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 first beer on night two at OMB was their Copper Amber. I just love a good Altbier, and my friends, this was a very good Altbier. I ordered a Teller Plate ($12) for dinner just as I had the night before: your choice of two sausages (tonight I chose a pair of Nurnberger bratwursts and a Hungarian Gyulai), a roll, mustard, and two sides (I chose rotkohl and Kartoffelnsalat, German potato salad). Everything was delicious, though curiously the potato salad was served cold instead of warm. Still, it was tasty and tangy and a match made in heaven with the spicy Gyulai and cold malty Altbier.

Here’s what the brewery says about Olde Mecklenburg Copper Amber:

OMB Copper is an authentic Düsseldorf style “Altbier.” Alt means “old” in German, as in “old school.” So there are no crazy flavors or gimmicks with Copper — it’s just an amazingly fresh, easy-drinking beer that tastes like beer. We use expensive (but worth it) Bavarian hops and brew in strict accordance with the “Reinheitsgebot” German beer purity law to guarantee it. Once you drink this lagered ale, you’ll know why it’s the beer that put OMB on the beer-drinking map.

Olde Mecklenburg Copper Amber has an alcohol content of 4.8% by volume with 31 IBUs. I paid $4.95 for a 16-ounce glass. Six-packs run $9.99 each.

My glass of Olde Mecklenburg Copper Amber arrived a deep copper amber color (duh) with a thick fluffy head and a soft nutty malt nose. Taking a sip I got toasted nuts and cookie malt on the palate, a very subtle fruit note, then a gentle grassy hop finish with a hint of sweet cookie malt poking through. An excellent alt, and a great beer!

I found Olde Mecklenburg Copper Amber truly delicious, 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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