Charlotte Beercation:
Two weeks ago I took a beercation. I decided to visit family in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was introduced to Birdsong Brewing at a wedding, I attended over a year ago and I have been planning this trip for a while. If you recall my post on Charlotte craft beers, this was another visit to Charlotte craft breweries. I drove down to Charlotte on Friday, August 26, 2016. I did not arrive down in Charlotte until ten at night. We charged the batteries and set out on visiting breweries the next afternoon. I would like to thank Crissy and Phillip Bradford for hosting me and showing me some awesome Charlotte breweries. Crissy and Phillip are family and I appreciate them showing me around Charlotte and Charlotte beer. I made sure that I repaid them with some Philadelphia brews that they are not able to get down in North Carolina.
Crissy had planned the day and we were going to visit five breweries in Charlotte. I was so excited, I forgot my cards to handout at the breweries as I visited all of them. The first brewery of the day was NoDa Brewing. We started with NoDa because there are a lot of breweries on associated with the area. Here is a little about NoDa, NoDa Brewing Company is a homegrown Charlotte brew house located in (and named after) the city's most bohemian and artistic neighborhood -- NoDa named after North Davidson Street. North Davidson Street is host to many breweries and a place that you should visit if you are in the area. I made sure when I visited most of the places that I would get a flight of beer to try a variety of brews from each place.
My beer flight at NoDa Brewing Company was as followed: Kinda Peachy, NoDajito, Gordgeous, Premium Roast Coffee Stout. Here are some pictures from my visit:
NoDa Brewing Taps Board
My Beer Flight with a NoDajito and Saison pints
Kinda Peachy
Kinda Peachy
Peach kettle sour
ABV 4.4 IBU 5
ABV 4.4 IBU 5
Tart Peach bite
Light body
Notes: Overall, I thought this was a good, sour that gave you the tart peach taste you were looking for. I enjoyed the light body and the ABV was just perfect for this brew.
Light body
Notes: Overall, I thought this was a good, sour that gave you the tart peach taste you were looking for. I enjoyed the light body and the ABV was just perfect for this brew.
Gordgeous Pumpkin ale
ABV 6.4
IBU 29
ABV 6.4
IBU 29
Spice note
Nice pumpkin full body
Notes: I will fill you in more about this brew on one of my upcoming posts. I brought this brew back because we are headed in to Pumpkin season.
Nice pumpkin full body
Notes: I will fill you in more about this brew on one of my upcoming posts. I brought this brew back because we are headed in to Pumpkin season.
Premium Roast Coffee Stout
ABV 5.5
Great coffee aroma
Roasted aroma
Light to medium body
Full roasted body
Roasted aroma
Light to medium body
Full roasted body
Overall: I thought I was drinking an espresso or a cold brew coffee. I really enjoyed the light to medium body, that allowed you to enjoy the full roasted profile of the the coffee beans. Coffee aroma in this brew was delightful and it also shared a roasted aroma. Between the two you felt like you just walked into a coffee shop and you were waiting for you drink.
NoDajito
Witbier with mint and lime
ABV 4.8
IBU 18
Witbier with mint and lime
ABV 4.8
IBU 18
Smell a mojito right away
Lime aroma mint aroma
Light body
Light body
This was my second beer in the beer flight. The aroma of the beer smelled like a mojito. I was curious about this brew and that's why I picked it as one of my four brews. You noticed a lime and mint aroma right away. This witbier had a light body and a sweet taste, similar to a mojito.
Out of the four brews that I tried at NoDa Brewing, I think the two that stuck out the most to me were the Gordgeous and the Premium Roast Coffee Stout. These two were my favorite and something I would order a growler of. The peach sour was a necessary to try because when I find a sour on tap, I need to try it. The atmosphere at NoDa brewing was great so many people around trying great brews and the Tin Kitchen, food truck outside. On a nice fall or spring day, I could see NoDa Brewing a destination place because of the food trucks and their cool outdoor seating. In addition, I think the addition of a baci pit and cornhole boards is a great place to have some cool brews.
After NoDa Brewing Company, we decided that Birdsong Brewing would be next. I knew about Birdsong because of Crissy and Phillip, they had Doin' it Wit Thyme at their wedding and that was a brew I enjoyed immensely. I also was introduced to Birdsong by my brother's big from college, who travels down to Charlotte a lot and enjoys the Jalapeño Pale Ale. This brewing company had to be on the list because I wanted to know more about Birdsong and what made it special to others. Here is a little about Birdsong: one of the founders, Chris thought Charlotte was missing a small neighborhood brewery where folks could stop in for a pint or take home a growler of super-fresh, unfiltered, American-Style ale. Chris and his wife. Tara, invited a handful of close friends over to pitch an idea for the brewery and serve Conor's beer, and then Birdsong was created.
I tried two beers at Birdsong, they were the Jalapeño Pale Ale and their new brew a Green Tea Saison. Below are some pictures and notes about the brews I tried.
Logo as you walk up outside
Me with my beer at Birdsong
What is on Tap at Birdsong
Jalapeño Pale Ale
Jalapeño Pale ale
Nice jalapeño note
Not overly spicy
Nice golden Amber hue
Not overly spicy
Nice golden Amber hue
Not overly spicy but gives you a hint of spice. This brew has a nice golden amber hue to it. I enjoyed the fruit note from the Jalapeño, shows they did not leave the seeds in as the brewed. That is where you gain most of the spice note from. This brew has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 5.5% and an IBU or bitterness of 45. Stay tune for a full review of this brew in a post upcoming.
Benzie Box Green Tea Saison
Green tea Saison
Nice green tea infusion notes
Light to medium body
Gold hue
Looks almost like green tea
Tap List at Sugar Creek
Light to medium body
Gold hue
Looks almost like green tea
This was the brew I drank during my visit to Birdsong. I enjoy Saison's and I was excited to see their take on the style. Benzie Box has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 5.7% and a bitterness or IBU of 10. Looking at this brew, I think Green Tea right away, the golden hue reminds me of green tea all the way. Tasting wise this brew followed the aroma and the appearance. I felt like I was drinking a green tea. That was not a bad thing, I really enjoyed this take on the Saison.
It was a great visit to Birdsong and I can understand now why people enjoy Birdsong Brewing. I think that you should check out their new brews every thursday as part of their THURsty Thursday. If you want to check out some of their past releases just check out their blog post, THURsty Thursday.
Next spot on our trip was Sycamore Brewing.
Sycamore Brewing was enjoyable and somewhere I enjoyed a lot. Their brews were somewhat right up my ally. "Our aim for Sycamore Brewing is simple: use the freshest ingredients possible and brew all natural, extraordinarily tasty craft beer." Sycamore brewing is approaching their second anniversary of opening, which will happen in October. For being such a young brewery, they brew some unique and extraordinary brews.
I drank a beer flight when I visited the brewery.
Tap list for Sycamore Brewing
My Beer flight at Sycamore
From left to right the beers are as followed: AKA Manah Imperial Stout, Gourd Have Mercy Pumpkin Amber, Southern Girl Blonde, N.C. Watermelon Summer Sour.
The sour to me was not what I was expecting. I did not get an overly sour note when I drank the brew. It was light and not enough sour for my sour liking. Southern Girl gave me a hop note that I was looking for and I enjoyed that note. Gourd Have Mercy was probably one of my favorites from the trip. It gave me the balance between too sweet and too spice in a pumpkin brew. AKA Manah was delightful and something I was I could have brought home with me. The whiskey notes were just perfect and not overpowering like some bourbon barrel stouts can be.
I did bring back a stout to do a post on so make sure you check it out.
Outside in the BierGarten
Old Mecklenburg Brewery was our fourth brewery we visited on saturday. I need a change of pace at this point so I went with a radler type brew. But first, let's learn about OMB: In 2007, Charlotte was one of the last big cities in the country without its own brewery. Breweries had come and gone over the years, but none had been able to overthrow the tyrannical reign of the Kind of Beers. However, as Charlotte continued to grow, new residents from around the States and Europe started to change Charlotte's beer culture. One of those transplants was OMB's eventual founder, John Marrino, from Boston.
I tried the Old Mecklenburg's Hornets Nest Hefe. Hornets Nest got it's name as an ode to the NBA team and a nickname English General Cornwallis gave Charlotte. The name stemmed from the resistance Cornwallis received during the Revolutionary War. OMB makes a drink with the Hornets Nest and Fresca, this is what I tried when we visited the brewery. I gave it a try and thought it was a tad too sweet for my liking.
View of OMB as you walk up
To be honest, Old Mecklenburg Brewery reminded me of home. There is a beer hall in Philadelphia that OMB reminded me of and the is Frankford Hall. Both are similar setups and similar food styles.
Last brewery on the docket was Sugar Creek Brewing Company. Sugar Creek makes one of Crissy and Phillip's favorite beer, their white ale.
About Sugar Creek's Logo
Tap List at Sugar Creek
Outside the brewery
Explains some of their brews
My Beer Flight
Beers I tried in my flight from left to right: Identity Crisis Sour Blonde, White Ale, Saison, Raspberry White Ale.
Sour Blonde was tart and light bodied. Interesting take on a blonde and a sour. I would not have thought to do a sour blonde, but it was a great blend of the two styles.
The white ale is something I am saving for another upcoming post, so I will just say I enjoyed it. The Saison was light and gave you the traditional Belgian taste notes of clove and banana.
I think I enjoyed the Raspberry White Ale more than the White Ale itself. The raspberry hid the coriander and gave me a nice tart taste. I was pleasantly surprised by this ale and something I would get a growler of, when I visit Crissy and Phillip again.
Overall, this beercation was a great one and something I will have to do more of. It's great getting out there and trying brews local to different areas. Seeing their take on different styles and what they are all about is a unique learning experience. I was surprised by how many children were at the breweries. Usually, in Philadelphia, you would not see that up North. I think that it is a fresh change of pace. It allows parents to be able to hangout with their friends while still keeping tabs on their children. At NoDa there was a party, as well as OMB. I saw children and babies at all the breweries. Family friendly most of these breweries are, in my opinion. I think the only brewery I did not see Children at was Sycamore, which I thought had more of an college vibe. Young professionals and people that enjoyed unique brews. Make sure you stay tuned for my posts on brews from all the places I visited and brought beer back from.
Check out these breweries on social media and their websites:
NoDa Brewing:
Birdsong Brewing:
Sycamore Brewing:
Old Mecklenburg Brewery:
Sugar Creek Brewing:
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