I stopped by here after reading about this place in Beer Advocate magazine as a must stop in Charlotte. I strolled up the day after the Hopslam event and saw lots of Hopslam on the floor. I walked around the store, taking in the vast selection of great IPAs, sours, and stouts. I ended up sitting down at the growler fill up station and noticed that they did pints there. To my amazement, they had the Lagunitas Citrusenesius (sp?) on draft and I knew instantly that is what I wanted. The owner came up and began to chat it up with me. Very quickly we both learned that we both loved craft beer and knew a lot about many beers. Michael was absolutely great. We talked about his draft list, the Hopslam event and how much money he raised for charity (which shows how much he cares about people in his community) and then we got onto to trailrunning. It only came up because I asked them about some trails at the US Whitewater National Center, because I was on my way to run there after a pint or two. I was given so many great spots to run in the Charlotte area... from Chrowder Mtn (I ran there the following day) and George Poston State Park (I ran there two days later). Michael was so welcoming! I wish this kind of establishment was located in my neighborhood back in Atlanta because this is where I would hang out every weekend! Michael noticed I was wearing a trucer hat backwards and asked if I ran in those a lot. I told him, "everyday". So he ran into the back and gave my his Brawley's Beverage trucker hat. I can honestly say since I visited there a month ago, I have rocked his hat on runs easily 10+ times. If you love craft beer or the outdoors, stop in this place for a pint and a welcoming chat with the owner. This will always be a stop for me when I am in town!
Cheers to you, Brawleys!!!!!!!