Atlanta-based Hippin’ Hops Brewery is preparing to open its first location in Charlotte, coming to Uptown at 650 E. Brooklyn Village Ave.
Company owner Clarence Boston initially expected to expand the brewery about three miles away in NoDa but instead decided to team up with Orlando Botero to debut Another Brewery at Bainbridge NoDa at 2509 N. Davidson Street, opening before Thanksgiving. Now, Boston is getting ready to bring Hippin’ Hops Brewery to the former D9 Brewery in the ground floor of the Savoy Apartments, opening in December, according to Charlotte Observer.
This will be the first Black-owned distillery in Charlotte and the second Black-owned brewery in the area, following Weathered Souls Brewing Company, which opened last year in lower South End. The taproom will be about 900 square feet, with an additional 3,000 square feet outside, including space for live music shows. Unlike Another Brewery, Hippin’ Hops will not have a kitchen but plans to host various food trucks.
Hippin’ Hops will have a five-barrel system with 10-barrel fermenters that can produce about 1,800 barrels of beer annually, according to the Obserber. The other building will be used for making beer and liquor with the help of a 500-gallon still to help make various types of liquor, including vodka, rum, gin, and moonshine.
“It’s a great space and location with two buildings near (Interstate) 277,” Boston tells the Charlotte Observer. “It’s already set up for a brewery, even with water infiltration. We just have to paint. North Carolina is our biggest customer.”
