Salty Parrot Brewing Co. opens in the former Sunstead, Toucan Louie’s spots
Sunstead Brewing opened in the Gold District, not far from Bank of America Stadium, in January. In May, the brewery announced plans to merge with Toucan Louie’s and rebrand as Toucan Louie’s Gold District.
And now, just a few months later, the brewery is starting from scratch as Salty Parrot Brewing Co.
Having trouble keeping up? Founder Aaron Burton doesn’t blame you.
“It’s been really confusing — back and forth with everything,” Burton said. “No one really knew exactly where everything was going to land.”
But now, Burton has a clear vision moving forward. One of the founders of D9 Brewing Co. in Cornelius, Burton has left that brewery to start his own. He was working with the Toucan Louie’s team recently and made the decision to raise funds so that he could purchase it himself (with the original owners still on board as investors).
Tropical vibes, Tropical Grill
If you liked the tropical vibe of the short-lived Toucan Louie’s Gold District, you’re in luck. The verdant plants, colorful walls and chairs and surfboard tables will remain. The brewery will continue serving from its food truck, now dubbed the Salty Parrot Tropical Grill (and no longer affiliated with Toucan Louie’s).
Burton said several of the brewery’s core beers, which he developed before buying the brewery outright, have been well received. The brewery has already canned Longbill, a West Coast IPA; Flip Flops In A Lawnmower, a lemon wheat sour ale; Tiki! Tiki!, a sour ale brewed with blowtorched pineapples; Anything But Common, a Kentucky Common brewed with blackberries, Kentucky’s state fruit; and I Was Chased By A Dragon, a porter brewed with cinnamon and serrano peppers.
While those beers align closely with the tropical theme, not all will.
“I think we’ll drift around, but the core beers will tend to be a little thematic,” Burton said. “But for the rest, we’ll be moving on to other stuff.”
Visitors can expect a sour program, since Burton developed quite a reputation for wild and sour ales while at D9 Brewing Co. While Burton will use some of the processes and knowledge he acquired while working at D9, don’t expect him to rest on his laurels. He plans to continue innovating in an ever-changing industry.
“I think things are changing quickly,” Burton said. “Beers are different now. You’ve got to be a craft beverage company more than a craft beer company, I believe. You still have to have your beers, that’s the key, but you have to play in a bigger space.”
For Burton, that means providing a portfolio that’s diverse in both flavors and strength.
He has already brewed Even Keel, a pale ale that comes in at just 0.7% ABV. He hopes to get that beer down to 0.5% ABV, and plans to always have one beer on tap that’s nearly nonalcoholic (he will likely brew an IPA and porter next).
On the other end of the spectrum, however, Burton is putting the finishing touches on the first in a lineup of canned craft cocktails. These are actually malt-based, come in at 10.5% ABV and will be available in 12-ounce cans. Despite the high gravity, Burton has gotten them down to just two carbs on his last test, and he’s trying to go lower there, too. The first offerings include Black Pearl (Angostura bitters, lime and rum), P.O.G. Punch (passion fruit, orange and guava) and Scorched Earth (rum, mezcal and cider).
Salty Parrot plans to start selling some of its new offerings to bottle shops as early as next week.
The brewery is currently having a soft opening ahead of a more official opening on Aug. 27.
Salty Parrot Brewing Co.
1200 S. Graham St.
Hours: Closed Mondays. Open from 4-10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Instagram: @saltyparrotbrewing
This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 9:18 AM.
