By Brian Beauchemin

Local Charlotte brewery releases for August can be summed up in two words: lagers and IPAs. Several Oktoberfest beers are available in tandem with American and Czech lagers for balance. IPAs range from session to coffee to West Coast and of course the inevitable share of hazies. A couple fruited and sour beers round out the last official month of summer. Unless otherwise noted, all beers are already available in taprooms and/or local retail establishments. 

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Birdsong Brewing

Hunny Bee is a 6% ABV IPA brewed with local honey from Cloister Honey — made for the brewery’s Honey Pie fans whose stockpiles have run dry in the middle of the year. Hunny Bee features the same tasty blend of hops and honey as its older brother, but with a more crushable ABV for the summer. 

In time for seasonal Oktoberfest activities, Party Starter is a 5% ABV Märzen lager. Malt-forward with hints of toffee and light floral aromas, this beer is rich and bready on the palate with a smooth, crisp finish. Taproom release August 14 and available through distribution starting August 18.

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NoDa Brewing

Now in its 5th year, Rescue Brew is the brewery’s annual collaboration with the Humane Society of Charlotte to celebrate adoptable pets and crown the Top Dog and Queen Kitty (whose pictures adorn the cans). This easy-drinking, gluten-reduced American lager is clean, crisp, and refreshingly bright with a hint of lemon and lime. The 4.5% ABV lager is available on draft and in cans to-go exclusively at their taproom. 

Roaring Riot is a crisp, easy-drinking lager at 4.5% ABV with slight hints of hop flavor. Brewed with love for the infamous Carolina tailgaters and fans, the Roaring Riot! This lager is made for gameday and beyond.  

Releasing August 15, Pivocative is a crisp, low-ABV Czech-style pilsner that proves you don’t need big numbers to make a bold impression. Sitting at just 3.2% ABV, Pivocative is light-bodied, clean, refreshing, and delightfully drinkable. 

Brewers Coffee India Pale Ale is a session IPA brewed with oats, hopped with Mosaic, dry hopped with Mosaic and Amarillo CGX hops, and then rested on coffee beans. The 4.8% coffee brew releases August 22.  

The 2024 AIGA Beers & Branding Champion, Hopsicle Cold IPA is a 6.7% cold IPA lagered for over a month and brewed exclusively with bold, piney Chinook hops for a crisp, clean finish. Releases August 29.                   

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Olde Mecklenburg Brewing 

The brewery’s annual Märzen lager, Mecktoberfest is rich, malty, and super smooth courtesy of Munich malt, noble hops, and a yeast strain from the oldest brewery in the world. The 5.4% ABV lager is a two-time gold European beer star winner and a silver Great American Beer Fest medal.

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Pilot Brewing

The winner of a Gold Medal at the 2025 World Beer Cup, Late Czech Out returns August 8 in two versions. The first version is The Classic brewed with a traditional Czech lager yeast strain and the beer that won gold. Crisp, toasty, and true to style, available in cans and draught. The second version has a modern fermentation twist brewed with high-pressure lager yeast for a cleaner, faster ferment yielding subtle differences in mouthfeel and attenuation. This version will be available in crowlers and draught. 

Hazy Skies Hefeweizen returns August 15 on draught and in cans. The pale, refreshing 5.8% ABV German-style wheat ale has a dry finish, fluffy mouthfeel, and traditional banana-clove character. 

Brewed in collaboration with Burial Beer Co., The Peaceful Protest of Sessionable Intentions debuts August 22. This 5% session IPA may be light in alcohol, but it makes a bold statement in flavor. Crafted with fonio grain for a clean, crisp body and layered with a rebellious mix of hops — Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, Enigma, and Krush — this beer is bursting with expressive fruit character. Expect waves of tangerine, lime, and peach, brightened by gooseberry and white grape, and finished with a juicy twist of raspberry, currant, and citrus zest.

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Southern Strain Brewing

Releasing August 15, Phantastik IPA is a 6.8% ABV juicy IPA, brewed with PHANTASM, Mosaic, Michigan grown Chinook, and Centennial hops. PHANTASM is a powder made from Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The powder is incredibly rich in thiol precursors, which when added correctly to a fermenting beer, can unlock rich, strong tropical fruit aromas. Phantastik IPA displays a bouquet of mango, passionfruit, and juicy citrus.  

Blueberry Lunch is a play on the brewery’s staple light lager, OK Lunch. The 4.2% ABV fruited lager is refermented with 500 pounds of fresh local blueberries from Cody Farm in Mount Pleasant, North Carolina. Releasing August 16 at both taprooms with the Concord location hosting a “Blueberry Day,” including blueberry food specials and entertainment.

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Triple C Brewing

Oktoberfest is a 5.5% ABV Märzen style lager. Pouring a beautiful copper color, the beer has mild notes of toasted bread and malt tones with a slight crisp bitterness. Fermented cold for a smooth and clean finish.  

Back In My Day is a 7.2% ABV traditional West coast IPA. Releasing August 15, the beer has a bit more malt supporting dank, piney, and citrusy hops. Brewed with Cascade, Centennial, Citra, and Columbus hops, this is what a textbook IPA.

Another classic German beer, Schwarzbier will be available August 22. The 4.4% ABV dark lager emits mild aromas of chocolate and roast with a clean crisp flavor typical of a lighter colored beer. 

Next in the brewery’s Alpha Trials series is Nectaron, a 7.5% ABV experimental IPA. The unfiltered IPA is brewed and dry hopped with Nectaron hops providing intense tropical fruit and citrus aromas and flavors of pineapple, peach, and grapefruit. Available only on draft starting August 29. 

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Wooden Robot Brewery 

Brewed with 1,200 pounds of delicious strawberries from Bush-N-Vine Farms in York, South Carolina, Strawberry Swirl It! is a sour ale inspired by the strawberry vanilla swirl ice cream served at the farm. Brewed with local malt and aged with the brewery’s house sour culture, this 6% ABV beer is truly a taste of the Carolinas.

Juice Island is a 7% ABV luscious hazy IPA brewed with loads of bold, juicy Citra and El Dorado Hops. The aroma is dripping with citrus and tropical fruit flavor, and the light, fluffy mouthfeel fades to a finish with just a touch of bitterness.

Summer Vibes is a summer ale inspired by sessionable British summer ales. The 5.2% ABV beer is brewed with pale and wheat malts for a delicate touch of sweetness and Willamette hops for lovely floral and citrus notes.

Brewed with a blend of Epiphany base malts for a light, crisp body, West by Southeast is a 7.2% ABV West coast-style IPA. The brew utilizes Salvo+ hops at the beginning of fermentation for a smooth, balanced bitterness. It’s then dry-hopped with Erebus, Comet, and Cascade hops, and then finished with a touch of Abstrax Skyfarm grapefruit for a bright, citrusy lift. Available August 12.