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Drinking Beer in Charlotte

ah59396

By ah59396
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grodney Town

grodney

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by far the most memorable was their seasonal coffee porter. I can't think of another beer where the coffee flavor was so strong! 

 

Have you had Birdsong's Mexicali Stout yet this year?  I thought the coffee in it was HUGE.  I really didn't even taste much chile/peppers/heat at all.  (I'm sure many people will like/love it, but I was actually a little more disappointed -- wanted more chile and a little less coffee.)

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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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tozmervo Metropolis

tozmervo

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Have you had Birdsong's Mexicali Stout yet this year?  I thought the coffee in it was HUGE.  I really didn't even taste much chile/peppers/heat at all.  (I'm sure many people will like/love it, but I was actually a little more disappointed -- wanted more chile and a little less coffee.)

 

I may or may not have already polished off two growlers at home :)

 

SCB's was definitely in the "coffee with alcohol added" category, whereas MexiCali is beer first. The former is a one-in-a-while interest, but I could drink MexiCali all day long. And I had the chance to try it on nitro Friday. BEAUTIFUL.

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InSouthPark Burg

InSouthPark

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Have you had Birdsong's Mexicali Stout yet this year?  I thought the coffee in it was HUGE.  I really didn't even taste much chile/peppers/heat at all.  (I'm sure many people will like/love it, but I was actually a little more disappointed -- wanted more chile and a little less coffee.)

 

Order a Mexicali and another beer at the same time. Let Mexicali warm up for 20 minutes while you drink the other beer. Then you find the peppers. 

 

A stout that pours at 37 degrees tastes nothing like a stout at 55 degrees. You will find much more balance as it warms. Sorry...I am a total beer dork! 

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grodney Town

grodney

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Anybody that's been to Sycamore -- do they have flights?  Also, anybody know if they're distributing to restaurants, growlers shops, etc?  Yet?

 

In other news, Free Range keeps posting pictures of construction.  They have walls up, and are saying next up is HVAC, floors, and doors.  Haven't seen any estimates or guesses for an opening date.

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InSouthPark Burg

InSouthPark

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Anybody that's been to Sycamore -- do they have flights?  Also, anybody know if they're distributing to restaurants, growlers shops, etc?  Yet?

 

In other news, Free Range keeps posting pictures of construction.  They have walls up, and are saying next up is HVAC, floors, and doors.  Haven't seen any estimates or guesses for an opening date.

 

No flights, at least not on the weekend. We went Friday and I enjoyed the two beers we had (Friday Star IPA and Cream Stout). Very good crowd (including outside) even though it was quite cool out. I have not seen them at growler shops or restaurants yet. By the size of the crowds at the taproom, I would say they are saving what they can for sales there. Very busy (at least it was on Friday evening).

 

I look forward to going back. One nice bonus at this place is that they also have 3 wines on tap. My wife has celiac so she can't drink their beers so for me to be able to drag my wife out to a brewery where she can drink something other water is a big bonus!

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tozmervo Metropolis

tozmervo

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Is there a map of all the Breweries? Which would you say is best situated to (feasible) walk-ability to other 'stuff' ??

 

Kinds of depends on what you're looking for. Pretty much all the center city area breweries meet that qualification, but most especially the Southend and NoDa breweries (trip c, unknown, sycamore, noda, birdsong, heist). OMB and Sugar Creek are a little bit less so. 

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grodney Town

grodney

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Worker at The Beer Growler wearing a Free Range t-shirt says that Free Range is looking at approx February for opening.

 

Went to Sycamore Saturday shortly after they opened at Noon.  Here is my take:

 

Good:

- The place is nice -- I like it a lot.  Outdoor area is nice but will need shade.  Big garage doors to open when it's nice out.  Parking is a plus.

 

Problems:

- Their workers were clueless about beer.  With about 8 beers listed and no descriptions and no flights, it's natural for us to ask about the "Amber" and the "Brown", for instance.  All we got is dumb looks.  They also couldn't give us any indication or comparison of the hop profiles on the OPA, IPA, and Black IPA.  One of us asked for a sample, and the workers seemed really put off by it.

- No flights.  My bro-in-law asked and I guess they said they'll start them next week.  I have no idea why they wouldn't have had this from Day 1.  They had flight glasses behind the bar.

- $5.08 per pint.  $5.50 after tax.  That's pretty proud for average ABV beers, compared to the other breweries.

- No wifi.

 

Beer:

- Black IPA - above average -- pretty good.

- Oat Pale Ale - average.

- IPA - average.

- Blonde - pretty good for what it is. Above average in the blonde spectrum.

- Stout - Average I guess. Good aroma and pretty good flavor, but the feel and overall impression was a little weak.  I don't know, maybe that's the style they are going for.

- Brown - Really strange.  Super dark brown, almost the same color as the stout and the black IPA.  But no aroma and very little taste.  Of course I was in the middle of the OPA when I tasted it, so maybe it was just too subtle.

- ESB - I guess the flavor/malt/hops were about right for an ESB, but I felt mine was under-carbonated -- or something.  It just seemed flat.

- Amber -- did not taste it.

 

Overall, I think they'll be fine.  They shouldn't have any problem attracting the South End crowd with their setup, their apparent dedication to live music, and their serviceable beer.  I'm interested to see if they end up with a standard lineup of 4 or 5 beers, and whether they can break out with a signature specialty.  We're going to a Hornet's game in a couple weeks, and are planning to take the light rail and stop for a beer on the way --- and at this point our stop will be at The Beer Growler for a flight, instead of at Sycamore (first choice would be Triple C, but they're not open Mondays).

Edited by grodney
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NeverSummer Unincorporated Area

NeverSummer

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I also went to Sycamore last weekend and had a great experience.  Granted, it was pretty crowded and I didn't spend much time asking them beer specific questions about hop profiles and the like, but they seemed to handle the crowd well and definitely had a positive attitude.  I also asked about flights, and they gladly offered me a few tastes for free.  I'm not a dark beer guy, and one bartender steered me towards the ESB, which I really liked.  I also thought the IPA was on point.  Given how young this brewery is, I personally believe they are off to a great start.  Does anyone else remember NODA's or Birdsong's first weeks?  Overall, I'm a fan, with my favorite aspect being the outdoor area.  Warm weather days will be amazing here.  

 

As an aside, has anyone heard anything about Dukbone recently?  When I heard there was going to be a Plaza Midwood brewery, I was sure it was them... guess not.

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grodney Town

grodney

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Latest quick-reference and map links below.  Anybody have updates on the following?

 

"Soon":

Primal - December, as linked above: http://www.craftcarolina.com/blog/2014/11/25/primal-brewery-huntersvilles-first-craft-brewery

Salud - Adding a brewing system "this fall".

Bayne (Cornelius) - "Soon" as of 10/28: http://corneliusnews.net/blog/2014/10/28/bayne-brewing-nano-brewery-coming-to-w-catawba/

Birdsong - New location - I saw on twitter/facebook that they're brewing on their new system at the new location.

Free Range - Feb 2015, according to totally unofficial gossip at Beer Growler.

 

"Not as soon":

Three Spirits - As of 11/24, hope to start demolition by mid-Dec. (My opinion, no way they'll make "Spring".)

Wooden Robot - Late Spring?

Legion - 2015, possibly as early as Spring.

NoDa 2nd location

 

"Way out there?":

Archive

Dukbone

Thirsty Nomad

Blue Blaze

 

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

Map: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zvfji2eVQoVE.kz5BFo-0quQ8

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grodney Town

grodney

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Birdsong is on the latest Cheers Charlotte podcast (http://cheerscharlotte.com/episode-077-birdsong-brewing-co/).  They dropped some tidbits about their move:

- Someone said "late January" and they essentially said yeah that sounds about right.  Obviously nothing set in stone.

- They are expecting to get a canning line in "the next few weeks" for use in the new location.  They are debating 12oz vs 16oz cans.

- The new place will have a patio facing N Davidson.

- They will have 16 taps plus another 8, for 24 total.  Will look to do guest taps, including from the local cider places.

- As for their old spot, they said they think the building owner is looking to sell to a developer.  I took that to mean the entire building.

 

In other news, I see Sycamore has changed their hours and isn't open on Mondays.  They originally announced they would be open 7 days a week.

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