Which beer styles are rising and falling in Charlotte
As of October 13, 2026, IPA is the most common beer style on tap in Charlotte, NC — 22.9% of the 442 beers on tap at the 25 Charlotte breweries that publish prices, followed by Lager (9.5%) and Sour (8.4%). all styles on tap · pint price index
Share of Charlotte taps by style, over time
Each point is one snapshot: the percentage of distinct beers on tap that belong to each style. This view counts beers with a published price at the 25 breweries that post prices, which gives a consistent series back to January 30, 2026. Tap a style to hide or show it.
Biggest movers since July 14, 2026
Change in share, in percentage points, between Jul 14 and Oct 13. Only styles with at least 6 beers on tap at either end count, so one new keg can't top the list.
Style families: the big picture
Individual styles grouped into families. Pilsners, Märzens and Kölsch count as lagers, pale ales count with IPAs, and so on.
Every style on tap, ranked by share
Latest snapshot (October 13, 2026). Changes are in percentage points. Style names link to the beers pouring in that style right now. A swing of several points between two neighboring snapshots usually means one taproom's menu was missing that week, not a real shift. Read the line, not a single point.
What moves Charlotte's style mix
IPAs are the baseline. Hazy, West Coast and double IPAs together have made up 21.3%–24.3% of everything on tap across 15 snapshots, the largest style every time. That is about 2.4× the share of Lager, the next-largest style. With that much of the tap wall, even a one-point move in IPA's share means a lot of kegs. See every IPA on tap.
The seasons rotate the rest. Märzens and festbiers climb from late August through October (Oktoberfest in Charlotte), pumpkin beers show up for fall (Halloween), stouts and porters gain ground in the cold months (winter & holiday beer), and lighter lagers, wheat beers and sours carry the summer.
The non-beer shelf is growing. Hard seltzer and cider are 13.3% of what breweries pour, up from 10.6% on January 30, 2026. Many taprooms keep one or two on for guests who don't drink beer, and non-alcoholic options have followed the same path.
New releases move the needle fastest. A style's share only changes when breweries tap something new or kick a keg, so the new beers list usually shows a trend before this chart does.
Beer style trends: FAQ
What is the most popular beer style in Charlotte?
IPA is the most-poured style in Charlotte: as of October 13, 2026 it is 22.9% of the 442 beers on tap at the 25 Charlotte breweries that publish prices (101 beers), ahead of Lager (9.5%) and Sour (8.4%).
Are IPAs getting more or less popular in Charlotte?
IPA's share of Charlotte taps is holding steady: 22.9% on October 13, 2026 versus 22.0% on January 30, 2026, and it has stayed between 21.3% and 24.3% across all 15 snapshots. IPA has been the single largest style at every snapshot we have recorded.
How many Charlotte beers on tap are lagers?
Lager-family beers — lagers, pilsners, Märzens, festbiers, Kölsch and bocks — are 20.6% of the 442 beers on tap at the 25 Charlotte breweries that publish prices as of October 13, 2026, up 0.7 points from 19.9% on January 30, 2026.
How much of what Charlotte breweries pour isn't beer?
Ciders, hard seltzers and other non-beer drinks are 13.3% of what's on tap as of October 13, 2026, compared with 10.6% on January 30, 2026. Hard seltzer alone is 4.5%.
When do Oktoberfest beers show up on Charlotte taps?
Märzens and festbiers start appearing in late August and peak from mid-September into October. Together they are 4.1% of Charlotte taps as of October 13, 2026, up from a low of 0.0% earlier in the year.
How is the beer style share calculated?
This view uses the price snapshots HopCLT has recorded since January 30, 2026: every beer with a published price at the time, at the 25 breweries that publish prices. Each style's share is its number of distinct beers divided by the total. Breweries without online prices aren't in this sample, which runs a little heavy on cider and seltzer, so read it for direction more than for exact levels.
How often is this updated?
A new snapshot is recorded each time HopCLT refreshes tap lists and prices, usually weekly. This page has 15 snapshots from January 30, 2026 to October 13, 2026.
Methodology
HopCLT records a snapshot of Charlotte-area tap lists each time it refreshes menus, usually weekly. For each snapshot, every beer is assigned its current style (the same style shown on its style page). Each style's share is then its number of distinct beers divided by all beers with a known style. A beer pouring at three taprooms counts once. Beers with no recorded style (under 2%) and closed breweries are excluded. Styles are re-applied to the whole history whenever a beer's style is corrected, so a relabel never shows up as a fake trend.
Two views. Priced taps is rebuilt from the price snapshots behind the pint price index and goes back to January 30, 2026. It covers only breweries that publish prices (25 in the latest snapshot), and it over-represents cider and seltzer, so use it for direction rather than exact levels. All taps counts every tracked tap, priced or not, starting October 4, 2026. The two series are never spliced together, because joining them would put a jump in the line that never happened.