E-Malt.com News article: USA, NC: Unknown Brewing Company to open in September

Unknown Brewing Company is planning to open in September in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte Observer reported on July, 2.

“I was stacking cases off a bottling line when I was 21 years old and it was 110 degrees inside the brewery, a case coming off every 2.5 seconds,” Brad Shell, the owner, recalled of his time at Atlanta’s SweetWater Brewing Company.

“But I loved every minute of it, and I vowed to myself that I would own my own brewery by the time I turned 30.”

He fell in love with the 25,000-square-foot building on Mint Street, Charlotte, North Carolina, that was previously home to the South End Field house. With 30-foot ceilings, two water mains and a propane line already installed, the building was well-suited for a brewery. But the real appeal was the location, just three blocks south of Bank of America Stadium.

Charlotte’s planning department helped spearhead a microbrewery text amendment that now allows breweries in additional districts.
“The city helped acknowledge that this was a great time for the breweries,” Shell said. “They put in many hours to find a real solution that helps our local breweries.”

Three of the taproom’s 12 taps will be devoted to his core beers, a hefeweizen, a pale ale and an IPA.

He also plans to have a lower-alcohol beer on tap during football season, such as pilsner or session ale. One-offs and seasonals will make up the remaining taps.

Since Brad Shellcould not yet brew or sell beer, he purchased local beers for his groundbreaking event last week.

Before taking hold of the jackhammer, he asked that everyone pour their beers into a hole in the concrete.

“Now your beer is the foundation of what we do,” Shell said.



03 July, 2013