Heist Brewing Opened... What Do You Think?

blivingston1985 posted: "I missed the opening event and have yet to see any of their beers around town. I fully intend to explore their brew myself, but i was wondering if i could gather some first impressions of the beer from some of my BA family in the mean time."


City & state? Thanks, Roger, Marietta, OH

 

All I've heard is that the food is wonderful and the beer is average.

 

Heist is in Charlotte, NC. Haven't been yet.

 

I don't think you will see their beers around town, it's seems like they plan to only serve at their place and also special events (Oktoberfest for example). I did try a few of their beers at Oktoberfest and I would descibe everything as being pretty solid examples of their style. I actually have a theory that that intentionally aren't making any kind of crazy beers because they don't want them to overpower or upstage the food, which they obviously spent a lot of time and attention on (and which I have also heard is very good, but I haven't been in myself yet). That's just my first impression from the two or three that I tried, with the caveat that a 2oz sample is hard to impossible to judge a beer on.

 

I had a 2oz sample of everything they had World Beer Fest in Durham, and I cant recall anything being memorable except the Oktoberfest. same goes for White Street and their Pale. I actually had to run through my untappd checkins to even remember what I had from both. I did both of them early on in the festival along with NoDa so I could remember them.

 

I feel there is a lot left to be desired about Heist. I can't be the only one who, when Heist came onto the Charlotte beer scene, felt a little misled about what they were all about. They jumped into the local twitter scene, attended tasting nights and things like that and seemed to be really "beer first" in their mindset. But now, having been a couple times, the beer is playing second fiddle to a very high end high priced menu. Not that that is a bad thing. Every food item I have had has been top notch, albeit small in portion. But when I hear the words Heist Brewery I think of beer first. This place is a gastropub with average to below average beer at best.

my advice. eat before you go you'll either spend a lot or leave still hungry.

 

blivingston1985 posted: "Heist Brewing in Charlotte, NC. Can there be another Heist Brewing in the South East US?"


Probably not, but I suspect there are other cities and states in the southeastern US.

Cheers & Good Beers, Roger

 

Unfortunately, I was not impressed. I found the food to be decent, but not worth the price and the servings to be too small for the high prices. Some of the menu items are standard fare done very well, while others seem to be trying too hard to be the next food network star... I have tried many (if not all) of their beers, and none of them stood out as above average, none of them were bad or had off flavors, just average.

The place it very nice, the vibe is great, and the servers are attentive and friendly. Hopefully they will find what works for them and settle into a groove that appeals to the local beer crowd. I think I am the only person to review the place so far and I gave it a 3.75 overall

 

Their burgers are really good, if pretty pricy. The beer, on the other hand... I'm unimpressed. I've tried their blueberry blonde and their oatmeal stout, and I just didn't really find either to be that great. Not BAD, just unremarkable. With NoDa and Birdsong a minute down the road, Heist just doesn't have the goods. I wish them luck, and hope they improve, but it really feels like the food is the focus, and the beer is an afterthought.
However, their homemade soda is good. The root beer in particular is amazing.