Drinking Beer in Charlotte

[grodney]

VBGB has constructed a little shed in the corner of their patio.  It has a sign on it that says COMING SOON - The Can Bar.  Pretty cool idea, and a good way to cut down their long beer lines on event nights.  I imagine we might see craft cans, hopefully from NoDa, Catawba Valley, etc.

[rugger62]

If you haven't seen them already, there are some cool tools at brewerydb.com and brewerymap.com

Edited April 25, 2014 by rugger62

[kermit]

Lenny Boy is expanding at their current site in Southend. They will replace their .5bbl beer brewing system with a 3.5bbl system. I have yet to try their beer but I am pleased that Sycamore will be across the street and the Southend beer cluster will become more robust.

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/01/4879070/kombucha-maker-lenny-boy-is-breaking.html#.U2brBrSQlM6

[grodney]

Tweets of note:

 

Sugar Creek 6 days ago re-tweeted somebody who said: "74 days & counting"

 

OMB yesterday tweeted a pic of their 4th 240 bbl lager tank being unloaded by crane, and said: "The new brewery is nearing completion, set to start up next week."

 

Sycamore 5 days ago tweeted a nice pic of a bobcat "removing asphalt along the rail trail for our future green space."

[Niner National]

I drove by Triple C last night. Their new landscaping work looks good.

 

That area has potential to be a really cool district some day.

[tozmervo]

Hate to ask it, but any predictions on the fate of Four Friends? Their tap room has been closed for months. Their beer, for me, was inconsistent back when I actually saw it on tap. Now I rarely see it. They're not very active in social media -- of course how active can you be when you don't have a tap room? Oddly, I saw them on tap at the growler station at Stateline Elite (in SC). I wonder if they are licensed to sell/distribute in SC?

Not trying to drag anybody through the mud -- just wondering if such a small and seemingly disorganized operation can stay afloat in Charlotte's scene?

 

From speculation to reality, Four Friends has officially ceased operations.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Four-Friends-Brewing/76668857320

[HopHead]

From speculation to reality, Four Friends has officially ceased operations.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Four-Friends-Brewing/76668857320

 

Not surprising... They've been the one brewery that just seemed to be barely staying afloat while all the other breweries in town have been thriving. I remember drinking their I-77 IPA a few years ago thinking it wasn't bad. Then it became very inconsistent and I refused to even drink it anymore. 

[Miesian Corners]

Question: do the owners of OMB regularly piss people off in the restaurant community?  I've been to three local places recently that no longer have OMB on tap.  All three times I was told by servers that they are "difficult to work with..."  True?  I love their beer, but more importantly, I hate to see local businesses speak badly of another.

[HopHead]

Question: do the owners of OMB regularly piss people off in the restaurant community?  I've been to three local places recently that no longer have OMB on tap.  All three times I was told by servers that they are "difficult to work with..."  True?  I love their beer, but more importantly, I hate to see local businesses speak badly of another.

 

Only speaking from personal experience with meeting a few people at their brewery tour a couple months, I found them to be a bit arrogant. I'm not a huge German style beer person, which is odd since I mostly have a German background, but I enjoy Copper and Mecktoberfest. I agree that you'd think they wouldn't want to be difficult to work with in the local community, but they by far have the biggest ambitions of the Charlotte breweries... didn't they also talk about dabbling with a distillery at one point? Perhaps their ego has grown with their ambitions a bit too much.

[grodney]

Question: do the owners of OMB regularly piss people off in the restaurant community? 

 

I doubt the owners have much at all to do with the restaurant community -- just guessing.  Sales people and distribution people would seem more likely.  But other than that, I don't know.  But I'll ask my restaurant-owning friend that has them on tap.

[HopHead]

Big news coming from NoDa Brewing... Appears they are looking at a local expansion and investing in their own canning line! This is a big step for them, especially since they can't seem to brew beers like Hop Drop n Roll fast enough: http://shoptalkclt.blogspot.com/2014/05/noda-brewing-plans-to-expand-locally-do.html

Edited May 22, 2014 by wend28

[kermit]

Big day for Charlotte brewers. (See optimist park thread for birdsong news). Same article says Old Meck will open its new space on July 19.

http://www.charlottebeer.com/2014/05/22/birdsong-brewing-signs-lease-on-new-location/

[HopHead]

So within the next year, it looks like Olde Meck, NoDa and now Birdsong will all have much larger spaces and much more capacity for brewing. Awesome news for the Charlotte craft beer scene! 

[SouthEndCLT811]

So within the next year, it looks like Olde Meck, NoDa and now Birdsong will all have much larger spaces and much more capacity for brewing. Awesome news for the Charlotte craft beer scene! 

 

Not to mention the comparatively large presence Unknown started off with.  Might start to see larger distribution coming from our breweries.

[grodney]

Exciting, but I liked having Birdsong right next to NoDa and Free Range. Oh well. Also, does this put them about halfway between light rail stops? I guess the walk won't be much worse than Triple C to Sycamore, although the latter will be directly on the rail trail.

[HopHead]

Exciting, but I liked having Birdsong right next to NoDa and Free Range. Oh well. Also, does this put them about halfway between light rail stops? I guess the walk won't be much worse than Triple C to Sycamore, although the latter will be directly on the rail trail.

 

Yea, I like them being next to each other as well. Though, it was inevitable that both breweries wouldn't be able to stay together like that long term if they were to grow. 

[grodney]

The NoDa story says "second brewing location".  I wonder if that means a nearby space to just add additional brewing/canning?  Or a brewery and taproom in a completely different part of town?  Or a brewing/canning operation elsewhere, without a taproom?  Hmmmmm.

[grodney]

Yet another "Coming Soon" added to the list:  Three Spirits Brewing.  http://www.charlottebeer.com/2014/05/23/three-spirits-brewery/

 

Their facebook page says: "Pending finding the right spot, we hope to be open by the Fall", but he's also been posting since March of 2013(!), so I'm not 100% sure which year that comment is even talking about.  As we've seen with all these breweries, the build-out and permitting and whatnot takes way longer than any of them think.  But at least he has a signed lease!  (A short walk from Woodlawn Station.)

 

"

After many months of searching, Mwatabu Terrell, a former emergency room doctor who lives in Tega Cay, SC, has found a home for Three Spirits Brewery and signed a lease at 5046 Old Pineville Rd. This location is about a mile south of The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. Plans for the building include a patio outside and a taproom of about 2,500 square feet, with the brewery itself occupying around 9,100 square feet.

"

[HopHead]

I had to post this because it's such a joke... Epicentre's 2nd annual beer festival: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-epicentre-charlotte-beer-festival-tickets-11530484991

 

Check out the beer lineup. Can I get a sample of a Dos Equis, Smirnoff Peach Bellini and a Redds Apple Ale, please?? Though there are some NC breweries represented, none are from Charlotte. You have local breweries that have won medals at national beer festivals and a thriving local craft beer scene but you can't even put one of them on display at your "beer festival"?? Ridiculous. 

[grodney]

OMB isn't listed, but 2 days ago they tweeted they would be there.  I was actually surprised they were going -- this is the lame festival that caused a lot of confusion last year because it was the same day as the "Charlotte Brewers Festival" that was held at OMB.

[go_vertical]

I'm just glad that Four Loko is being represented. Cause that stuff doesn't taste like vomit in a can at all.

[Guest]

I'm just glad that Four Loko is being represented. Cause that stuff doesn't taste like vomit in a can at all.

I have some of the 2009 vintage aging in my wine cellar, if you ever want to partake.

[SouthEndCLT811]

I'll be honest when i bought my $10 Groupon for this 5hr all you can drink beer fest it wasn't for the quality.  Just looking for a rip roarin good time haha

[ah59396]

I'll be honest when i bought my $10 Groupon for this 5hr all you can drink beer fest it wasn't for the quality. Just looking for a rip roarin good time haha

Agree with this. I'm not going, but that said, I don't expect anything hosted my the Epicenter to cater to the type of beer crowd you'd see over at the Common Market. This festival is for the "Bud Platinum" crowd; aka go get drunk and have fun.

[HopHead]

Agree with this. I'm not going, but that said, I don't expect anything hosted my the Epicenter to cater to the type of beer crowd you'd see over at the Common Market. This festival is for the "Bud Platinum" crowd; aka go get drunk and have fun.

 

Touche. I guess if you get cheap tickets off Groupon like SouthEndCLT, it doesn't say much for the "festival". At the Epicenter... Drink up lads