Drinking Beer in Charlotte

[Crown]

I hope they are really just making fun of themselves but something tells me they are actually serious 

[CLTProductions]

7 minutes ago, Crown said:

I hope they are really just making fun of themselves but something tells me they are actually serious 

Mix of tongue in cheek and mix of serious/calling out reality. 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Jayvee

[CLT704]

This isn't confirmed but it appears that my good friend Lindsey Pittman and some other people are opening up a coffee shop/brewery or beer shop in the future. Exciting project and exciting times for Charlotte's coffee and beer scene!

[JRNYP2C]

For those of us to the west of Charlotte, there is movement on the brewery in Belmont - coming soon!

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/food-drink/article85820167.html

 

[grodney]

I went to the Blue Blaze grand opening on Saturday.  Had the black IPA, the west coast IPA, the alt, and the stout. All were really good.  The place is nice....very well done in my non-expert opinion.

In other news, agenda is reporting Thirsty Nomad (across I-77 from OMB) will be opening July 9.

 

 

[HopHead]

^I meant to hit up Blue Blaze over the weekend, but ended up spending time at Heist (again) and Abari (for the 1st time). Have to say Abari is pretty sweet. 25 cent video games and good beer. Plus some Joe's Dough's smelled damn good. To the topic of Heist. I know I keep raving about their beers lately, but wow they hit it out of the park with their New England Style IPAs, Not From Concentrate v5 and Blurred is the Word. Had those at the bar and took some crowlers home. So good... Probably a good thing you have to go there to get those otherwise I'd be drinking them every day. 

[grodney]

As semi-predicted here, Sycamore is now open every Friday for lunch with a food truck.  Facebook says open at Noon (which is a little late to be opening for lunch but whatevs) on Fridays while their website still says 4pm (the concept of the traditional website in 2016 is apparently nearly dead).

DID YOU KNOW:  Blue Blaze is farther* north than Free Range?  Unknown is farther* north than Legion?

*further/farther, I don't know.

Edited July 1, 2016 by grodney

[grodney]

oops wrong thread

Edited July 1, 2016 by grodney

[videtur quam contuor]

Sycamore was LIT last night at 7-8 pm. All seats taken and wanderers with glass in hand, plus a food truck, Magnolias I think. Memory. Again.

[ah59396]

As a 30 something, you can't pay me to go to Sycamore.  I think I'm passed the point in my life when I want to drink around crowds, or noise, or lines at bars.  That place is too damn busy all the time.

[kermit]

3 minutes ago, ah59396 said:

As a 30 something, you can't pay me to go to Sycamore.  I think I'm passed the point in my life when I want to drink around crowds, or noise, or lines at bars.  That place is too damn busy all the time.

I too think of Sycamore as the Flytrap of Charlotte craft beer.

[nonillogical]

1 minute ago, ah59396 said:

As a 30 something, you can't pay me to go to Sycamore.  I think I'm passed the point in my life when I want to drink around crowds, or noise, or lines at bars.  That place is too damn busy all the time.

FWIW even when its super crowded, I find I never have to wait long at the bar there, which is surprising. I do prefer to go early though, and its a pretty pleasant light to moderate crowd outside of Friday and Saturday evenings. I work next door so I have a bias towards seeing them glass-half-full due to the convenience.

All bias aside though I have to reiterate again just how much better their beer has gotten. Currently I'm a fan of the Mango Grapefruit Imperium, and they had a rum barrell aged coffee porter recently that was fantastic. 

[CLTProductions]

32 minutes ago, nonillogical said:

FWIW even when its super crowded, I find I never have to wait long at the bar there, which is surprising. I do prefer to go early though, and its a pretty pleasant light to moderate crowd outside of Friday and Saturday evenings. I work next door so I have a bias towards seeing them glass-half-full due to the convenience.

All bias aside though I have to reiterate again just how much better their beer has gotten. Currently I'm a fan of the Mango Grapefruit Imperium, and they had a rum barrell aged coffee porter recently that was fantastic. 

Agree here. I am a big fan of Sycamore until about 2pm, then it just gets too "sycamore-y" and its time to go. Their beer can be very very good too

[InSouthPark]

On July 1, 2016 at 1:42 PM, nonillogical said:

FWIW even when its super crowded, I find I never have to wait long at the bar there, which is surprising. 

See I have the exact opposite view. I typically go on a weekend afternoon or sometimes on a Wednesday for the run club, and I always find the crowds manageable but the wait for beer unbearable. It has gotten a little easier with the outside bar but inside is a mess. I'm not sure if their POS is that slow or they just aren't very fast. Way too many times waiting for 10-15min to get beer that a crowd doesn't warrant.  I generally like their beers (especially the barrel aged stuff) but half the time leave frustrated after one beer because I don't want to stand around again for another 15 minutes.  The "scene" doesn't bother me as I find it quite amusing as a 40-something and try to think back to what we wearing and acting like 20 years ago. *shudder*

[HopHead]

Sycamore fell off my list of breweries to go to a while ago. I like their Peak Farms Double Pale Ale but I can get that at a bottle shop. There are just too many other better options in town where it's more about the quality of beer than being where the crowd is. The patio space is great for sure, but as others have said it's - cluster. If I were 25 I'd probably have a different take though. 

Edited July 3, 2016 by HopHead

[NeverSummer]

I didn't realize it was such a council of elders on this forum.  I personally like going to Sycamore earlier in the week, when it is slower - mostly based on my work schedule - but who doesn't like young girls partying in sundresses?  

Kidding aside, the thing I have always liked is the quality of the beer, even with the outrageous number of new beers they push out.  That being said, the barrel aged stuff is my real go-to.  My two cents.

[InSouthPark]

It's not the girls in sundresses!  It's the "too old to acting like frat bro's" bro's that are trying to dominate the competition. Lol.

PS - respect your elders!

[SgtCampsalot]

I question how anyone over 30 can do the go-out-and-drink scene with the level of vigor I see from so many individuals in Charlotte's scenes. 

On an unrelated note I am obsessed with beer but I haven't been to most of the South End region breweries. It's practically white noise at this point.

Edited July 3, 2016 by SgtCampsalot

[videtur quam contuor]

I was the OLDEST person at Sycamore when I went, (which is the norm at just about every place I go). So I use it as a way to visualise the generation(s). I do not mind, if they do not.

[NeverSummer]

(Glass raised with respect)

[HopHead]

I did some brewery hopping yesterday. My favorite new beer is Wicked Juicy from Wooden Robot. New England style Pale Ale. I've had a lot of the NE IPAs that Heist has done and this is nice alternative if you like the style but want something a little lighter. My only gripe about Woden Robot is that they never have more than 2 people tending the taps, regardless of how crowded it gets. Seems to be a common theme elsewhere though. Haven't had a beer that I didn't like there, however..

Edited July 4, 2016 by HopHead
Typo

[grodney]

Thirsty Nomad opening pushed from July 9 to July 23.  Permit delays.  Shocking.

[grodney]

Barking Duck is having their grand re-opening this Saturday Jul 16 at their new location 4400 Morris Park Dr, Suite O/R, Mint Hill, NC 28226.

Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1qUzSq_rtYQ1oAdRL4hHoZN_wxlg

Unrelated:  I was at Harris Teeter Ballantyne on Friday and I counted 22 different COLD Charlotte beers (plus 2 from D9) not including bombers...plus others on the shelves.  Amazing to think how far we've come in a short time with not just Charlotte beer but with the retail availability.  (I took a pic, so I can tell you it was 4 NoDa, 4 Triple C, 3 Birdsong, 1 Sycamore, 4 Unknown, 2 Sugar Creek, 4 OMB plus mix-packs).

Unrelated DrinkingBeerInWaxhaw: We went to DreamChaser's Brewery in Waxhaw on Saturday.  Neat space in an old fire house, well done in my opinion but I'm not an expert.  The old fire truck bay doors are roll-up glass doors good for all seasons.  Lots of seating.  It never got full from 1:15pm to 3:30pm but there was a steady flow in and out.  Great location just on the north side of the ped bridge that crosses the railroad tracks --- made for a quick/easy walk over to the BBQ place to bring in some sandwiches.  The beer was okay.  They had 7 on tap (plus guest taps) and I had them all.  A little homebrew-y, but probably average for a new brewery.  I thought the IPA was pretty good.  Overall, the place is certainly good enough for a stop if you're in the area.  For a brewery experience very different than SouthEnd/NoDa, try the crawl from DreamChaser's (Waxhaw) to Benford (north of Lancaster) to Legal Remedy (Rock Hill) to Full Spectrum (Fort Mill (Baxter Village)).

[HopHead]

^I second both Legal Remedy and Full Spectrum if you're down that way. Legal Remedy is off the beaten path in Rock Hill but it's certainly worth a stop (I also know one of the owners). The food is pretty good and they have a variety of different beers. They have a white chocolate mocha stout that's very tasty. Full Spectrum is right by the Shutterfly distribution center off 77 in Fort Mill. They have some good stouts and their Alabaster cream ale is a nice beer this time of year. 

[JRNYP2C]

Was at Full Spectrum and Legal Remedy on Saturday.  Thanks to a good friend that works for a chain beverage store, I had the opportunity to try some of both at a tasting not too long ago.  F/S is moving to a new space a few buildings away soon, and their selection was pretty good.  However, the award for the day goes to Legal Remedy.  Arrived with friends around 7pm and it was PACKED!  About an hour wait for a table, but that gave us time to sample the tremendous amount of brews on tap.  The cookie one was "tapped" to which they replaced it with French Toast.  Um, I'll take 2!  There was so much to choose from and the food we had was also just as good!  Service was good there and I definitely recommend this brewery (along with F/S) as a good, long afternoon trip.