Brewing Philosophy
Celebrating people, place, and time with simply elegant beers.
Beer is the everyman's drink and beer is better with people. That’s why our beers are named after Protagonists who inspired them. We respect our planet and our great state by using ingredients that are sustainably farmed or North Carolina native. Our beers are odes to classic styles which call out, "Slow down, you're here."
Founding Story
Mike and the Ryans grew up best friends in Cincinnati. When lives and jobs scattered them across the country, beer kept them close. They brewed, bottled and mailed beers across the country. They would travel across the country, to sit in garages and brew together. During these sessions, after many beers, the vision for Protagonist Beer began to form.
Protagonist was created to harness the social power of beer and transform it into a real public good. It’s brought friends back together to support their new Charlotte community.
At Protagonist, we love beer... a lot. We love people even more.
That’s why we pledged 1%: We promise to give 1% of our time, product and profits to local nonprofits.
Time - Every team member is encouraged to spend 1% of their scheduled work time volunteering for a nonprofit organization that they care about. Protagonist pays employees for this volunteer time off.
Profit - Protagonist donates a minimum of 1% of annual profits to local nonprofits.
Product - 1% of private event bookings are given free of charge to nonprofits and other community-building organizations.
Our hope is that we can make a difference in the lives of those in our community.
Learn more at pledge1percent.org.