The 10 best breweries in Charlotte

Charlotte was the largest city in America without a brewery until 2009. It now has more than 40 inside the city limits and dozens more in the surrounding towns, and its beers win at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival. That makes a top ten an argument, so here is ours, weighing the beer first and the room second. Hours are for the flagship taproom and are current as of this writing.

1. The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery

This is where Charlotte beer started, and the Yancey Road beer garden in Lower South End, eight acres by the brewery’s own account, is still the best outdoor drinking space in the region. Traditional German style lagers, a full restaurant, a climbing and play area for kids, fire pits in winter and a second brewery in Ballantyne. It is the one brewery every Charlottean has an opinion about, and most of the opinions are the same.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 4150 Yancey Rd, Charlotte, NC 28217

Why it made the list

• Charlotte’s first brewery, and still the one that defines the city’s beer.
• An eight acre beer garden with fire pits, a kids’ area and a full kitchen.
• German style lagers that have not chased a trend in 17 years.
• A four weekend Oktoberfest every fall and a second brewery in Ballantyne.

Directory listing: The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery

2. Resident Culture

The city’s most decorated IPAs, poured in three very different rooms: the original Plaza Midwood taproom on Central Avenue, a South End location on West Bland that turns into a club on Saturday nights, and a taproom in 7th Street Public Market in Uptown for pregames. Plaza Midwood is the one with the big open floor, the patio and the overflow lot down the street.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 3 to 10 p.m.; Friday 3 to 11 p.m.; Saturday noon to 11 p.m.; Sunday noon to 8 p.m.

Address: 2101 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• The most awarded IPAs in Charlotte.
• Three locations that cover every mood, from Sunday with kids to Saturday night.
• A wide tap list with Italian pilsners and lagers alongside the hops.
• A Plaza Midwood patio and plenty of parking.

Directory listing: Resident Culture

3. NoDa Brewing Company

Hop, Drop ‘n Roll, a World Beer Cup gold medal winner, and Jam Session put Charlotte beer on the national map. The North Tryon brewery has a big open taproom, a beer garden where kids can run, pizza, games, a strong non alcoholic lineup and free parking, and it hosts series like Symphony on Tap. The head brewer still wanders the room talking to first timers.

Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; closed Monday

Address: 2921 N. Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28206

Why it made the list

• Hop, Drop ‘n Roll, the beer that made Charlotte a brewing city.
• A beer garden built for families and dogs.
• Pizza, pretzels and events on a large site.
• Non alcoholic options that are not an afterthought.

Directory listing: NoDa Brewing Company

4. Club West Brewing

A two story taproom on the rail trail at The Line development on Hawkins Street, next to the original location, with a 6,000 square foot rooftop patio and bar looking at the skyline and an Airstream upstairs selling cans. Music, food, dogs on the patio and kids, all at once, and still the busiest brewery in South End. Pizzas and burgers from the kitchen, a coffee bar downstairs and a frozen espresso martini for the people who are not drinking beer.

Hours: See the brewery’s site for current taproom hours

Address: 2151 Hawkins St, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• The rooftop over the rail trail, one of the best views in South End.
• A full kitchen, a coffee bar and multiple bars across two floors.
• Mountain Candy IPA and a rotating list of hazies, lagers and fruited beers.
• Always something going on, and you will always run into someone you know.

Directory listing: Club West Brewing

5. Wooden Robot Brewery

A South End pioneer on South Tryon that never dropped in quality, with a second taproom on East 36th Street in NoDa. Wide open inside and out, a kitchen that makes everything in house, from shrimp tacos to hummus and fries, and a coffee bar that runs from 8 a.m. The city’s service industry drinks here, which is the best review a brewery can get, and the crowd turned out in force after the death of co-founder Dan Wade in 2024.

Hours: Monday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Address: 1440 S. Tryon St, Unit 110, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• A decade of consistent beer, from sours and saisons to IPAs.
• Coffee from 8 a.m., so it works as a morning stop too.
• An in house kitchen that is better than brewery food needs to be.
• Two locations, South End and NoDa.

Directory listing: Wooden Robot Brewery

6. Burial Beer Co.

Asheville’s most inventive brewery came to Plaza Midwood in 2022 with a two story taproom on Thomas Avenue: indoor and outdoor seating, a rooftop bar, a bottle shop and a Thai food truck out back. The beers are bold, quirky and complex, a mix of hazy and West Coast IPAs, crisp lagers, saisons and the barrel aged stouts and wild ales that built the reputation, and the taproom only releases go fast.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 1 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday noon to midnight; Sunday noon to 9 p.m.

Address: 1214 Thomas Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• Some of the best beer brewed in the Carolinas, now on tap in Charlotte.
• A rooftop bar and a bottle shop in the same building.
• Open until midnight on weekends, walkable to the rest of Plaza Midwood.
• A small free lot out front.

Directory listing: Burial Beer Co.

7. Petty Thieves Brewing Co.

A small brewhouse just north of Uptown on Dalton Avenue, known for experimentation and a rotation of new beers a production brewery could not keep up with. The taproom is designed like an old cigar lounge, filled with worn leather couches and thrifted treasures, with an indoor outdoor layout and a patio that has one of the better skyline views of any brewery in the city. The owner is often behind the bar. Our read: the most distinctive brewery in Charlotte.

Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday noon to 8 p.m.; closed Monday

Address: 413 Dalton Ave, Suite B, Charlotte, NC 28206

Why it made the list

• Nothing else in Charlotte looks or drinks like it.
• A constantly changing tap list from a small, experimental brewhouse.
• A skyline view from the patio.
• One of the best indoor outdoor spaces in the city, and a popular event venue.

Directory listing: Petty Thieves Brewing Co.

8. Salud Cerveceria

A two story, Dominican owned brewery, coffee shop and restaurant on North Davidson Street in NoDa. The brewery, taproom and coffee bar are upstairs; Salud Beer Shop, the bottle shop that started it all, is below. Eclectic and artsy, it does not feel like a brewery, especially not on Latin nights or on a weekday morning with the espresso machine running. Then you taste the house Mexican lager, or the Latin Lingo pizza, and understand why it is on every list.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight; Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 3306 N. Davidson St, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• A brewery, coffee shop, pizzeria and bottle shop in one building.
• Pizza that ranks with the best in Charlotte; the Latin Lingo is the order.
• A house Mexican lager and a michelada worth the trip on their own.
• Latin nights and a crowd that feels like NoDa used to.

Directory listing: Salud Cerveceria

9. Birdsong Brewing Company

The Optimist Park brewery on North Davidson Street known as the most sustainable in Charlotte, with a lineup of reliable classics and rotating seasonals. Rewind Lager, the Jalapeño Pale Ale and Higher Ground IPA are the staples, and the pale ale is one of the most checked in beers in the city. The taproom is easygoing, the regulars are loyal, the event space hosts everything from first birthdays to wedding receptions, and there are free peanuts with your beer.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 3 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Address: 1016 N. Davidson St, Charlotte, NC 28206

Why it made the list

• Charlotte’s most sustainable brewery.
• The Jalapeño Pale Ale, a city classic.
• Free peanuts and a dedicated parking lot.
• A neighborhood taproom with a strong event space.

Directory listing: Birdsong Brewing Company

10. Divine Barrel Brewing

The rustic, airy NoDa taproom on North Davidson Street that beer people rank higher than the general public does. Its beers consistently score near the top of Untappd, the tap screens are sorted by style, and the room keeps the attention on the glass. Trivia on Monday nights, food trucks most evenings, dogs welcome, and a beer literally named Beer Flavored Beer for people who do not want to think about it.

Hours: Monday to Wednesday 4 to 10 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday noon to 8 p.m.

Address: 3701 N. Davidson St, Suite 203, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• Consistently among the highest rated breweries in the city on Untappd.
• Clean lagers and pilsners alongside well made IPAs.
• An unfussy taproom with a large bar and a warehouse feel.
• Trivia, food trucks and a dog friendly room.

Directory listing: Divine Barrel Brewing

Just outside the ten

Two more are in the directory and could argue their way in: Hopfly in South End, one of the highest rated breweries on Untappd, and Heist, back in NoDa after a two year fire closure and with its Barrel Arts beer garden near Camp North End.