Charlotte, NC

Thanks for the tips! Wooden Robot for lunch won't work. I saw the brewery does not open until 3pm and the gastropub until 4pm Friday. We have to be somewhere at 3.

 

FYI Pop the Top has been open for over a year (and is a great spot to hit).

 

Most importantly - check hours. Many CLT breweries don't open until 3 or 4. Can be tricky if you're blowing through town at lunchtime.

 

You could always go to Olde Mecklenburg if you are going through at lunch since they open earlier. Also, TomCat, are you visiting breweries in Charlotte on Saturday? I'll be doing a few Saturday in Charlotte if you want to meet up somewhere.

Do most of the breweries have A/C? I notice it will be quite warm this weekend (and humid). Also thanks for the mention of Fonta Flora. I have heard of them and will see if we can add them in. Though I had their beers recently at a festival in SD and wasn't particularly excited by what I had. Seemed to be mostly hype.

 

Most likely not, @sdhopaddict . Would love to but we are tied the entire day Saturday. The 3 or so hours Friday afternoon really is all the time I've got. We'll probably pick b/w Olde Mecklenburg and Heist for lunch. If Heist has cans available then most likely there since I really want to grab some of their hops. Their post last weekend mentioned cases getting low but looking through past posts it seems like they release something just about every week(??). Anyone know if this is true? Also seems like when cans are released it's at 5pm so since I won't be able to go that late on Fri or all day Sat. I'm really hoping they release something today or tomorrow and hope it lasts until Friday.

If Heist does not have cans anyone know if it's pretty easy to find relatively fresh cans at local shops around downtown (TW, Salud, Pop the Top)?

 

Heist cans are only at the brewpub. But I can't remember a time when they didn't have some available in the past few months. With their production facility open, they are cranking out cans regularly now.

 

Good to know about brewery only availability. I was wondering when I looked at some shops around CLT I didn't see any can posts on social media but did see others from shops outside the area (Hey Beer in WIlmington, Gate City Growlers in Greensboro, Bruisin' Ales in Asheville) that did get some of their cans. Not sure the laws in NC but assume they went themselves to pick them up from the source to sell in their shop or some special send by the brewery?

 

I've seen some posts lately from some local Charlotte bottle shops getting some cans. I've been too busy lately and haven't been by one in a while and I don't know how much they got so YMMV.

I did stop by Heist on Saturday around 5 and heard they sold the last of the Citra cans. By the time I left I think the only thing they had in 4 packs was Isle of Tortuga. But as mentioned elsewhere, crowlers are available for whatever they have on tap.

 

Yesterday at 8pm Resident Culture had leftovers of all the stuff they released on Sunday. You can keep track on social media or call them to see if they have anything left when you're in town.

 

@TomCat11 hope you're enjoying your time in the city. In case you missed it, Heist just announced that they're releasing cans of Cloud Control today at 5pm.

 

Oh man! We literally just left from having lunch there an hour ago and I looked to see if they had posted anything as we pulled in just after 12:30. I just missed it.did not have time to check out Salud but probably head back that way in an hour or so to check them out. Unfortunately, I have to be over by Wooden Robot just before 5. Going to be back in NoDa later tonight so may try to swing by. Thanks for the info!

 

Thanks again for all the recommendations of places to hit. While I did not hit everything I was hoping for I was able to squeeze in 3 breweries and a couple shops.

Heist - Very first stop as soon as we got into town as it was a few miles away from out hotel and we needed lunch. Got a flight that included Isle of Tortuga, Blurred Up, BFF, Brockwell and Brunch Junkie. Beers was all excellent. Blurred Up was my favorite followed by Brockwell. I do love a good Mild. Food was pretty good. Got a chicken wrap but probably should have went with my gut and got fish tacos. They only had 6 beers available but server said they were about to put on a bunch of new stuff "soon." Who knew the first couple (Cloud Control & Pick'n Mango) would be announced shortly after we left (or maybe I did not check social media before we left and missed it. Anyway, I would not have been able to wait until or come back at 5pm anyhow. Was hoping to get back at some point over the weekend to try these but after a day of drinking Saturday didn't feel like Ubering back up that evening.

Wooden Robot - Also enjoyed all of their beers (another flight). What's She's Having and Good Morning Vietnam my favorite there. Really liked the flight glasses they used (little stemmed 4oz? glasses) . Walked in a little after 3pm Fri and probably only 3 people in the taproom side including several staff. Did not walk to the restaurant side.

Free Range - Also very much enjoyed their beers. IPAs weren't what I was hoping for but then again I understood they specialize more in farmhouse ales and not the hoppy side so was not expecting to be that impressed by those.

I did not end up grabbing any beers to bring back since Heist was really what I was hoping to snag but did end up checking out Pop the Top Bottle Shop and TW - Myer Park. The bottle shop side of Pop the Top was smaller than I was expecting. Several cooler doors with chilled bottles/cans and then a few racks of shelves for non-chilled stuff. Didn't walk to the other side of the shop but looked like there was a bar area with a good number of taps for having some stuff in house / hanging out.

Thanks again!

 

Heist was my favorite of the bunch by far. Really enjoyed Pick'n Mango and grabbed two four packs to go. The honey blonde was also excellent. Double IPAs were a bit muted in hop aroma but still solid. We also happened to be there for Saturday brunch and the spicy potatoes and vegetables were fantastic. I wasn't a huge fan of what I had at resident culture. Nothing bad but nothing fantastic. My favorite was the peach brett ale.

Thanks to the recommendations we ended up at Old Mc on Monday before flying out. Solid German beers overall and I'm happy to try their version of an Alt before my upcoming visit to Dusseldorf. They might be some of the more authentic German beers out there but from the few I tried they didn't really stick in my mind either.

Out to Asheville, Fonta Flora was fairly underwhelming. Very impressed by the Hi Wire Blueberry sour such that I grabbed a bottle of that and the Oude Tart. Burial was solid, great atmosphere. We also ate at the fantastic Ethiopian place in Asheville. So good.

 

Fonta Flora can be a bit hit or miss at some times, kinda depends on what they have. Sometimes they won't have a ton and won't have styles you like.

If you're taking that Pick'n with you, try to get it nice and cold before packing. There's so much fruit in there that they tend to turn into bombs if they get too hot for too long. I shipped a raspberry one (I think it was raspberry anyway) a month or two ago and it blew up when the receiver opened it. Looked like he'd murdered someone. I know packing for a flight isn't the same as shipping, but still something to keep in mind. I haven't opened one of the Mangos I have so don't know how they compare fruitwise, but they tend to have a decent amount of fruit left in the can, which can lead to secondary fermentation in the can if you let it get too warm.

 

I haven't had any issues with the fruit. Though I have tried to keep them cold since we left the brewery as much as possible. That is just general practice for us considering my history with hoppy beer.

 

I shipped 2 of them as well and they blew up, had no idea that would happen.

 

Hey folks! I’ll be visiting NC this weekend, and am looking for a place to hang out in Charlotte while waiting for my flight out of town. Someplace that’ll have a decent craft selection, food, and a T.V.(s) to watch the Packers game. If I could get a few suggestions, it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

Any of the Duckworth's locations would work

 

I've only been to the Uptown location a few times when in Charlotte but Blackfinn - Ballantyne is a Packers fan bar. The group has a FB page. Not really convenient to the airport as it's probably 20-25 mins away. It's been a few years since I at the Uptown location but they had a good local selection if I recall.