Here’s a brewery with a really neat story behind it: Olde Mecklenburg Brewery and Restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina. This past weekend found me working in Fort Mill, South Carolina, about 10 miles away from OMB as they abbreviate it, but my hotel was a scant .9 miles from the brewery itself-walking distance for sure. How did that happen? I’ll never tell.

I dropped by Olde Mecklenburg Brewery for dinner and a few beers the first night of my stay-I liked it so much I came back for more the following night. Olde Mecklenburg Brewery has a wonderful setup, with a full bar area and separate lounge area, a restaurant hall, and a massive bier garden complete with an outside bar building.

On both nights when I visited Olde Mecklenburg, I walked from my hotel, which was so close fater all. When I'm out beer hunting and visiting breweries I don't like to drive; drinking and driving is never a good idea. OMB is in a pleasant area of South Charlotte and I enjoyed the walks back and forth.

My last beer at Olde Mecklenburg was the strongest beer they offer, Fat Boy Baltic Porter. I had moved out into the beer garden after dinner and enjoyed my Munich Dunkels; the Fat Boy, an authentic bottom fermented Baltic Porter according to the bartender, seemed the perfect night cap for my last night in Charlotte.

I did order this beer from the outside bar, housed in a small shack in the beer garden proper. It's nice that you can get a beer out here, although they will serve it in a plastic cup.

Here’s what the brewery says about Fat Boy on their website:

When it comes to making fresh, flavorful beer, we say go big or go home. That’s why we created Fat Boy, OMB’s “biggest” beer. But as rich and bold as Fat Boy is, it also nimbly covers a lot of tasty ground, blending sweet, malty notes of caramel, toffee, and chocolate with subtle hints of prunes and raisins. Fat Boy is a big, bold, and bountiful premium craft beer. There’s just no getting around it.

Olde Mecklenburg Fat Boy Baltic Porter has an alcohol content of 8% by volume with 34 IBUs. I paid $5.50 for a 12-ounce cup. Six-packs run $9.99 each. This is a year-round offering from OMB.

My glass of Olde Mecklenburg Fat Boy Baltic Porter was jet black in color with t hin tan head and a rich dark chocolate nose> Taking a sip the beer has a thick full mouthfeel, dark roast notes, subtle hint of raisin, and is slightly sweet in the finish with a hint of licorice and warming alcohol.

I found Olde Mecklenburg Fat Boy Baltic Porter truly delicious (all of the beers here were), and was glad I returned to the brewery for more of their beer. German food, German beer, great prices, a beer hall....yeah, this place rocks, and you know next time I'm in Charlotte I'll be back for more.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

(G)=Growler

 

 

 



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