What Do Charlotte Brewers Drink When They Step Outside Their Breweries?

The Charlotte area boasts a long and varied roster of gifted brewers who delight in perfecting their flagship recipes and rolling out adventurous prototypes. Who better to taste-test (and assess) these libations than other brewers?

That was our working hypothesis, anyway. We wondered: What Charlotte-area beers do Charlotte-area breweries’ head brewers drink when they’re not drinking their own? So we asked a few, and they emailed us back between batches. 

Ben Dolphens, Divine Barrel Brewing, NoDa

I’m always on the lookout for something super-refreshing when the Charlotte heat gets oppressive, and Salud Cerveceria’s Del Patio Con Limón fits the bill to a T. The Del Patio base is an awesome pale lager that’s pretty perfect on its own, but the addition of lime juice and zest takes the refreshment to the next level. The lime is a perfect addition to the pale lager base and brightens it up, making it even more crushable … and it makes a killer michelada if you’re in the mood for something you won’t feel guilty about having with breakfast!

Kyle McLaughlin, Hoptown Brewing

Kyle McLaughlin, Hoptown Brewing, Mooresville

I am usually a light lager guy, so when I find a hazy (IPA) in the market that I like, it sticks with me. Tiny Ass Umbrella from Southern Range is a beer for me that really checks all the boxes. All the ingredients seem deliberate and shine through in the finished product. It’s not a jumbled mess of hop matter that a lot of other hazys are, and I appreciate that.

Pedro Carvalho, Cabarrus Brewing, Concord

I find it hard to pick a single favorite as there are many breweries in Charlotte producing great beer. So I’m going to give you a recent favorite that I really enjoyed. It was Town Brewing’s First in Freedom. It’s a pre-Prohibition American lager, crisp, clean, and refreshing, and to top it off it was made with locally grown barley and corn! I hope they brew it again!

Town Brewing’s First in Freedom

Joe Vogelbacher, Sugar Creek Brewing, LoSo

My favorite non-Sugar Creek beer is whatever is freshest at the brewery I’m visiting. I specifically look for the flagship beer, and then I try whatever has been most recently tapped. A brewery is like a bakery. We are making liquid bread. The best kind of bread to have is the one that just got out of the oven.

Travis Tolson, Amor Artis Brewing, Fort Mill

My favorite non-Amor Artis Beer around here would have to be Birdsong (Brewing)’s Lazy Bird Brown Ale. Browns were my entry into craft beer back in the day and always make me think of where I started my brewing career up in Kodiak, Alaska, where my favorite beer was Wing-Nut Brown (from Kodiak Island Brewing).