What to know about the beer and food at Charlotte’s new German brewery Gilde

The 477-year-old German brewery Gilde entered the U.S. market nearly two weeks ago when it opened its Charlotte beer haus.

Among the favorite beers so far is the dark wheat, brewmaster Willi Wallstab said Thursday during a media tour of Gilde.

The 9,500-square-foot restaurant and brewery is at 3530 Dewitt Lane in Lower South End.

Walking into the brewery, the focus is on the brewhouse’s Caspary copper kettles and stainless steel fermenting tanks brought over from Germany.

Gilde President Mike Gaertner has called it a true interpretation of German culture, cuisine and beer.

Here are some other facts to know about Gilde:

On tap

There are 24 taps in the center of the long bar with seating for 18 people.

Since 1546, Gilde Brewery follows the high standards of the German Purity Law, which allows for only hops, barley, water and, later, yeast.

“Germany wasn’t even a country,” said Wallstab, who earned his brewmaster degree from Berlin University. Gilde, he said, means a collection of brewing and breweries.

Gilde has six staple beers: Pilsener, Red Rooster, Radler, Urbock, Hefeweizen and Black Beer.

There are now five craft beers unique to Charlotte, too: Hopp’d Up, The Dark Hen, More than a Pils, Worth the Wait and Broyah’s Bock.

Wallstab said Gilde produces over 1.5 million barrels a year and is served all over the world, which now includes entry to the U.S. with the Charlotte location.

More places to find cans of Gilde

Gilde in Charlotte also is the U.S. headquarters for distribution across the country.

Cans of Gilde beer are available at restaurants, markets and grocers throughout Charlotte. The company website has a beer finder link.

While Gilde beer has been available at some Harris Teeter stores, General Manager Nick Patel said Thursday that the brewery inked a deal just days ago with the Matthews-based grocery chain to sell its beers at all Charlotte-area stores.

Authentic food

Executive chef Dominik Kuehne, 27, relocated from Germany to Charlotte. He started working in restaurant kitchens at age 15 and apprenticed with several Michelin star restaurants, Patel said.

The menu of authentic German foods includes appetizers such as Obazda & Brezel with the traditional German cheese cream, “not cream cheese,” Patel said. The cheese is a Swiss gruyère, he said, with red onion and chives, served with a pretzel.

Look for the two snacks Patel likened to the American version of avocado toast: Roestbrot from northern Germany (smoked trout with marinated cucumber, pickled mustard seeds, sour cream dill and horseradish on toast) and Bratenbrot from southern Germany (sliced cold roasted pork in a dark beer sauce with radish, pickled pearl onions and mustard on toast).

What about the sausages?

There are three types of sausage on the snacks menu.

Weisswurst is an herb-poached white sausage. In Germany, it’s served in a boiling pot of water, Patel said.

“But here it comes already poached,” he said. Unlike the two other sausages, Patel said, don’t eat the outer casing.

The Bauernwurst is seared with a crisp skin while the Bratwurst is softer.

The sausage is made in Madison, Wisconsin. Patel said they taste-tested more than 300 pounds of sausage from across the U.S. before settling on Bavaria Sausage Inc.

As for entrees, the Schnitzel, a breaded veal cutlet with lingonberry, is made by hand and is time-consuming to make, Patel said. He said it’s the German equivalent to a U.S. as a comfort dish.

Patel, who is the only non-German on Gilde’s team, said there’s one snack that’s not 100% German. The Leberkaese Sliders — pork, veal and beef loaf served on a kaiser bun — is Gilde’s take on a baloney slider.

“It’s about as Southern as we could get,” he said.

The menu also includes appetizers, entrees and dessert.

What else to expect

The brewery has a stage for live entertainment.

Plus, coming soon will be five- to six-course meals paired with beer and wine, Patel said. He expects to host such dinners about once a month.

Brewery hours are 3-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 3-10 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday-Thursday.

This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 5:30 AM.