Old Mecklenburg

Similar to Raleigh’s LoneRider Brewing Company (see KYB #2), Charlotte’s Old Mecklenburg Brewery is a production brewery started by an intrepid team of three. John Marrino, Jon Hayward, and Carey Savoy purchased the old Southend Brewery equipment last year, moving it from its uptown Charlotte location to a nearby manufacturing district. They’re already brewing German-inspired beers and, within a few months, they expect to build out an on-site tap room.

KYB is kinda sorta of based in the Triangle right now (hey, anyone else interested in conducting interviews?), so we corresponded via email with OMB’s Jon Hayward. Hope you enjoy!

KYB: It looks like it’s three of you at the brewery. What do each of you do at the brewery?

Jon:I focus most of my time on sales and marketing. John is the Brewer. He also oversees the general direction of the brewery, brewery operations, marketing and finance. Carey is the Assistant Brewer and does a little bit of everything including all maintenance tasks. Both John and Carey are also currently building out our tap room.

KYB: How did you meet?

Jon: John and I grew up together. We met in elementary school in Massachusetts and thirty years later we both ended up in Charlotte. Cary worked with John at his previous employer.

KYB: Olde Meck is starting off with an Alt-style (OMB Copper) and following it up with a Kolsch-style (OMB Kolsner). How did you decide on specializing in German-style beers?

Jon: John lived in Germany for over three years and fell in love with the beers from the Rhineland region.

KYB: Will you always stay true to the Rheinheitsgebot (the German purity law of 1516 that says beer must only contain water, hops, barley, and yeast)?

Jon: Our current plan is to stick to the Reinheitsgetbot.

KYB: Does Rheinheitsgetbot brewing limit Old Meck…or allow it to establish a niche?

Jon: There is a lot of flexibility to make many different styles of beer while still adhering strictly to the Reinheitsgebot.   What the Reinheitsgebot does for us is communicate to our customers the unwavering commitment OMB has to producing superior quality beer.  We think people appreciate that fact.

KYB: What has Charlotte’s initial reaction been to the news of a new brewery?

Jon: So far everything has been extremely positive.   The people of Charlotte seem to be glad to have a brewery they can call their own.

KYB: When it comes to craft beer, Charlotte has been an, uh, emerging market. Have the attitudes and interest in craft beer changed in recent years? If so, how?

Jon: North Carolina has been one of the largest growth states for Craft breweries, and Charlotte, being the largest city, is still behind other cities within our state.  It is sort of strange because Charlotte has great “beer” demographics.  We think  the city was ready.  It just needed someone to step up to the plate and give them premium quality, fresh beer.

KYB: Random question: do you listen to music while you brew beer? If so, what do you listen to?

Jon: No, we concentrate on making good beer.  We listen to music while enjoying our beer after we’re finished making it.  In fact, one of our very few company rules is, “Kein Bier vor Vier”.  It’s an old German saying and is pronounced “Kine beer for fear”.  It means “No beer before 4:00 pm”.  Of course, after that all bets are off.

KYB: You’ve got a tap room in the works, and you offer growler refills. Will people be able to buy a pint right at the brewery? How important is the on-site tap room to your plans?

Jon: You may buy a beer in our tap room while waiting for your Growler fill/refill, or while touring the brewery on Saturday afternoons.  By serving beer in our tap room, we are able to introduce locals directly to our beer and our company.   We hope that gets them to know us and ask for us when they are out patronizing the restaurants and bars of the Charlotte region.

KYB: So how far in North Carolina do you expect to distribute?

Jon: We have more than we can handle focusing on the Charlotte market at this time, but we would eventually like to expand to other parts of NC and maybe to other adjacent states (especially since Charlotte is right on the South Carolina border).  We’re really just focused on delivering great beer to the Charlotte area at the moment.

KYB: Tell us more about the tours and any upcoming events — and how can people find you or OMB beers.

Jon: Tours and tastings are 4-7 on Thursday and Fridays 1-5 on Saturdays. You can get directions to the brewery by visiting us at http://oldmeckbrew.com. Our beer can be found on tap at many area bars and restaurants.  Check our website for a list of these fine establishments.