Charlotte has the best beer bar in the country
.jpeg "Jason and Dairelyn Glunt of Salud Beer Shop. For the fourth year in a row, Salud was nominated for the country’s best beer bar.")
Charlotte is undoubtedly a beer city, and now we have proof.
Along with a nomination for Charlotte as the best beer city in America, USA Today’s panel of beer experts selected the top 20 beer bars and the 20 best beer gardens in the country. Readers were invited to vote, then each category was narrowed down to one winner.
On Friday, March 26, our very own Salud Beer Shop won best beer bar in the country.
Best Beer Bar
Salud Beer Shop, which took the Best Beer Bar top spot in 2019 and 2020, was nominated for a fourth time this year.
“We are humbled by the love of our guests and community,” Salud co-owner Jason Glunt told CharlotteFive on Friday afternoon. “Can’t wait until normal times return so we can properly celebrate.”
Nominations, but no top wins for Best Beer City and Best Beer Garden
Charlotte’s entry for best beer city noted “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 gave a nod to the Queen City Brewers Festival, which planned a craft beer fundraiser instead this year because of COVID-19.
While we think Charlotte definitely is the best beer city, the top award went to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Charlotte ranked number 10. Here are the winners:
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Asheville, North Carolina
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Denver, Colorado
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Charlotte, North Carolina
Nominated in the Best Beer Garden category was Charlotte Beer Garden, which 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, also nominated, 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 has now reopened.
The top award went to the Raleigh Beer Garden in that pesky city to the north of us. We’ll get ‘em next year.
Charlotte’s beer gardens came in at numbers 3 and 7. Here’s the entire list:
- The Raleigh Beer Garden - Raleigh, North Carolina
- New Realm Brewing Company - Virginia Beach
- The Charlotte Beer Garden - Charlotte, North Carolina
- Tucker Brewing - Tucker, Georgia
- Saint Arnold Brewing Company - Houston
- Funkatorium Biergarten - Asheville, North Carolina
- VBGB Beer Hall and Garden - Charlotte, North Carolina
- Lowry Beer Garden - Denver
- Dacha Beer Garden - Washington, DC
- The Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden - Nashville
Other North Carolina beer spots
Not to be left behind, Asheville, Boone and Raleigh also found themselves on the radar of USA Today’s beer experts, as well. Here were the other North Carolina categories:
Boone was in the running as best small town beer scene. It came in at number 8.
Noble Cider in Asheville was nominated as best cidery. It did not rank in the top 10.
Funkatorium Biergarten in Asheville was up for best beer garden. It came in at number 6.
Raleigh Beer Garden in Raleigh was nominated (and won) best beer garden.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 12:08 PM.
