Dine + Wine
On Tap Beer and Burpees HOW ELEVEN LAKES BREWING AND CROSSFIT 926 HAVE FORMED AN UNLIKELY TEAM
by Aaron Garcia photography by Stephanie Funderburk/CrossFit 926
CrossFit 926 and Eleven Lakes Brewery offer a Taproom Workout every fourth Tuesday of the month. OCTOBER 2019
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LAKE NORMAN CURRENTS
f physical fitness were to have an archenemy, it would have to be beer. Sure, a toned stomach has plenty of other villains, but beer is the jiggly Joker to its Batman. It’s been that way since fermentation was first wielded. Beer even has its own type of belly. Can high fructose corn syrup or polyunsaturated fats say that? So why does the monthly collaboration between Crossfit 926 and Eleven Lakes Brewing, known as Taproom Workout, work? Everything in moderation The way Jacob Norris sees it, beer is the light at the end of the tunnel. Norris, along with Zach Brock, is the co-owner of CrossFit 926, a fitness program and gym in Huntersville. Every fourth Tuesday of the month, Norris and his team load up some of their equipment and head for the Eleven Lakes parking lot. They bring weights, boxes, whiteboards; everything they need to put on a workout. The roughly hour-long regimen, designed by CrossFit 926’s
Brandi Arey, was created as a one-size-fits-all workout; there are modifications to keep the seasoned and uninitiated sweating at the same pace. “Afterwards, you get an ice cold, free beer courtesy of (Eleven Lakes Brewing),” says Norris. But, wait — aren’t calories a bad thing? “We’re not saying it’s good for you, or it’s a healthy habit to maintain,” says Norris, “but it’s okay to reward yourself.”
Crafting community Teri Lippy, along with husband, Jack, and brewmaster Ray Hutchinson, opened Eleven Lakes Brewing Company two years ago. They first connected with Norris when CrossFit 926 hired the brewery for its grand opening party in October 2018. From there Eleven Lakes hosted the company’s Christmas party and then the group’s first organized social mixer. They even provided the beer when Norris married his wife, Michelle, in May.
Participants treat themselves to beer from Eleven Lakes Brewery after their workout.
“They’re the nicest group of kids I’ve ever met,” says Lippy. “I just immediately fell in love with them.” So, when the group was looking for a way to increase its community involvement, Norris says one of his coaches, Stephanie Funderburk, thought partnering with Lippy and Eleven Lakes seemed like a natural fit, even if beer and physical exertion don’t seem to be. “I told them a thousand percent yes,” says Lippy.
The event began in May and has grown each month; Norris estimates they draw 30 to 40 people at each workout. Everyone gets a free beer at the end, and, while many buy a second, that wasn’t the goal, says Lippy, who will host the next event on Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m. The fact that both companies are helping support another local business — that’s what makes the brewery and the fitness gym perfect, albeit unlikely, partners. “That’s what it’s all about,” says Lippy.