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A big shout-out and a thank you to RCR’s aero-engineer Noah McKay for the behind-the-scenes tour of the Cup facilities! We got to see what really goes in to building a NASCAR Cup series car from the ground up and meet some of the smart & talented people that make it all happen. From the machine shop to the hauler garage, this team basically fabricates every part and piece for their cars and assembles them onsite. The technology & innovation used is first-class and its amazing to think that Richard Childress stared all of this in his one-car garage back in 1965. While we didn’t get to meet any of his stable of drivers, we did get to here a couple of the engines run on the dyno!

Located in the historic part of downtown, this brewery is known for several award-winning beers including the home-brew competition winner Bear’s Honey Basil pale ale. We drank the 142 Blonde and the High Rock red ale. Both were smooth yet deep in flavor. Only offering about 8 beers but hitting all the popular variations, we were lucky to stumble in on  a Tuesday when they were having $3 Core night!

More than just beer, this self-proclaimed brewpub offers a small-batch production of German-style Belgian table beers along with Saisons, Dbl IPA’s and Stouts. A “destination brewery” with a concert atmosphere (large stage in the back room) and small plate kitchen, this place only had 5 beers on tap. We drank the Hive Fives and the B-Wheezy, both beers had a mellow start and sweet, simple finish. The kitchen served us the Beer Cheese Dip with Pretzels and the Mongolian Beef, both were very tasty! Brewing onsite, most of the space in the building was dedicatd to 3 separate bars, dining areas and live music venues with only a small portion for the brewhouse.

Definitely NOT a tasting room, this brewery offers nearly two dozen beers but a few are collaboration or “visitor” beers. Located in an old manufacturing building, this large, over-commercialized brewery easily seats well over 100 people with an outside patio area but small parking lot. With an abundance of families and screaming kids, this place is nowhere you want to visit to wind down after a long day. While the two beers we tried (CAVU Blonde & 80 Shillings) were very good, the overall experience was very loud & impersonal and rather annoying!

This Farm-to-Market themed brewery offers a wide variety of brews and a moto “let your taste buds roam”. The tasting room is actually in the brewhouse with additional seating outside on the patio (old loading dock!). A family & pet friendly atmosphere, there was a 2-man bluegrass band entertaining us on a Sunday afternoon that made us feel like we were on a farm in Kentucky and thinking about our Grandma Mitchell that introduced us to this amazing music.  With the bartenders who took great pride in remembering their repeating customers names, they served us two of the all-natural ingredients beers Cream Of The Crop cream ale and the La Leche Papi La Lache [interpretation: milk daddy, milk!] pale ale brewed with milk sugar in collaboration with a local French bottle shop. Both were very flavorful with nice finishes and left us with a rather pleasant beer and music experience!

A little hard to get to with all the road construction, this brand new brewery has only been open 3 weeks.  The owners name is Caroline but was nicknamed “the badass” from her previous employer Tropicanna so hince the name Bold Missy.  The decor is “farmhouse modern” with red lips as the brand logo. We drank the And You Get A Lager named in honor of Oprah and the Git Yer Gun Golden in honor of Annie Oakley. The brewmaster is from Sweetwater Brewing and produced the smooth easy drinking lager that is hopped up with Polish Kunga hops and the Golden which is a german style ale with Mt Hood hops.

 

A commercial location with calming woods in the background. Families with kids, professionals on laptops and people just drinking beer on picnic tables. They have a huge selection of beer ranging from mild ales to coffee porters and everything in between.  We had the Corban Ave Blonde and Pick Axe Pale Ale both were very good.   They have a food truck called Cheese to the Mac which is very busy with a variety of mac & cheese dishes.

A small quant tasting room overlooking the Cabarrus Brewery, the walls are exposed brick accented with a wall of wood pallets. With table tops made of wood planks, we sat on the wall bench  accompanied by two cask barrels fermenting the next round of “small batch” dark sour beer. Of the 6 beers offered, we drank the Feral which is a dry hop ale and the DDH Pounder, a bitter, double dry hop pale ale.  Neither beers were better than what we had next door!

Large brewery with a huge tasting room and beer garden style seating. The tasting room was actually larger than the brew house! Decorated with corrigated metal and recycled wood, this place is reminiscent of an old saw mill. Offering a great variety of beers brewed just feet away from the serving bar, we had the Cabarrus Cotton Blonde and the Plant 6 Pale Ale. Both were very tasty leading us to come back for seconds trying the Honey Rye and Boll Weevil Brown on nitro. Again, well balanced beers with smooth finishes!

Known for their “just good beer”, we actually drank everything they had to offer! Meeting up with an old friend Terri and her mother Lynn, we made an evening out of trying all of their beers which were very good. Located above a crossfit studio, this place looked like the owners just pulled together a bunch of garage sale items to outfit the tasting room. Cool music played overhead with occassion thumps from dropping barbells reminded us that the locker room odors from below were from people working much harder than we were for some physical satisfaction.