Water, hops, malt, yeast, bi-products, dog food, breweries, micro breweries, mashing, lautering, these are all words we throw around every day right? Wrong. By no means am I a beer girl, but that did not stop me from boarding a bus tour and ‘hopping’ around Cabarrus County to try out the best of the best in craft beers.
In fact, you might say that the Blonde beers actually were my favorite and I definitely do not like bitter beers! You can replicate the trip I was on by adding those names to your list of where to go when in Cabarrus County or you can bookmark this page.
What I love about the best craft beers of Cabarrus County is how they help the area thrive and provide an outlet for people to travel to. Perhaps the best gift of travel is learning what others have and what our backyards or neighborhoods are missing! Lavishly live brews out loud and learn where to find the best craft beers of Cabarrus County are and then head on in and taste test yourself!
Where To Find The Best Craft Beers of Cabarrus County
BREWING AND THE CABARRUS AREA
I was a guest of Cabarrus County, CVB, and provided a tour of multiple breweries. Within you will find what I consider to be the best of the best from those we visited. Enjoy and bookmark please.
To be very to the point, each location I have provided has its own vibe, cool ambiance and is a vital part of the community, from tourism to revitalization. Each offers a plethora of brews from ciders to ales and everything in between. Enjoy and cheers!
I love when I hear about locals that live in the area, understand the area, and want to help the economics of the area thrive. The best entrepreneur has a grand understanding of where they live, the people in the area and a beat on what is missing and what is needed. I tour a lot of cities, speak with a lot of business owners and those that thrive do so for one reason, Passion. Passion comes from pride and pride comes from understanding an area and having a passion to share that area with others.
Great destinations are about great people behind them. The successful people that create a destination truly want to provide you with more than a pint of beer, they want you to have an experience. A facility becomes a destination when locals work there, passion fuels the service and suddenly you are a powerful venue!
Case In Point – Cabarrus Brewing Company
I won’t be shy in pointing out that by all ratings, Steve, Co-Founder of the Cabarrus Brewing Company wins my Favorite stop hands down!
Take the old Canon factory, change it into a brewery, a bar area, lots of tables, and then upcycle the old floor and use it as a bar area, and you have found yourself the best of the best in a company. It’s not about ripping something down, it is about preserving what there was, a commemoration of the past and a chance for the future.
Steve and his partner revitalized an old sock mill, breathed new life into it, and created one heck of a destination.
Taste testing is one thing, but touring is another. For me, tasting and touring brings the story together.
The fact that the owner showed up to share his story, and show his concept speaks volumes to the Cabarrus Brewing Company.
Every word that Steve spilled out was about passion in the industry, for the area and for all the people in the area, it is respect of a different level and brilliance to him and his partner’s dream and journey with brewing.
While I am not going to dispense the story of brewing there, I will share this, everything down to the last part of the brewing process is meticulous and gives back to the community. I can not recall what he called this on a shovel, I can tell you it is dog food. Dog food which he donates to the dog shelters to feed these poor little animals making this business score big with my heart as a rescue mom myself.
The area is incredible from the moment you walk in, the patio lights and a large open space are welcoming and the brewing is in plain sight.
Now you are starting to learn where to find the best craft beers of Cabarrus County, let’s continue on the journey.
It’s All About The Packaging
Bold and interesting packaging is how Steve the owner of Cabarrus Brewing explained their packaging. Bottles don’t cut it, and cans make a difference. A can of beer is where brand and branding take place and they are ALL over it. We had their brews in our hands at Charlotte Motor Speedway and they are attractive and POP!
NEXT DOOR TO CABARRUS BREWING…
High Branch Brewing. Meet the next contender in breweries to visit as a destination and a short stroll for those of you that like proximity. Walk out the doors of one brewery and up a few steps into another (if you have not had one too many, lol!). Another fine destatination and yet another location sharing where to find the best craft beers of Cabarrus County.
This was pretty cool, much smaller than the other facility but the craft beers were full-bodied, full-flavored and just plain good.
Here’s where they brew at the High Branch Brewing
Samples anyone?
Cheers from High Branch Brewing.
RED HILL BREWING
Take a stroll down Church Street South in Concord, North Carolina and you will find yourself at Red Hill Brewing. What an interesting taproom you are about to enter. Just head on up a set of stairs to get to this location and then it’s time to sling one back to wet the old whistle, I mean you worked for it, climbing the stairs right? Location: behind the Cabarrus Creamery and above CrossFit Unite very easy to find, but in a really cool space.
The unique factor here might be the unicycle bar stools or the picnic tables? You choose.
Maybe you love this area for sitting, where there is plenty of seating to indulge in some craft brews?
Each place has it’s own distinctive touches.
Personally, I love the chalkboard signs.
Beer Hop To Twenty-Six Acres Brewing Company
A brewery by any other name would be a taproom and this is what you are entering when you find the Twenty-Six Acres Brewing Company. While it is not nearly 26 acres it is named after the 26-acre land plot whereby the town of Concord was found back in 1796, so dedication to the roots of the area, and again another founder who loves and lives by the area!
It’s impressive when you walk into a large space, and the brewing area will impress you. Cleanliness, incredible brew selections, and some gaming tables are there, and you supply your winning personality and this equals fun.
Brews That Taste Great
One by one I have introduced you to where to find the best craft beers of Cabarrus County did you bookmark the page yet?
The final brew tasting of my trip and I loved it, (burp, chuckle, cheers– all the things you go through with a glass of beer right?) Richly brewed, thirst quenching (With the 100% humidity you all suffer through down here) and perfectly balanced!
When you are ready to indulge in well-balanced, well-hopped, zesty flavored, unique, signature, brewery fresh beers, head on out to the aforementioned locations to enjoy those ice cold, fresh brewed Best Craft Beers of Cabarrus County! Cheers, Y’all! ~ Dana XO