Charlotte Observer/Carolina Nightlife are No. 1

"We are the brewmasters, my friends ..." (Sing to the tune of “We are the Champions.”)
I predicted the Charlotte Observer’s Eye/Carolina Nightlife team would spank the competition in the Blues, Brews & BBQ media beer contest. And, of course, we did. (Okay, we won by one vote, but a win is a win, baby!)
Big thanks to George Allen and the folks at Carolina Beer & Beverage for making our concept -- an Oktoberfest called Five o’Clock Now -- the best beer ever.

The losers were:
Second place: Matt Harris of 107.9 The Link and Todd Trimakas of Uptown Magazine; along with Jeri Thompson and Monty Ramseur of the Charlotte Post.
Third place: The beerman himself, Chris Herring of Creative Loafing, and Mark Perez of Charlotte Viewpoint Magazine.
Honorable mention (a.k.a. dead-last): Jeff Katz of 1110 WBT and Mark Pellin of Rhino Times.

Blues, Brews & BBQ hits its stride

Several hundred people stood in the parking lot across from Rock Bottom Brewery dancing to Delbert McClinton boogie woogie music on Saturday night. Rain kept many people away from the Blues, Brews & BBQ festival on Friday, but on Saturday the folks

showed up in full force.
At least 100,000 attended the two-day event, highlighted by a barbecue cook-off and performances by McClinton, Acoustic Syndicate and others. Despite the rain, Charlotte Center City Partners spokeswoman Moira Quinn said all of the acts performed on Friday.

The festival worked well in the new location on Tryon Street from Sixth to Ninth street. Along with professional and backyard grillers, the festival featured a couple of carnival rides and games, and plenty of carnival food, such as sausages and funnel cake.