INSIDE: BREWERY NEIGHBORHOODS / LIFE LESSONS
BUZZ
THE
WHAT MATTERS NOW IN THE CITY
Craft breweries like Divine Barrel Brewing in NoDa have transformed urban neighborhoods and introduced patrons to unique beers like The Third Room (left), a pilsner, and My First Crush, a West Coast Pale Ale. But most have never had to operate in a bad economy.
CO M M U N I T Y
JAMES AMATO
THE BREWHOOD REVOLUTION’S FIRST TEST The craft brewery explosion has reshaped urban neighborhoods. Can it survive this?
TOWARD THE END OF OUR CONVERSATION, as she nurses the last of her sour IPA at Divine Barrel Brewing in NoDa, one of the nation’s foremost researchers of craft breweries and their effects on urban economies gestures toward the beer menu scrawled, as in most taprooms, on a chalkboard that hangs behind the bar. “Most of these guys have not seen a downturn yet. The big boom has come during this recovery period,” says Isabelle Nilsson, a 34-yearold academic who retains the accent of her native Sweden.
BY GREG LACOUR
JUNE 2020 // CHARLOTTE
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