The Brewery Pit Stops of Race City, USA – Charlotte Magazine

On a gray Sunday afternoon in February, I approach the nook in the drab, L-shaped brick building in an office park off Brawley School Road. In case I didn’t know where I was already, the nearest intersection reminds me: Raceway Drive and Gasoline Alley. Ah, yes, Mooresville. Race City, USA.

So what’s this little pirate-themed brewery with a crow’s nest-sized taproom? It’s Jolly Roger Brewery, a nanobrewery that a military veteran named Tony Philipp opened in 2017. Charlotte’s beer scene was well on its way by then. But the Lake Norman area lagged. Philipp and some of his brewing compatriots solved that problem by setting up in Mooresville and environs—the combination of NASCAR races and a few hours on the lake makes you thirsty—until Race City could boast an actual Ale Trail.

It’s a string of locally owned craft breweries that, while not within walking distance of each other, are close enough to easily visit with a designated driver. Visit Mooresville, the town’s tourism agency, offers a bundle of goodies if you can prove you visited all six. 

WEST OF I-77

King Canary Brewing Co.

562 Williamson Road

Floridians Andrea and Matt Gravina opened in 2018 in an old house on a cove. Matt died in 2019, but Andrea kept going through grief and COVID with the help of friends in the #CLTBeer community. It’s become a linchpin of the scene up here.

Try: Stud Puffin, a dry-hopped pale ale and King Canary’s flagship—or flock leader, really. (All of KCB’s beers have bird-derived names.)

Hoptown Brewing Co.

107 Plantation Ridge Drive

This is Scott and Sandy Plemmons’ baby, conceived when she gave him a home brewing kit when they were still dating. In 2018, Sandy began serving Scott’s “Hootenanny” beer at her yoga studio. (Yoga also makes you thirsty.) They found some investors and opened a taproom in a shopping center, right by a Bruster’s Ice Cream.

Try: On the Nines, an American lager designed with the golfer in mind: golden and biscuit-flavored on the front end and floral on the back.

Courtesy, Mallory Brinkman

Jolly Roger Brewery

236 Raceway Drive, Ste. 12

Philipp grew up in Germany, and he specializes in flavorful, intensely aromatic beers. He brews them from, essentially, a closet. When you walk in, the taps are to your left, in an office that doubles as a bartender’s booth. A corridor lined with stools and a beer shelf leads you to the taproom and its three tiny tables. Philipp is looking for a bigger space, though, so experience the coziness while you can.

Try: IPAtch Double IPA, their runaway bestseller, at a robust 7.5% ABV. (Get it? IPA, eye patch, pirates …?)

Wobbly Butt Brewery

125 Morlake Drive

It’s attached to Victory Lanes, a bowling alley owned by Ben and Errica Kreins, two people who are very attached to their dachshunds. The brewery name is a tribute to one of them, Leroy. The beer names are all canine-adjacent. All batches are booped before bottling (seriously).

Try: Addie’s Ale, a flavorful Irish red ale named after Addie-Jo, a dachshund of the Kreinses’ who, sadly, is no longer with us.

Boondoggler’s Brewing Co.

239 Singleton Road, Stes. F1 and F2

This is a relative newcomer, founded in 2022 by Kendra Bare and Sean Raymond. It’s a lovely space—clean and well lit, with flat-screens and gas fireplaces—but its location at the rear of yet another office park may account for the absence of patrons when I visited on a Sunday.

Try: Bout Damn Time Amber Ale, which goes strong on the malt.

EAST OF I-77

Ghostface Brewing and Beer Lab

215 and 225 S. Broad St.

They’re technically two separate operations, but they have the same owners and are right next to each other near downtown, so we’re going to count them as one. The older entity is a pizzeria with Ghostface beers on tap—family-oriented, mostly catering to the lunch and happy hour crowds. After dark, the Beer Lab is the place to go: It’s restricted to 21 and up after 9 p.m., and its expanded beer menu reinforces the adults-only vibe.

Try: Sand Life Vibe, a low-ABV (4.2%) golden ale that, in name and character, may be the ideal Mooresville beer, at least for summer on the lake: light, crisp, ideal for beach or boat, with a hint of Key lime to cut through the muggy heat.

GREG LACOUR is the editor.