The Germans have established a beachhead in the US and they’ve plans to eventually expand their presence well-beyond North Carolina.
Here’s what we know…
On February 26 Gilde, one of the world’s oldest brewers, opened a new brewery in in Charlotte, NC, its first outside of Germany.
Located in Charlotte’s booming Lower South End neighborhood, already home to a vital craft brewing scene, Gilde’s new 9,500 square foot brewery and restaurant features an authentic German architectural vibe centered around a state-of-the art brewhouse with German-made Caspary copper kettles and stainless steel fermenting tanks as well as seating for 350 guests in both an interior taproom space and outdoor beer garden.
“We carefully selected Charlotte as our first brewery site outside of Hannover based on the community’s level of interest in high-quality beer and the connection between our two cities through Queen Charlotte, who was Queen of Hannover,” said Mike Gaertner, president of Gilde.
Willi Wallstab, a renowned German brewing master has been tapped to serve as brewmaster at the Gilde Brewery. And under his direction, the brewing team will craft Gilde’s six staple beers– Pilsner, Kellerbier, Urbock, Red Rooster, Lemon Radler, and Pale Wheat – in addition to special North Carolina exclusives.
Two-Michelin-Star chef Dominik Kuehne, has also relocated to Charlotte and oversees Gilde’s culinary program, which features German cuisine given a regional and seasonal touch.
“We’ve been watching Charlotte’s beer scene thrive for almost a decade now,” Karsten Uhlmann, CEO of Gilde said. “As the original craft beer innovators, we will immerse guests in centuries of German brewing heritage combined with the creativity of the American beer movement.”
In addition to the brewery, Charlotte is now home to Gilde’s US headquarters, which will oversee Gilde’s distribution across the country. Gilde has been working on opening a Charlotte location since 2018 but experienced delays due to the pandemic and resulting supply chain issues.
The final step in Gide’s strategy to establish its heritage Pilsners and Hefeweizens in the states is to eventually build a much larger production brewing facility in Charlotte, which according to the Observer will be “almost 25 times the capacity of Olde Mecklenburg, Charlotte’s biggest brewery.”
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(All Image credits Gilde)