder.

That will make way for an 8,500-square-foot, multi-level facility in nearby Optimist Park. Expect that space to have a roughly 6,000-square-foot taproom as well as a 2,000-square-foot event space with views of uptown. ""

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/08/16/protagonist-optimist-park-brewery-noda-closing.html

[grodney]

On 8/16/2023 at 9:19 PM, KJHburg said:

they are moving to the the Joinery on N Brevard. 

""Protagonist’s plans for an Optimist Park facility will help position the Charlotte brand in the fast-changing craft-beer market.

The brewery has plans to shutter its 1,700-square-foot NoDa location in October, when its lease ends, says Mike Salzarulo, co-founder.

That will make way for an 8,500-square-foot, multi-level facility in nearby Optimist Park. Expect that space to have a roughly 6,000-square-foot taproom as well as a 2,000-square-foot event space with views of uptown. ""

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/08/16/protagonist-optimist-park-brewery-noda-closing.html

Is the new place the same thing they've been planning since 2018?   Or same location sorta?  See last paragraph here: https://charlotte.axios.com/145481/protagonist-clubhouse-brewery-taproom-noda/

 

[KJHburg]

43 minutes ago, grodney said:

Is the new place the same thing they've been planning since 2018?   Or same location sorta?  See last paragraph here: https://charlotte.axios.com/145481/protagonist-clubhouse-brewery-taproom-noda/

 

Yes as that is the location so it has been in the works a long time.  I had heard about it before but forgotten. 

[NeverSummer]

I just saw in the Business Journal that Resident Culture in South End got one of the lowest health scores out of 1100+ establishments. Yikes!

[grodney]

12 hours ago, NeverSummer said:

I just saw in the Business Journal that Resident Culture in South End got one of the lowest health scores out of 1100+ establishments. Yikes!

Well, it's the restaurant plus brewery, and prettymuch all the demerits are food-related, but yeah, El Toro Bruto / Resident Culture got:

97 - Feb 2023

93.5 - Apr 2023

88 - Jul 2023

88.5 - Aug 2023

90.5 - Sep 2023

https://public.cdpehs.com/NCENVPBL/INSPECTION/ShowESTABLISHMENTPage.aspx?ESTABLISHMENT=250021&esttst_cty=60

CBJ is paywalled, but from what I can see, 18 out of 1125 scored below a 90 in August.

 

[wilmore]

On 8/11/2023 at 9:45 AM, CLT Development said:

King Canary is looking for in-town locations.

This could be great! Their branding is awesome and one of the better breweries around IMO. 

[grodney]

So I guess Panzu* Brewery in Mint Hill is open now.  According to the facebook and the instagram.  Edit: I guess they don't have their own beer yet, according to google reviews.

 

*There's a thingy on the "u".

Edited September 28, 2023 by grodney

[grodney]

Edited December 1, 2023 by grodney

[InSouthPark]

On 11/30/2023 at 8:52 PM, grodney said:

Salud Beer Shop isn't a brewery, at least not at all downstairs (they don't even serve their beer downstairs). 

And I guess technically, upstairs at Salud Cerveceria is a tap room, not a brewery, since everything is brewed off-site?  More like upstairs is a non-traditional brewery and they want to go somewhere with a more room and a patio LOL. 

 

[CLT Development]

On 12/6/2023 at 1:24 PM, InSouthPark said:

Salud Beer Shop isn't a brewery, at least not at all downstairs (they don't even serve their beer downstairs). 

And I guess technically, upstairs at Salud Cerveceria is a tap room, not a brewery, since everything is brewed off-site?  More like upstairs is a non-traditional brewery and they want to go somewhere with a more room and a patio LOL. 

 

They absolutely serve their beer downstairs, just not exclusively. 

[InSouthPark]

11 minutes ago, CLT Development said:

They absolutely serve their beer downstairs, just not exclusively. 

Anytime I have gotten a beer downstairs it has always been a great regional selection and never noticed they had any of their stuff (but that admittedly I don't live in the area and don't frequent it that often). 

[CLT Development]

14 minutes ago, InSouthPark said:

Anytime I have gotten a beer downstairs it has always been a great regional selection and never noticed they had any of their stuff (but that admittedly I don't live in the area and don't frequent it that often). 

it's rarely more than 1 or 2, and 50% of the time it is a collab 

[grodney]

Anybody know anything about Alongside Brewing?  https://www.instagram.com/alongsidebrewing/  Same space the arcade was in?  Same owner as Ass Clown?  

[CLTProductions]

On 12/16/2023 at 7:29 AM, grodney said:

Anybody know anything about Alongside Brewing?  https://www.instagram.com/alongsidebrewing/  Same space the arcade was in?  Same owner as Ass Clown?  

That's pretty much it lol. Same owner as Ass Clown, that hail mary location and quietly opening with 0 promotion what so ever. They do have a liquor permit, so at least they are smart enough to do that. Other than that, god speed to them...

[rancenc]

New state law goes into effect that could impact bars and clubs that sell food.

https://charlotte.axios.com/346379/new-north-carolina-law-cost-businesses-bars-restaurants-alcohol-food-crunkleton-private-club/

[InSouthPark]

4 hours ago, rancenc said:

New state law goes into effect that could impact bars and clubs that sell food.

https://charlotte.axios.com/346379/new-north-carolina-law-cost-businesses-bars-restaurants-alcohol-food-crunkleton-private-club/

Places like Crunkleton didn't have to do restaurant inspections?!  So serving raw oysters, pork, fish, steaks didn't warrant inspections because it was a private club?  And they will have to install 50k of equipment to meet the restaurant standards?  Wild.