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Drinking Beer in Charlotte


ah59396

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Did anyone go to the Brewz Music & Arts fest at the Music Factory?

 

I worked at the Q City BBQ championship Uptown and numbers were way down. We were wondering whether the competition pulled a bigger crowd. The bands were really good, even though I have never heard of any of them. I also wonder where CCP marketed the Q City event, because I didn't see very much promoting it leading up to the weekend.

 

I think they scheduled EVERY event this past weekend, so no surprise each of them took away from one another, even if the times didn't always overlap.  Add to that the TripleC Rock and Tools event (or whatever it was called) and a Panthers home game, hell, I think there was something else as well, blanking on it.

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I think they scheduled EVERY event this past weekend, so no surprise each of them took away from one another, even if the times didn't always overlap.  Add to that the TripleC Rock and Tools event (or whatever it was called) and a Panthers home game, hell, I think there was something else as well, blanking on it.

Yeah, it seemed ridiculous that they planned both of these events on the same day, and then with the Panthers game on Sunday (of course, that could have helped attendance for the BBQ festival I guess). If I would have been in town, it would have been BBQ for lunch and then head to NCMF to see the Love Language, The Whigs, and Of Montreal. I can't believe I never heard mention of the Brewz festival until the day of on the Observer website. They could have definitely promoted it better.

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^ Yeah, saw it advertised on an 8.5 x 11 above a urinal and started asking around...  :)  Pretty sure there was a Microsoft conference as well, but you're right, that may have simply boosted attendance numbers.  Bottom line, the Chamber should have been out taking photos, uptown visitor population had to have been one of its highest ever.

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I realize I'm old and out-of-touch with the social scene, but I feel like Charlotte is getting over-saturated with these "craft beer" and bbq/food festivals/events.  I think Oktoberfest is a mainstay, and Taste at least has kept its name (if not my interest).  But it seems like there's a ton of these other events, trying to cash in, but none of them with any discernible identity.  

 

I think a true sanctioned BBQ competition would have a shot at building a brand/reputation, and I think the thing uptown was indeed this type of event, but was it the same thing as last year only under a different name?  The website says "11th Annual" -- could have fooled me.  And the brew side of this was at EpiCentre -- and was $30 for 30 NC breweries from Noon-5pm Saturday?  Strange.  I walked through the Tryon/MLK parts of this on Friday, and it was pretty disappointing to see the gross gyro/funnelcake carnival vendors set up.

 

 

Edit:  I had to go look a few up:

Feb 2 - 2nd Annual Queen City Brewers Festival - Neighborhood Theater - "Charlotte Area Breweries"
May 11 - Beer Bourbon and BBQ Festival - SouthPark - 40 bourbons and 60 beers
Jun 1 - (First Annual) Charlotte Brewers Festival - OMB - 8 local breweries
Jun 1 - Charlotte Beer Festival - EpiCentre - 50+ national craft breweries
Jun 15 - 2nd Annual Brew Stash Bash - WhiteWater Center - various American craft beers
Sep 28 - 15th Charlotte Oktoberfest - NCMF - Local/Regional/National
Oct 18-19 - 11th Annual Q-City Charlotte BBQ Championship - Uptown - 30 NC breweries
 
That doesn't include the Ballpark Beerfest at the Gastonia Grizzlies, the NC Brewers and Music Festival in Huntersville, the Harvest Brewed Beer Festival at Daniel Stowe, the non-beer-focused Taste of Charlotte, and probably others I'm not aware of and/or can't remember.
 
 
 
 
Edited by grodney
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Edit:  I had to go look a few up:

Feb 2 - 2nd Annual Queen City Brewers Festival - Neighborhood Theater - "Charlotte Area Breweries"
May 11 - Beer Bourbon and BBQ Festival - SouthPark - 40 bourbons and 60 beers
Jun 1 - (First Annual) Charlotte Brewers Festival - OMB - 8 local breweries
Jun 1 - Charlotte Beer Festival - EpiCentre - 50+ national craft breweries
Jun 15 - 2nd Annual Brew Stash Bash - WhiteWater Center - various American craft beers
Sep 28 - 15th Charlotte Oktoberfest - NCMF - Local/Regional/National
Oct 18-19 - 11th Annual Q-City Charlotte BBQ Championship - Uptown - 30 NC breweries

FWIW, I can confirm from personal experience that the Queen City Brewers Festival, Beer Bourbon and BBQ Festival, and WWC Brew Stash Bash are runaway successes. 

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Ha ha, geez, I forgot the Brewz thing from last weekend when I was making my list.

 

Interesting (or not?) that 4Friends was uptown at the EpiCentre "Brewers Challenge" portion of the Q-City thing, while Triple C, Heist, NoDa, Birdsong, and OMB were at Brewz.  I wonder if any of those also did the uptown thing?  I'm personally pretty skeptical of anything at EpiCentre, but I guess you never know.

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I have a hard time believing this.  Blue Moon, really?

 

North Carolina's brew of choice is Blue Moon, if the Blowfish survey is to be believed. Sam Adams came in at second place, with Corona rounding out the top three.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2013/10/22/north-carolina-not-big-drinkers-but.html

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I have a hard time believing this.  Blue Moon, really?

 

North Carolina's brew of choice is Blue Moon, if the Blowfish survey is to be believed. Sam Adams came in at second place, with Corona rounding out the top three.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2013/10/22/north-carolina-not-big-drinkers-but.html

 

Well, I guess it's better than Bud Light ...  :sick:

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Doesn't surprise me all that much.  Craft beer has taken off, but it certainly is no where near as popular as the macro beers on the market.  Plus, Blue Moon gets the type of distribution a local brewer can only dream of.

Yeah I am actually pleasantly surprised that the top 3 isn't Bud Miller and Coors or something like that. I am a total beer snob now, but I used to not have a taste for it at all and Blue Moon was sort of my "gateway" leading me towards craft beer.

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I have a hard time believing this.  Blue Moon, really?

 

North Carolina's brew of choice is Blue Moon, if the Blowfish survey is to be believed. Sam Adams came in at second place, with Corona rounding out the top three.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2013/10/22/north-carolina-not-big-drinkers-but.html

If you look at the whole map below, you'll see that there are no micro-brews as favorites in any state. Blue Moon, Yuengling, and Bud Light seem to dominate the country, even in beer-loving states like Oregon, Washington, California, and Colorado. Not sure I trust this map too much, though...

 

http://intoxicationnation.forhangovers.com/#topbeers

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Sounds reasonable to me. Even on this board it could be hard to find any two people that agree on one brew. My favorite go to is birdsong jalapeno*, but you won't even find that outside Mecklenburg. Once a beer is widespread enough to make a list like that, it's hard to call it micro anymore, even if technically still craft beer.

*mexicali stout comes back Halloween, so my favorite beer will be changing for the winter

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I don't think this has been mentioned here since it was approved, but if I'm understanding correctly, retail stores in NC can fill growlers starting Friday Oct 25.

 

Here's an article mentioning it:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/17/3289697/rules-commission-approves-in-stand.html

 

"

In the case of growlers, the ABC rules allow retailers to fill empty growlers no larger than two liters for off-premises consumption. Previously, only breweries could fill growlers on site but House bill 829 expanded the law to permit retailers such as Total Wine, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter and craft beer shops to do the same. The growlers are particularly popular in the thriving craft beer market in North Carolina.

The rules say retailers must ensure the growler is clean and require a label or tag to include certain information about the beer and brewer, such as alcohol content for beers more than 6 percent.

 

"

Edited by grodney
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I've been secretly hoping for something like this to open at TWC Arena.... Starting with the first Bobcats home game this year (Nov 1st), there will be a Craft Beer garden at the arena. It will replace the old Flight Deck bar. It will have 18 taps with 9 different NC beers on tap (NoDa, Olde Meck, Triple C and Heist are the CLT ones being featured -- my only disappointment is that they won't have Birdsong). The team paid for the $75k renovation. This is one of several improvements to the arena in preparation for the Hornets return in 2014. 

 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2013/10/23/Facilities/Bobcats.aspx

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I've been secretly hoping for something like this to open at TWC Arena.... Starting with the first Bobcats home game this year (Nov 1st), there will be a Craft Beer garden at the arena. It will replace the old Flight Deck bar. It will have 18 taps with 9 different NC beers on tap (NoDa, Olde Meck, Triple C and Heist are the CLT ones being featured -- my only disappointment is that they won't have Birdsong). The team paid for the $75k renovation. This is one of several improvements to the arena in preparation for the Hornets return in 2014. 

 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2013/10/23/Facilities/Bobcats.aspx

 

Hmmmm, perhaps misinformation in the story?  Birdsong is in the photo.  Or is that just a rendering?  Heist would surprise me, as they're not ANYWHERE, are they?  Other than their own restaurant and a few festivals?

 

Now to get a local beer garden at BB&T for the Knights!  (NoDa has already said they'll be in the stadium, and you would assume OMB will be there considering the presence they had in Ft Mill.)

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Hmmmm, perhaps misinformation in the story?  Birdsong is in the photo.  Or is that just a rendering?  Heist would surprise me, as they're not ANYWHERE, are they?  Other than their own restaurant and a few festivals?

 

Now to get a local beer garden at BB&T for the Knights!  (NoDa has already said they'll be in the stadium, and you would assume OMB will be there considering the presence they had in Ft Mill.)

 

It was hard to tell for sure, but I believe it was a rendering. I was a little surprised that Heist was on the list too. I've only seen their beers at the brewery and local festivals/events around town. Perhaps it is misinformation. Heist was never a brewery that wowed me, though their food was always awesome. 

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Does anyone know if any of the grocery stores actually plan on taking advantage of this? It would be great to be able to get a growler filled at Harris Teeter, like you can in other states. Call me cynical but I bet the chains will have to be bugged a lot to consider doing this. I know Whole Foods in SC do this and it's great, much more convient than going to the brewery.

Does anyone know if any of the grocery stores actually plan on taking advantage of this? It would be great to be able to get a growler filled at Harris Teeter, like you can in other states. Call me cynical but I bet the chains will have to be bugged a lot to consider doing this. I know Whole Foods in SC do this and it's great, much more convient than going to the brewery.

Does anyone know if any of the grocery stores actually plan on taking advantage of this? It would be great to be able to get a growler filled at Harris Teeter, like you can in other states. Call me cynical but I bet the chains will have to be bugged a lot to consider doing this. I know Whole Foods in SC do this and it's great, much more convient than going to the brewery.

Does anyone know if any of the grocery stores actually plan on taking advantage of this? It would be great to be able to get a growler filled at Harris Teeter, like you can in other states. Call me cynical but I bet the chains will have to be bugged a lot to consider doing this. I know Whole Foods in SC do this and it's great, much more convient than going to the brewery.

Does anyone know if any of the grocery stores actually plan on taking advantage of this? It would be great to be able to get a growler filled at Harris Teeter, like you can in other states. Call me cynical but I bet the chains will have to be bugged a lot to consider doing this. I know Whole Foods in SC do this and it's great, much more convient than going to the brewery.

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