This article regards brewing in North Carolina.
History The earliest documented commercial brewery in North Carolina was in the Moravian town of Bethabara in Wachovia. According to the Moravian Diaries, a log house was constructed for a distillery and brewery in 1756. The May 1764 brewery and distillery inventory listed 270 gallons of brandy, 40 gallons of rye whisky, and 90 gallons of beer on hand. The Bethabara brewery and distillery continued operating until the last brewer moved away in 1814. The Bethabara brewery operated longer than the Single Brother's Brewery in nearby Salem, NC.
In 1985, Uli Bennewitz pushed a change in the North Carolina law books. This change made it legal for a brewpub to exist under state laws. The next year (1986) Bennewitz opened NC's first brewpub, Weeping Radish Bavarian Restaurant.
On August 13, 2005, House Bill 392 from the NC General Assembly was signed by then-Governor Mike Easley. HB 392 (commonly known as the "Pop The Cap" Bill) defined a "malt beverage" as any "beer, lager, malt liquor, ale, porter, and any other brewed or fermented beverage" that contained between .5% and 15% alcohol by volume. This represented an increase from the previous limit of 6%. As of 2021, there were more than 340 active breweries in North Carolina.
Western North Carolina breweries are transforming into gathering places for the community by offering a variety of entertainment, expanding amenities like playgrounds and dog parks, and hosting local social groups. This approach help brands build deeper local connections.
List of breweries
NameCityCountyOpenedReferences 7 Sounds Brewing CompanyElizabeth CityPasquotank20221718 Brewing Ocracoke OcracokeHyde201726 Acres Brewing CompanyConcordCabarrus2019Angry Troll Brewing ElkinYadkin2016Appalachian Mountain BreweryBoone Mills River WataugaHenderson 2013 2023 Asheville Brewing CompanyAsheville Buncombe1998 2006 2012 Ass Clown Brewing CorneliusMecklenburg2011https://www.assclownbrewing.com/Bearded Bee Brewing CompanyWendellWake2020Beech Mountain Brewing CompanyBeech MountainAvery2014Bill's Brewing CompanyWilmingtonNew Hanover2016 2024 Birdsong Brewing CompanyCharlotteMecklenburg2011Blackbird BreweryWake ForestWake2022Black Creek BreweryRoxboroPerson2017Blowing Rock Brewing CompanyBlowing Rock Hickory WataugaCatawba2005 2013 2018 Bond Brothers Beer CompanyCary Wake2016 2021 Boojum Brewing CompanyWaynesvilleHaywood2014Booneshine Brewing CompanyBooneWatauga2012Bright Penny Brewing Mebane Rocky Mount AlamanceNash2017 2021 2024 Brown Truck Brewery High PointGuilford2016Bryson City BrewingBryson CitySwain2023Burial Beer Company Asheville RaleighCharlotteBuncombeWakeMecklenburg2013 2019 2022 Carolina BreweryChapel Hill Pittsboro OrangeChatham1995 Carolina Brewing CompanyHolly Springs (original) Wendell (2nd location)Wake1995Club West BrewingCharlotteMecklenburg2013Floating Goat BrewingLexingtonDavidson2026Goose & Monkey BrewhouseLexingtonDavidson2020Grove Cartel Brewing Company China GroveRowan2021Gizmo Brew WorksRaleigh Chapel Hill Durham Wake OrangeDurham20132019 2022 Green Man BreweryAshevilleBuncombe1997Gypsy Road Brewing Company KernersvilleForsyth2018High-Wire Brewing Asheville Durham WilmingtonCharlotteBuncombeDurham New HanoverMecklenburg2013 2015 2018 2020 2022 Lost Province Brewing Co.BooneWatauga2014Lynwood Brewing ConcernRaleighWake2013 2015 Mad Mole Brewing WilmingtonNew Hanover2018Mother Earth BrewingKinstonLenoir2008Natty Greene's Brewing CompanyGreensboroGuilford2004New Belgium Brewing CompanyAshevilleBuncombe2016New Sarum Brewing Company SalisburyRowan2016NoDa Brewing CompanyCharlotte Mecklenburg2011 2015 2018 Petty Thieves Brewing Co.CharlotteMecklenburg2020Pinehurst Brewing Co.PinehurstMoore2018Ponysaurus BrewingDurham Wilmington Raleigh DurhamNew HanoverWake2013 2022 2023 Railhouse BreweryAberdeenMoore2010Railhouse Brewery-Penn StationSouthern PinesMoore2026Red Buffalo Brewing Company StatesvilleIredell2018Red Oak BreweryWhitsettGuilford1991Sierra Nevada Brewing CompanyMills RiverHenderson2012Top of the Hill Restaurant & BreweryChapel HillOrange1996Town Brewing CompanyCharlotteMecklenburg2018Weeping Radish Farm Brewery GrandyCurrituck1986Wicked Weed BrewingAsheville Candler Buncombe2012 2019 Wiseman Brewing Winston-SalemForsyth2017Wrightsville Beach Brewery WilmingtonNew Hanover2018
List of closed breweries NameCityCountyOpenedClosed NotesReferences Avdet Brewing Company Elizabeth CityPasquotank20222025Belleau Wood Brewing CompanyLillingtonHarnett2020Bright Light Brewing CompanyFayettevilleCumberland20172024Cotton House Craft BrewersCaryWake20182025Duck-Rabbit Craft BreweryFarmvillePitt20042025Edward Teach Brewing WilmingtonNew Hanover20172026Hatchet Brewing CompanySouthern Pines Moore20192025Havoc Brewing CompanyPittsboroChatham20232025Kernersville Brewing CompanyKernersvilleForsyth20182024Acquired by Little Brother BrewingNantahala Brewing CompanyBryson CitySwain20092023 Sold and rebranded as Bryson City Brewing.Paddled South Brewing Company High PointGuilford20212025Red Moose Brewing CompanyPittsboroChatham20212025Vicious Fishes BreweryAngier Fuquay-Varina Apex Cary HarnettWake2023 2025 2026
See also Beer in the United States List of breweries in the United States List of microbreweries
References
External links North Carolina breweries directory NC Beer History Timeline