Why the Pump House Biergarten is among the best bars in Charlotte

If you asked Charlotteans to measure area bars along those characteristics, you’d get a variety of different results for what bar would score the highest. I’d guess the most popular answers would include some combination of Hooligans, Selywn Pub, Hattie’s, Thirsty Beaver, Duckworths, and Brazwells. All of those places have legit claims to be included among Charlotte’s best bars.

But I think the popular consideration set of “Charlotte’s Best Bar” grossly overlooks one spot in particular that scores high marks on just about any bar-related criteria you could throw out there. If you were able to objectively measure every bar in Charlotte across those “best bar” criteria, I think you’d find that the Pumphouse Biergarten at the U.S. National Whitewater Center would emerge as a dark horse for “best bar in town.” It just flat out delivers on many of the criteria often used to measure how great a bar is.

I would imagine few people plan a trip to the Whitewater Center with the sole intent to hang out at the Pumphouse Biergarten and not participate in anything else the Whitewater Center has to offer. Chances are the main draw of your trip is to ride the rapids or flatwater, hit a biking trail, run a race, or just take in one of the many concerts and music festivals.

Chances are you have a great time. And if you decide during your trip to have a drink or two, I think the Pumphouse Biergarten’s “best bar” bona fides quietly play a huge role in facilitating that great time. Let’s take a look at a few important bar criteria and how the Pumphouse Biergarten measures up:

Great beer selection

Local breweries are strongly represented at the PHBG on draft and in bottles/cans. The selection in terms of quantity of breweries and types of beers represented is impressive with up to 60 craft beers on tap, and the focus is fiercely local. This should come as no surprise, since the Whitewater Center has its own freakin’ can produced by NoDa Brewing Company. If it’s important to you that your watering hole provides a variety of great local beers, you won’t be disappointed.

Logistics/Capacity

Between picnic tables, pub tables, standing room overflow, restrooms down the stairs, and the spillover Can and Draft bars a few steps away, the Biergarten can handle a crowd. If you’ve attended any of the big events at the Whitewater Center, yes, you’ve probably had to wait in a line for a drink, but the lines are as short as can be expected when you’ve got a couple thousand people crammed onto a manmade island, and in my experience those Can and Draft bars rarely have more than a two or three person line.

People watching

Unless you’re the world’s worst cartographer, it should come as no surprise that Charlotte is landlocked. Which means there are no beach or waterfront bar districts* that are often the hallmark of great cities. The Whitewater Center serves as the de facto beach here, and on any given summer weekend, it can’t be beat for people watching. I’m not even sure there’s much more of an argument to be made against this. Spending 45 minutes at the Pumphouse Biergarten will yield as much people watching enjoyment as you could have at any other bar in Charlotte.

Outdoor space

This online publication has written a thing or two about patios. And for my money, the PHBG is the best of the entire lot. You’ve got shade if you want it, you’ve got fans if you want them, you’ve got 360 degrees of stuff at which to look. As mentioned above you’ve got a variety of seating options. Sure beats jostling for position on some undersized patio hastily constructed from pressure-treated 2x4s next to a busy thoroughfare in South End.

Views

In a place without a whole lot of topographical variation to show off, Charlotte’s left with rooftop bars as the only vistas on which to gaze with a drink in your hand. But those are often the domain of pretense and other patrons dressed to the nines and paying $15 for a “signature cocktail.” There’s certainly a time, place, and market for that, but sometimes you just want to kick back with a cold one in a sleeveless Kid Rock T-shirt and check out some nature instead of skyscrapers. The Biergarten has that in every direction you can look.

Stuff to do

There are just flat out not enough places in Charlotte to do stuff immediately before/during/immediately after you kick back a few adult beverages. Places like Ten Park Lanes or Top Golf. I’ve written about how we need one of those bars with a stock ticker (yes, I know it’s against the rules right now). But the Whitewater Center lets you hit the flatwater after a cocktail or ride the zipline after a Higher Ground (which I’m sure is delightfully horrifying). To me, this is a huge advantage for the Pumphouse Biergarten over other “best bars” in town. The opportunity to imbibe is a pleasant addition to your experience rather than the entire experience itself. How charmingly millennial.

That’s my case for the Pumphouse Biergarten as one of the best bars in town. With the unfortunate water contamination situation in the rearview mirror and the whitewater flowing once again, check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

And since we’re already here and talking about this, what other places get your vote for the best bar in Charlotte? Let us know on Twitter @thetrolleywalk and @charlotteagenda.

*yes, I am conveniently ignoring Lake Norman. Heart U, Rusty Rudder