Drinking Beer in Charlotte

[NeverSummer]

Anyone else see that Wooden Robot has a bottle release coming up on the 20th?  $16 for a pint's worth of beer, plus tax.  Limit of 4.

[InSouthPark]

13 hours ago, NeverSummer said:

Anyone else see that Wooden Robot has a bottle release coming up on the 20th?  $16 for a pint's worth of beer, plus tax.  Limit of 4.

That is pretty common price for a sour. Wicked Weed sours run from $14 - $20 for a 500ml bottle although this one wasn't aged in the smaller barrels that commonly take one year to age, this was done in the foeder at presumable much less time. These sours typically use a ton of fruit which can cost as much (or more) as the grain does. 

[atlrvr]

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 0:15 PM, grodney said:

With the Lenny Boy move complete as-of this coming weekend, that leaves us with 3 major projects underway:  Hyde, Resident Culture, and Bold Missy (conveniently representing South End, Plaza Mid, and NoDa).  I almost feel like we should have some sort of contest to predict the opening dates of those 3.

Others still on my "coming soon" list: Avenge, DukBone, FortyTwo, Divine Barrel, and Red Paw.  It wouldn't surprise me of 0 of those ever come into being.

Divine Barrel looks like it is going to 3701 N Davidson.

They were apparently behind this rezoning request a few months back. 

http://charlottenc.gov/planning/Rezoning/RezoningPetitions/2016Petitions/Pages/2016-063.aspx

It looks like they are now in the building permit phase, so I assume it's moving forward.

There is also a set of site plan and black and white elevations on Accela.

[CLTProductions]

8 hours ago, atlrvr said:

Divine Barrel looks like it is going to 3701 N Davidson.

They were apparently behind this rezoning request a few months back. 

http://charlottenc.gov/planning/Rezoning/RezoningPetitions/2016Petitions/Pages/2016-063.aspx

It looks like they are now in the building permit phase, so I assume it's moving forward.

There is also a set of site plan and black and white elevations on Accela.

Nice. Solid location to expand the brewery trail

Edited November 15, 2016 by Jayvee

[grodney]

8 hours ago, atlrvr said:

Divine Barrel looks like it is going to 3701 N Davidson.

 

Excellent, thanks!  Right across the street from Bold Missy.....I think that can only help both of them.  Divine Barrel has a twitter, facebook, and web page....all new since the last time I checked.....but nothing on any of them yet, other than a logo and a description "Wood fermented and barrel aged wilds and sours, small batch brews and other unique experiments".

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

In other news, Blue Blaze announced new business hours.....a decrease....:  W 4-9, Th 4-10, F 4-10, Sa 12-10, Su 12-7.  That's closing an hour earlier on Fri and Sat.

[InSouthPark]

8 hours ago, atlrvr said:

Divine Barrel looks like it is going to 3701 N Davidson.

They were apparently behind this rezoning request a few months back. 

http://charlottenc.gov/planning/Rezoning/RezoningPetitions/2016Petitions/Pages/2016-063.aspx

It looks like they are now in the building permit phase, so I assume it's moving forward.

There is also a set of site plan and black and white elevations on Accela.

From the brewers guild (only place I can find anything), it appears it will be a mostly barrel aged and sours brewery.  Hope they know what they are going as I love a good sour, but it ain't that easy. Many see Wicked Weeds sour and BA beer success think they can duplicate it, but few do.  A traditional sour takes around a year in the barrel. BA beers typically sit for 6-12 months in barrels.  If they "get it" it could be a big win for beer geeks. 

• DIVINE BARREL BREWING

• Charlotte | Charlotte Region

• Divine Barrel will have a strong focus on wood fermented/aged wild and sour beers. Our goal is to inspire the Charlotte community to try new things and see what's possible.

[wilmore]

On 11/14/2016 at 8:04 AM, InSouthPark said:

That is pretty common price for a sour. Wicked Weed sours run from $14 - $20 for a 500ml bottle although this one wasn't aged in the smaller barrels that commonly take one year to age, this was done in the foeder at presumable much less time. These sours typically use a ton of fruit which can cost as much (or more) as the grain does. 

I would be surprised if this doesn't sell out quickly - people will probably be going nuts in the trade market over this. 

[grodney]

I added Petty Thieves Brewing to my list of "coming soon".  They have a facebook and tweeters, and some business registration listings, but that's all I know.

[wilmore]

4 hours ago, grodney said:

I added Petty Thieves Brewing to my list of "coming soon".  They have a facebook and tweeters, and some business registration listings, but that's all I know.

This is a very bad brewery name IMO

[cjd5050]

15 hours ago, wilmore said:

This is a very bad brewery name IMO

Curious why you think that?

 

 

[grodney]

Well, Divine Barrel made it official on their instergram, posting a pic of the street sign at NDavidson/Anderson, along with "Summer 2017".  So let's set the over/under on them opening at May 2018.

Agenda also "reported" on it today: https://www.charlotteagenda.com/72495/specialty-beer-brewery-works-noda-warehouse/

(In other drinking-beer-in-charlotte news, did you also catch  Agenda breaking that at Kit's Trackside Crafts in Pineville you can "Expect a mixture of local, regional and national beers."?  You don't say, ha ha ha. https://www.charlotteagenda.com/72462/a-new-bottle-shop-and-tap-room-is-opening-in-pineville/ )

 

[InSouthPark]

2 hours ago, grodney said:

Well, Divine Barrel made it official on their instergram, posting a pic of the street sign at NDavidson/Anderson, along with "Summer 2017".  So let's set the over/under on them opening at May 2018.

Agenda also "reported" on it today: https://www.charlotteagenda.com/72495/specialty-beer-brewery-works-noda-warehouse/

I'll take that reporting a bit further. Apparently it is being started by Ben Dolphens. Long time beer industry guy. I have met him a few times at beer festivals in the home brewer section and his stuff has typically picked up some medals. He was always an extremely nice guy whenever I had interacted with him (he is a friend of a friend of a friend so we would all chat for quite a bit at festivals). I know I have tried some of his barrel aged stuff (not any sours). 

As for Trackside...I have high hopes for it. Kit is 100% responsible for the bar scene at the Ballantyne Village Teeter.  He convinced corporate to let him build that bar and let him stock whatever beer he wanted. Place is always packed. Super nice guy as well. We will see how the pricing goes. He was able to have really reasonable draft and growler prices at his Teeter and bottles were always priced well, but it's different when you have your own bills to pay. 

[grodney]

4 hours ago, InSouthPark said:

He was able to have really reasonable draft and growler prices at his Teeter 

This is an understatement.  

Looking forward to checking out his new place.

 

[kermit]

Brief blurb on the Fat Head brewpub coming to Southend from an Ohio beer blog. No news here but I thought their perspective on Charlotte was interesting enough to share.

"Meanwhile, Fat Head’s was approached about opening in Charlotte, a community that has plenty of transplanted Ohioans.

“It’s younger. It’s energetic. It’s a very clean and affluent city that has a lot of eclectic neighborhoods,” Cole said.

Charlotte has about 15 breweries and is still a young craft beer scene, with the oldest brewery there being about seven years old, he said. The community also doesn’t have many full-service brewpubs and Fat Head’s hopes to fill that void, he added.

Fat Head’s is shooting to open there in early 2018"

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/the-beer-blog/the-beer-blog-1.273124/fat-head-s-brewery-eyes-canton-and-charlotte-n-c-for-expansion-1.722634

 

Edited November 18, 2016 by kermit

[Guest]

14 hours ago, kermit said:

Brief blurb on the Fat Head brewpub coming to Southend from an Ohio beer blog. No news here but I thought their perspective on Charlotte was interesting enough to share.

"Meanwhile, Fat Head’s was approached about opening in Charlotte, a community that has plenty of transplanted Ohioans.

“It’s younger. It’s energetic. It’s a very clean and affluent city that has a lot of eclectic neighborhoods,” Cole said.

Charlotte has about 15 breweries and is still a young craft beer scene, with the oldest brewery there being about seven years old, he said. The community also doesn’t have many full-service brewpubs and Fat Head’s hopes to fill that void, he added.

Fat Head’s is shooting to open there in early 2018"

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/the-beer-blog/the-beer-blog-1.273124/fat-head-s-brewery-eyes-canton-and-charlotte-n-c-for-expansion-1.722634

 

 I'm very curious about where they end up. I've been scouting possible locations and there just doesn't seem to be one in "South End," only LoSo (Sorry Jayvee) I think if they truly want a spot in SouthEnd they are going to need to build, which isn't crazy for them. This is their new production facility and tap room being built in Ohio. That said... If they build... I hope it looks NOTHING like this.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Guest

[cjd5050]

1 hour ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

 I'm very curious about where they end up. I've been scouting possible locations and there just doesn't seem to be one in "South End," only LoSo (Sorry Jayvee) I think if they truly want a spot in SouthEnd they are going to need to build, which isn't crazy for them. This is their new production facility and tap room being built in Ohio. That said... If they build... I hope it looks NOTHING like this.

I hope they don't look at SouthEnd.  If Charlotte wants the beer community to grow it's going to need to 'move off the blue line' so to speak and reach out to other parts of the community.  Here is a map of the evolved San Diego brewery community.  Mostly has 3 clusters (San Marcos, Mira Mesa and North Park) but it's way more spread out.  Here is a map of Charlotte.

Personally, I think something around Downtown Matthews would do really well for a brewery.  It has a great vibe but plenty of room for improvement.  Might be able to snag a much large parcel of land that allows for events beyond just typical visits.  If you're thinking really long term...it will eventually be on the light rail.  

[InSouthPark]

2 hours ago, cjd5050 said:

I hope they don't look at SouthEnd.  If Charlotte wants the beer community to grow it's going to need to 'move off the blue line' so to speak and reach out to other parts of the community.  Here is a map of the evolved San Diego brewery community.  Mostly has 3 clusters (San Marcos, Mira Mesa and North Park) but it's way more spread out.  Here is a map of Charlotte.

Personally, I think something around Downtown Matthews would do really well for a brewery.  It has a great vibe but plenty of room for improvement.  Might be able to snag a much large parcel of land that allows for events beyond just typical visits.  If you're thinking really long term...it will eventually be on the light rail.  

They have already said SouthEnd, in fact they said they actually have a "deal in place". I think RDF is just trying to figure out where that deal in place actually is. Problem with moving these out of Southend/Noda...where you are going to find a 20k sf empty building in Matthews, tall enough for 30bbl brite tanks, loading dock and enough parking for a full restaurant?  I think a regular start up brewery would succeed easily in Matthews, but for a highly recognized brand (at least in the beer community), I think it would be hard to find the right spot I think.  

[cjd5050]

1 hour ago, InSouthPark said:

They have already said SouthEnd, in fact they said they actually have a "deal in place". I think RDF is just trying to figure out where that deal in place actually is. Problem with moving these out of Southend/Noda...where you are going to find a 20k sf empty building in Matthews, tall enough for 30bbl brite tanks, loading dock and enough parking for a full restaurant?  I think a regular start up brewery would succeed easily in Matthews, but for a highly recognized brand (at least in the beer community), I think it would be hard to find the right spot I think.  

Ah.  Didn't catch that, thanks.   Well then I hope others spread out the map if you will.  

As for Matthews, I was more thinking of a new build on land or adding a facilities extension to an existing retail structure.  

[InSouthPark]

13 minutes ago, cjd5050 said:

Ah.  Didn't catch that, thanks.   Well then I hope others spread out the map if you will.  

As for Matthews, I was more thinking of a new build on land or adding a facilities extension to an existing retail structure.  

I hope your right some day. I live on the south side of town and anything is easier to get to than Southend or Noda on a weekday!  I think the right brewery would do a killing in Ballantyne area as well, something like a Birdsong. They sort of get lost in their little neck of the woods.  Open a taproom extension in the Ballantyne corridor and you have an instant success and could almost guarantee it would be just as/more crowded than their current spot. 

[HopHead]

Spent part of yesterday at Wooden Robot. They finally got their Crowler machine fixed since last time I was there. Their IPAs have quickly ascended to my favorites, locally, along with Heist. They did their first bottle release with Galactic Nexus over the weekend. Anyone know when they might start releasing some of their regular beers in cans, like What He's Having for example? Hoping they start doing periodic releases like Heist. 

[kermit]

^ If I could get What He's Having in cans I might not ever buy another Hop Drop four pack.

[ah59396]

White Blaze cans found at Food Lion.  It's on point this year.  I'd honestly put it up against Cold Mountain.  I love that shiz.

[HopHead]

19 hours ago, ah59396 said:

White Blaze cans found at Food Lion.  It's on point this year.  I'd honestly put it up against Cold Mountain.  I love that shiz.

Cold Mountain has become the Hopslam of winter beers. I will certainly drink a pint if it's on tap, but it's over hyped. White Blaze is a good, cheaper alternative. And now at Food Lion??

[grodney]

While I'm loathe to link to anything at the John Locke foundation, this article is chock full of factual information about beverage industry regulation in N.C.: http://www.johnlocke.org/research/alcoholic-beverage-regulation-hard-to-swallow/?blm_aid=0&blm_aid=57290

There's also a good bit of speculation and opinion, but the facts are well-cited.

The major thing they leave out, however, is that these laws continue to exist because the legislators take money from the industry.

[grodney]

Went to Seaboard Taproom and Wine Bar in Matthews on Saturday afternoon.  Good place overall.  Some bar space, some long tables, some smaller tables, varied outdoor seating in at least 3 segments (front patio, side patio, enclosed patio between taproom and future brewery.  Beer selection was weird....lots of variety, but nothing local.  Check out current tap list here: https://www.taphunter.com/location/seaboard-taproom-wine-bar/6436034429845504

Haven't been to Kit's Trackside in Pineville yet, but I was a little disappointed to see him hyping Goose Island (aka Budweiser) over the weekend.  Oh well, not everybody can be as hyper-local (and more importantly anti-bigbeer) as I'd like them to be.  Here's his current list, which has some nice local selection: https://www.taphunter.com/location/trackside-crafts/5618238852694016

Oh, also made it to NoDa for the Hoppy Holidays release on Friday, and then over to Birdsong for a couple bombers of BBA St Tuber.  The NoDa scene was pretty crazy with the cases and cases of Hoppy Holidays people were buying.  Weather was great so the frisbee golf area had turned into a kids soccer game.  Meanwhile at Birdsong 100% of the customers were outdoors so the patio was full and the taproom was just the lonely bartender.

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by grodney