Beer Trip Advice

Charlotte is an incredible beer city; I wouod argue ahead of even Asheville. An easy 95 corridor trip through Richmond through Raleigh to Charlotte. Then 77 through 81 and the mountains coming home

 

Of those: Charlottesville, IMHO, has better wineries than breweries (but the wineries are very pretty and good wine). You have already been to Richmond. Raleigh...eh. So come on down to Charlotte!

By February, HopFly should be open as well, adding another established, awesome brewery to the mix. Add in taprooms for Fonta Flora and Burial (sorta open occasionally outside) combined with all our awesome local brews, CLT is the place to be.

That said, we aren't Richmond when it comes to pastry stouts and heavily fruited sours. For some reason we are always behind the curve. My wife went to Richmond last week and I was drooling looking at the to-go list from Veil (and Answer). We have them, but you have to hunt for around for them. Certainly no shortage of anything else.

 

Selfishly I would say Charlottesville especially if you want to mix in a combination of breweries and wineries. if you are into the hazy IPAs the closest you'll get to what's found in RVA is Basic City in Waynesboro which is only about 30 mins West of town. Most of the breweries around do very solid beers but most likely nothing is going to blow you away but the area itself is quite beautiful especially if you are on the Western side near the Valley. You could easily make a day of the Route 151 breweries / wineries.

If going to NC I would also put a plug for Charlotte. I have family that live just South of the city and have hit a fair number of the breweries though it has been about 4 years since I was there last so I'm sure there's a lot of new ones I have yet to try out.

At the end of the day I would say it's how far you want to travel. If 3 hours then C'Ville but if you're up for a 6 hour trip then Charlotte.

 

I guess it depends on what you're looking to do, but I was really unimpressed by Charlotte as a weekend getaway destination, both for beer and for general enjoyment.

The city just has a dispassionate feel. It's like the whole city is just a giant airport terminal. Very little soul. If you're set on going, I would recommend just staying in NoDa and not venturing anywhere else, except Resident Culture. Avoid uptown unless you are just fond of banks and hotel restaurants.

 

If you are coming to Charlotte expecting old, big city vibes...well you aren't going to get it. We are city that has doubled in size in 20 years and building like crazy. Things are new and shiny. Old warehouse districts are being re-done. Apartments going up everywhere. Fastest growing Millennial population in the country. The "soul" comes decades from now when things grow up. You just don't build soul, it takes time. We aren't some vacation destination, and no one claimed it was. It's a rapidly growing place to work and live...because it is a great place to work and live.

If you weren't impressed by the beer, well, you just did it wrong. Sorry. We outshine most places, just without the big names you read about. Except you know Fonta Flora, Burial, Victory/SouthernTier/SixPoint, HopFly all adding locations here.

As for your statement about not leaving Noda except for Resident Culture...ok. You do you. To the OP...visit all the areas. If you don't leave Noda, you are missing 20+ breweries.

 

Considering the OP is going on a vacation, this seems the most relevant part of your post.

Head somewhere else, OP! Even the natives are saying so.

 

They are making an anniversary beer trip, not a vacation. We have more than enough top restaurants, 4 star hotels, and great breweries for a weekend trip. Stay in your lane.

 

You've got one of the best Lager breweries in the Southeast in Olde Mecklenberg. I asked Steve Holle, founder of KC Bier Co, about a great German style brewery in the Southeast and he pointed me immediately to Olde Mecklenberg. I totally respect that guy's opinion.

 

Pretty much all of the better breweries, with 1 or 2 exceptions are either in NoDa or are NoDa-adjacent. To me that's Salud, Wooden Robot - Chamber, Divine Barrel, Heist, Heist Barrel Arts, Petty Thieves, Protagonist 2nd location, Fonta Flora - Optimist Hall and maybe I'm forgetting someone. The only other areas that can claim that kind of concentration is the OMB, Protagonist, Sugar Creek, Brewers at Yancy area, and honestly I'd put all of them below the NoDa breweries other than OMB for their niche. The only brewery that I'd be really sad about missing out on just going to NoDa would be Resident Culture. If you live in the city or have been to Charlotte a half dozen times, then yeah, there's plenty of other areas to hit. But for a first time in Charlotte, I'd definitely say the focus should be around NoDa. You just can't hit those 20+ breweries in one weekend!

 

you really should visit Olde Meck unless you just can’t stand lagers, especially if it’s a nice day out.

 

Sycamore if it's a nice sunny day sit outside.
Wooden Robot within walking distance
Resident Culture
Divine Barrel
Don't skip out on Charlotte Beer Garden. H U G E
Heist
Olde Meck (just because you have to at least once)

 

That's a solid list and ultimately you can only hit so many places in a certain amount of time (and you have a better idea of how many that is than we do). A lot of those are pretty close to each other (Divine Barrel, Wooden Robot - Chambers, Salud, original Heist and then Free Range, Fonta Flora - Optimist, and Petty Thieves slightly further), and then the others aren't so far away that you'll be driving all over the place.

If you're looking for good restaurants, Heist (the original location, not Barrel Arts) is a solid option. If you're there on the weekend most of the breweries will more than likely have a food truck option around lunch and/or dinner, if that's what you're looking for. If you're looking for specific kinds of restaurants people can probably suggest some, there's a ton out there I'm a bit out of the loop on Charlotte restaurants as when I come down to Charlotte I normally just hit a food truck at a brewery.

One other option to consider is Good Wagon Distilling, basically across the road from Divine Barrel. If you find yourself needing a break from beer for a bit (heresy!), they make some pretty decent cocktails with their own liquor.

 

If you are a millennial maybe. As gen-x, you couldn't pay me to go to either of those with the other options we have. LOL.

 

Heist recently brought back their bangin' Sunday Brunch Buffet. If you're a little groggy after a Saturday of brewery hopping, it hits the spot just about right. Not many breweries are open at 10am on Sunday, but the places with their own kitchens usually open early.

 

I'd strongly consider OMB if passing through town. Every locality has a couple breweries making B/B+ hazies, very few have a true beer garden with authentic, well made German style beers on tap. It's a must if you want to visit somewhere truly unique to Charlotte.

 

for my money OMB is the crown jewel of the Charlotte beer scene. Not making trendy Hazys or Pastry Stouts, but they do have some of the best lagers you will find, and their location is very nice. I love going there on nice evenings when it is just a bit chilly out and drinking great beers around the fire pits they have out. The place has a great vibe.