After a fatal accident at Charlotte’s Wooden Robot on February 20, brewers in North Carolina and beyond were sharing condolences and information about how to help the family and colleagues of cofounder Dan Wade.
Wade died on February 20 after an accident at Wooden Robot’s brewery on Charlotte’s South End. Paramedics confirmed to local news media that they had responded to a fall at the brewery, and they pronounced one person dead at the scene. The brewery said it would close both its taprooms temporarily.
Wade and his wife Samantha Fulton, married in September 2023, had become parents only recently, with a son born on January 1 this year. Friends and colleagues launched a Gofundme drive for contributions to support the family. Breweries quickly helped to share the details via social media; the drive began with a $50,000 goal and had raised more than $71,000 within nine hours.
Charlotte’s Resident Culture Brewing also established a staff bereavement fund drive via Gofundme to support Wooden Robot’s employees—including rent, groceries, and other needs—until the taprooms can reopen.
Wade and cofounder Josh Patton opened Wooden Robot in 2015, brewing a variety of styles but nurturing a focus on farmhouse-inspired beers such as the highly regarded, foeder-aged BotBier.