Charlotte is the best beer city in the country. Here’s how you can prove it.

CharlotteFive staff
·3 min read

Charlotte is undoubtedly a beer city, and here’s our chance to prove it. Show your support for the craft brewing scene by voting for the Queen City as the best of the best in a new national contest.

Along with a nomination for Charlotte as the best beer city in America, USA Today’s panel of beer experts have selected the top 20 beer bars and the 20 best beer gardens in the country, and Charlotte spots are on those lists, too.

“We need your help crowning a winner,” the contest states, and well, we may be biased, but we think we’ve got solid contenders. Here are the local nominations on the list and how to vote for them between now and March 16:

Best Beer City

Charlotte’s entry for best beer city notes “the Queen City enjoys easy access to dozens of breweries serving award-winning local beers, including the likes of Birdsong Brewing Co., Free Range Brewing, the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery and Heist.” It also gives a nod to the Queen City Brewers Festival, which planned a craft beer fundraiser instead this year because of COVID-19.

Best Beer Bar

Salud Beer Shop, which took the Best Beer Bar top spot in 2019 and 2020, and has been nominated for a fourth time this year, is hoping for another win.

“We’re just happy to still keep it going. The nomination is incredible, but our main focus is still keeping our guests and employees safe. Last year, we won, and it was a weird feeling as we announced it in the second week of lockdown. I was kind of afraid to even say anything about it,” Salud co-owner Jason Glunt told CharlotteFive.

Best Beer Garden

Two of our city’s favorites have been nominated in the Best Beer Garden category.

Charlotte Beer Garden opened last February in South End, just weeks before COVID-19’s arrival in our community caused the first statewide shutdown. It boasts three levels with four bars and 436 taps — and a tree growing through the center of the space.

VBGB has been a staple at the AvidXchange Music Factory for about a decade. It’s the perfect place for a pre-concert brew, guaranteed to stay cold if you’re using the bar’s frosted rail. The beer garden closed temporarily during COVID-19 and is planning a March 2 reopening.

Charlotte Beer Garden has a rooftop bar with a view.
Charlotte Beer Garden has a rooftop bar with a view.

How to vote for Charlotte

  • Vote for Charlotte for best beer city.

  • Vote for Salud for best beer bar.

  • Vote for Charlotte Beer Garden for best beer garden.

  • Vote for VBGB for best beer garden.

  • You can vote once per day.

  • Voting ends on Tuesday, March 16 at noon ET.

  • Winners will be announced Friday, March 26.

VBGB Beer Hall and Garden is reopening March 2.
VBGB Beer Hall and Garden is reopening March 2.

Other North Carolina beer spots

Not to be left behind, Asheville, Boone and Raleigh have found themselves on the radar of USA Today’s beer experts, as well. Here are the categories where the city has nominations you can vote for:

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