Charlotte Beer by Hartis Daniel Anthony;Gaddy Eric;Bassett Win;

Author:Hartis, Daniel Anthony;Gaddy, Eric;Bassett, Win;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

LAKE NORMAN BREWING COMPANY

As a pilot, Raymond Renshaw had witnessed the popularity of brewpubs firsthand as he flew to many cities around the country (not unlike NoDa Brewing’s Todd Ford, but more on that later). He thought the concept could work in Charlotte, and after securing around a dozen investors (many of them fellow pilots), Raymond and his team began construction on a new building in Cornelius, just off I-77 at exit 28. This new building—red brick on the outside, oak floors and exposed ceiling beams inside—opened its doors in December 1996.

“I came down while we were still in the construction phase,” said Dana Fischer, who took brewing courses at University of California–Davis and worked at two other breweries before becoming the brewmaster at Lake Norman Brewing Company. “I was tasked with designing and building the brewhouse and creating the recipes.”

While at University of California–Davis, Dana went through its extensive archive of beer recipes and made photocopies of every single one. The brewhouse featured a used eighteen-barrel AAA brewing system that was encased in glass and visible from everywhere in the restaurant. This included six chrome Grundy tanks that caught the eye of anyone who came into the brewery for dinner or a drink.

On that system, Dana crafted more than thirty beers during his three years at Lake Norman Brewing Company. Many of those were seasonals or one-offs, but the brewery was almost always pouring its core lineup of Ale Yeah! Amber, Summer Wheat, Piedmont Ale, Wildcat Brown Ale and Duke’s Plutonium Ale, which was its flagship. The brewery had a partnership with Johnson Beer Company to bottle and distribute Duke’s Plutonium Ale across the state. Its name made it especially popular among students at Duke University.

One of the things Dana remembers most vividly is the ten-speed Mack truck that the brewery took to various music festivals and events in Charlotte. The inside contained Grundy tanks filled with beer, as well as seventy or so kegs. All of this fed six or seven taps on the outside, which was wrapped in vinyl displaying the company’s logo.

Back at the brewery and restaurant, Lake Norman Brewing Company was developing a loyal group of regulars. “It was like Cheers for the Lake Norman area,” said Tara Paster, who served as director of operations at the brewery. “It was just a fun place. It was a really terrific environment for pulling people together.”

When Tara interviewed with Ray for the position, she was not a big beer drinker (and still isn’t). As part of the process, though, Ray asked that she try a flight of the brewery’s core lineup. She liked the wheat most of all. In its day, many were unfamiliar with the styles available at Lake Norman Brewing Company. It often poured flights to help expose people to a variety of styles, just as Ray had for Tara. The brewery also grew hops outside so it could show the flowers firsthand to drinkers at the restaurant, though these hops were not actually used in the beers.

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