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South Boulevard (South End) Harris Teeter Bar

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Yesterday around noon I went to check out the new South End Harris Teeter on South Blvd, which has a beer and wine bar inside, sixteen beers on tap, all local Charlotte breweries. That’s a major plus for me, I love to see the local breweries at a local place. Drinking in a grocery store might sound odd to some people or strange but it is becoming more common. Harries Teeter is and has been Charlotte local grocery store for years. This new South End location has what they call a retro look to the outside and all the bells and whistles inside to compete with Publix, less than a block away. Harris Teeter is saying, we were here first and this is our city, and they say it well. The selection of beer is great there. They had offerings from Sugar Creek, Olde Mecklenburg, The Unknown Brewing Co, Sycamore Brewing, Noda, Birdsong Brewing, and Bold Rock Cider.

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I went with The Unknown Brewing Co Hospitalitea Amber Ale, which I will review in the near future, so keep a look at here for that.

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The Unknown Brewing Co. Hospitalitea Amber Ale

The service was great there as well as the atmosphere. It is a must check out place, cool to have a beer at the Harris Teeter, especially if grocery shopping stresses you out and you need a good cold beer to whack away your stress, because you know buying coffee, milk, juice, eggs and toiletries is so hard and stressful. So when your thirsty and need groceries head over to the South End Harries Teeter to make shopping fun…with a beer! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Birdsong Brewing Co. Be-Bop-A-Ree-Bop Barrel-Aged Wild Stout with Rhubarb

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Thanks to Brawley’s Beverages for this Charlotte beer, Bridsong Brewing Co. Be-Bop-A-Ree-Bop Barrel-Aged Wild Stout with Rhubarb, 8.0% ABV. This wild stout is aged in oak wood barrels, but I am not sure for how long. Be-Bop-A-Ree-Bop pours a deep black color with a two finger beige head with some decent retention and skinny whips of lacing left behind. The aroma is coca sweet with notes of a slight tartness, some raisins/currents, and slight dates. Smells decent but nothing really worth wild stands out. Be-Bop-A-Ree-Bop has a taste that is slightly bittersweet upfront with some tart flavors in the middle of the mouth and a faint bitter smooth note in the back of the mouth. You don’t really get any of the barrel characteristics in this beer, nor did I get any Rhubarb. This Birdsong beer has a slight bittersweet finish and faint coca tart after taste. The mouth feel is full but somehow light. Overall this beer has a lot going on and it is okay but I didn’t like it that much, so I give this a C-/D+. It’s drinkable and not such a bad beer. I found no barrel flavors or much of the Rhubarb in Be-Bop-A-Ree-Bop. That is let down. I think I don’t like wild sour stouts. So don’t try Birdsong Brewing Co. Be-Bop-A-Ree-Bop Barrel-Aged Wild Stout with Rhubarb. I don’t think it’s worth really trying. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Wooden Robot Brewery Tap Takeover at Palmer St.

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Yesterday evening I attended The Wooden Robot Brewery tap takeover at Palmer St. Game Bar and Eats. Well the location was great, nice assortment of vintage video game and pinball machines. The take over part was not as cool. There were only four Wooden Robot beers on tap out of the fourteen or so taps.  The Wooden Robot beer that they did have was not bad; I had a A Darkly Sour, tasted like tart grape soda but in sort of a good way. They had Good Morning Vietnam, Mark It Zero IPA, and That’s What He’s Having IPA as well as the one I had.

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The Wooden Robot Brewery A Darkly Sour

I thought that every tap there should have been a Wooden Robot beer and some of the breweries staff should have been on hand to answer any questions and give out small stickers and things like that. It just could have been better, and the Wooden Robot Brewery is less than a mile away from Palmer St. Palmer St. is a good place for a group of people to go, fun games to play, food as well and the beer selection isn’t bad I had a Triple C Blonde Girl, which was interesting.

IMG_5016The location and atmosphere was good, but the event was not good. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Beer News

 

We have a new segment, Beer News, on Best Beer Blog. Every Wednesday Beer New will cover news and events in and around the Charlotte North Carolina area. Please check back here every Wednesday and everyday!

  • Saturday July 1st 12pm Birdsong Brewing will be releasing Say It To My Face Red IPA.
  • Friday July 7th 5pm-11pm Sycamore Brewing Co. will have Cantopia
  • Saturday July 15th 12pm-midnight Wooden Robot Brewery will have it’s 2nd Anniversary with several new beer releases, music from That Guy Smitty, Twisted Eats Food truck will have exclusive anniversary menu. Admission is $10 at the door and $5 tickets for 12 ounce pours. There will be no growler fills. 21+ age event.
  • Thursday August 3rd The Unknown Brewing Co. and Babalu will have a four-course beer dinner paired with Unknown beers and a special Babalu menu. $55 per ticket purchased here eathere.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Council Brewing Co. Béatitude Guava tart Saison

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First off I would like to thank Brawley’s Beverage (www.brawleybeverage.com) for this Council Brewing Co. Béatitude Guava Tart Saison, 4.5% ABV, Council Brewing Co. located in San Diego California brews Béatitude which is French for bliss, with house culture of Brettanomyces, Lacobacillus and Saison yeast. Then it’s aged on guava. Béatitude Guava Tart Saison pours a hazy grapefruit color with a one finger quickly fading head with very little left behind, but a tart tropical aroma with a little bit of a funky note. Taste is easy with tart tropical notes from the guava with some slight funky yeast/doughy notes coming through in the middle of the mouth; more tartness comes in on the back, and Béatitude finishes tart and fruit with a slight faint doughy note that gives way to an tart tropical somewhat mouth puckering after taste. The mouth feel is medium with some slight fullness. Council Brewing Co. Béatitude Guava Tart Saison is a great take on a Belgian Saison. The fruit addition adds a real tropical refreshing quality to a great beer style making Béatitude Guava Tart Saison an A+. This Béatitude comes in a variety of fruits and is one beer that you should try for yourself. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Haw River Farmhouse Ales Mille Fleur Rustic Saison

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I would like to thank Pop The Top Bottle Shop, (www.popthetopclt.com) for Haw River Farmhouse Ales Mille Fleur Rustic Saison, 5.8% ABV. Haw River Farmhouse Ales in Saxapahaw, North Carolina dry-hops this farmhouse-style ale with malted spelt, Sorachi Ace and Crystal hops. Now the French phrase “Mille Fleur” translates into English as “one thousand flowers, but here in North Carolina Mille Fleur is known as one of the friendliest most talkative birds in the barnyard. Mille Fleur Rustic Saison pours a cloudy yellow color with a bright three finger white head with good retention leaving behind thin but fluffy lacing, giving off an aroma of lemony hops with slight yeasty notes with a slight funky character. This rustic Saison has a faintly sweet yet tart lemon flavor up front and a funky note in the middle of the mouth with a slight yeasty hop note on the back. Mouth feel is medium to slightly full with nice funky yeast like finish and an after taste of a very faint tart funky lemon. Mille Fleur Rustic Saison is exactly what a rustic Saison is and should be. Great funky tart flavors with the yeast flavor and touches of hops all work well make this beer an A. This beer is right there with the best Belgian Saison. This is definitely worth trying. I recommend you to and go pick a bottle up at Pop The Top Bottle Shop. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Throwback Thursday: Sugar Creek Brewing White Ale

Second installment of Throw Back Thursday.

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Local beers from your town are always good to at least try. Here is a good example of that, Sugar Creek Brewing White Ale, 4.9% ABV. Sugar Creek takes its name from the local Sugar Creek that flows through Charlotte. White ale or witbier is Belgian style that is usually cloudy due to that fact that it’s unfiltered, and is brewed with high levels of wheat and oats that are used in the mash. Sugar Creek White Ale pours a cloudy bright yellow color with a half to one finger head of brilliant white that quickly fades away in to foamy lacing. The aroma is somewhat sweet with hints of oats and faint wheat. White Ale taste at first like most white ale and the middle you get a thick flavor of a yeast note followed by a nice semi-sweetness in the back. The mouth feel is on the higher side of medium. This beer has nice smoother faint sweet finish with wheat like light sweet aftertaste. This is good white Ale but I’ve had better so I give it a B-. Hoegaarden is a better example but not to say that Sugar Creek White Ale is bad. This just lacked the lemon notes that are sometime found in good white ales. I might have this again. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

The Unknown Brewing Co. Bright Ass Tank Top Rum Barreled Key Lime Gose

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The Gose style, an old German style of beer has grown in popularity among craft brewers, and craft beer drinkers. I see them popping up here and there with some pretty creative brews and such. Here is a local Charlotte, North Carolina example, The Unknown Brewing Co. Bright Ass Tank Top Rum Barreled Key Lime Gose, 4.1% ABV. I pick this up in a one pint four-pack from Pop The Top Bottle Shop (www.popthetopclt.com). It’s a relatively new shop where East Blvd meets West Blvd. Bright Ass Tank Top pours a murky yellow color with a two finger white head that fizzy away quickly with minimal lacing left behind. The aroma is salted citrus fruit with some faint sweetness, and has an easy taste of salty lime with some little vanilla notes and of course the tartness you usually get on a Gose. The mouth feel is light and easy that makes a nice light salted tart lime finish with a light sweet and tart after taste and lingers for a bit. I like the Gose style and find it refreshing, as is Bight Ass Tank Top. It is balanced with all the flavors and does not over power your taste buds. The Unknown Brewing Co. Bright Ass Tank Top Rum Barreled Key Lime Gose is an A+. Does it take over Westbrooke Brewing Co. Gose spot as my number one favorite Gose? No but it is in close second, and you should try it. Thank you Pop The Top Bottle Shop for carrying this beer. I recommend you head over there and check out Pop The Top Bottle Shop. Cheers! Please Enjoy responsibly!

Burial Beer Co. Surf Wax India Pale Ale

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I would like to first off thank Good Bottle Co. (www.goodbottleco.com) for this recommendation of Burial Beer Co. Surf Wax India Pale Ale, 6.8% ABV and 65 IBUs (International Bittering Units). Burial Beer Co. in Asheville brews Surf Wax with Mosaic, Centennial, Citra, and Columbus hops, lots of barley and a touch of wheat. Surf Wax pours a deep gold color with a big three and a half finger of pillow like white head with awesome retention that leaves behind nice beautiful lacing. Surf Wax has a citrus aroma of grapefruit, orange, slight lemon, pineapple with an earthy pine notes and a sweet hop note in the back of the mouth. This is how I like an IPA, fruity with enough bitterness. The mouth feel is medium with some bitterness leading into a bitter fruity finish and leaves an after taste of orange, grapefruit, pineapple and a bitter hoppy yet earthiness. Surf Wax is a refreshing beer that gets an A+. This east coast take on a west coast IPA is fabulous. But I didn’t find any of the formentioned wheat in this beer, but that doesn’t take anything away from this IPA. Burial Beer Co. Surf Wax India Pale Ale is so good that one mistake is okay with me. I highly recommend Burial Beer Co. Surf Wax India Pale Ale. Go over and pick up some at Good Bottle Co. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Drinking Beer At Whole Foods

A couple of years ago they built a Whole Foods here in the South park area of Charlotte not to far from me. One day I went to check it out and I found inside a beer bar. I have never really seen a beer bar in a grocery store before, and so very recently I went out on a Saturday night to have a beer. Whole Foods doesn’t have many selections on tap, only four. That can either be a negative or a positive. It wouldn’t take you long to read the menu board to choose a beer, or you could read it and not want any of the beers offered. Have only four means that they might change beer more frequently. While you shop there at Whole Food you can take the beer with you as you cruise the store. Just don’t get to drunk and crash the shopping cart. They do run different daily specials as well as flight, sixty-four and thirty-two ounce growler fills. It’s not overly expensive for a beer at Whole Foods bar. Five bucks when not on special and even less depending on the daily special. The staff is friendly and quick with good knowledge of the beer on tap.

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I had two beers while there, one NODA, a local to Charlotte and one Gibbs Hundred Brewing, a new local to Greensboro, North Carolina. Most of the beers that they served were local to Charlotte and North Carolina. That is a good idea to put a beer bar in a grocery store; I think that’s a good way to bring in people and to sell beer to take home. Overall I think the beer bar at Whole Food is an A-. They don’t have a huge selection of beers on tap but they are good selections.

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I would go back to Whole Foods bar again. You should check it next time you in a Whole Foods. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!