The Best Breweries In North Carolina, According To Our Readers

And they aren’t all in Asheville either.

We travel for food. We travel for wine. And increasingly, we travel for beer—especially if it’s to North Carolina. Most Southerners are familiar with the oversized beer scene in the eclectic little mountain town of Asheville, but it’s not just Beer City, U.S.A. where you can guzzle a great pint. The entire state of North Carolina is brimming with craft breweries fermenting some of the best IPAs, sours, and ales anywhere. But breweries aren’t just about beer. Over the past couple of decades, breweries, brewpubs, and the businesses built around them have become part of the fabric of a city. They serve as communal living rooms, where everyone (dogs, kids, and babies included!) can come together. Like Napa’s famous wineries, Southern breweries are destinations in and of themselves. If you’re headed to the Tar Heel State and aren’t sure where to start, heed the advice of our readers, who named these as the 10 best breweries in North Carolina.

Highland Brewing Company

Asheville

Topping our list is the pioneer of Asheville’s prolific craft beer scene. Highland Brewing Company started in 1994 as a retirement hobby for former engineer Oscar Wong. Today, the legendary brewery, now run by Oscar’s daughter Leah Wong Ashburn, exists as part of a 40-acre hilltop campus that includes a taproom, performance stage, grassy meadow, volleyball courts, hiking trail, and disc golf course.

Wicked Weed Brewing

Asheville

Since opening its first taproom in 2012, the brewery has expanded with two more taprooms, as well as a fine dining restaurant called Cultura, all located in the city. And though the brand has flourished over the past decade, with several flagships distributed across the country and a high-profile buyout by Anheuser Busch in 2017, Wicked Weed will always be quintessential Asheville. Their Funkatorium location, which specializes in sour and funky fermented brews, is often a first stop for those looking to complete their Asheville brewery bucket list.

Appalachian Mountain Brewery

Boone

Beer and mountains go together like peanut butter and jelly. This Boone brewery uses its natural surroundings as inspiration for a collection of beers based around the Appalachian Mountains. The Long Leaf IPA pays homage to the state tree with a citrus piney aroma. The Boone Creek Blonde utilizes wildflower honey and is named for the creek that runs along the brewery’s campus. And the Honeydew Honeysuckle Wheat shows off two classic Southern summer flavors.

Blowing Rock Brewing Company

Blowing Rock

If you’re traveling for beer, you won’t have to go far to complete your vacation thanks to Blowing Rock Brewing Co. The artisan small-batch brewery in downtown Blowing Rock is also home to Blowing Rock Ale House & Inn, a restaurant and guest house with five bedrooms. Good food, great drinks, and a place to rest your head? What more could you ask for. We recommend the Strawberry Mango Kolsch for hot summer days or Meadow Mist Hazy IPA if you’re looking for something stronger.

Fullsteam Brewery

Durham

Fullsteam is 100% committed to the South. Their plow-to-pint philosophy means they forage and purchase local ingredients to create the most local product they can. Along with their mission to fuel the Southern beer economy, they’ve cranked out some pretty great brews like the Paycheck Pilsner, which won a gold medal in 2019’s U.S. Beer Open, and their Coffee is for Closers iced coffee porter, which is made with cold brew from Black and White Coffee Roasters.

Wooden Robot Brewery

Charlotte

With two locations in the Charlotte area, Wooden Robot is becoming a household name among Charlotteans. The original South End location features a brewery, taproom, biergarten, kitchen, and coffee bar. A newer location in NoDa includes a wood-aging program and rooftop patio. Inside both you’ll find a good mix of styles from farmhouse sours and Mexican-style lagers to IPAs and even Irish stouts.

Free Range Brewing

Charlotte

Made with love by a North Carolina family, every beer at Free Range averages 95% locally sourced ingredients. The Charlotte brewery is committed to fostering community, which is why they give spent grain to farmers for feed, serve as a compost site for neighbors, and partner with local businesses, artists, and chefs for special events. The brewery makes all the classics, but also gets creative with sippers like the Susie Was A Real Peach, a Carolina grisette, and the Jenny Bought a Farm, a classic saison.

Booneshine Brewing Co.

Boone

What started as a humble idea in 2012 blossomed into the High Country’s largest beer garden by 2020. Booneshine’s mission is to make Boone shine, and they do exactly that through their expansive operations that includes a steady stream of flagship and seasonal brews, a restaurant and food truck, and nightly events.

Boojum Brewing Company

Waynesville

Located 30 miles west of Asheville between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains, Waynesville is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream. After a long day of exploring all nature has to offer, locals and visitors flock to Boojum’s downtown taproom for a rotating lineup of brews that also includes ciders and ginger beers. The brewery’s secret downstairs bar serves up karaoke on Wednesdays and live music on Friday and Saturday nights.

Four Saints Brewing Company

Asheboro

Friends Joel McClosky and Andrew Deming blessed Asheboro with its first official brewery in 2015 by turning their passion for homebrewing into an operable business. The beer lovers each have their favorite style of beer, but aren’t afraid to get creative in the brew process. Past varieties have ranged from a Belgian Caramel Quadrupel to a Jalapeno Smoked Brown Ale.

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