Short Pour Wednesdays

Pilot Brewing runs Short Pour Wednesdays every Wednesday from 2 PM to 9 PM, with $3 12 oz pours of select beers. It's a mid-week special that lets you sample a few different taps without committing to a full pint, and since it runs all afternoon and well into the evening, it works as a happy hour or a late-night spot.

Pilot is a Charlotte nano-brewery that focuses on small-batch, experimental brewing, so the "select beers" on the short pour list tend to be the more adventurous side of what they're putting out. If you're into trying things before you dive in, this is the easiest way to do it.

The short pour is just one part of a busy weekly calendar. On select Sundays, they have Pilot Game Days; the last Tuesday of each month brings Monthly Speed Puzzles; and on certain days, they run Free Elote Day and Free Egg Roll Day. There are also themed nights like a Traitors Watch Party, Pilot Oktoberest with stein-holding contests and a Rock Paper Scissors tournament, and Patio Beats, which features a solo steel pan performance. It's the kind of place that changes what's happening from week to week, so the short pour is a reliable anchor in the middle of all that.

Charlotte's craft beer scene is booming, with breweries concentrated in the South End—especially LoSo—and NoDa, and also popping up on the West Side, in Plaza Midwood, Gaston County, Cabarrus County, University City, Union County, and Lake Norman. Pilot sits right in the middle of it. You'll find them at 1331 Central Avenue, with the $3 short pours running Wednesdays from 2 PM to 9 PM.