Luckily, while I was in Memphis, I did get to visit one great brewery.  Wiseacre Brewery is located not far from downtown in a warehouse that is a bit hard for the out of towner to find, but it is worth the trip. I found all of the beers here to be solid and true to their style.  I was even surprised that I liked a few of their beers that were typically styles I would avoid. The atmosphere here was also friendly and casual. It would be a great place to just hang out on a Saturday afternoon.

Tiny Bomb Pilsner was a good, light summer style beer that would be great after yardwork or cutting the lawn.  The beer would appeal to Budweiser drinkers, but still had enough taste to also work for the craft beer lover.  I also had one of these while at Rendezvous, a rib joint off of Beale Street in Memphis. To me this beer is preferable to the Ghost River Golden Ale that is generally available at local restaurants and was also on the menu at Rendezvous.

The Speilothek Rye Bock also a very solid beer.  Although  I am generally not a fan of rye beer, I would drink this on occasion.  I felt the same about the Belgium beer at this brewery.  If you’ve read my previous blogs, then you would know I am not generally a fan of Belgium beers,  but I would drink this one. I thought this beer had a banana taste at the end which was quite good.  However, this Fleur Verte Belgium was a bit darker than I would have expected, which might off put some Belgium lovers. Ananda IPA was also a solid beer; however, I personally like my IPAs very hoppy and piney and would have liked more flavor from this one.  The Neon Brown was my least favorite, but I have a great dislike for brown ales. I felt this would have been a great one for someone who likes brown ales. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring myself to drink it– not because of the beer but because of personal taste. The Kerfluffle Stout was great for a stout and would have been fantastic on a cold day.

If you notice, all of the beers here are sort of low in alcohol content compared to most craft breweries. I used to live in Tennessee years ago and we always had trouble getting some of the good beer because of Tennessee’s alcohol laws. In talking with one of the owners here, I learned that such laws are still in effect.  The cut off to be considered beer is 6.2% and when it is higher it must be sold as wine.  The brewery had to get a distiller’s license in order to be able to brew some of their stronger ales.  Hopefully, these laws will be revisited because they could seriously impact Tennessee’s foray into the craft beer arena.

I had really hoped to be able to try a few more Southern beers while I was visiting the Memphis area.  From what I had read online, many local brews were available around town but I had a very hard time locating them.  

I visited the Oxford, Mississippi, area and had hoped to try the brews from the Oxford Brewing Company, which had recently opened. It is unclear from their website, if they have open hours or if they do tours.   I had also looked on Untapped to see what was around and noticed that several people had tried their beers. Unfortunately, however, when I arrived in Oxford, I couldn’t find the beer anywhere.  I did find a nice restaurant on the square, Irie, which promised me the best selection of craft beers.  They had about 20 craft beers on draft, so the selection wasn’t bad, but most were the typical craft brews. I did get a Lazy Magnolia (another Mississippi brewery) Black Creek.  This was a good solid porter without an overwhelming coffee flavor. Lazy Magnolia is best known for their signature beer, Southern Pecan, which was also available on draft here. I have had Southern Pecan and it is a very good beer; however, I have a tree nut allergy so it is not really an option for me.

In Memphis, I was able to visit one brewery– more to come on that in a separate blog.  However, I had to try Ghost River, as this is now Memphis’ signature brewery.  Ghost River Golden Ale was very easy to find and was served at several restaurants and hotels, including the Peabody. The Golden Ale is very average and probably why it is so readily available as it pairs well with most foods and will appeal to a large audience.  I found that it was quite good with the wasabi peas served at the bar in the Peabody, which I enjoyed during the evening duck walk. I would have loved to try some of the other varieties of Ghost River; however, they didn’t appear at any of the locations that I visited. I am hoping that the other brews appear to a more selective palate. 

I also had a very unimaginative brew from Alabama while having a fried catfish meal at the Flying Fish off of Beale Street in Memphis. I tried the Amber Waders of Grain from Blue Pants Brewery in Madison, AL.  They also had another brew from this brewery in the bottle, but one was enough for me. Hopefully, it was more inspiring than the very weak amber ale. 

Overall, I was surprised at the lack of good, local craft brews in the Memphis area.  With Ole Miss in Oxford, you would have expected a much more lively craft brew scene there too.  Maybe I just didn’t know where to look….

Every once in a while, we all get stuck in the airport either waiting for a connecting flight or because of a delay.  Usually, this is one of the most boring times of our lives– stuck with horrible fast food and loops of CNN playing in the background. However, Charlotte airport had always been one of my favorite places to get stuck.  Previously, there was a great wine bar in the airport that served a variety of North Carolina wines. The shop did sampling and you could buy bottles to fly home.  I was greatly dismayed at my recent stop to see that this wonderful little wine bar is now just another Starbucks.  What a loss for the visibility of North Carolina wines and for the weary traveler!

Luckily, I checked the nearby directory to see if there was anything of a redeeming value still located in the airport to visit during my almost 3 hour layover.  Low and behold, the airport now has a craft beer restaurant that features North Carolina beers.  The Carolina Beer Company is located in terminal D where mostly international flights arrive and depart, so it can be a bit of a hike if you are landing in terminals A or B.  However, I strongly suggest that you take the walk as it is worth the trip and a much better place to spend a layover than a cheesy rum or tequila bar.

The Carolina Beer Company had a good assortment of local beers.  I started with a West Coast style IPA from NoDa Brewery in Charlotte called Hop Drop N Roll.  This beer was served in a can and not on the menu– I have to thank the knowledgeable server for recommending it.  It was hoppy and piney and very well-balanced.  I was quite impressed.  I next tried the Old Mecklenburg dark lager which was not dark but more the color of a brown ale. I really am still not so sure I got the right beer!  It tasted much like the Michelob product Amber Bock so I wasn’t impressed.  Although several other drafts on the menu appealed to me, they were not in stock.  I have a personal pet peeve when the menu is not kept up to date.  I had to settle for a Carolina Blonde from Carolina Brewing.  It was light and yeasty.  The IBUs listed it at 9.5 but I didn’t really find it all that bitter but it was a bit on the hoppier side for a blonde.  I would say this would be a great beer for a summer day– a great alternative to Budweiser.

My big complaint about this airport restaurant was the lack of variety and selection in food.  I understand that North Carolina is known for barbecue but not everyone wants to eat that, as it isn’t the healthiest option.  I had the Southwest Salad which was one of the healthier options on the menu. The salad itself was adequate but the spicy ranch dressing was quite good. This salad actually went great with the Carolina Blonde.  However, I have to say the use of plastic silverware to eat a salad is quite off-putting.  I would think they could offer a real fork and knife.

I wish that I had been able to stay and sample more beers but will make sure I try to book my next flight through Charlotte.  If the price is the same, why not layover somewhere where there is good beer?