How many more breweries can Charlotte Support?

I've been with OMB since we started over three years ago. I've watched Four Friends, NODA, Birdsong, and now Triple C open up in that time, and we've just kept on growing while those breweries experienced great success as well. In my opinion we are nowhere near Charlotte's saturation point for hometown beers; the plan now is to change the hearts and minds of more and more local residents so they prioritize quality craft beers from their local breweries. Then they'll be no cap on how many Charlotte breweries can open and flourish. The market share we're stealing is almost entirely from larger national brands; not from each other.

 

Columbia is dire need of a brewery been on 2 beer runs to Coast and Holy City in Charelston last week and we need something like that here good fresh beer and also food trucks that sell gyros and bratwurst wouldn't hurt either

 

I thought Columbia had one in the works?

 

Columbia is in dire need of punctuation marks

 

And a firm exhale

 

Don t forget It s famously unpunctuated 1 1

 

The new brewery in Columbia should be opening up in September.

I think Charlotte still has room for more. But I think now more than ever you have to be putting out good beer if you really want to get your name out there. I don't know all the details but when I go to Charlotte it seems like I am seeing a ton of NoDa tap handles while I hardly ever see any Four Friends tap handles. I also think the beers I have from NoDa have been great while I've just shrugged my shoulders at all the Four Friends beers I've had.

Also I love how easy it is to find OMB in Charlotte now. We just need to convince them to put out a Rauchbier now.

 

My friend, that's a fight I've been fighting for some time now. I think they're behind it, but they are doing everything they can to supply their core styles (which is a great problem to have). I know they'll do it eventually; it's just a matter of time.

 

If Four Friends make it another year, I will be shocked. I have tried a lot of thier beer and have yet to order a second one. Not sure what it is but thier beers don't even seem to fit the style half the time. I had one of thier IPA/DIPA and rememeber thinking "WTF was that". I heard here on BA that they had some quality control issues that were supposed to be fixed earlier this year, but honestly, my mind was made up after trying 10+ of thier beers and not really liking any of them (and I think a lot of people may have been turned off early to them as well). Maybe they have thier shot together now, but I just haven't gotten the courage recently to flush another $4 down the drain. They seem like nice guys and honestly hope they can/will turn it around but they have a lot of work to do.

I think a place like Triple C will make it IMHO because the beer is solid and location/space is good.

The other one that worries me a bit is Birdsong. Not that they don't make some good beers (thier Jalepeno PA is one of my favorite local beers) it is just their location. When you come down 26th Street, head left to NoDa or head right to Birdsong...apparently my legs are out of alignment as i always turn left. I really wish they would have setup someplace different (like Plaza-Midwood/Elizabeth/Dilworth) as I think it would have worked out better for thier taproom. I know Asheville can pull this off with places like Craggie and Asheville Brewing, but those places are two totally different vibes and have enough tourists to support both. They do seem to be doing a good job distrubution wise though as I see thier stuff popping up quite a bit lately (and that may be where they make all thier money...no idea).

 

Understandable. Like I said I love how easy it is to find OMB in Charlotte now, and if they are focusing on making more Copper and Captain James Jack instead thats fine with me. Also a Gose, Berliner Weisse or Lichtenhainer Weisse would be pretty awesome.

 

I see it both ways. I think Birdsong's location is great. I enjoy their beers, but none of them really make me want to jump in the car and head to the taproom. But, being in the same complex as NoDa, I definitely find myself walking over there for a pint and a few games of giant Jenga on the patio before heading back next door. Sure they may be piggy backing on a customer base that was there for NoDa first, but if it helps expand their brand and get new people in the door, i'm all for it. Plus it gives the area somewhat of a block party feel when it's nice out and everyone is outside.

 

I drank Gose in Leipzig at "Ohne Bedenken" back in the mid-1990s and Schultheiss Berliner Weisse in Berlin in the early 1990s, and have yet to taste a U.S. version of these styles that gets anywhere in the ballpark. I hope that if OMB tries a Gose or Berliner, that they do meticulous research first the way they did for their Copper.

EDIT: Same goes for the Rauchbier; I'd be more than willing to help them conduct their "research" on that one!

 

Have you had Westbrook's Gose? It's the only example of the style I've had, and while I loved it I'm curious how comparable it is to those in Germany.

 

What have been the major differences you've noticed between the US versions and the German ones? Also, you might already know this but Greens just got in the Schlenkerla Helles in bottles.

 

You're going to be very happy with our 2013 plans.

 

Sounds good. I will probably be living in Charlotte by then so I'm sure I'll be stopping by frequently then even if you don't change anything.

 

With the Gose, think along the lines of Westbrook Gose:Ohne Bedenken :: Sam Adam's Derf's Secret Alt:OMB Copper. Just way overdone IMO in almost every facet (saltiness, sourness, mouthfeel, etc.) when compared to what is basically the "original." Less so, I'd say, with their Berliner Weisse, but still nothing of the subtlety and balance of the original Schultheiss.

 

Hmm. Have you had the Leipziger Gose? I'm guessing that it would be closer to the Ohne Bedenken. If that is the case I have to say I much prefer the Westbrook version, but then again I really enjoy sour beers.

 

I just moved to Charlotte from Jacksonville, FL about 2.5 weeks ago...and I'm loving the beer 'scene' up here so far! So I say the more the merrier!

On a side note...if anybody gets together to bottle share or go have a beer...let me know. I don't know anybody up here yet (other than my coworkers) so drinking alone gets old...haha. I live in Elizabeth Square.

 

Yea, I know I'm probably in the minority here being such a purist, but the Westbrook Gose was way way too much IMO. Since we seem to be dropping hints (looking at you, Uwftke26!), I hope that OMB will stay true to their purist roots (as I see them) on any Gose (or Rauchbier!) they end up making. Prost!