Ass Clown Brewing Company

Ass Clown Brewing Co, you will either like it or dislike it.
The beers are unique and the name is. um. interesting. On this visit Boyfriend and I split a flight — Vanilla Saison, Gingerbread, Orange Citrus IPA and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt. My favorite out of these was definitely the Vanilla Saison. I did not care for the Gingerbread or Dark Chocolate beers, they were not what I expected flavor wise. There are so many beers to choose from unfortunately we were only in town for part of the day so we had to limit ourselves.
Overall, chill spot with an interesting décor.
I almost forgot to mention, Google maps seems to be very confused by this location so just remember to turn on Parkway Commerce Center Drive.

The beers all by themselves deserve 5 stars! Unique, delicious and hard to come by flavors and blends. I’ve always been a huge fan and so I jumped on the opportunity to stop in today since we were going to be in Cornelius. Honestly I wish I would have stuck with loving them from afar. The venue was cool, neatly decorated, but very small. It was very cramped and had a negative vibe. The people inside all seemed bored and unwelcoming. One bartender spoke very loudly about her own life and it was kind of inappropriate and the other bartender’s customer service skills really need some work. He seemed distracted and disinterested in serving us and with my experience of breweries and bars being pretty decent it was one of my least favorite visits. It was also quite pricy compared to majority of the others I have visited. I will reiterate that Ass Clown makes a darn good beer and I am still a huge fan, but the actual tasting room could be skipped in my opinion.

I am, without dispute, not a beer lover. That is, until my best friend transported your brew, during her recent visit with me on Hilton Head Island! I drank all 64 ounces in one sitting! Shocking! I will now beg and plead for this yumminess via Fed-​Ex, or at least a local vendor. Counting down the days until I can visit and drink beer «in person.» Cheers!

I love the seating and wall treatments in their tasting room. Heavy pine tables and stools with baskets of Cape cod potatoe chip sample bags to cleanse your palate. The waitress was a pretty lady with black hair, victory rolls and red lipstick. They have BOTH wine and beer. I love the industrial taps with hammers, wrenches and miscellaneous iron pieces. I had a glass of the pinot noir. It was heavy and dense. The chardonay was dry. The men folk thought they temp of the beer was slightly warm. Their favorite was the Berlinweiz.

Yassssss one of the literal hidden gems in the area. I love how cozy it feels. follow on FB for whats on tap.

Such a «chill» place! Ton of unique beers, free cape cod chips, and amazing décor! We ended up bringing home a growler of the hazelnut peanut butter coffee beer! So good! Def check out this brewery. 1^st one we’ve been to NC, and I think it may end up being the best!

One of the best breweries I have been to. It’s a pretty small place but the variety is huge. They are super friendly and helps you find the best one.
I would prefer this place any day but keep in mind you do not get any type of food here, but ofcourse it’s a brewery which isn’t commercial.
I would strongly recommend this place. Cheers!

This place is great, and it’s definitely worth the drive. The beers are truly unique (as one would expect from a place with such a name), and there are a lot of solid choices available. My wife and I got flights, and we really liked most of what we tried. Although there were a few misses, that’s to be expected when such variety is available.
The atmosphere here is great. For a smaller place, there’s a lot of seating, nice cozy chairs, good live music, and free snacks. Service is great, even when the place gets packed.
I would go here all of the time if it were closer. Alas, I’ll go whenever I’m in the area. Don’t pass it up!

Who could pass up checking out a brewery with such a name?!? This place was so much more than expected… not only did it have great beer, the bartender was very friendly and more importantly, knowledgeable about the products.
Somebody sunk some time and money into the design and décor. Top notch establishment with a nice, relaxing atmosphere.

So I’ve been to 40 – 50 Breweries this past year and this is one of my favorites.
Once you get past the name and have a little chuckle, you will need to judge them on their beer, which by the way is really, really good. Very rarely do I like 100% of the beers I taste at a brewery, but that did happen here.
My flight consisted of Grapefruit IPA (smelled and tasted like someone opened a fresh grapefruit), Lemon Wheat IPA, Baltic Porter (excellent) and Coffee Coconut Stout (like drinking a Tootsie Roll). I even liked the Gingerbread Stout and Orange Spice Ale, and I don’t care for spices. It’s like getting me to eat liver and onions and like it! Impressive!
The tasting room has two seating sections with tables, couches and plush chairs; it has a dark, warm feeling, like you’re in a friend’s living room at dusk. The day I went, they served so many flights that they were running out of glasses. The bartender was fast for as busy as they were. Free Cape Cod Chips and snacks are set out on the tables. Live bands perform on Saturdays. Located at the back of an industrial park in Cornelius, it can be difficult to find but it is well worth the journey. Just look for the big sign with the Laughing Clown!
For me, you know it’s good, if I bought the hat. And yes, I bought one.
Remember their motto at Ass Clown:“Drink one, don’t be one!”

Ass Clown has a lot of really good things going for it. The location is a bit off the beaten path in the midst of an office/​industrial park, but don’t let the exterior fool you. Inside, it’s really interesting with this old school eclectic vibe going on. There is a huge window behind the bar that allows you to see through to the brewery itself, complete with an enormous Ass Clown clock.
While there is no food to order, they have complimentary bags of chips and pretzels on the tables which is a nice touch. Considering how many beers they have, you’re going to want all the food on your stomach that you can get!
So, the beer itself. For me, this was a mixed bag. There were sooo many different types to choose from that it was almost overwhelming. While I didn’t count, there must have been 15 – 20 different types. I appreciate that they are experimenting with different flavors and ingredients, but some of them were misses for me. I asked the bartender what the best seller was and he didn’t have an answer so it seems like they’re trying to pump out as many different things as possible.
I hope that in the future as they really get into their groove, they’ll settle on a more focused subset of their best stuff, opting for quality over quantity. They can still be adventurous while cutting the number of selections.
There are a lot of good things going for this place and I look forward to seeing more of them in the local beer scene!

Another stop on my mister’s Valentine’s Day brewery hop. My mister and I have adventurous palates, and Ass Clown definitely delivers. It’s clear that the concept is limited runs of unusual flavor combinations. My mister and I shared two flights with all different flavors. Some of the flavors were outstanding (Grapefruit Cayenne, I am talking to you!), and others were misses with us (Carrot Bread, should have known better.). The service was outstanding all considering how packed it was. Only one bartender was working; someone give that girl a medal! Loved the atmosphere, too.

My husband and I checked this place out one Saturday night after dinner. It was a full house at about 8pm. We sat at the bar but there are quite a few pub height tables and also a area with a few couches/​chairs. It was nice and cozy not quite what you expect when you pull up outside. The staff was friendly and informative about beer selections. Beer was good! Excited this place is close to home. It’s a great place to stop and grab a great beer with friends or your spouse!

Interesting to say the least, love the small hole in the wall atmosphere. If you are into beer tasting adventure, this is the joint. High tops, couches and a small bar decorated with eclectic nostalgia. Everyone is friendly and the conversation flows well with neighboring tables. Most are locals and regulars, and most everyone is on a first name basis.
No food! Which sucks, they do have lots of free pretzels. The group beside me ordered Papa Johns :-)
Overall a good time for the wife and I to pop out of the crazy house and have some time away from the kids…
Oh, they are only open until 9 pm, but most everyone just hung out until 9:30 or ten, no one was run off…

Stopped here again Friday on our way home from New York. This place becomes more of a favorite every time I come! They are starting to bottle some now, thus the reason for this update. While I was there, I had the Imperial Vanilla Stout and at 14.8% you know you’ve had it! My wife has also discovered she loves their Pinot Noire, which disappointingly wasn’t being sold in bottles yet. They did say it should be soon, so maybe next time.
It’s a bit off the the main road to find it, but well worth the stop if yo love a good beer with a friendly staff!

Great beer flavors for the adventurous drinker. Ghost pepper brown ale’s, bacon stouts, jasmine IPA’s, etc… Not what you’d expect hidden in the back corners of a business park. FYI: Your GPS might not get you right to the door.
I loved it. Every single beer on my first flight was one of the better beers I’ve ever had in Charlotte. Right up there with NoDa and Triple C. The citra hopped IPA was superb. Great flavor. The jasmine IPA was a little easier drinking and still great. Then I got really adventurous with 25 pepper brown ale. Well balanced with just a little heat in the back of your throat at the end. At that point I jumped all the way up to the 14% imperial stout. Easy drinking per ABV. As I pondered what pint to buy, I tasted a couple other things. The bacon flavored booze just wasn’t my thing. So, I ended up going back with the brown.
Sorry for the ramble, but figured the beer was the most important part. Its a quaint little tasting room with tv’s, free salty snacks, and plenty of beers on tap. The lighting is beautiful. Some made with growlers, others in old school ball jars. Burlap sacks lining the walls.
I highly recommend checking it out. D9 is right around the block and worth your time as well.

So we’re sitting there, eating lunch at a diner in… somewhere, and came up with the great idea to hit a brewery nearby before heading back to Charlotte. Nothing was too terribly close, but as my wife is scrolling through the options on her phone, she burst out into laughter all of a sudden. Then she showed me the entry for Ass Clown Brewing Company, and it was decided.
It’s not the easiest thing in the world to find, tucked away in a commercial business park with nothing but a small clown face to mark the location. The tap room is a bit smaller than most, but there’s a number of tables and about half a dozen seats at the bar.
Considering the size, there are a surprising number of beers on tap. The name of the game here is «unique». Sure, there are a handful of basics on the menu, but the real draw here is to try the wide variety of unusual brews. We ordered mainly flights, including:
— Simcoe IPA
— Bacon Rum Barrel Porter
— Cinnamon Applesauce Ale
— Pumpkin/​Rhubarb Ale
— Simcoe/​Citra Wet Hop IPA
— Ass Clown Stout
— Ghost Chili IPA
— Cinnamon Cocoa Nib Tart
— Pumpkin Vanilla Rum Barrel
— Raspberry Jalepeño Porter
— French Oaked Lemon IPA
— Orange Spice IPA
— Chocolate Sea Salt Stout
— Boiled Peanut Stout
The only two that I wouldn’t have again are the Ghost Chili IPA and the Raspberry Jalepeño Porter. But to be fair, I’m not a fan of pepper flavors in my beer. My wife loves that, and she loved both of these. I really liked everything else — the flavors are not overpowering like you might get with a Shipyard Pumpkinhead or similar. They’re much better than that, subtler but still noticeable.
Everyone working there seemed very friendly, and we really enjoyed our time at the bar. Picked up a couple of pint glasses for the house, because how could you not?
Someone needs to figure out how to get their beers down to FL, because we’re already missing it.

The fella and I visited Ass Clown on a Saturday afternoon. I was surprised at how non-​office-​like it felt even though it’s in a huge, industrial office park. They’ve definitely taken great care to make it a comfy place to hang out, although some of the chairs felt like they were from a 1950s dentist office. I did love the décor with all the bottles mounted to the wall, bottle lighting fixtures, etc. and I appreciated the free packs of pretzels and chips scattered around on the tables and bars.
The fella is a total beer geek, but I’m easing in with sours, so we figured this was a great place to go. He got a flight (four options), and I got one of the two sours they were offering that day — the Cocoa Nib Sea Salt Sour. My sour was pretty darn good… tasted like a chocolaty stout with a hint of sour. Unfortunately, the fella found most of his barely drinkable. He didn’t finish the IPA, and he got the other sour — a Butter Apple Pie — which he decently liked, but it turned my stomach a little because it was too creamy.
All in all, we both really liked the atmosphere, but all the beers seemed very… gimmicky? Although they had a surprising number on tap, they were jasmine, lemon, rhubarb, boiled peanut, peppermint ginger, etc. I’m all for adding in some interesting ingredients, but do it after you’ve nailed your basics. I support local, but if you can’t make a drinkable IPA, I’ll just stick with NoDa or Triple C.

I knew this place would be a little difficult to find as I am an out of towner but it wasn’t that hard. I arrived about 30 minutes before it opened and so I waited and waited. But after a few minutes the owner the brew master invited me to come in and hang out while he set some things up. I was really here for the pumpkin nitro beer he had as it was fall. It was great people came and went and I enjoyed my pumpkin beer hearing the story of how the brewery got its name Ass Clown. After a few pints it was time to go and I had my fill, I bought two growlers to go and got some free stickers. Really fun place to hang out and drink some crazy beer. Afterwards I stopped at Duckworth’s and Brawley’s beverage to make my journey complete. The short and sweet version of my day in NC !

It’s been about a year since my last visit to Ass Clown. Since then they expanded to a 32 tap system with at least 25 of their beers currently on tap.
The problem is that with 25 beers you think they would specialize in at least 3 but none of the ones I tasted really hit me as good. All seemed a bit flat and many were sour when you wouldn’t expect them to be. The best one out of the bunch was a carrot cake stout.
The interesting thing though is not only do they make their own beer but they also now make their own wine. This is the first brewery I’ve seen do this. Usually, it’s the other way around where wineries get into beer making. I did not taste the wines but they had 2 reds available.
The décor hasn’t changed much. Gone is the menu on the wall. Since there are so many beers now, they have a printed list. The staff was friendly and it’s nice to see that the owner has help this time and is not doing everything on his own.
I still appreciate what they do here but the beer on this visit just didn’t do anything for me.