NoDa’s CAVU coming out in cans, dinner at Dish with Charlotte breweries, a Good Bottle breakfast and more

Who’s ready for a three-day weekend? Here’s what’s going on in the Charlotte craft beer community leading up to Memorial Day.

–CAVU, NoDa Brewing’s latest offering, has been available at the brewery and in Charlotte’s bars and restaurants since March and beginning  this week, you’ll now be able to purchase it in cans. Like predecessors Hop, Drop ‘n Roll and Jam Session, CAVU (a blonde ale that comes in at 4.6 percent ABV) will be sold in four-packs of 16-ounce cans. CAVU cans will be on hand at the brewery Wednesday and should make their way to area bottle shops and stores by Thursday or Friday.

–If you like Charlotte beer and good food, you’ll want to check out Dish this Wednesday, as the Plaza Midwood restaurant is putting on a beer dinner featuring three Charlotte breweries. Birdsong’s Lazy Bird Brown, Olde Mecklenburg’s Copper and NoDa’s Jam Session are the three local beers highlighted, while Sweetwater Blue will be the fourth beer. Along with offering the beers, all of the courses will be prepared with these beers as well, including hop-spiced pickled vegetables, “Beer-B-Q” sliders, fish over white cheddar beer grits and blueberry mascarpone cheesecake bites with Sweetwater Blue honey sauce.

Tickets for the beer dinner are $35 and can be purchased by calling (704) 344-0343. There will be two seatings for this event, at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

–Good Bottle Co. is having another beer and breakfast at the bottle shop this Saturday (May 24), beginning at 9 a.m. Food will be for sale from OooWee BBQ and Trouble Creek is providing live bluegrass music. Among the beers: Evil Twin Imperial Donut Break; Gava Joe, an espresso stout collaboration between Starr Hill and Terrapin; and Twisted Pine Rhesus Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout.  

Quick Pours: In honor of the official name change back to the Charlotte Hornets today, Queen City Q is offering $1 pints and Good Bottle $3 pints of Olde Mecklenburg’s Hornet’s Nest Hefeweizen all day … Triple C recently announced on its Facebook page that its next three bottles will be Coming in Hops, an imperial IPA; The Force, a Belgian tripel aged in rum barrels and The Dude Imbibes, a milk stout aged in rum barrels. Look for those as fall hits and as part of Triple C’s second anniversary party in late August … On Thursday, Birdsong is releasing Fake Plastic Trees, the brewery’s hoppy take on a wheat beer. This made its debut last year, and is a great beer with impressive balance. Fake Plastic Trees is also one of six different beers Birdsong will have at Ultimate Ales in Mooresville as part of a tap takeover on Friday, beginning at 6 p.m. …  For craft beer fans up north, Lake Norman Brewing Company is having a “Race Weekend Celebration” at the brewery on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Cadence Band will provide live music and Juan Taco Food Truck will be on site as well.