Pop the Top is your all-in-one local beer stop with a chill living room vibe

The recent South End addition specializes in Carolina beers with 24 taps and a selection of retail bottles and cans.

The space is bright and fresh with floor to ceiling windows, green walls and a bold wood paneled bar. It has a slicker, more modern look than other bottle shops and is smaller and more intimate than your typical brewery taproom.

The pro-dog space (complete with a box of communal dog toys) has about 18 seats inside and another 20 or so outside on the dog-friendly patio.

Husband and wife owners Ketan and Kathy Patel are aiming for a comfortable living room vibe at Pop the Top.

And Ketan says he really wants you to crash their place as long as you want. “We almost got La-Z-Boys,” he said.

Instead, they focused on little details like outlets on the patio, USB plugs under the bar and loaner chargers, all of which are designed to encourage a long stay.

Beer fans looking for a quieter coffee shop setting where they can settle in and work while drinking through a flight of local brews will appreciate that.

Pop the Top is a chill, quiet place to drink your way through local and regional beers without traveling to multiple stops.

Their custom-made Carolina flight paddles feature the Queen City crown, Harbour Town lighthouse in Hilton Head and their faithful late labrador and logo inspiration, Louie.

Fill your flight with 704 favorites — like OMB, Legion, Birdsong and Wooden Robot — or branch out with beers from Charleston (Holy City Brewery) to Raleigh (Trophy Brewing) and everywhere in between. 23 of the 24 taps are from the Carolinas with one rogue Tampa beer from Cigar City Brewing.

Ketan says their prices will be slightly higher than what you’d pay at each brewery but you have the added benefit of accessing all of them in one place. “The breweries are only going to carry their beers,” he said. “Here, you can taste 24 different breweries at one spot.”

The Patels grew up in North Carolina – Ketan in Charlotte and Kathy in Raleigh — and they wanted to create a business that celebrates their home.

They decided to do that with a stacked lineup of beers you can’t always find just anywhere.

“I want to spotlight breweries that are not on tap everywhere because they’re not distributed,” Ketan said. “I’m willing to go out to these places and go pick up their beer and bring it here to Charlotte.”

On the food front, Pop the Top sells pimento cheese and some chips, but they encourage you to bring your own food into the bar.

Food trucks are a tough sell on this block, as they have to set up a certain distance away from restaurants. But there are other nearby brick and mortar options.

Blaze Pizza is right next door, Sauceman’s is a quick walk and Bulgogi Box will be opening soon around the corner. Ketan says there was one night when everyone at the bar was eating a Blaze Pizza. Sign me up.

If beer isn’t your thing *gasp*, Pop the Top also sells wine by the glass and by the bottle.

I’m not a beer person so this (along with kombucha on tap) was made for me.

Wines by the bottle range from about $10 – $25.

My take?

As an introvert overwhelmed by big crowds and burned out on our city’s predictably loud, crowded social scene, I’m down for something a little different. Pop the Top plays to Charlotte’s fiercely loyal local beer scene but packages it differently than the breweries — same products, different setting, something for everyone.

My preference for a smaller, quieter hangout doesn’t mean Pop the Top is here to compete with breweries. Quite the opposite — they’re here to support and celebrate local beer and in doing so have diversified the options people have to enjoy it. Their goal is to encourage you to go visit even more breweries on your Carolina travels. Everybody wins.

Pop the Top is located at 1750 Camden Road, Charlotte NC 28203