COVID delayed opening plans for German brewery in Charlotte. Here’s what will come next

One of the oldest beermakers in Germany said it was unable to open its first U.S. brewery in Charlotte during Oktoberfest due to COVID-19 delays.

Gilde Brewery now plans to open in mid-December, president Mike Gaertner told the Observer Wednesday.

The brewery at 3530 Dewitt Lane in the Lower South End neighborhood will be the 475-year-old brewer’s first expansion outside of Hannover, Germany, the Observer previously reported.

Gaertner said supply chain and shipping issues squashed the brewery’s plans to open in October. There also were delays getting equipment, including the walk-in coolers and stainless steel hoods for the kitchen and table tops, he said.

“This is all hard to get at the moment,” Gaertner said.

The brewery equipment was being shipped from Germany, and Gaertner said five of 11 tanks just arrived in Charlotte on Wednesday after being stuck for six weeks at the Port of Charleston.

“The containers from Europe are late and are four times as expensive as before COVID-19,” Gaertner said.

When the brewery opens, it will have a weeklong soft opening with invited guests only before officially opening to the public.

What sets Gilde apart from other brewers, Gaertner said, is it’s authentically German.

“We are a German brewery and will brew to the (German) purity laws,” he said. “There’s no chance to get American food in our brewery, and the same with beers.”

Overcoming other pandemic setbacks

Other Charlotte businesses have missed expected openings, too, such as the Arkansas-based chain Slim Chickens and Sleepy Poet Antique Mall, because of the pandemic-related labor and transportation shortages.

A Blackhawk Hardware owner even made the trip to the Port of Savannah in Georgia to pick up holiday merchandise himself after weeks of delay.

The pandemic caused other delays, too, for Gilde.

Gaertner said he started making plans to open Gilde two years ago in Charlotte, but had to return to Germany last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, he said, he used that time to find the property and continue planning.

In April, the half-acre site was purchased for $3.1 million, according to Mecklenburg County property records. And construction began in the summer as Gaertner and his family were able to return to Charlotte.

Gilde’s U.S. expansion plans to sell the beers in retail stores also were halted by COVID-19. Gaertner said, as distributors weren’t interested in tapping into new beers and wanted to keep stocks low. Gilde beer is now distributed to 150 locations in the Carolinas.

More about Gilde

The brewer is known for its hopped beer created by Cord Broyhan in Hannover, Germany.

The six staple brews are Pilsener, Kellerbier, Urbock, Red Rooster, Lemon Radler and Pale Wheat, all made according to German Purity Law, requiring only hops, barley and water. The Charlotte site is expected to produce about 5,000 barrels of beer a year.

The German Brewmaster in Charlotte is Willi Wallstab, Gaertner said.

When the 9,000-square-foot microbrewery opens it will have seating for 250 people in the beirhaus and more than 100 seats outside in the biergarten, Gaertner said.

The full kitchen will serve authentic German food including its own sausage and recipes by German chef Dominik Kuehne, Gaertner said.

Hiring for about 50 full- and part-time employees for positions from bartending to cooks will begin in a couple of weeks. Hiring for management is under way.

The location is ideal in growing LoSo and is close to the rail station and has a parking deck nearby.

“We are happy we have chosen this place because it’s one of the fastest growing areas in Charlotte,” Gaertner said.

A mural helps draw crowds to the brewery

Gaertner said he’s proud of the exterior wall mural, painted by Carla Garrison-Mattos, that tells the history of the brewery and its connection to Charlotte.

Charlotte’s namesake, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was the wife of England’s King George III. She also ruled over Hannover, Gilde’s hometown, in the early 1800s.

The mural, he said, is already drawing attention to Gilde with people stopping by to take photos.

“We bring this history here to the city,” Gaertner said.