Olde Mecklenberg Brewery

So the Beer Guy’s not doing so well with the posts …. Those of you who are my friends on FB are probably already used to that.

In lieu of a proper mea culpa, I’ll just tell you a story instead. Perhaps one about beer. Maybe with a few pictures thrown in …

Come and join us, as we remember back to the days as August ended. P & G were visiting from one of the nation’s most miserable cities. (On a positive note, Memphis ranked 3rd this year, as opposed to it’s 2nd Most Miserable in 2009. Stay classy, Mid South — you’ll be first one day)

So they needed a drink, obviously, thus Wine Girl and I took them for a tour of Charlotte’s newest (and olde-est) brewery — Olde Mecklenburg Brewery! OMB features an inviting tap room with large windows that draw the eye to the brewing floor.

After hoisting a few, we queued up for the free brewery tour. Our guide, whom I’ll call Josh, engaged the group with fun beer facts and hands-on samples of hops and malt.

If Jim’s hands look a little wavy in the picture, it’s not the photographer’s fault (cough, cough), it’s that he was constantly distracted during the tour. Not by the clicking of the over-eager shutter bug, but instead with the “tour know-it-all”, whom we’ll call Frank. You know him, or one of his tribe. Frank answers the rhetorical questions posed to the group, and he knows the details better than the tour guide.

For example, not only is Frank conversant on the Reinheitsgebot, but he can pronounce it properly, and if pressed, could no doubt tell you that yeast wasn’t included in the Purity Order because they didn’t know about yeast back then. You may be thinking, gentle reader, that the Beer Guy would wet himself with excitement to be in the presence of such a fellow — but then you’d be wrong. I’m battling the same pretentious tendencies in myself, so it’s particularly annoying in another … but that’s a different story.

So, let’s look away from Frank (eye contact only encourages the poor dear), and take in a few brewery scenes:

After the tour, we relaxed in the tap room with too many pretzels, and of course, more beer. That day, we were switching between the seasonal Mecklenburger Bavarian lager and the old stand-by, OMB Copper.

I should say that most of us relaxed in the tap room. After a delicious sip, we turned and saw Frank lining up for the next tour. Perhaps he had one last fact to share.

Mark the calendar … October 2nd is MecktoberFest. Come out and you could be having as much fun as these two guys …