For Charlotte craft beer fans, 2022 was the year the taps finally flowed again. After two years of pandemic cancellations, the Untappd Charlotte Beer Festival returned on Saturday, June 18, 2022, at American Legion Memorial Stadium—and it was the city's biggest beer festival of the year.[1]
A Long-Awaited Homecoming
Untappd, the world's largest social platform for craft beer enthusiasts, is headquartered in Charlotte. The 2022 festival wasn't just another stop on the circuit; it was a homecoming. "After the pandemic caused us to cancel our planned events in Charlotte over the last two years, we have been waiting in anticipation to produce a first-class craft beer experience for our hometown," said Talia Spera, Vice President of Festivals and Events at Next Glass (Untappd's parent company), in the March 2022 announcement.[1]
The festival had first come to Charlotte in 2019. By 2022, the events team—led by Spera, who joined from MGM Resorts International, and Kathryn Porter Drapeau, a 19-year veteran of the Brewers Association—was ready to stage what would become Untappd's first in-person beer festival of the year.[1]
The Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium
American Legion Memorial Stadium sits just outside Uptown Charlotte at 310 N. Kings Drive. The historic stadium, with the Charlotte skyline as a backdrop, offered an ideal setting for unlimited samples and live music. In case of inclement weather, the festival could move indoors to the Grady Cole Center within the same complex.[1][2]
By the Numbers
- 100+ breweries pouring 350+ beers[1][2]
- Two sessions on June 18: midday (12:00 PM–3:30 PM general admission) and evening (6:30 PM–10:00 PM general admission)
- VIP ticket holders received one-hour early access to each session[2]
- Early bird tickets started at $50[1]
Local Breweries
Charlotte-area breweries were well represented. Participating locals included:[1][2]
- Resident Culture Brewing Co.
- Legion Brewing
- The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery
- Lenny Boy Brewing Co.
- Salud
- High Branch Brewing
- Incendiary Brewing Company
Out-of-State Highlights
The festival also brought in nationally acclaimed breweries from across the country:[1][2]
- Other Half Brewing Company (New York)
- Great Notion Brewing (Oregon)
- Mountains Walking Brewery (Montana)
- Vitamin Sea Brewing (Massachusetts)
- Decadent Ales
- Definitive Brewing Company
- DSSOLVR
- Kings County Brewers Collective
- SingleCut Beersmiths
- Superstition Meadery
- Twin Elephant Brewing Co.
- Weathered Souls Brewing Company
- Wild Mind Ales
Ales for ALS
Proceeds from the festival benefited Ales for ALS, a program where breweries brew special beers from a custom hop blend and donate the proceeds to ALS research. The ALS Therapy Development Institute—the world's most comprehensive drug discovery lab focused solely on ALS—receives the funds.[1]
Tickets and Insider Access
Tickets went on sale to the general public on Friday, March 25, 2022, at 9:00 AM EST. Untappd Insiders received pre-sale access from March 23–25 with a $10 discount.[3] The festival sold through early bird pricing and drew a capacity crowd eager to sample, check in beers on the app, and reconnect with the craft beer community.
Legacy
The 2022 CLT beer fest marked a turning point for Charlotte's craft beer scene. It proved that large-scale, in-person festivals could return safely—and that the Queen City's appetite for great beer had only grown. For those who attended, it was a day of unlimited samples, live music, food vendors, and the simple joy of drinking beer together again under the Charlotte skyline.
This report connects to ongoing BevWire coverage in The Beer Paradox: Why Canada’s Favorite Brew is American While the ….
Sources
- PR Newswire / Next Glass — Untappd Charlotte Beer Festival announcement, March 22, 2022
- Untappd Blog — "100+ Breweries. 1 Untappd Beer Festival. We're Going Back to Charlotte for Our First Beer Fest of 2022!"
- Untappd Festivals — Untappd festival information and FAQ
- Ales for ALS — Charity beneficiary of the festival