Drinking Beer in Charlotte

[grodney]

Great news on NoDa Brewing -- though I don't know how to list that on my quick-reference ha ha.  

 

Any news/rumors on what, if anything, is happening to Birdsong's space once they're gone?

[HopHead]

Great news on NoDa Brewing -- though I don't know how to list that on my quick-reference ha ha.  

 

Any news/rumors on what, if anything, is happening to Birdsong's space once they're gone?

 

I don't have an info, but I'd love to see the Birdsong space turned into a home brewer incubator type space. So if you want to brew your beer in larger quantities (and have the $ for all ingredients), you can work with a head brewer to brew your beer. It would be a great way to learn the whole process at a more macro level versus brewing in 5 gallon batches like you do at home. No idea how one would make that a profitable business model, but just an idea never the less. 

[elrodvt]

I don't have an info, but I'd love to see the Birdsong space turned into a home brewer incubator type space. So if you want to brew your beer in larger quantities (and have the $ for all ingredients), you can work with a head brewer to brew your beer. It would be a great way to learn the whole process at a more macro level versus brewing in 5 gallon batches like you do at home. No idea how one would make that a profitable business model, but just an idea never the less. 

I think that is a tough model but a great idea. There used to be a "brew your own" place in burlington, vt that I used a lot. They had a bunch of 15 gallon gas fired boil tanks with full filtering including one for doing whole grain. The beer would flow from the tank, through the filtering system, and into a barrel for fermentation. Then through more filters into your own 5 gallon kegs or via a bottling station. Loved that place. but they could not make a go of it. I would use a place like that quite often. It was great for 3-4 people to get together and concoct their own recipe.

[grodney]

That would be a cool use for the space, but probably not for the equipment.  Birdsong's current brewhouse is 10bbl -- over 300 gallons -- which is a pretty big commitment for a "brew your own".  Of course they could sell that equipment (Benford Brewing in Lancaster SC bought a 30bbl system from somewhere in Louisiana that was upgrading), but it seems it would be much easier to leave it in place, similar to the Sugar Creek Brewing on the old OMB equipment.

 

So having said all that, yeah, a brew your own place would be neat, and I think a pretty good fit for the area.  But I also wonder whether it could make it financially.

[InSouthPark]

^That's what I was thinking. This is huge for the N Tryon Corridor, though I wonder if keeping the N Davidson location open will "dampen" a second locations success, especially when it's a minute and a half drive away

 

I would think the new location would dampen the 26th street location, not the other way around. The 26th street location has way too many limiters (no parking, no real outside presence, small tap room). Most times that I go there there is no where to sit (unless it is a random Tuesday night kind of thing). Crossing N. Davidson from the extended parking lot is a pain. 

 

A rooftop patio, huge outdoor area, ample parking would lead me (a non-noda resident) to the new location.  I assume they will move production of their canned and distributed beers to the new location immediately with the installation of a canning/bottling line. I would also assume they sign with a distributor to start getting their beers out of market to help pay for this expansion.

 

I would guess they move some of their larger 60bbl fermenters to the new location but keep the smaller/seasonal beer brewing at the N. Davidson location for the time being. At some time, I can see the Noda location going away just due to the better setup on Tryon. 

[kermit]

CBJ Story on the new NoDa location:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/real_estate/2014/11/noda-brewing-finds-new-location-for-expansion.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&page=all

 

a few tidbits: Old location will be kept as a "specialty beer shop"

 

The building will be owned by Harris Development and leased to NoDa (I suspect that Harris has big plans for the hood)

 

NoDa will double production and begin distributing outside CLT

 

and this struck me as particularly optimistic: "The new location will feature ample parking, she says, and will ultimately be located between two light-rail stops when the Blue Line Extension is complete." [yea, right. Its gonna be a long walk unless the greenway plan that Toz cited in the NoDa thread actually gets built]

[tozmervo]

To 36th St station, it'll be about a half mile walk down N Tryon and 36th. About a 10 minute walk. 

[HopHead]

^I like the fact that they are sticking with the food truck concept and not putting in a restaurant. Focusing on what they do best, which is brew some great beers. Unlike some other local breweries... OMB.

[grodney]

Interesting take on InBev (Anhueser-Busch) buying up craft breweries.  All I can think when I read this is "NoDa", ugh.  As the commenters point out, a big part of local craft beer is the "local" part -- and once your money is going to a giant conglomerate instead of staying local, then it doesn't really matter if the beer stays the same or not.

 

http://allaboutbeer.com/10-barrel-brewing-anheuser-busch/

 

p.s. For size comparisons, 10 Barrel will produce about 40K barrels this year.  NoDa will brew 20K-25K next year.  I know it's an extreme longshot that NoDa (or Birdsong or Triple C) will get gobbled up any time soon, but sooner or later it will happen to someone we love.

 

 

p.p.s. Unrelated: Why do bizjournal articles appear a day after the news shows up on this thread (Legion Brewing, NoDa's new space, etc.)?  Hmmmmmm.

Edited November 7, 2014 by grodney

[InSouthPark]

 

a few tidbits: Old location will be kept as a "specialty beer shop"

 

 

CBJ jumbled their words on this a bit.  They plan to use the original location as taproom as well as house their sour and barrel aged beer program. Brewing sour beers in an off location is always a best practice as any trace of left over yeast from a sour can (and has) ruined an entire batch of beer. Extreme cleaning is needed between doing a sour and back to regular yeast to minimize infection. They will likely keep one or two fermenters and bright tanks at the original locale just for the sours.

 

The barrel aging part is just warehouse space. Beer sits in the barrel for 6-12months, sometime even longer for special releases.

 

This is sort of the route Wicked Weed is taking with their new Funkatorium. They moved their barrel and sour program there to free up room at the main location (however WW is opening a seperate production facility in 2015-16 as well). 

[Miesian Corners]

Tried Sycamore last night.  Big fan of the space and beer garden area, not so much with their beer--kinda left a film on the inside of my mouth.  Regardless, Triple C is going to have to up their game in terms of friendly-looking space.  That barbed/razor wire surround doesn't exactly say "come in and have a beer!" 

[nonillogical]

Regardless, Triple C is going to have to up their game in terms of friendly-looking space.  That barbed/razor wire surround doesn't exactly say "come in and have a beer!" 

Well, they don't necessarily need to be appealing to bypassers with their location being pretty out of the way and the word already out. It's still my favorite of the breweries to hang out at. 

 

Question, is Sycamore dog-friendly? I imagine so outside but inside too like at Triple C? I've heard that dogs are allowed inside NoDa too but have never seen any so have not gone a couple of times due to that uncertainty. 

[Guest]

Well, they don't necessarily need to be appealing to bypassers with their location being pretty out of the way and the word already out. It's still my favorite of the breweries to hang out at. 

 

Question, is Sycamore dog-friendly? I imagine so outside but inside too like at Triple C? I've heard that dogs are allowed inside NoDa too but have never seen any so have not gone a couple of times due to that uncertainty. 

Its actually illegal for any of them to have dogs inside. However its only a .5% deduction, and thats only if the health department shows up. LOL

[Miesian Corners]

Well, they don't necessarily need to be appealing to bypassers with their location being pretty out of the way and the word already out. It's still my favorite of the breweries to hang out at. 

 

Question, is Sycamore dog-friendly? I imagine so outside but inside too like at Triple C? I've heard that dogs are allowed inside NoDa too but have never seen any so have not gone a couple of times due to that uncertainty. 

I disagree.  Being a good business neighbor includes addressing your neighborhood's aesthetics. As a passerby, it says "We're scared and you should be, too.".  Besides, there are now nearly 500 apartments within walking distance of the place.

Edited November 7, 2014 by Miesian Corners

[SouthEndCLT811]

Tried Sycamore last night.  Big fan of the space and beer garden area, not so much with their beer--kinda left a film on the inside of my mouth.  Regardless, Triple C is going to have to up their game in terms of friendly-looking space.  That barbed/razor wire surround doesn't exactly say "come in and have a beer!" 

 

Didn't notice the film in my mouth but I too thought Opening Day IPA and the OPA were just okay.  I'm willing to give it another go and would like to try the stout and ESB, just got chilly Wednesday night and our dog was being real annoying barking at everyone/everything.

 

Yes, dogs are allowed in the patio area.  I saw a couple dogs just on the other side of the rolled up garage door in the actual bar area which likely isn't a big deal when the garage doors are rolled up but probably wouldn't be in there if that was all shut.

Edited November 7, 2014 by SouthEndCLT811

[ah59396]

I haven't tried it yet, but I've been told by a couple different beer people that Sycamore's beer has been "okay".  They are going to be fine regardless due to their location, the layman will drink anything labeled "craft" as long as it looks as good as Sycamore does.  Triple C makes good freaking beer, it could be housed in a dumpster and I'd go there to have a pint.

[Guest]

I haven't tried it yet, but I've been told by a couple different beer people that Sycamore's beer has been "okay".  They are going to be fine regardless due to their location, the layman will drink anything labeled "craft" as long as it looks as good as Sycamore does.  Triple C makes good freaking beer, it could be housed in a dumpster and I'd go there to have a pint.

I'm going Saturday Night if you'd like to join. 

[ah59396]

I'm going Saturday Night if you'd like to join. 

 

I will be in Raleigh, haha.  As always, you arrive in Charlotte as I depart for some previous plans.  One of these days dude.

[Guest]

I will be in Raleigh, haha.  As always, you arrive in Charlotte as I depart for some previous plans.  One of these days dude.

GD It

[nonillogical]

I disagree.  Being a good business neighbor includes addressing your neighborhood's aesthetics. As a passerby, it says "We're scared and you should be, too.".  Besides, there are now nearly 500 apartments within walking distance of the place.

I see your point and totally hope they do address it eventually, just saying that I haven't even thought about or noticed it since my first visit (and I primarily hang out in that outside area). 

[kermit]

I had the ESB at Sycamore last night. I too was underwhelmed, it was not bitter at all (as if they forgot to add any hops) but at least it didn't leave a film. I'll chalk that one up to openening week bugs and give them another shot later.

The place is great (although very noisy inside) and thought it was a nice touch to have taps from unknown,triple c and lenny boy available. It did look like the crowd skewed much younger than at the other breweries in town, no surprise given the location I guess.

Edited November 7, 2014 by kermit

[archiham04]

ESB or "Extra special bitter" is a reference to style and production more than the "bitter" taste:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/style/66/

[Guest]

On Saturday, Dubone, my wife and I checked out Sycamore and Craft Tasting Room. I really like Sycamore's beer, I had the Friday IPA, and the ESB, and I think Dubone had one of the porters, which he also liked. The atmosphere was pretty cool, and I really liked the location, though the area could use some sprucing up for sure.

 

After we closed down Sycamore, we headed to Craft, which I also liked. We talked with the owner at great lengths, and enjoyed some of their local charcuterie. Unfortunately they had turned off their oven 5 minutes before we got there, so we weren't able to try any of their flatbreads or paninis. Overall we thought the place had a really good vibe, great draft beer selection and prices. The bottle selection was a little sparse, but VERY diverse in the styles of beer and breweries they offered. I had only heard of a couple beers there. I also had my first Sour ever, so that was pretty cool.

[tozmervo]

Finally got to try Sugar Creek this past Sunday. Very nice interior upgrade from OMB days. Nothing like a little nautical rope!

 

For their beers, I did a flight of all 6 on. Of their four standard beers, the Saison was at the top of the pile. I wasn't enamored with their pale or their dubble. Their seasonal porter was decent, but by far the most memorable was their seasonal coffee porter. I can't think of another beer where the coffee flavor was so strong! Definitely not a regular beer, but it was a fun change of pace. 

[SouthEndCLT811]

Finally got to try Sugar Creek this past Sunday. Very nice interior upgrade from OMB days. Nothing like a little nautical rope!

 

For their beers, I did a flight of all 6 on. Of their four standard beers, the Saison was at the top of the pile. I wasn't enamored with their pale or their dubble. Their seasonal porter was decent, but by far the most memorable was their seasonal coffee porter. I can't think of another beer where the coffee flavor was so strong! Definitely not a regular beer, but it was a fun change of pace. 

 

Drew Carey's dream of a coffee flavored beer has come true.  Long live Buzz Beer! Haha

 

Edit:  Anyone make it to Unknown to get some of the scorpion brewed beer?  Just curious how that was.  I had too much fun celebrating Ohio State's win the night before to make it there

Edited November 10, 2014 by SouthEndCLT811