About Us
Scott
Tell us about your family
My wife and I have two kids, a girl and a boy, 4 years apart.
How long have you lived in the Charlotte area?
20 years except for a brief time in Miami and Lexington, KY. I couldn’t leave this place behind.
What do you like about beer?
Community. My brewery recommendations will always focus on how I felt there and then about what I drank there.
Favorite style of beer?
I love a good hazy IPA. Don’t judge me!
What are you looking for when you walk into a brewery?
Seating and games. With my family, stools and hi-top tables can lead to trouble. 4 top tables and chairs and a shuffleboard table let me know I’m home.
Favorite non-brewery place to go in Charlotte?
A Charlotte Knights’ game on a beautiful night is as good as it gets.
Favorite brewery outside of Charlotte to take your family?
Whistle Hop in Fairview, NC. The only place my kids have specifically requested to go.
What do you like about parenting?
It’s so freaking hard! But the moments of joy are unlike anything else. Give me a hug and tell me you love me and everything else falls away.
Children’s book that you can keep reading forever?
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. My kids won’t even let me read it to them anymore, but it destroys me every time.
Favorite family vacation spot?
Disney World. If I wasn’t writing about Charlotte beer, I’d be writing about Disney World.
Ben
Tell us about your family.
My wife and I have a 3 year old.
How long have you lived in the Charlotte area?
I’ve lived in Gastonia for 14 years. I’m just a constant visitor.
What do you like about beer?
The taste?
Favorite style of beer?
I like lagers of all types. Mostly European styles. An occasional wild ale.
What are you looking for when you walk into a brewery?
Some form of balance. An equal focus on space, good beer, and attention to the small details of whether a brewery understands what it’s offering.
Favorite brewery outside of Charlotte to take your family?
Zillicoah in Woodfin, NC. Just kidding (no kids allowed). Edmund's Oast in Charleston is always a good time.
What do you like about parenting?
Today, I was commanded to take a bite of a magna-tile because it didn’t have seeds. I like growing as a person, but never really liked trying new things.
Children’s book that you can keep reading forever?
Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen. Every day for months my son has chosen a different animal from this book to pretend to be. He’s currently Ibn Rafferty, a horse.
Favorite family vacation spot?
Folly Beach.