by Brian Beauchemin

This time of the year typically brings us beers with heftier amounts of malt and this month our Charlotte brewers deliver with stouts, bocks, and dark lagers ideal for fireside sitting. If you love coffee – whether the real thing or the nuances that dark malts can provide in beers – then options abound for you. For the omnipresent hopheads looking for the monthly punch of tropical and citrus flavor jolts, no worries as you’re covered, including a collaboration with a local charity that helps veterans. Unless otherwise noted, all beers are already available in taprooms and/or local retail establishments.

Cabarrus Brewing

Night of the Dead is a Mexican mocha-inspired stout brewed with lactose, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pasilla peppers. The finished beer is then rested on cacao nibs and coffee from Enderly Coffee. The 6.5% ABV stout combines roasted malt and dark chocolate notes with a touch of warmth from cinnamon, nutmeg, and pasilla peppers, delivering a lingering finish of mocha, spice, and subtle heat. Available in their taproom only.

A classic Extra Special Bitter, Threadline ESB provides a wonderful balance of malt sweetness and hop bitterness. The 5.2% ABV English ale sports a medium body with strong malt aromas and flavor notes of caramel and biscuit. The balancing hops provide moderate bitterness, showing earthy and floral characteristics. The beer is available at both the Cabarrus tap room and their sister brewery, Towel City Tavern.

Releasing November 14 in the Cabarrus taproom only, Hop Spindle is a 7% ABV West Coast IPA brewed to showcase Comet, Idaho Gem, and Pink hops from Mill95 and Loxless malt from Prairie Malt. The clean, crisp malt base allows the hops to shine with bright aromas of citrus zest, stone fruit, berry, and resinous/pine undertones, balanced by a clean bitterness and dry finish.

Black Bobbin is a German-style schwarzbier. The 4.9% ABV black lager provides a  medium-low body with mild roasted malt notes and a subtle sweetness, balanced by a moderate bitterness and a clean, dry finish. The lager releases November 21 in both the Cabarrus Brewing and Towel City Tavern taprooms. 

NoDa Brewing

Hop CORE! is a West Coast IPA that utilizes a new hop product called LupoCORE which amplifies the beer’s Mosaic and Citra hops. LupoCORE are enhanced hop pellets engineered for peak sensory performance and provide consistency across varieties and crop years. The 6.0% ABV is available only in their taproom. 

Doom Slayer (taproom-only) is a double dry-hopped West Coast IPA releasing November 21. The 6.5% ABV brew utilizes Citra Lupomax, Strata CGX, and Mosaic Cryo and is then dry-hopped again with Centennial, Nectaron, and Alora. Tis the Season?? (taproom-only ) is a 6% ABV roasty stout brewed with pumpkin puree and rested on coffee. The name pokes fun at the fact that pumpkin beer styles come out so early in the year and the brewery wanted to release a pumpkin beer closer to the actual season for enjoying them. Available November 28.

Olde Mecklenburg Brewery  

Olde Meck’s annual holiday brew, Yule Bock, utilizes Bavarian hops and European barley malt. The 7.1% ABV smooth, full-bodied lager offers a rich, malty flavor with subtle notes of cherry, caramel, and holiday spices.

Fireside Stout returns after a brief vacation from the brewery’s line up. Aromas of sweet malt, dark pumpernickel bread, baker’s chocolate, and espresso interweave with light, roasty flavors. Malt sweetness is balanced by slight hop bitterness and subtle notes of burnt marshmallow. The 5.4% ABV stout releases November 28, draft only in their taprooms. 

Pilot Brewing

Advanced IPA is a West Coast IPA brewed in collaboration between advanced cicerones Rachael Hudson of Pilot Brewing and Robert Rivera of Suffolk Punch Brewing. Both are recognized for achieving one of the highest levels of expertise through the Cicerone Certification Program, and together they’ve created a beer that embodies precision, passion, and purpose. Brewed with fonio, a sustainable ancient grain, this IPA showcases a crisp, dry finish and a beautifully layered hop profile featuring Cascade, Chinook, Citra, and El Dorado. Expect notes of grapefruit pith, pine resin, and stone fruit, rounded by a delicate sweetness from the fonio.

Town Brewing

A 4.9% ABV Czech dark lager, Velvet Riot makes its annual Black Friday return on November 28. The lager uses pilsner, Munich, dark crystal, and midnight wheat malts from Carolina Malt House. Double decoction (a process involving boiling some of the mash itself to intensify malt flavors) creates a complex malt character that is both clean and highly drinkable. Expect aromas of chocolate and coffee, balanced by a light, refreshing body and subtle spice notes from the Czech Saaz hops.

Triple C Brewing

Maple Pecan Espresso is one of the brewery’s favorite fall seasonals. The 6.3% ABV golden ale is brewed to a slighter higher than normal ABV and conditioned on espresso roast coffee, roasted pecans, and Vermont maple syrup. A 6% ABV spiced winter ale, White Blaze pours a deep amber color and welcomes you with aromas and flavors of freshly ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla beans.

Veterans Bridge Home, a West Coast pale ale, will be available on Veterans Day, November 11. The 5.7% ABV ale was brewed in collaboration with Veterans Bridge Home, a local charity whose mission is to “connect, lead, and advocate in communities to ensure service member, veterans, and their families thrive”. Dry-hopped with Yakima Chief Hops Veterans Blend, the brew packs aromas of stone fruits and citrus with a moderate bitterness.

Continuing in the brewery’s Alpha Trials series is Galaxy, a 7.5% ABV experimental IPA. The hazy IPA, brewed and dry hopped with 2025 crop Australian Galaxy hops, provides tropical, citrus, and stone fruit aromas with a cannabis-like finish. The draft only brew releases November 21. 

Bucket List is an imperial chocolate porter brewed with Main Street Bottle Shop in Rock Hill, South Carolina to celebrate the life of Kent Meade, a true lover of all beers dark, roasted, and chocolaty. The 7.7% ABV porter was brewed with a blend of chocolate malts and roasted cacao nibs. On draft only in their taproom and available November 28.