Charlotte’s Most Underrated Breweries
underrated; adjective
not rated or valued highly enough. "a very underrated brewery"
When most people ask me beer related questions, they often cause me to think a hell of a lot more than I should. A very common question is “what’s the best brewery in Charlotte.” Innocent, right? Wrong. This will get me thinking about which brewery produces the best quality beer, which has the best ambiance, does one brewery consistently produce a style that I prefer? What exactly do you mean by best?
One that is often debated around bottle share tables and at bar tops is what breweries are underrated. Many people in the craft beer community support the underdog, as brewing Goliaths AB-Inbev, Molson Coors and Constellation Brands have been gobbling up breweries like Wicked Weed, Ballast Point and Goose Island to diversify their portfolios, all while poking fun at beer enthusiasts for not being macho enough or not drinking our beers at subzero temperatures to suppress the taste of the beer.
An article was published last week about the biggest breweries in Charlotte in 2020 based on barrel production, so we found breweries not on this list that are underrated.
Edge City - UnTappd Rating 3.91
What we drank: Foggy Bottom Boi NEIPA, Home Base Oatmeal Stout #Squadgoals Berliner Weisse
What we thought: everything we tried from Edge City was awesome. Typically breweries and brewers specialize in one or two styles, but everything we tried here was top notch. If you’re going to the DMV or in east Charlotte, this is a must stop at place with a cool vibe and beer that’ll have you ordering seconds and thirds.
Why they’re underrated: at the time of our visit, Edge City didn’t can or bottle or serve food. They also opened during Covid, so they haven’t been at any beer events. Their location is near Independence and not super close to the traditional brewery neighborhoods, though there were more restaurants popping up in their shopping center. If your beer friends aren’t talking about Edge City, they’ve either not tried them, or they’re not really good beer friends.
Devil’s Logic - UnTappd Rating 3.87
What we drank: Komunity Kolsch, OPE! Cream Ale, Hawaiian Pog Gose, Wicked Smaht NEIPA, Cliffs of Moher Irish Stout
What we thought: the first time I tried Devil’s Logic was when a neighbor brought over crowlers of it during the pandemic. A typically hard to please friend said that they were killing it. After trying a few of their canned offerings, I knew it was time to get to their brewery to see for myself.
Their traditional styles (Cream Ale, Kolsch and Pilsner) were spot on. Very true to style and extremely crushable. It was about 95 degrees and humid out, but they were very good. Their fruited beers were also heavily fruited without being too sweet and they had a handful of different IPAs, all of which looked to use good hop profiles without adding adjunct crazy flavors to take away from the awesomeness of their beer. Though I didn’t eat, they had a really good looking food menu helping to soak up some of the suds that we know you’re going to love.
Why they’re underrated: they don’t have a ton of tap handles in the Charlotte area. They’ve also started doing 16oz cans, making them more available at bottle shops around town. Their location is not in one of the more popular brewery neighborhoods, but well worth the stop if your around uptown.
Petty Thieves - UnTappd Rating 3.92
What we drank: Andalusia IPA, Before the Volcano Death Milk Stout, Depraved and Confused Sour
What we thought: a buddy that loves sours and works around the corner from Petty Thieves put me onto them. I tried a few IPAs from them first, which were good, but the sours, fruited berliners and goses are what Petty Thieves does best. Their venue has a really cool ambiance with an old library type feel and comfortable chairs, easy to soak into while debating what beer you want to order next.
Why they’re underrated: This is another brewery that opened around Covid, so the reduction in on-premise consumption likely hurt their buzz a little coming out. Their beers are all really tasty, and their location is right outside of the music factory, so as life gets back to normal, we’re hoping that the hype for them matches the quality of the beer that they’re producing.
Did we miss any breweries? Let us know in the comments section.
