Charlotte Thread

[kbuzz1]

If you're going through concord and high branch doesn't sell out tonight, hit them up for off the record cans. Better than heist or at least as good IMO.

Otherwise I think heist just put citraquench'l back on today and are filling crowlers. Not sure if gone or not.

Resident Culture is the new brewery in Plaza Midwood and have heard good things about their hoppy stuff and they have a legit coolship for wilds.

 

[beerman6686]

beerman6686 - it's no Pittsburgh thread but let's get this **** rolling...

Heist is one of the most overrated local breweries I've ever seen.

kbuzz is that a good start?

 

[JohnnyNC1]

Heist is one of the most overrated local breweries I've ever seen.

kbuzz is that a good start?

Ok I'll bite. What makes them overrated? You don't like their beers? People try and trade their beers for something they have no business asking for? Comparison to other locals spots? I'm curious.

 

[beerman6686]

Ok I'll bite. What makes them overrated? You don't like their beers? People try and trade their beers for something they have no business asking for? Comparison to other locals spots? I'm curious.

First off, I love your GIF, it scares me a little bit, but it's awesome. Maybe I've just been spoiled living in a better beer scene for the past couple years in Pittsburgh, but to me they're very pedestrian. Making a tasty IPA is like getting a BJ from a virgin, it's basic. All of their beers have the same body and carb level, there's not individual detail for each beer at all, and the bad beers are REALLY bad, like drain pour bad. Overall, are they terrible, no, but I don't get why when I moved down here, they were the place everyone said I must go to. Wooden Robot, Resident Culture, and High Branch are all significantly better.

 

[kbuzz1]

Are resident culture hops that good?

Can't agree that wooden robot is better than heist. I don't think they are as far behind as some think but they are still behind in the hop category for sure. And I'm a huge fan of wooden robot and not much of a fan of heist.

Want to hear more about resident culture though...good beers over there?

Having only had just a handful of high branch beers, I will go out on a limb (pun intended) and say that they are first in class in Charlotte for hops. Much better than Heist.

 

[JohnnyNC1]

First off, I love your GIF, it scares me a little bit, but it's awesome. Maybe I've just been spoiled living in a better beer scene for the past couple years in Pittsburgh, but to me they're very pedestrian. Making a tasty IPA is like getting a BJ from a virgin, it's basic. All of their beers have the same body and carb level, there's not individual detail for each beer at all, and the bad beers are REALLY bad, like drain pour bad. Overall, are they terrible, no, but I don't get why when I moved down here, they were the place everyone said I must go to. Wooden Robot, Resident Culture, and High Branch are all significantly better.

Ok if you are comparing it to Pittsburghs beer scene I get that. Maybe Steel City has a better/bigger beer scene. Never been so I can't really comment on that. I don't think all Heist beers are pedestrian though, Citraquenchul, Ripe with It, and Blurred is the Word are all solid hop options. Cataclysm is the **** and Maple Junkie was quite tasty if you like the stouts. Everybody told you to go there when you moved here because A) they are making NE/Hazy IPAs not all CLT breweries are doing that and Heist was the first to do it here. Oh yeah that beer style is uber-popular right now. B) They are in a cool spot of Charlotte and the brewery has good food and a genuinely decent place to hang out. People probably aren't going to tell you to go to High Branch or Dreamchasers as they are on the outskirts not really in Charlotte. "Hey I'm moving to Charlotte what brewery should I check out?" Are they going to say the one in Noda or the one in Concord that is 40 minutes away. C)Its of course going to depend on who you ask and what you are looking for. If someone was visiting me from out of town and asked me what brewery we should hit up I would ask them back what are you looking for? Hops, sours, cool atmosphere, some where with a lot of T&A running around? Its all relative.
Is Heist the worlds best brewery? No Are they contributing to and great for the CLT beer scene? yes Can I be mad that people recommended you go there being new to Charlotte? Definitely not. They could have told you to go to Sycamore.

 

[kbuzz1]

Yes!!! The thread is alive...

So we've got like 6 active folks in here...who else can we get posting in here??

 

[JohnnyNC1]

Yes!!! The thread is alive...

So we've got like 6 active folks in here...who else can we get posting in here??

 

[kbuzz1]

JohnnyNC - why aren't we drinking beers right now?

 

[JohnnyNC1]

JohnnyNC - why aren't we drinking beers right now?

because I have to be at work tomorrow at 8. But I'm all free tomorrow after 4.

 

[beerman6686]

Ok if you are comparing it to Pittsburghs beer scene I get that. Maybe Steel City has a better/bigger beer scene. Never been so I can't really comment on that. I don't think all Heist beers are pedestrian though, Citraquenchul, Ripe with It, and Blurred is the Word are all solid hop options. Cataclysm is the **** and Maple Junkie was quite tasty if you like the stouts. Everybody told you to go there when you moved here because A) they are making NE/Hazy IPAs not all CLT breweries are doing that and Heist was the first to do it here. Oh yeah that beer style is uber-popular right now. B) They are in a cool spot of Charlotte and the brewery has good food and a genuinely decent place to hang out. People probably aren't going to tell you to go to High Branch or Dreamchasers as they are on the outskirts not really in Charlotte. "Hey I'm moving to Charlotte what brewery should I check out?" Are they going to say the one in Noda or the one in Concord that is 40 minutes away. C)Its of course going to depend on who you ask and what you are looking for. If someone was visiting me from out of town and asked me what brewery we should hit up I would ask them back what are you looking for? Hops, sours, cool atmosphere, some where with a lot of T&A running around? Its all relative.
Is Heist the worlds best brewery? No Are they contributing to and great for the CLT beer scene? yes Can I be mad that people recommended you go there being new to Charlotte? Definitely not. They could have told you to go to Sycamore.

It's not jist the recommendation to go there, I've heard several people say Heist is amazing and is the next national hype brewery, which is a joke. I also personally give a brewery a negative point for every ****** beer they make to counter balance the good ones. I want a place that no matter what I order, I know I'm getting a quality beer..

 

[beerman6686]

Are resident culture hops that good?

Can't agree that wooden robot is better than heist. I don't think they are as far behind as some think but they are still behind in the hop category for sure. And I'm a huge fan of wooden robot and not much of a fan of heist.

Want to hear more about resident culture though...good beers over there?

Having only had just a handful of high branch beers, I will go out on a limb (pun intended) and say that they are first in class in Charlotte for hops. Much better than Heist.

Agree that High Branch is definitely the best, but I think you're just sucked into the haze phase. Wooden Robot's IPAs are super clean and fresh. I've had several Heist IPAs that I couldnt even finish they were so bad. Just old and bitter or malty.

 

[kbuzz1]

Dude I LOVE wooden robot. I've spent more money there than any other Charlotte brewery. And I don't get sucked into hype: Fat heads makes my fave all time hops. Can't wait for that **** to open here.

Heist's best is better than WR, that's all. I'll finance and consume WR all day every day.

Not defending heist by any means. Check out my review of them on the other site. I have issues. Just saying that the beers JohnnyNC mentioned earlier - citraquench'l, blurred, etc - are all better than WR's best. Overall, I'm more satisfied with my WR experiences though.

 

[kbuzz1]

because I have to be at work tomorrow at 8. But I'm all free tomorrow after 4.

Sweet union is improving...

 

[kbuzz1]

So no one wants to talk about resident culture then?

Cool.

Must not be worth discussing.

 

[beerman6686]

So no one wants to talk about resident culture then?

Cool.

Must not be worth discussing.

If you want a real comparison that will make you upset, Dancing Gnome needs to take a note from Resident Culture, they had 6 different hoppy beers, all tasted significantly different, and ranged from crystal clear to orange juice. All were tasty aside from the blonde which was riddled with diacetyl.

 

[kbuzz1]

If you want a real comparison that will make you upset, Dancing Gnome needs to take a note from Resident Culture, they had 6 different hoppy beers, all tasted significantly different, and ranged from crystal clear to orange juice. All were tasty aside from the blonde which was riddled with diacetyl.

Well said. Not upset at all. That's informative.

Just the one visit?

Anything about their coolship beers? Or too soon?

 

[kbuzz1]

I'll be down in Charlotte tomorrow for work. Any new breweries that have bottles/cans available that I should check out?

I usually swing by Heist and grab some growlers but feeling like I should try something new.

Where did you end up? Thoughts?

 

[ASUBeer]

Where did you end up? Thoughts?

I didn't get to check anything out. Both of my meetings went long and erased the time I was planning to use to stop by.

I meant to go to High Branch in my drive home and totally spaced on that.

 

[wuntrikpony]

Yes!!! The thread is alive...

So we've got like 6 active folks in here...who else can we get posting in here??

Wooden Robot, Resident Culture, and High Branch are all significantly better.

Wooden Robot makes pedestrian as **** IPA. Heist definitey has some consistency issues, but they are making the best hoppy stuff in the state right now. C-Bam was probably my favorite.

 

[kbuzz1]

Wooden Robot makes pedestrian as **** IPA. Heist definitey has some consistency issues, but they are making the best hoppy stuff in the state right now. C-Bam was probably my favorite.

Have you had High Branch yet? The little I've had has been better than Heist.

 

[kbuzz1]

Can some explain to me what's going on at Salud? Why in the hell are their growler fills $29?? Are they using golden neck beard trimmings in their brews or something? I'd like to try their stuff cause I've been hearing good things. But not at those prices.

 

[wuntrikpony]

Have you had High Branch yet? The little I've had has been better than Heist.

No, I'll make sure to hit them up next time I roll through.

 

[kbuzz1]

No, I'll make sure to hit them up next time I roll through.

You'll thank me later. I kept putting it off too and kinda regret I did.

 

[beerman6686]

Wooden Robot makes pedestrian as **** IPA. Heist definitey has some consistency issues, but they are making the best hoppy stuff in the state right now. C-Bam was probably my favorite.

I completely disagree, but that's besides the point. I don't know why a discussion about a quality brewery always falls back on who makes the best NE IPAs, is that seriously all people drink anymore? The reason I like Wooden Robot and High Branch better is because all of their other stuff they do well on top of IPAs. Every non hoppy beer from Heist I've had has been drain pour bad besides Maple Junkie which had the flavors but was so ******* watery.

 

[wuntrikpony]

I completely disagree, but that's besides the point. I don't know why a discussion about a quality brewery always falls back on who makes the best NE IPAs, is that seriously all people drink anymore? The reason I like Wooden Robot and High Branch better is because all of their other stuff they do well on top of IPAs. Every non hoppy beer from Heist I've had has been drain pour bad besides Maple Junkie which had the flavors but was so ******* watery.

I didn't say NE IPA, just hoppy stuff. 90% of what I drink is pilsner, pale ale, and NE IPA. I wasn't impressed with WR the first couple times I went and now that we get some of their kegs locally, I get a taste here and there but they generally are pretty bad. I find their IPAs to be muddled and don't have a signature character. I haven't had a mixed ferment beer from them without off flavors. Good Morning Vietnam is absolutely garbage...it's one of the worst examples of the "blonde stout" or "coffee cream ale" out there.

This weekend I was up at Aslins fest and they had a pretty diverse mix of primarily hoppy breweries including Heist. Citraquential and Thirst were just as solid as the offerings from Great Notion, Dancing Gnome, and Aslin. Also Maple Junkie had quite a bit of residual sweetness, so not sure I understand the watery comment. It's not some motor oil TG stout, but retains drinkability at 13%.

Also, all this talk about great Charlotte breweries with no mention of Olde Meck.

FOR SHAME

 

[beerman6686]

Great Notiin and Dancing Gnome arent too especial either. Havent had Aslin hoppy stuff so I cant comment on them. Residual sweetness doesnt always equate to viscosity. Look at Cycle garbage beers. I didnt hate Good Morning Vietnam, but didnt love it, just dont really like vanilla, but there wasnt anything inherently wrong with it. Also not sure what signature character about NE IPAs do you think all the hyped up cans have? They almost all taste relatively the same if you've had a lot of them. Over saturated vegetal plant material juice.

 

[wuntrikpony]

Great Notiin and Dancing Gnome arent too especial either. Havent had Aslin hoppy stuff so I cant comment on them. Residual sweetness doesnt always equate to viscosity. Look at Cycle garbage beers. I didnt hate Good Morning Vietnam, but didnt love it, just dont really like vanilla, but there wasnt anything inherently wrong with it. Also not sure what signature character about NE IPAs do you think all the hyped up cans have? They almost all taste relatively the same if you've had a lot of them. Over saturated vegetal plant material juice.

I think we have very different likes/dislikes so I'm not gonna try to sway you. I think this knock on slurry cans because they are hyped is kinda silly though.

I go for hazy hop bombs with minimal malt presence, a little hop bite, slightly lower pH, and a super dry finish. Very few breweries can touch what Monkish does on a consistent basis. Yes their beer generally taste the same...but they all are pretty damn good. My favorites cans are from Bissel, Monkish, Triple Crossing, and Foam. They all do variations on a theme. I personally like the hoppy vegetal character of a NE IPA that is served super fresh. Currently we don't have consistently great hoppy beer in the state...and definitely not up here in the Triangle. Things are looking a little up with the addition of Brewery Bhavana and Casita Cerveceria, but we'll see. I got excited when Bond Brothers put out a couple of really well done IPAs, but they're consistency is so bad I don't even try anymore.

 

[beerman6686]

Was that serious about Old Mecklenburg? Havent heard much about them 1 way or the other, but I heard the lean on the german side and I love a good pilsner.

 

[wuntrikpony]

Was that serious about Old Mecklenburg? Havent heard much about them 1 way or the other, but I heard the lean on the german side and I love a good pilsner.

Absolutely...one of my favorite lager breweries. Could drink their helles or pils all damn day.