USA, NC: Weathered Souls Brewing Co. set to open its Charlotte location on November 5

Weathered Souls Brewing Co. has an opening date nearly a year after announcing it would be tapping into Charlotte’s market. It will be the first Black-owned brewery in Charlotte in three years, the Charlotte Observer reported on October 10.

The Texas-based brewery is set to open Nov. 5 at 255 Clanton Road, Marcus Baskerville told The Charlotte Observer. Weathered Souls Brewing Co. will be neighbors to Red Clay Ciderworks in South End.

It will be Weathered Souls’ second location after the first brewery opened six years ago in San Antonio.

It’s been three years since Charlotte — a city with more than 30 craft breweries — has had a Black-owned brewery, after Three Spirits Brewery closed without explanation.

Baskerville, who is Black, is head brewer, and Weathered Souls’ co-owner Mike Holt largely oversees the finances.

Less than 1% of the nearly 8,500 craft breweries in America are Black-owned, according to a 2019 Brewers Association survey.

Another Black-owned brewery, Hippin’ Hops Brewery, based in Atlanta, expects to open early next year in NoDa. It will be the fourth location for the brewery, and first outside of Georgia. Hippin’ Hops owner Clarence Boston is familiar with Charlotte, too, having owned Boston’s Mortuary funeral home on Statesville Avenue and holding a partnership in local nightclubs.

Weathered Souls will have about 20 taps that will include specialty beers for Charlotte and others coming from San Antonio, Texas, Baskerville said. He will be traveling back and forth between Texas and Charlotte until a head brewer is named in Charlotte.

The brewing and kitchen equipment has been installed as work continues in the taproom, Baskerville said.

Among Weathered Souls’ craft beers are Hardwood Classic (Pilsner), Who’s Got the Juice Now? (New England IPA) and Dalè Shine (Blonde Ale). Baskerville said the brewery is also known for its stouts and pastry-style brews.

Hiring is underway for about 15 full- and part-time workers for bartenders and wait staff.

Weathered Souls’ 10,000-square-foot facility also will have a coffee bar and curated cocktail menu and cocktail lounge, with a bourbon focus, Baskerville previously told The Charlotte Observer.

Weathered Souls also is partnering with BayHaven Restaurant Group and three-time James Beard-nominated chef Greg Collier for a full-service kitchen. Collier is the first and only James Beard finalist from Charlotte.

A mural of a girl straightening a boy’s tie adorns the Tryclan Drive side of the crisp white building with black trim, and was finished Thursday, Marvin Espy of Art By Espy said. Espy, who lived in Charlotte for over 20 years before moving to Connecticut, said he used maple yellow and violet paint to create the antique finish.

Baskerville started as a homebrewer about 11 years ago. He’s also known for the Black is Beautiful project, started in 2020, to raise awareness about racial injustices through a collaboration with breweries to create an inclusive community.

More than 1,300 breweries participated, including several in Charlotte, raising more than $3 million in the first year, CharlotteFive reported.

“The whole conservation about Black is Beautiful, outside of making those donations, was to commit to long-term goals of making change,” Baskerville told The Charlotte Observer during a recent interview.

“What we’ve decided to do with that second location, is also turn it into an incubation program,” he said.

And the Harriet Baskerville Incubation Program will help women and BIOPIC people who are planning to open a brewery.

The program, named for Baskerville’s grandmother who brewed liquor and beer during Prohibition, will provide a blueprint on how to open a brewery.

Classes will included everything from brewing and using ingredients like yeast and hops, to marketing and securing financing. Baskerville expects to accept up to 12 participants in the first year.

“That will be kicking off in November once the location gets up and running,” he said. “Real change is made through ownership, through decision-making, those that have the ability to be creative and make change.”

He said if four participants succeed in opening a brewery, that represents a 60% increase in growth for Black-owned breweries in the U.S.

“We know that where the real development and change is going to be made is when we have more diverse breweries,” Baskerville said.

10 October, 2022