Charlotte's Best Beer Bars & Bottle Shops

A three-level South End beer hall with a rooftop, built around one of the largest draft lists anywhere: a first floor of local taps, a second floor of national and international beer, and a shorter rooftop list.

The Charlotte taphouse chain's Uptown location on North Tryon, with a long craft draft list upstairs and The Cellar downstairs, a small bar pouring harder-to-find drafts and aged bottles.

Duckworth's SouthPark outpost on Piedmont Row: a full-menu restaurant and bar with a draft list of 70-plus, a good share of it from Charlotte-area breweries.

Duckworth's in the Rea Farms development in south Charlotte, a large restaurant with a big patio and a draft list that leans on Charlotte and North Carolina breweries.

The Huntersville Duckworth's off I-77 at NorthCross had the chain's longest draft list at research time, with plenty of Lake Norman breweries alongside the Charlotte ones.

The Birkdale Village branch of the Charlotte-founded wood-fired pizza chain, a full-service restaurant whose craft bar had close to 30 drafts at research time, most of them from Charlotte and Lake Norman breweries.

Brixx in the Blakeney shopping center on Rea Road, a pizza restaurant with a craft bar pouring a little over 20 drafts, more than half of them from Charlotte-area breweries at research time.

Brixx's Dilworth location on Scott Avenue near Freedom Park, with a draft list of about two dozen that mixes Charlotte breweries with national craft, ciders and a few mainstream lagers.

The Fairview Road Brixx in the Foxcroft area east of SouthPark, a full-service pizza restaurant with about two dozen drafts, roughly half of them from Charlotte breweries at research time.

A South End tasting room and growler shop that pairs a wall of draft beer with shelves of bottles and cans, plus cheese boards and small plates.

A South End wine-and-beer shop with a U-shaped bar: a short rotating draft list up front and coolers of craft beer and natural wine you can buy to go or open on site.

The South End branch of the deli-meets-bottle-shop, with a bar of mostly local taps, coolers of beer to go and a patio.

The original Common Market: part corner store, part sandwich deli, with a big beer and wine selection to go and a small bar whose taps lean toward out-of-state and import craft.

A living-room-style bottle shop just off Central Avenue, with cabinets of beer sorted by style, a dozen-odd taps and couches to drink them on.

A combined flower shop and bottle shop in Charlotte's Belmont neighborhood, with a draft list, cold cans you can open on site and picnic tables outside.

A North Davidson craft beer shop and bar near NoDa with a coffee counter, refrigerated shelves of cans and bottles, and a short draft list that mixes local beer with rarer out-of-state pours.

Common Market's Monroe Road location: deli, market shelves of craft beer and a tap list that was mostly Carolina breweries at research time.

A Park Road beer store dating to 2003 that has turned into more of a tasting room, with 20-plus taps, outdoor picnic tables and a smaller cooler of bottles to go.

Downtown Matthews' beer bar and bottle shop, now in the Ames Street building, with close to 30 taps heavy on Charlotte breweries (including house collaborations), growler fills and a long to-go list.

A taproom and bottle shop on Pineville's Main Street with a draft list picked by a Certified Cicerone and hundreds of bottles and cans to go.

A downtown Huntersville bottle shop focused on North Carolina beer, with 14 taps and indoor and outdoor seating.

A downtown Cornelius bottle shop and bar with about 15 taps, multi-pack discounts on the shelves, board and video games, and covered picnic tables out front.

A family-friendly pour-it-yourself taproom in south Charlotte: tap a wristband, pay by the ounce from a wall of beer, wine and cocktails, and eat from a covered food-truck bay.