The Queen City has become one of the South's premier craft beer destinations, with breweries earning national recognition at competitions like the World Beer Cup. South End, NoDa, and Plaza Midwood are the places to start.
The full ranking
The Queen City has become one of the South's premier craft beer destinations, with breweries earning national recognition at competitions like the World Beer Cup. South End, NoDa, and Plaza Midwood are the places to start.
Divine Barrel Brewing (NoDa)
An award-winning NoDa brewery that specializes in barrel-aged wilds and sours, including the Carolina Cobbler Peach and the Ice Cream Paint Job, a vanilla-fermented weisse. The taproom draws serious sour beer enthusiasts from across the region.
Heist Brewery (NoDa)
Charlotte's original craft brewpub, open since 2012, known for small-batch Belgian-influenced beers, IPAs, and sours alongside a wood-fired tapas menu. The flagship Citraquench'l IPA has become one of the city's most recognized beers.
Resident Culture (Plaza Midwood)
A Plaza Midwood brewery in a revitalized warehouse, best known for hop-forward ales, mixed-culture sours, and nuanced lagers. The active on-site brewhouse means the taproom often fills with the smell of a fresh brew.
Burial Beer Co. (Plaza Midwood)
The Asheville cult favorite's Charlotte outpost brings its scythe-branded IPAs, crisp lagers, and barrel saisons to Plaza Midwood. Burial's ten best beers average 4.26 on BeerAdvocate, with an Untappd following over 1.5 million check-ins strong.
Salud Cerveceria (NoDa)
A Dominican-owned NoDa brewpub and bottle shop founded in 2012, specializing in farmhouse ales, sours, and Mexican lagers, with a wood-fired pizza menu and a monthly Noche Latina dance party. The Berlinerweisse is the house specialty.
NoDa Brewing Company (NoDa)
A Charlotte trailblazer since 2011 and the first Charlotte brewery to medal at the World Beer Cup, earning gold for Hop, Drop 'N Roll, a West Coast IPA that anchors a lineup of GABF-decorated beers. Three locations, including one at CLT airport.
Petty Thieves Brewing Co. (North End)
A Lower North End brewery housed in a speakeasy-style taproom with a secret room and sweeping views of the Charlotte skyline from the outdoor beer garden. Small-batch rotating beers run from crisp pilsners to bold stouts and experimental sours.
Birdsong Brewing Co. (Villa Heights)
A Charlotte original since 2010, beloved for approachable, unfiltered ales including the flagship Jalapeno Pale Ale, made with fresh peppers with the seeds removed. The Thursty Thursday small-batch releases keep regulars coming back.
Wooden Robot Brewery (South End)
An urban farmhouse brewery in South End drawing on Belgian and American craft traditions, with a rotating lineup of hoppy ales, lagers, and barrel-aged sours. The taproom includes a biergarten, a full kitchen, and a coffee bar.
Town Brewing Company (Enderly Park)
The first brewery in Charlotte's Wesley Heights neighborhood, set in a converted auto shop with 24 taps, a full kitchen, and an open view into the brewery. Collaborations with local roasters and rotating seasonal releases define the lineup.
Ranked across 9 sources: Charlotte Charm Best Breweries 2026; Axios Charlotte Best Breweries 2024 (unordered roundup); Hop Culture Best Breweries Charlotte (unordered roundup); Yelp · Ranked by Rating (May 2026); Google Reviews · Ranked by Rating (June 2026); TripAdvisor · Ranked by Rating (June 2026); Top 10 Beers Avg Rating · BeerAdvocate per-beer data (June 2026); Untappd · Ranked by Rating (June 2026); BeerAdvocate · Ranked by Brewery Rating (June 2026). Full scoring is on the Methodology tab above.
Related lists
Browse every Top 10 List, see the experts and aggregators behind them, or play the day’s puzzles.