Battle of the Beer Gardens

Unfortunately, beer doesn’t grow on trees — but it does have a garden. And Charlotte now has two of them. As if our two uptown entertainment complexes — the EpiCentre and NC Music Factory — weren’t already in enough of a head-to-head competition, they each opened beer gardens a week apart. Here’s how the two compare.
VBGB Beer Hall & Garden 920 Hamilton St., 704-333-4141 vbgbuptown.com |
Biergarten at Pavilion 210 E. Trade St., 704-971-1249 pavilionatepicentre.com |
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Housed at | NC Music Factory | EpiCentre |
Date opened | April 2011 | April 2011 |
Cityscape feature | Its roof became the new home to the historic JFG coffee sign. | Offers some of the city’s best views of uptown’s skyline. |
Décor | Inside has a patio feel with several wood picnic tables, including some with umbrellas even though there’s a roof on the building. Stringed lights run across the ceiling and white trees are painted onto black walls. | It’s the rooftop of the middle section of the Epicentre, so the lights from several surrounding venues provide dramatic backdrops. Dozens of plants and trees have been installed to give it a garden feel, and there’s even faux grass underfoot. |
Bar | Square-u-shaped bar with a five-inch-wide rail running the length, covered with ice. You rest your beer on the frosty rail to keep it cold between sips. | The bar area is the only enclosed space, though the walls slide open. Lighted panels surround the bar and frequently change colors. |
Patio | It’s touted as Charlotte’s largest patio. Enclosed by a natural-stained wood picket fence, it’s 6,500 square feet. | Almost the entire space is a patio. It has a relatively large stage on which bands perform, and a large, white tent is erected to shelter you from the rain or overbearing sun. |
Drinks | The bar serves thirty craft beers, including several from North Carolina and Germany. Beer snobs can rejoice because you won’t find brews like Bud Light or Heineken here. | The bar stocks a dozen imported specialty and craft beers, as well as traditional cocktails. |
Food | The kitchen is open until midnight and serves burgers, hot dogs, beef kabobs, jumbo pretzels, onion rings, and sweet potato fries. | There’s no kitchen on site, but you’re welcome to bring food from any of the complex’s restaurants including BlackFinn, Wild Wing Café, Five Guys, Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina, and more. |
Games | cornhole | cornhole, ping-pong, and bocce ball |
Hours | Tues.-Fri., 4 p.m.-2 a.m.; Sat. and Sun., Noon-2 a.m. | Fri., 5 p.m.-close; Sat., 1 p.m.-close |