Charlotte’s Award-Winning Craft Beers
Sip award-winning IPAs, lagers, sours and stouts in the Queen City.
by Alicia Valenski
Throughout the Charlotte region, there's no shortage of locales to sip a quality beer. In fact, the Queen City has become a destination for craft beer culture, boasting renowned breweries that have earned national recognition. Celebrate Charlotte's brewery scene by toasting with one of these award-winning craft beers.
Shrouded Reflections of Moonlight
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
This German-style schwarzbier, that's light in body and dark in color, features hints of dehydrated plum.
Embers & Periscopes
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
This 5.2% ABV rauchbier offers smoked pecan, vanilla and honey biscuit tasting notes.
Batch 0001
2023 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
Session pale ale with tasting notes of grapefruit, pine and dank. Made with Centennial hops.
New Slang
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Winner
2023 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
A fruity beer with a bit of a kick, providing a tasty and lively option for those who enjoy a flavorful and slightly bold brew.
Armored Cow Brewing Co.
Neighborhood: University City
Met at Midnight
2025 World Beer Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
This gluten-free sour is filled with blackberry puree and Saigon cinnamon for a delicious, celiac-safe taste.
Birdsong Brewing Company
Neighborhood: NoDa
Party Starter
2024 American Amber Lager, Gold Medal Winner
This 5.5% ABV lager features a hint of toffee and subtle floral notes that enhance its smooth, crisp and bready finish.
Key Lime Kolsch
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Honorable Mention
With a hint of graham cracker sweetness, this 4.3% ABV Key Lime Kolsch is pleasantly tart with a lingering finish and a bright ribbon of key lime flavor.
Jalapeño Pale Ale
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Honorable Mention
This 5.5% ABV brew starts with a Free Will Pale Ale, then adds in a hefty dose of fresh-picked jalapeño peppers with the seeds removed, so you can enjoy a subtle flavor and aroma without the heat.
Be Easy Berliner Weisse
2018 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Award Winner
This traditional German-style Berliner-style Weisse is refreshing, tart and easy-drinking at just 3.5% ABV.
Honey Pie Double IPA
2015 Best Seasonal Beer, BOB Awards
In this limited release brew, a solid malt foundation is complemented by a generous amount of locally harvested honey, with a unique blend of hops that deliver aromas of honeydew and grapefruit.
Lazy Bird Brown Ale
2015 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Award Winner
This smooth, sessionable American-style brown ale boasts a rich mahogany color and hints of coffee and chocolate. Take note of the mild citrus-hop flavor paired with pleasant aromas of roasted malt.
MexiCali Stout
2014 Best Beer for the Dark-Beer Love, BOB Awards
A strong coffee and cinnamon aroma complements this beer’s smooth chocolate taste, along with just a hint of chili spice.
Brewers at 4001 Yancy
Neighborhood: Lower South End
Victory Brewing Company Malibu Dream Beer
2024 CBC World Beer Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
Ideal for summer, this laid-back American pale ale features a modest 6% ABV and delivers a crisp, smooth finish with vibrant, refreshing notes of guava and pineapple.
Victory Brewing Company Slow Breeze
2022 World Beer Cup, Gold Award Winner
This refreshing Belgian-style beer offers hints of honey and lemon that provide a cool relief from the heat.
Victory Brewing Company Sunny Monkey
2022 World Beer Cup, Gold Award Winner
A fruited sour ale that offers a slightly tart and bright tropical flavor.
Cotton Blonde
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
An American-style cream ale that's light bodied, crisp golden and refreshing.
The Throne
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This imperial stout is brewed with toasted coconut, marshmallow fluff and raw sugar.
The Oath
2023 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
A robust imperial stout offering dominant aromas of black coffee and roasted malts, with flavors of dark chocolate, espresso, tiramisu and creamy vanilla.
Baller Beer
2021 and 2020 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
Named after the Cannon Ballers baseball club mascot, this beer is a crisp, smooth lager brewed with local malt and toasted rice and was created as a celebration of the spirit of the people of the Piedmont region.
Guava Lamp
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
This European sour ale clocks in at a light 5.5% ABV and is a blend of 50% sour ale aged for over a year in French and American Oak Barrels and 50% fresh sour ale with loads of fresh guava puree.
Sun Savvy Wheat
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This 5.1% ABV is brewed using both local and German malted wheat. This easy refreshing wheat beer packs in the flavor with citrus peels, toasted coriander and Nelson Sauvin hops.
#DADGAMESTRONG
2020 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
Clocking in at a light and easy drinking 5.4% ABV, it's the perfect amber lager to accompany you whilst grilling the perfect steak, mowing the lawn or telling stories about your feats on the old ball field.
Driveway Sesh
2020 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
Clocking in at an easy drinking 5.1% ABV, this beer is a little different and showcases the hot new hop variety Sabro, with Citra as a trusty sidekick and a cameo from El Dorado. It's a juicy and clear session IPA that makes you think you’re drinking an orange creamsicle.
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Divine Barrel Brewing
Neighborhood: NoDa
Largesse
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
This American wild ale is rested in wine barrels for 18 months to create notes of lemony tartness, subtle strawberry and honey undertones.
Time is Only Part of the Equation
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
A 12% ABV Black Barleywine created by fusing a 48-month-aged imperial stout and a 36-month-aged Barleywine.
Comfort in Darkness
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
After aging in Booker’s Bourbon barrels for 18 months, this imperial stout offers a harmonious blend of roasted coffee, chocolatey richness, oaky vanilla and warm bourbon heat.
Beer Flavored Beer
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Award Winner
If you need tasting notes on this American lager, please reference the beer name! A crisp, clean American lager that’s beer flavored.
The Big Lubelski
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Award Winner
2018 Great American Beer Festival, Silver Award Winner
This Polish-style Gratzer is brewed with 100% oak-smoked wheat malt and Polish Lubelski hops. It is mildly sweet and bready with a restrained bitterness and a clean oak smoke finish.
Apricot Habanero
2021 Great American Beer Festival, Bronze Medal Winner
This 5.2% ABV spicy wheat ale starts with the sweet taste of apricots and finishes with the assertive bite of habaneros — a perfect beer for some chips and salsa.
Broyhan's Bock
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This 7.5% ABV weizenbock offers hints of banana and licorice.
Heist Brewery
Neighborhood: NoDa
Brockwell
2016 World Beer Cup, Bronze Award Winner
Brockwell is a light bodied, yet flavorful English-style dark mild with subtle roasted-toffee flavors, accentuated by a light carbonation.
Hi-Wire Brewing
Neighborhood: South End
Churro 10W-40
2024 CBC World Beer Cup, Silver Medal Winner
Infused with chocolate, vanilla, lactose and cinnamon, this robust imperial stout delivers a flavor experience reminiscent of a decadent cinnamon sugar churro.
Japanese Rice Lager
2023 World Beer Cup, Silver Medal Winner
Brewed with 49% rice and fermented with Ben’s American Sake’s Koji and the brewery's signature flagship lager, this brew offers a dry finish with flavors of coconut and an umami-rich mouthfeel.
Leisure Time Lager
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
Living up to its name, this American craft lager offers a smooth, crisp and refreshingly clean taste, crafted with 100% barley for a relaxing brew.
Café de Olla 20W50
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Award Winner
This decadent imperial stout offers a delicate mix of blueberry, cinnamon, caramel and roasted chocolate flavors.
HopFly Brewing Co.
Neighborhood: South End
Beach Beer
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
Crisp, light and refreshing, this beer brewed with Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops was made for the sunshine.
Hoptown Brewing
Area: Mooresville
Vanilla Cream Java Dream
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
This 6.4% ABV porter is made with coffee and vanilla soft serve ice cream.
Sweet Wings
2024 CBC World Beer Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
2023 North Carolina Brewers, Gold Medal Winner
Crafted with locally sourced honey from Sweet Wings, along with North Carolina-grown wheat, this wheat ale brew offers a delightful blend of sweet and savory flavors.
Wedding Crasher
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
Magnum, Centennial, Citra and Mosaic hops come together to create a perfect union of flavors.
Oktoberfest
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
A true Märzen crowd-pleaser, this brew weaves delicate notes of caramel, toasty bread and warm honey into a smooth, easy-going finish.
Legion Brewing Company
Neighborhood: Plaza Midwood, SouthPark, West Charlotte
Penguin Pilsner
2020 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Award Winner
This flagship American lager features U.S.-grown Saaz hops lending it a mild, floral aroma.
Sláinte
2025 World Beer Cup, Silver Medal Winner
2024 Best of Craft Beer, Gold Medal Winner
2023 Great American Beer Festival, Gold Medal Winner
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Award Winner
2021 Best of Craft Beer, Bronze Award Winner
2018 World Beer Cup, Silver Award Winner
A medium-bodied stout with a creamy mouthfeel, deep maltiness and a clean, dry finish. Roasted barley contributes strong coffee notes and a touch of cocoa.
Lenny Boy Brewing Co.
Neighborhood: South End
Raspberry Kaleidoscope
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
A 6% ABV raspberry kettle sour.
Uno Mas
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This perfectly balanced light Mexican lager is crisp and dry with a touch of toast and caramel.
Peach Jam
2024 Best of Craft Beer, Bronze Medal Winner
A sour ale with notes of peaches and a hint of lactose for added sweetness and body.
Spaghetti Handshake
2023 World Beer Cup, Bronze Award Winner
A simple Italian pilsner with a touch of Hallertau Blanc and Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops for extra flavor.
Strawberry Jam
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
A perfect blend of tart and fruity freshness, this 7.7% sour features a punchy combination of strawberry and hibiscus.
10th Anniversary Sour
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Award Winner
A sour ale infused with raspberry and lime; the perfect drink for a 10-year celebration.
Czech Please
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Honorable Mention
A crisp, dry hopped Pilsner balanced with a clean, light flavor profile.
Bock Street Boys
2019 and 2015 Best of Craft Beer Awards, Bronze Award Winner
This brew, named as a nod to one of the ‘90s most popular boy bands, is a malty German doppelbock featuring bready and toasty flavors.
Dat Pale Ale
2019 Beer Army Awards, Gold Medal Winner
2016 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
This pale ale is hopped with Simcoe, Azaca and Citra hops and fermented with Lenny Boy’s house ale yeast for a crisp, clean ale with a refreshingly bitter finish.
Life In The South
2019 and 2015 Best of Craft Beer Awards, Bronze Award Winner
The addition of grits to this Southern staple lager defines the beer’s body and creates a crisp and easy to drink brew.
Tangerine Dreamz
2018 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
A Belgian witbier infused with tangerines, chamomile, lactose and coriander, this is a creamy, fruit forward ale with a citrus finish.
Hansa Bock
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Honorable Mention
A traditional bock infused with rich malty flavors and notes of nutty chocolate warmth.
Emmer
2020 Great American Beer Festival, Silver Medal Winner
2020 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
If you want a beer with substance and a refreshing taste, Emmer Wheat is your beverage of choice. As a base beer, it’s a smooth-tasting beverage with a little grit to it. It’s both rich in history and taste.
Euchre Golden Ale
2020 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This 3.8% ABV Euchre is a light, easy-drinking golden ale with a touch of liberty hops. It’s a crisp, refreshing beer that is perfect for an afternoon break with your canine companion or for a gathering of friends.
Stinnes Helles Lager
2020 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This Munich Helles lager is a beer of finesse, with delicate grainy malt notes and a whisper of the noble Mittelfrüh hops, that all together melds into a smooth and soft, yet subtly complex profile.
Lower Left Brewing Co.
Neighborhood: Lower South End
Heat Seeking Pickle
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This spicy pickle sour ale is a gose-based flavor explosion, infused with cucumber; Fresno, jalapeno and habanero peppers; organic dill and Himalayan salt.
Citranova
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
Aromas of mango, passion fruit, green melon and sweet citrus blend seamlessly for a smooth finish.
Edge of Precipice
2023, 2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This 5% ABV dry hopped pale ale is crisp and crushable, with notes of citrus, tropical fruits, candied orange and sweet pine.
Ultimo Hombre
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
With a base of pale malt, pilsner and flaked maize, complemented by Vienna and a touch of acidulated malt, this Mexican lager bursts with fresh lime zest for a crisp and flavorful punch.
Cemetery Gates
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
2021 Great American Beer Festival, Bronze Medal Winner
Black as midnight and smooth as silk, this Smoked Porter is brewed with applewood-smoked malt, chocolate, black and crystal malts with a touch of oats for a rich, decadent mouthfeel. The subtle smokiness isn’t overpowering and melds harmoniously with the robust porter base.
Three Hour Tour
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This blonde ale with toasted coconut, vanilla and a special blend of malts tastes like liquid coconut cream pie — a tropical escape in a glass.
Juicy McJuiceFace
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
Low bitterness and tons of flaked oats provides a silky smooth body to support an obscene amount of tropical American hops in this New England/hazy IPA.
You’re Turning Violet, Violet
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
A refreshing American pale wheat with a pronounced blueberry finish.
Cosmic Curiosities
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Award Winner
A fruited sour ale offering strong peach flavors.
Hops on One Leg
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Award Winner
Brewed for the “Move for Jenn Foundation,” this hazy IPA offers a slightly tart and citric flavor. Some of the proceeds of this beer go to supporting the foundation.
Queen Medb
2022 World Beer Cup, Silver Award Winner
Named after Queen Medb, the wolf queen, this Irish Red Ale offers strong notes of caramel and biscuit.
Highly Dramatic NEIPA
2020 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Award Winner
This New England-style IPA is an evolving brew currently on Version 14. Each version is made with a slightly different variety of hops including Wai-iti, Rakau, Lotus, Amarillo, Citra and Kohatu hops that make for a light-bodied, tart and dry IPA.
Holy Bananas
2020 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Award Winner
Now called Great Musa Hefeweizen, this 5.5 percent ABV is a great, refreshing beer with classic banana aroma and flavor from the Hefeweizen yeast strain used during fermentation.
Speakeasy
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Award Winner
A refreshing and crisp golden lager.
Springs Farm Strawberry Kolsch
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Award Winner
This Kolsch offers intense strawberry aromas and flavors.
Last Day at the Office
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Winner
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
Brewed with lager yeast fermented at ale temperatures, this beer offers malty flavors with a subtle bitterness and crisp finish.
Dawn of the Red
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
An Irish red ale with caramel notes and a malty, but light, finish.
Yarnburner
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
This English summer ale with notes of citrus and bready malt flavors was named in honor of the brewery's favorite knitter, Kathy.
Argos IPA
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
This fruity IPA is a blood orange version of the brewery's signature New England- style Glass Stratacaster, defining the Citra, Mosaic and Strata hops.
New Sarum Brewing
Area: Salisbury
The People’s Elbow
2022 World Beer Cup, Gold Award Winner
Brewed with coconut and lactose, this milkshake IPA offers herbal hop and tropical fruit flavors.
NoDa Brewing Company
Neighborhood: NoDa
Lil SLURP
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
This juicy IPA is unlike any produced by the brewery, showcasing a combination of unique hop and fruit additions.
Big SLURP
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
An imperial IPA hopped with Galaxy, Cascade, Ekuanot and Centennial hops, infused with tangerine and orange zest for a juicy, citrusy note.
Mango Mosaic
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
Sparkling nonalcoholic hop water infused with mango and Mosaic hops.
Hopsadaisical
2023 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
A smooth West Coast-style IPA with a balanced hop profile from Mosaic and Simcoe hops.
Lager Days
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
A crisp, easy-drinking lager with slight hints of hop flavor, this lager is the perfect balance of simple and complex.
Radio Haze
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
A medium-bodied New England-style IPA offers a bold, yet fruity flavor, that flows through a burst of citrusy goodness.
Hop Drop n’ Roll American IPA
2021 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
2014 World Beer Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This West Coast-style IPA hits you with a ton of juicy hop flavor that shines out from a substantial and complex malt backbone.
Coco Loco Robust Porter
2021 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
2012 Great American Beer Festival, Silver Medal Winner
Accented with toasted coconut and cocoa nibs, this dark and full-bodied beer is a year-round offering and one of the first three beers NoDa Brewing ever made commercially.
Gordgeous
2020 and 2018 Great American Beer Festival, Gold Medal Winner
Instead of using the usual pumpkin beer spices of cinnamon and nutmeg, NoDa Brewing uses real pumpkin puree, cardamom, cloves, allspice, brown sugar and ginger for a unique twist on this traditional fall beer style.
Maibock
2021 U.S. Open Beer Championship Bronze Medal Winner
2020 Great American Beer Festival, Silver Medal Winner
This Maibock is a pale lager with the full-flavored breadiness of a Bock, but with less caramel sweetness and roast notes, balanced to perfection with German hops.
CAVU
2021 Great American Beer Festival, Bronze Medal Winner
Cavu is a light-colored ale that presents itself with hints of tropical fruit and citrus from West Coast hops, then finishes clean and bright like a cool breeze on a summer day.
The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery
Neighborhood: Lower South End
French Saison
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
This 6% ABV farmhouse ale features notes of citrus, bubble gum, black pepper and white wine.
Mecktoberfest
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Award Winner
2015 European Beer Star, Gold Award Winner
2012 Great American Beer Festival, Silver Award Winner
A Märzen-style amber lager, Mecktoberfest is brewed in the traditional German Oktoberfest style with Munich malt and noble hops for a fresh, smooth beer-drinking experience.
Fat Boy Porter
2017 European Beer Star, Gold Award Winner
This 8.3% ABV Baltic porter is bold, full-bodied and dark, featuring flavors of raisins and prunes and a rich maltiness.
Hornet’s Nest Hefeweizen
2017 Great American Beer Festival, Bronze Award Winner
A classic German beer style, this traditionally brewed Hefeweizen is opaque but light and easy drinking, offering notes of banana and clove.
Petty Thieves Brewing Co.
Neighborhood: Uptown
All Is Not Lost
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
This saison is brewed with Ceylon tea and lemon peel before being refermented on a heap of Asian pear puree.
Mindweaver
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
This modern West Coast IPA is brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Motueka hops, as well as juicy grapefruit, for a pleasantly bitter taste.
Pilot Brewing
Neighborhood: Plaza Midwood
Island Hopper
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Winner
Part of Pilot Brewing's single-hop IPA series, this tropical IPA has 100% Citra hops with the zest of grapefruit, oranges, lemons and limes.
Huckleberry Cheesecake Gose
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Winner
This tart, creamy, gose-style ale is bursting with the tacky flavor of wild huckleberries.
Hazy Skies Hefeweizen
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
2021 Great American Beer Festival, Bronze Medal Winner
2020 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Award Winner
A pale, refreshing German wheat ale with a dry finish, fluffy mouthfeel and banana-clove character that is brewed with three different types of wheat malt.
Pub Ale
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
2023 World Beer Cup, Silver Award Winner
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Award Winner
2021 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
An English-style pale ale that is perfectly balanced between malt and hops for an easy drinking session ale.
Prickly Pearfection
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
A German wheat ale that refreshingly balances sweet and tart notes with subtle hints of coriander and sea salt.
Hang Session
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
This West Coast-style IPA bursts with citrusy orange and grapefruit flavors from Galaxy and Cashmere hops, finishing with a crisp, dry finish from lagering.
Sunset Wheat
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
A refreshing American wheat ale featuring a subtle hop presence and a clean finish that lets the raspberry and lime puree truly shine through.
Dunkles Bock
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Award Winner
With rich, toasty malt notes, this amber-colored German lager perfectly balances deep richness with crisp, toasted qualities.
Late Czech Out
2025 World Beer Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
2023 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Winner
A rich Czech lager with sweet, roasted notes and balanced by Noble hops for a clean and flavorful profile.
Trappist Single
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This dry, 6.4% ABV ale captivates with playful notes of banana and rich spices, delivering a refreshing taste balanced by the subtle aromas.
Xpression Session Blonde Ale
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
With a modest 4.9% ABV, this American golden ale delivers a smooth, easy-going flavor that provides a balanced pairing without overwhelming intensity.
Top Ten Breweries
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Rank 5th
Pilot Brewing ranked fifth overall in the United States, taking home four additional awards in 2022 including three gold.
Secret Santa Stout
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Award Winner
A full-body imperial stout brewed with chocolate malt and Ugandan cocoa.
Mimosa Gose
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Award Winner
A traditional gose infused with blood orange.
Harvest Saison
2020 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
A traditional Saison brewed with biscuit malt, roasted whole sugar pie pumpkins, brown sugar, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and ginger.
Jen's Grodziskie
2018 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Award Winner
This sessionable, light-bodied ale combines an oak-smoked flavor with a clean hop bitterness at just 3% ABV for a pleasant, easy-to-drink brew.
Jen's Smoked Rye Amber
2018 Beer Army Wars, Bronze Award Winner
This 5.5% ABV smoked, enhanced amber ale features a rye malt character balanced by the addition of smoke and hops.
Raelle's Brown Ale
2018 Beer Army Wars, Silver Award Winner
This 5.6% ABV brew is a malty, yet hoppy, dark brown ale boasting heavy chocolate notes.
Rachael's Old Ale
2018 Beer Army Wars, Bronze Award Winner
A 7.5% ale that is balanced, malty and warming, ideal for cold winter nights in front of a roaring fireplace.
Rachael's Trappist Single
2018 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Award Winner
This Single is pale, bitter and well carbonated, with a fruity-spicy Monastery Ale yeast character, a spicy-floral hop profile and a grainy-sweet malt palate.
Primal Brewery
Area: Huntersville, Belmont
Gentle Giant
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
This easy-drinking, hazy golden brew offers a crisp malt base with a hint of bitter citrus for a refreshing mouth feel.
Hops Mirage
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
This nonalcoholic IPA offers a citrus blend of hops.
Wheat Without Worry
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
This nonalcoholic citrus wheat ale has citrusy lemon notes that brighten up the wheat base.
Corruption by Proxy
2025 Best of Craft Beer Awards, Silver Medal Winner
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
A true rebel, this imperial stout showcases milk chocolate and almond flavors that take center stage before smoothly transitioning into a toasty finish.
POG Grenade
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
A German-style gose, brewed with guava and highlighted by passionfruit and orange, delivering vibrant citrus notes and a crisp, refreshing finish.
Protagonist Beer
Neighborhood: Lower South End
Kal-El
2023 Great American Beer Festival, Gold Medal Winner
This farmhouse ale saison offers light fruitiness and a creamy finish.
Sir Marcus- Southend Brewery
2021 Great American Beer Festival, Silver Medal Winner
This 4.1% ABV English ale is a light, fruity and toasty ale brewed using the parti-gyle method to celebrate English pub ales.
Air is Beautiful
2021 Great American Beer Festival, Gold Medal Winner
This 5.6% ABV Brett saison is rested on macerated Florida kumquats with a secondary fermentation of Brettanomyces bruxellensis yeast.
Queen Charlotte
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This royal brew is a traditional Pilsner base hopped in the kettle with Zuper Saazer and Montueka, giving it a crisp, clean and elegant taste — just like the Queen City.
Resident Culture Brewing
Neighborhood: South End
Festbier
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
Resident Culture's annual Oktoberfest-style festbier is brewed entirely with Ursprung Festmalt from Germany.
BBA Twice as Lonely Macadamia Nuts + Vanilla
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
A blend of 12-28 month-old bourbon barrel aged imperial stout.
Pulp Prescription- NEIPA
2020 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Award Winner
This hazy IPA is double dry hopped with Citra, Lemondrop and Motueka hops that produce a taste of pulpy orange juice and tropical fruit. This hazy IPA has over six pounds of hops per barrel.
Surette Saison
2020 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Award Winner
This is a barrel-aged sour beer.
Sugar Creek Brewing
Neighborhood: Lower South End
Quad
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
2023 World Beer Cup, Gold Award Winner
A delicious mix of brown sugar, caramel, fig and sweet Rainier cherries creates a delightful flavor. It's topped with a bubbly, creamy foam that adds a refreshing touch to the beer.
Belgian Dubbel
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Winner
2021 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Winner
2018 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
2018 Best of Craft Beer Awards, Gold Medal Winner
2018 Beer Army Wars, Gold Medal Winner
2017 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Award Winner
2015 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Winner
Brewed in traditional Belgian style, this Dubbel boasts flavors of plum, raisin, clove, cherry, brown sugar and caramel, with a warm boozy finish.
The Big O
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
2024 Best of Craft Beer, Bronze Medal Winner
A playful dance of raspberry and grapefruit shines through this West Coast-style IPA, melding floral and tropical aromas with subtle hints of baked bread.
Hi-Creek Raspberry Lime Sour
2024 Best of Craft Beer, Silver Medal Winner
A perfect refreshment for hot days, this Raspberry Lime sour evokes nostalgic flavors reminiscent of Hi-C punch.
Spacewalker
2024 Best of Craft Beer, Bronze Medal Winner
A rich Belgian-style golden ale highlighted by distinctive Belgian spice, harmonizing with tropical undertones and delicate floral hop aromas.
Path 2 Enlightenment
2023 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
This American IPA, brewed with Mosaic and Simcoe hops, delivers a harmonious mix of piney and citrusy notes for a truly satisfying taste.
Sugar Creek Pilsner
2020 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
This lager is exceptionally delicate, brewed using a traditional decoction mash with a single-ingredient grist of the finest Pilsner malt available. The result is a gleaming, golden-colored beer with a mellow yet full-flavored malt body.
Mocha Java Porter
2020 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
If you are a coffee and chocolate lover, you will enjoy this exceptionally smooth and drinkable beer with some mild dark fruit flavors, hints of roasted malt nuttiness, and a bittersweet dark chocolate coffee finish.
Sugar Creek White Ale
2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Award Winner
A refreshing, easy-drinking beer with hints of citrus fruit and spices.
Sugar Creek Raspberry White Ale
2019 Best of Craft Beer, Silver Medal Winner
2018 Beer Army Beer Wars, Bronze Medal Winner
2017 Best of Craft Beer, Silver Medal Winner
2016 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
2015 Alltech Cup, Bronze Award Winner
The first thing you’ll notice about this beer is its vibrant pink color. The second thing you’ll notice is that it’s bursting with flavors of raspberry, which makes sense since it’s made using over 500 pounds of fresh raspberries.
Sugar Creek Pale Ale
2018 Beer Army Wars, Gold Medal Winner
2016 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
2015 Alltech Cup, Silver Award Winner
Hoppy with subtle citrus and pine flavors, this drinkable pale ale is made using a unique combination of malts for a medium-bodied ale with a dry finish.
Biere De Garde
2017 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
2016 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
2016 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
2016 Best of Craft Beer, Gold Medal Winner
This malt-forward Belgian-style beer offers hints of caramel and candied apple in addition to a floral aroma from the French Strisselspalt hops.
Town Brewing Co.
Neighborhood: Wesley Heights
Imperial Stout
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
This double stout is sure to warm you up on a winter's day.
Order of the Sun
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
A hazy IPA-style milkshake with undertones of coconut and lactose for a creamy, tropical twist.
Rathaus Festbier
2023 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
Lightly toasted bread and accents of honey nut cereal characterize this crisp German-style Festbier lager.
Barrel Aged Varsity
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This English barleywine is aged in whiskey barrels and has an ABV of 10.9%.
Holographic Dreamscape
2020 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
A Vienna-style lager, this beer is characterized by a malty aroma and slight malt sweetness.
Cruise to Nowhere
2019 and 2020 Great American Beer Festival, Gold Medal Winner
A contemporary gose, this session sour ale is brewed with mango, passion fruit, guava, blood orange and hibiscus.
Emotional Support Badger
2019 Beer Army Beer Wars, Gold Medal Winner
2018 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
A flavorful amber ale brewed with English malt for notes of toasted bread and caramel, balanced by English Challenger hops as well as Cascade hops for an earthy aroma.
Triple C Brewing Company
Neighborhood: Lower South End
Planet Pulp
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Gold Medal Winner
A tropical IPA brewed with Mosaic, Citra and El Dorado hops to create a smooth bitterness with pineapple, peach and ripe citrus tasting notes.
Schwarzbier
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Gold Medal Winner
This dark, German-style lager has smooth malt flavors and a balanced roast character.
Uncle John's
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Silver Medal Winner
This white ale is brewed with coriander and fresh orange zest for a dry finish.
Zest A Peel
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Bronze Medal Winner
A crisp, clean golden ale with a citrus finish from orange zest, creating an effervescent aroma.
Babymaker
2020 Great American Beer Festival, Silver Medal Winner
This IPA contains massive amounts of Amarillo, Azacca, Cascade and Glacier hops in three different dry hop additions that provide intense fruitiness and spicy grapefruit hop aromas and flavors with low perceived bitterness.
3C IPA
2015 Great American Beer Festival, Bronze Medal Winner
The name “3C” comes from the three Cs of hops this IPA is brewed with: Citra, Centennial and Chinook. Expect aromas of citrus and passionfruit and, of course, a beer jam-packed with hoppy flavor.
Trolley Barn Fermentory
Neighborhood: South End
Iron Horse
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Silver Medal Winner
This California common beer is brewed with lager years but fermented at ale temperatures.
Aislinn’s Amber
2021 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
This 6% ABV amber was created with an elevated hop profile. The blend of Cascade, Citra and Nugget hops balance out the rich, sweet malts to provide a peppy finish to this smooth, toasty ale.
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Vaulted Oak Brewing
Neighborhood: East Charlotte
Rules of Acquisition
2025 North Carolina Brewers Cup, Bronze Medal Winner
A tart and refreshing sour IPA with bursts of apricot, lime and melon.
Réserve Dorée de Pêche '18
2018 World Beer Cup, Gold Award Winner
This sour golden ale was aged in French oak chardonnay barrels for three years before being refermented on local Carolina peaches. You’ll notice a unique balance of stone fruit and funky characteristics to complement the rich, fresh fruit notes.
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Article originally written by Alicia Valenski. Contributions by Bria Perez. Updates by Arielle Patterson in August 2025.
Alicia Valenski
Alicia Valenski (formerly Thomas) is a writer and editor based in Charlotte, as well as the co-founder of Work For Your Beer. If she's not behind her computer screen, she's likely doing yoga or drinking a beer (or both). Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @aliciavalenski.
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The Ultimate List of Craft Beer in Charlotte
