The Athens area is home to seven breweries, a winery and a distillery offering finely-crafted cocktails, high-quality spirits and a huge variety of microbrews and other offerings. You can sample their work on site in their tasting rooms or purchase bottles, cans or crowlers (aluminum growlers) to go. Native brews are available in bars and restaurants across town, and there’s also the Athens Beer Fest each spring, which brings beer lovers into Athens from all over.
1818 Brewing
71 State St., Commerce · 678-725-2184 · 1818brewing.com
Located in a historic building that once housed a sewing factory, 1818 is Commerce’s newest brewery. This local landmark has a large kid- and pet-friendly outdoor patio where you can relax, play some cornhole or listen to live music on Fridays and Saturdays. Indoors, it has a variety of offerings, including hard seltzers in a variety of flavors, with a beer menu focused primarily on European styles like porters, pilsners, hefeweizens and Irish red ales. 1818 is open Thursday through Sunday.
Akademia Brewing Co.
150 Crane Drive · 678-726-2288 · akademiabc.com
Akademia stands out among Athens breweries by being a true brewpub, offering a full food menu six days a week, including brunch, in addition to an extensive selection of beers brewed in-house (and a variety of wines, cocktails and nonalcoholic options for those who prefer other beverages). It offers rentable event spaces for large gatherings, as well as ample indoor and outdoor seating and parking. Reservations are accepted. Akademia hosts a variety of events, including Trivia Tuesdays, offers happy hour specials and has televisions to watch the big game.
Athentic Brewing Co.
108 Park Ave. · 706-206-2074 · athenticbrewing.com
Athentic regularly hosts live music on its spacious patio and indoor stage, along with other events like the Normaltown Music Festival in April, drag shows and trivia nights. It’s generally kid-friendly, with board games and a variety of nonalcoholic beverages. Like many breweries, Athentic is now branching out into hard liquor, with its own brand of vodka for sale. It was the first brewery in Athens to create a line of hard seltzers, and it offers slushies for hot days.
Boutier Winery
4506 Hudson River Church Road, Danielsville · 706-789-0059 · boutierwinery.com
The landscaped grounds and interior of Boutier Winery also operate as an event space and inn. There are nearly 32 acres planted in Vinifera and French American grape varietals from which the winery crafts some of its offerings, which include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Syrah, Corot Noir and Cynthiana. Enjoy a wine tasting or one of its many events, including line dancing and live music.
Creature Comforts Brewing Co.
271 W. Hancock Ave. · 706-410-1043 · creaturecomfortsbeer.com
Drink the beer that Thor drank in Avengers: Endgame. In addition to its Hollywood connections and partnership with UGA as the official beer of the Georgia Bulldogs, Creature Comforts remains one of the most respected Southern breweries in the craft beer world. Beer aficionados who’ve been hearing about Creature’s flagship Tropicalia IPA can also find a wide selection of limited releases that are available only at the brewery or are extremely hard to find in stores. The Athens Farmers Market is on site every Wednesday from March through November. It also hosts a holiday market with local arts and crafts each December.
Normaltown Brewing Co.
425 Barber St. · 706-850-8996 · facebook.com/normaltownbrewingco
Started in a hole-in-the-wall at the Chase Park Warehouses, a year ago the microbewery moved into what locals of a certain age refer to as “the hangar,” a prefab metal building that previously housed a coffee roaster. The vibes remain the same: NBC has maintained its DIY roots, brewing some unique offerings in small batches, in addition to all the usual styles. The 21-and-up brewery regularly hosts food trucks and a diverse schedule of events, from book clubs to UGA football trivia.
Oak House Distillery
1015 Macon Highway · 706-850-5474 · oakhousedistillery.com
Located on Macon Highway in a historic house built in 1864, Oak House Distillery specializes in high-end cocktails made with small-batch spirits. Its gin has won awards both internationally and right here in Georgia, and it claims its gin and tonic is “The Best G&T You’ve Ever Had.” The distillery also makes Jamaican-style, barrel-aged rum and has recently added organic vodka to the menu as well. There’s plenty of space inside the tasting rooms or outside on its 2.5-acre lot shaded by huge oak trees. Get a tour of the production facility any Sunday, then stay for the live music out on the patio.
South Main Brewing
1725 Electric Ave., Watkinsville · 706-705-6067 · southmainbrewing.com
Located in the newish Wire Park mixed use development near downtown Watkinsville, South Main Brewing is known for its wide selection of beverages from IPAs to lagers, sours, seltzers, stouts and local craft sodas from New Creation. You can enjoy them in the taproom or take a six-pack or crowler to go. South Main is next door to diverse dining spots and welcomes outside food, as well as children and pets. It hosts weekly events including cornhole, bocce, darts, trivia, music bingo and live music Fridays.
Strange Duck
26 Old Allen Road, Commerce · 706-201-5094 · strangeduckbrewing.com
Strange Duck Brewing is a family-friendly experience offering the unusual combination of craft beer and mini-golf. Just 16 miles from downtown Athens, Strange Duck is off the beaten path but offers a full 18-hole mini golf course, an electric scooter track, live music, a large outdoor stage and craft beer. It has a wide range of brews from pastry sours to IPAs, coffee stouts, traditional lagers and brown ales. Special events include a Mini Masters Mini Golf Tournament fundraiser for Love.Craft Athens.
Terrapin Beer Co.
265 Newton Bridge Road · 706-549-3377 · terrapinbeer.com
Athens’ OG brewery is still a popular choice for its huge lawn, with lots of space for kids and dogs to roam around, making it an ideal location for various events when the weather is nice. When it’s not, there’s a spacious indoor tasting room, too. Not to mention the beer—while originally known for dank, hop-heavy IPAs befitting its Grateful Dead-inspired namesake, Terrapin now branches out into a variety of styles from pilsners to Mexican lagers to stouts.
Athens Beer Trail
Various locations · visitathensga.com/athens-beer-trail
Can’t decide which brewery to visit? Why not try them all? Go to the website to receive a digital passport, earn points by patronizing local breweries and win prizes like a free T-shirt. You can finish the trail without a designated driver or worrying about a rideshare by using one of two local tour companies: the Athens Beer Trail Trolley Tour (athenstrolleytours.com) or Athens Brewery Tours & Transportation (athensbrewerytour.com).
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