Ass Clown Brewing

Small taproom in an industrial park a bit north of town. Small service bar opposite the entrance on the back right side. A few high-tops, couches, and counter seating. 23 beers on tap. Impressive dead soldiers wall.

 

 

Small taproom with couches, hightops, etc. Small bar that overlooks the brewhouse. Nice vibe overall. Nice wall of empty bottles. Fridge with bottles and cans for sale. Friendly beertender that will happily chat about the menu. Overall, cool place.

 

Charlotte has a rapidly growing beer scene. Don't be fooled by the location, ass clown has probably the best beers in all of charlotte

How could you not stop because of the name? Sadly, the beers do not hold up. Service was pretty welcoming upon arrival, but it was hard to get a pour after due to the bartender chatting with her friends, and bragging about a "bottle share" for a good half hour.
Awesome vibe at this place! Wanted to appreciate the experience more than I did.

Stopped in here because... why not? The name says it all. The beers weren't great by any means but the vibe was cool, the service was great and it was just a fun place to finally see in person. Definitely a bucket list stop but had a nice time there.

 

 

A group of four guys were in town for the Packer game and ran into this nugget of brewing gold. The brewery had the most unique atmosphere and just inviting to sit and chill and drink your beer. The selection was amazing. All four of us had a flight....16 of the 30 taps and everyone was good. Flavors were rich and well thought out. They do sours, stouts, ipas, ales...all are a must try even if one may not be your flavor.

We drank not just one and and we weren’t one....ass clown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arrived on a Wed night around 8 PM. A little tough to find since in the back of an industrial complex behind trees and not visible from the road. Smell of brewing-in-progress when I walked in. A smaller size place with a very nice vibe. Great bottle collection, beer memorabilia, beer mags around for decor. Free chips on the table. Decent crowd who knew their beer. Good selection of stuff and every one I tried was pretty good. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. Right down the road from D9 and I'd pick this place over that one.

 

Small cozy tap room. Excellent vibe with some very unique offerings. Tried a flight that included a ghost pepper IPA, rhubarb sour and an oak barrel cabernet Brown ale. All exceptional. Definitely a do over for me next time I'm in Charlotte area.

 

I felt very comfortable in their tap room... For a small space, it was laid out excellent. On the day I was there, the beer selection and the service were both exceptional. I would visit again.

 

 

This place is tucked away, but really not that hard to find if you plug it in your GPS. Very similar to other small breweries/taprooms I've visited. I'm from Charlotte and am trying Ass Clown in an attempt to try all of the local breweries. The atmosphere is great, a small taproom with a good vibe, they even have a wall of the "cool" beers their staff has tried. Getting closer to this wall I noticed the first red flag, the beer they were showing off wasn't really that good, a number of gypsy bottles even a westy 12 but really on closer inspection most were cheap Bells or Westbrook bottles you can pick up in any grocery store. I went ahead and ordered a flight trying as I usually do to sample a few old standards according to the bartender and a few very strange concoctions. The bartender was curt to me when I asked his opinions about their incredibly extensive (like over 20 beers) tap list, seemed annoyed that I was troubling him over his regulars. All the while I had to listen to the two guys behind me in line talking about "this new brewery I just found called Allagash" I knew I was far from beer Mecca. Sampling the popular dark chocolate sea salt stout, 30 ghost pepper, wet hopped semicoe, and rhubarb sour. The 30 was impressive in the fact that it actually was painful to drink it was so spicy, the others were lacking in body just coming off kinda watery and it took me a few sips to even get basic tasting notes from the popular stout. Overall I would say it makes sense why they aren't bottling or tapping anywhere outside the brewery. Maybe they should stick to one or two beers and make them really good instead of offering plenty of average ones. Skip this one, the vibe might be cool but the beer isn't.

I thought about this before I gave a 5, if there was anything I should drop it down for and I just couldn't come up with anything. They could be a little hard to find at first I guess as they are in the back of a business park and will not be visible when your GPS says you have arrived.

However, one you are inside it's great! We have stopp several times traveling through Charlotte and have never been disappointed. They can be a bit crowded, as they were last time we were there but we expected it at 5PM on a Friday!

The beer: Simply put its fantastic. They have a nicely varied menu that changes often. Last time there I had a 15% Vanilla stout that I never would have guessed to be 15%. It was so rich and smooth. I am not a huge hop head, so I can't comment much on that side of the menu. They do a lot with peppers, and if you like spicy beer they usually have at least one on tap. I have had their Raspberry Jalapeño Porter and it was pretty good. It was s bit strong on the pepper taste, but the heat was perfect.
Oh, and they make wine! My wife even likes stopping here because of that, so it's a win-win. She says their barrel aged Pinot Noire is one of the best she has ever had.

The People: I haven't been enough to "know" the guys or be a regular, but the one time we got to sit at the front bar you would have thought we were there every week. Very friendly staff. Informative and excited about their products. Also gave great recommendations for local eating for us travelers.

They don't serve food but there were some chips and pretzels scattered around. The last time we stopped a couple had a pizza delivered to have with their beer.

All in all a great place!

 

 

Stop # 456 on my world brewery tour and boy what a doozey.

Cozy place located in an out-of-the-way industrial part about 20 minutes north of Charlotte. Wes was tending bar and pretty much set me up. Had samples of all the beers and while they may not be for everyone, they were all unique and well done. Stayed too long and probably drank to much....thanks Wes!

 

 

 

Incredibly interesting tap room in what us basically a strip/industrial mall. Bartender/brewer was fascinating to talk with and very interested in sharing his creations. Beer choices go well beyond the ordinary and are a must for anyone interested in new styles and the art of brewing.