I’ve lived in the South for five years now and I’ve been hooked on craft beer for about five years now as well. Call it a coincidence, blame it on the heat, blame it on my work in education (for realz), but I’ve been to a couple hundred breweries across the South.
I have guides to pretty much every Southern city on my website, so why not compare across the city and state lines?
For context on my opinions, when I “evaluate” breweries I don’t just consider the quality of their beer, I also consider their atmosphere. Do I want to hang out here? Are there lots of great beers to choose from? There are a lot of breweries that get down one or the other—it’s a cool place but their beer is average (or worse), or the beer is great but the place sucks. It’s important to me that a taproom is not just cranking out delicious beers, but also that I want to be there to drink those beers!
Each brewery listed below has the whole package—great beer, great atmosphere. In no ranking order (because that would be just too hard!) the South’s best breweries:
Monday Night Brewing
Monday Night Brewing: Atlanta, GA
The beer and atmosphere at Monday Night is what first got me hooked on breweries almost five years ago. Although they no longer make my favorite beer, all of the beers I’ve had from Monday Night have been delicious!
Monday Night has two locations—the original brewery in West Midtown and The Garage. The Garage is on my itinerary for my next trip to ATL, since I now live only four hours away, but the original location is fantastic. Their famed tie wall, the outside games, dog-friendly vibes, and overly friendly staff make it a true gem. Don’t miss it!
Bearded Iris: Nashville, TN
When you walk into Bearded Iris it is cozy, sporting classy but chill vibes, with their chandeliers and couches. They kill it in the New England hazy and juicy IPA game, with multiple on tap at any given time. My favorite beer I tried was Homestyle, an oated IPA with Mosiac hops. Be sure to check it out next time you’re in The Music City!
Schulz Brau Brewing
Schulz Brau Brewing: Knoxville, TN
If you are into German-style biergartens, Schulz Brau is for you! The outside of this brewery looks like a castle, almost to a cheesy degree, but when you walk in you forget about the exterior and are swept away by the German vibes. The large biergarten is the perfect place to kick back and relax, and on chilly days you can warm up by the fire. They also frequently have live music and food pop-ups.
As for the beer, Schulz Brau brews only traditional German-style ales and lagers. The Hefeweizen and Doppelback were both delicious!
Burial Brewing: Asheville, NC
Burial makes some of the top beer in North Carolina, with their can releases selling out in no time and lines wrapping the block. Be sure to grab some cans to take home with you when you visit!
Their atmosphere is different, to say the least. There are a variety of tools for burying things along the walls and as tap handles, which is startling at first, but get over it and get yourself a beer! They also have a full kitchen, brunch, and frequent live music. Burial opened a second taproom, in Raleigh, in January.
Crank Arm Brewing: Raleigh, NC
Crank Arm sports a bike theme, with fun bike-related gear and decor throughout the taproom. Their beer is frequently pulling in awards, such as a gold medal at The Great American Beer Festival, so I would recommend a flight here to try a variety! They have board games, a large bar, and are located right in downtown Raleigh!
Southern Prohibition Brewing: Hattiesburg, MS
If you find yourself in Southern-Mississippi, Southern Prohibition is a great place to check out. Hattiesburg isn’t exactly a destination, so don’t go booking a plane ticket because I told you to go to SoPro, but it’s a couple hour drive from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast cities, and right off I-59 if you happen to be on a road trip.
Southern Prohibition’s beer has evolved into some of the best in the South. Their taproom releases are where it’s at, and their core beers are pretty good. Specialty releases like Hex Clouds and Selfie Destruct, both NEIPAs, are absolutely fantastic.
Their taproom is a large open space with lots of outdoor seating options and plenty of games to play. They usually have pizza available.
Resident Culture Brewing
Resident Culture Brewing: Charlotte, NC
Resident Culture makes some of the best IPAs I’ve ever had, hands down. They do frequent releases and almost always sell-out their cans the day of (which have really fun artwork, as a side note!). I would definitely get a flight here, because their selection is always changing! Recently my favorite has been God Complex, a NEIPA.
Resident Culture almost always has a food truck out front—sometimes even the famed Cousins Maine Lobster truck! They frequently host live music, game-watching parties, trivia, and more! They also have outdoor seating options. Be sure to check it out in Plaza Midwood, Charlotte!
Revelry Brewing: Charleston, SC
Rooftop brewery? Heck yes. Rooftop brewery with views of the Ravenel Bridge and the water, AND with great beer?! Wow. They also have live music on weekends!
My favorites at Revelry are Covert Ops (Dunkelweiss), Poke the Bear (American Pale Ale), and their rotating sours! As a heads up, the downstairs bar and rooftop bar have different beers on tap! Be sure to check out both selections.
In an an unusual move for a brewery, Revelery has sushi for their food menu! Personally I can’t do sushi and beer, but y'all go for it and let me know how it is! Their second location, The Hold, is their sour and wild beer lab, just around the corner from the original location.
The Eighth State Brewing
The Eighth State Brewery: Greenville, SC
Don’t worry, not all of the beer at The Eighth State is turquoise! This is Drowning, an aqua-blue passion fruit sorbet-sour. Sour but delicious!
Overall The Eighth State has a solid beer selection, and they also have wine and cider. The atmosphere is slightly funky but fun. They serve their beer flights in muffin tins, they have DJ pop-ins, and coffee and clothes pop-ups as well. It’s a pretty small space but they make the most of it with long tables, bar stools, and even a little couch hangout area. I love the large windows and hanging plants to brighten up the space!
On the food side, they have sandwiches and pizza from Swamp Rabbit Cafe! This place is phenomenal. Their stacca bread is drool-worthy, so I highly recommend bringing your appetite with your thirst here!
Cahaba Brewing: Birmingham, AL
Free skee-ball! Flight boards in the shape of Alabama! Live music! Roll-up garage doors! Outdoor seating options! Ugh, I love Cahaba. There are several breweries in Birmingham that are more “established” with “nicer” taprooms, but I love the industrial vibes at Cahaba and think they deserve more credit. Their beer is great and again free skee-ball people!
Two Tides Brewing
Two Tides Brewing: Savannah, GA
Two Tides is located on the second floor of a house essentially. It is SO cute and so quintessentially Southern living. You can enjoy your beer on the balcony or in one of the several rooms of the ‘house’, giving off really cozy vibes.
Every beer I tried at Two Tides was fantastic, especially their sours. Even though they are relatively new to the brew scene, Two Tides is crushing it.
Parish Brewing: Broussard, LA
If you are into craft beer I’m sure you’ve heard of Parish. They make killer IPAs and sell-out for their specialty releases within thirty minutes sometimes.
For those of you unfamiliar with with Louisiana geography, Broussard is a tiny little town outside of Lafayette, the biggest city in South-Central Louisiana. It’s a two and a half hour drive from New Orleans or three and a half from Houston. You need to plan ahead to visit Parish, because it is off the beaten path, but it is worth it! 100% of their beers are drool-worthy. Envie, Bloom, and Ghost in the Machine are their most popular IPAs, with DDH and seasonal varieties of these also available throughout the year. Reve, their coffee stout, is considered a Mardi Gras wake-up beverage across the state. Their taproom isn’t huge for how popular they have become, but there is also outdoor seating. Parish y’all. Make it happen!
Here are my Lafayette recommendations for the rest of your time in the area!
Lost Forty Brewing
Lost Forty Brewing: Little Rock, AR
Little Rock has a surprisingly large beer scene, maybe that’s just because my initial thought was Arkansas…? But Lost Forty was definitely the highlight and did not disappoint. They have a large beer variety and great specialty releases here as well.
They have a full kitchen and serve delicious brunch on the weekends!
Check out all of my Little Rock recommendations here!
Peticolas Brewing: Dallas, TX
Peticolas has fun vibes with ping-pong, foosball, and three different levels. They usually have food trucks on the weekend and they open up the garage doors on nice days. If you can make it work, I would recommend visiting on the first or third Saturday of the month at 1pm so you can do their brewery tour option, which is $10 for the tour, a pint glass, and 3 beer tokens (real size beers, not baby beers).
Velvet Hammer is my favorite beer they offer, an Imperial Red Ale. They always have at least one fruited beer, a nitro beer, and a cask ale, on tap.
Courtyard Brewing
Courtyard Brewery: New Orleans, LA
Courtyard’s atmosphere could be described as… well a courtyard. Personally, I love the laid back, semi-unconventional space, but haters gonna hate. When I lived in New Orleans I brought someone from out of town to Courtyard and they were not impressed. We’re no longer friends. The space is mostly outside, as it should be since it’s usually beautiful weather in New Orleans, but they do have some indoor seating options as well. They have funky artwork on the walls and frequent food trucks.
The beer at Courtyard is so so good. They specialize in New England style IPAs, with lots of juice and some haze, but they do everything well, including their frequent collaboration beers with breweries across the country. Scott, the owner at Courtyard, is frequently behind the bar pouring your beer and building relationships with the locals.
Their space isn’t the only thing pushing the boundaries—their beer menu includes great beers from other breweries too, making them one of the best beer bars in the city. Some breweries have a couple of guest taps, usually either with another local brewery’s beers, or with more “main-stream” options for those people who shouldn’t be at a brewery, but Courtyard goes all out and has great beer from across the country on tap at all times. Think Hop Slam from Bell’s, Delirium beers, etc.
They are also in the process of expanding and opening a second location in Mid-City, New Orleans, with a food partnership with the ever-popular Turkey and the Wolf. Can’t wait to check that out when it opens!
My 300th Brewery visit at Revelry Brewing
