A few weeks ago, Matt and I took a little tour of Charlotte's breweries. We hit a few familiar spots and some new ones. Charlotte is a community rich in beer culture, with more spots opening every day. We're going to profile the breweries, so that you, the casual beer drinker, can get a better understanding of what Charlotte has to offer you.
We started out at Birdsong Brewing. Birdsong has been around since 2011, but until this year their taproom was tiny and tucked behind another facility in the NoDa neighborhood. Their new taproom is open and welcoming with lots of seating. There's a great covered outdoor patio where you can enjoy a fine brew and some eats from a local food truck. Or you can just fill up on peanuts, which is my jam.
Birdsong is very committed to the community, using as many local ingredients as possible. They also give their spent grain to farms to use as feed, and compost the peanut shells.
Birdsong's beers have found their way into many local establishments, a fact chronicled by a chalkboard behind the bar. I'd say they're best known for the Jalapeno Pale Ale and the Lazy Bird Brown Ale. The Jalapeno is a refreshing pale ale, with the flavor of jalapenos. Most of the time, the beer does not carry the spice of jalapenos, but every once in a while, you might catch a fresh keg at the brewery and wind up with some kick in your glass.
I prefer the MexiCali Stout myself, which is a coffee stout with a hint of chili. The chili is extremely mild and just serves to bring out the flavor of the cinnamon and other spices. Birdsong claims MexiCali is a seasonal beer, available in Fall and Winter (but I've seen it other times of the year). And when MexiCali isn't available, I enjoy a nice Doin' Thyme Witbier. Doin' Thyme is a Belgian wheat beer with thyme, coriander, and lemon. It's a delightfully refreshing beer that definitely staves off the Carolina heat in the Spring and Summer, which is when it's available.
Birdsong does a fun event every Thursday, called THURSty THURSday where brewmaster Conor Robinson debuts a limited release small batch of something special.
For information on finding Birdsong beers or visiting their brewery, check out their website.
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