Wilmington, NC punches well above its weight for breweries.
With a metro population of around 450,000, Wilmington has 20 legitimate, brewed-right-here-in-town breweries.
Let’s forget about the PFAS thing for a bit. Today, we’re highlighting, in no particular order, the top 20 best breweries in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Wilmington Brewing Company
Wilmington Brewing Company proudly carries the city’s name (I’m not sure why Front Street didn’t steal this name when they launched all the way back in 1995?).
The company was launched by a locally born-and-raised couple named John and Michelle Savard, who met at UNC Asheville. After living in Asheville, the beer capital of North Carolina, and touring breweries across Europe, they came home to Wilmington and the rest is history.
Today, you’ll find Wilmington’s most popular beer, Tropical Lightning, at virtually every bar and restaurant in town. It’s a west coast-style, dangerously drinkable IPA with an ABV of 7.4%.
Other popular WBC beers include Wilmy Weisse, Blair’s Breakfast Stout, and Taco Life.
The Wilmington Brewing Company taproom on Kerr tends to be filled with children on weekends. However, there’s a popular run club, weekly events and food trucks, and all of the other stuff you tend to see in a local brewery.
The Savards also recently opened Savard Beer & Board downtown. Situated between Prost (the German biergarten) and Bakery 105 (the wedding venue), Savard Beer & Board is a massive space filled with Wilmington Brewing Company beer (and a bunch of surfboards).
Flytrap Brewing
Fun fact about Wilmington: Venus fly traps only grow in a 100 mile radius around the city. They’re native to the sunny, nutrient-poor, wet plains in this corner of North Carolina and South Carolina.
Want to see a Venus flytrap in person? Come to Flytrap Brewing. It’s certainly the first time I’ve ever seen one.
Outside of botanicals, Flytrap Brewing has a wide-ranging list of beers (including some with proper, 20oz pours) in the heart of the Brooklyn Arts District. It’s a great place to park and grab a drink if you’re heading into downtown.
Flytrap has a fantastic patio, weekly trivia and events, food trucks, and again, all of the usual stuff you get in a brewery.
Edward Teach Brewing
Edward Teach, as you may know, is the real, government name of the infamous pirate Blackbeard.
The Wilmington area was a haven for pirates. The shoals and waterways were notoriously difficult to navigate. When pirates coming up the coast wanted to lose the law, they’d come here.
Edward Teach ultimately died a few hundred miles up the coast (in Ocracoke). But his name lives on with Edward Teach Brewing.
Like WBC’s Tropical Lightning, Teaches Peaches is synonymous with the Wilmington beer scene. It’s a good peach-flavored beer.
Edward Teach also has a patio overlooking the One Tree Hill bridge, if that’s important to you. The brewery itself is in a reclaimed firehouse.
Flying Machine Brewing Company
Found off Randall Parkway beside a large pond, Flying Machine Brewing Company is an independent local brewery with a large indoor and outdoor space.
With two levels’ worth of patios, Flying Machine Brewing Company frequently hosts events – from run clubs to local business parties to food trucks.
Flying Machine either feels too busy or not busy enough. There’s never an in-between. I’m either there waiting in line for 20 minutes to order a beer – or sitting in a cold taproom by myself watching random sports highlights on the two TVs.
Try the Electronic Fog IPA, which tastes great after run club.
Bill’s Brewing Company
Bill’s Brewing Company is what you get when you combine a great brewery, restaurant, and beach volleyball league into one large space.
Captain Bill’s is best-known for its beach volleyball courts and leagues (yes, they hauled in enough sand to create 10 beach volleyball courts on the heart of Market Street).
However, Bill’s recently created a brand new, wood-clad taproom with a wider range of food and drink options. It’s a whole thing now – not just a parking lot with volleyball courts and beer.
Front Street Brewery
Launched in 1995, Front Street Brewery was Wilmington’s first-ever modern brewery.
Today, Front Street Brewery continues to occupy a prime location downtown. There’s a full-service restaurant with ordinary bar food, an upstairs venue space, and a brewery on-site.
It’s a tourist-friendly spot that, surprisingly, doesn’t charge a fortune for beer or food given its location.
If you’re looking to spend an afternoon people watching in downtown Wilmington, then you could do worse than sitting at one of the tablets outside Front Street Brewery.
Waterline Brewing Co.
Located in a former hardware warehouse underneath the rapidly-aging Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, Waterline Brewing Co. offers a beer garden with food trucks, lawn games, and live music.
My recommendation? Come to Waterline for sunset (or for Fourth of July fireworks). It’s never as busy as downtown, and there’s plenty of space to spread out. Be aware: because of the large outdoor space, Waterline always seems to have an alarming number of children running around.
Mad Mole Brewing
Launched by a group of friends and co-workers, Mad Mole Brewing is a solar-powered brewery that makes some of the best beers in town.
The primary minds behind Mad Mole are Ole Pederson and Martin de Jongh. They combined their names (“M” from Martin and “Ole” from Ole) to create Mad Mole as a play off mad scientist. Today, much of the brewery’s branding plays into the mole theme both from a chemistry and rodent standpoint.
Today, Mad Mole has a seven-barrel electric system powered entirely by solar energy. The location is a bit funny – right by the marina on Boathouse Road with not much around. However, the beer is worth the stop on the way to or from Wrightsville Beach.
Wrightsville Beach Brewery
Located just across the road from Mad Mole, Wrightsville Beach Brewery is a full-service restaurant and brewery with a surprisingly long list of beers – and a surprisingly large menu.
If you’ve never had it, shrimp and grits is worth the visit alone – and the beers aren’t bad either.
If you need a place to eat coming home from the beach, or if an IPA or lager would hit the spot after a dehydrating 95-degree-with-humidity walk around The Loop, then Wrightsville Beach Brewery is worth stopping.
Broomtail Craft Brewery
Known for popular beers like Galloping Kose and King Tide Kölsch, Broomtail Brewing was founded in 2014 by husband and wife team Barry and Lisa Owings.
Barry is a water chemist and formulator by profession who has been home brewing since the 1990s. Their goal with Broomtail was to create a local impact using naturally-harvested raw materials and sustainable manufacturing products.
Today, Broomtail has a homebrew shop, coffee shop, and brewery / taproom at 6404 Amsterdam Way near the Kings Grant / Ogden area (the Broomtail Pub & Arcade is permanently closed).
I need to give Broomtail another shot: it’s in a part of town I rarely go to unless I’m playing hockey, and the one time I went to the arcade location, it felt more like a daycare than a brewery.
Hi-Wire Brewing Wilmington
Hi-Wire is a large Asheville brewery with locations in most of North Carolina’s biggest cities.
I have a soft spot for Hi-Wire Brewing in Wilmington: the Monday night run club is where I first made local friends when I moved to town in 2022. The location has a popular Thursday trivia and a great pizza place (Cugino Forno) next door.
Even better, Hi-Wire Brewing Wilmington is now in the heart of the “Soda Pop District.” There are more bars, restaurants, cocktail spots, and ice cream places than ever. It’s a bustling spot.
By the Beach Brewing
One of the newest members of the Wilmington brewery scene, By the Beach Brewing is located near the Costco / Kohls and offers a small selection of passionately-brewed beers.
The taproom has darts, cornhole, and board games, and there’s live music and other events throughout the week.
Want a never-before-seen beer in Wilmington? Go to Frankenstein Friday at By the Beach Brewing. The brewery releases a small batch once per month. Once the keg is gone, it’s done. The brewery has released Peanut Butter & Jelly Wheat Ales, Peach Pale Ales, and other concoctions on Fridays.
Outer Dunes Brewing
Not to be confused with Wild Dunes Brewing in the Outer Banks, Outer Dunes Brewing is another newish member of the Wilmington brewery scene.
Featuring a lovely, tree-covered beer garden and a surprisingly well-landscaped outdoor space, Outer Dunes Brewing feels like dropping by a buddy’s house for a pint – in a good way. As a testament to the loveliness of the outdoor space, Outer Dunes Brewing has even hosted weddings.
DrumTrout Brewing Company
The Pine Valley area was completely bereft of breweries until DrumTrout came and filled the space.
Today, DrumTrout offers a small selection of above-average beers from the end unit in a strip mall. There’s weekly trivia, music bingo, and TVs with live sports – something not all breweries in town seem to have. They seem to get a good crowd in the fall for Saturday college football and Sunday NFL games.
Like other suburban breweries, DrumTrout sometimes has too many kids running around for my liking. However, because it’s within biking, walking, and stumbling distance of my house – and because they make good beer – it’s worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Waterman’s Brewing
Waterman’s Brewing is closer to Wrightsville Beach than Wrightsville Beach Brewery, which always feels odd.
It’s a full-service restaurant with better-than-expected food and a range of beers. Order fish tacos or a salmon BLT on the patio. Drink lagers, pilsners, sours, IPAs, or stouts. Check out the run club (with a bonus paddleboarding component) and trivia night.
Ironclad Brewery
A wedding venue and brewery in one large space downtown, Ironclad Brewery is open to the public whenever they’re not hosting events. It kind of feels like you’re drinking a beer in a large wedding venue space.
Ironclad’s beer is better than expected: you’d think the venue would focus on weddings first and beer second. But apparently they do a pretty good job of both.
Panacea Brewing Company
Panacea Brewing Company has a new location up near Ogden. They continue to make vegan food, kombucha, and beer while filling a niche corner of the Wilmington scene.
I’ve always liked Panacea’s beer and kombucha. If you’re tired of heavy IPAs and want a meal that feels healthy, then you could do worse than Panacea’s vegan menu and kombuchas.
Ponysaurus
Ponysaurus started in Durham before expanding to Wilmington in 2023. Today, Ponysaurus has one of the best beer gardens downtown.
Ponysaurus’s beer is very good and the food isn’t bad either. There are a few different pizzas on the menu. Order from the bar, sit at a picnic table and scan the QR code, and someone will bring you food. It’s a great mid-day brewery crawl stop for sustenance.
Oden Brewing Company
Oden Brewing Company is another North Carolina transplant. Launched in Greensboro, Oden Brewing Company has taken over the old New Anthem space downtown.
I was impressed by Oden’s beer when I visited – I might even say they have the best beer downtown. They’ve also revamped the space to be more of an indoor / outdoor vibe instead of a cozy, dark space. They’ve also shrunk the horseshoe bar, making more room for tables.
Honorable Mention: Leland Brewing Company
Leland isn’t Wilmington. However, Leland Brewing Company is your only option if you want a brewery without crossing the bridge (RIP Mannkind Brewing). Expect a big outdoor space filled with lots of families with that newly-constructed Cary strip mall vibe.
Bonus Honorable Mention: The Ghost of New Anthem
New Anthem was my favorite brewery in town. It had the best IPAs in town and the best trivia night (I’ll never forget you, Turner). If you wanted big, boozy, hazy IPAs in a warehouse, New Anthem was the spot. We’re still waiting to see what goes in next.
The Ultimate Wilmington Brewery Crawl Itinerary
I’ve listed a lot of breweries here. It will be tough to visit all 20.
Here’s my recommendation for a couple loops:
Downtown Loop
- Start in the Brooklyn Arts District with Flytrap and Edward Teach. It’s easy parking and a hassle-free Uber drop-off.
- Walk into downtown, hitting up Ponysaurus or Front Street for some beers and food. For extra steps or some of the best pizza in town, walk to Hi-Wire and get Cugino Forno delivered to your table.
- Keep walking to Oden Brewing or Savard Beer & Board for some of the best beers in downtown. Bonus points for ending the night at Husk or Duck & Dive.
Uptown / Midtown Loop
- Start at Mad Mole Brewing for some of the best beers in town.
- Head across the street to Wrightsville Beach Brewery for lunch (try the shrimp and grits).
- Uber to Wilmington Brewing Company, Flying Machine, By the Beach Brewing, or Broomtail.
- End the night watching beach volleyball and drinking beers at Bill’s.
2025 Update: Wilmington Has the 9th Most Breweries Per Capita in the United States?
By my math, Wilmington’s brewery scene is one of the best in the United States.
Wilmington has a metro population of around 460,000 people but a city population of around 123,000.
The city has 20 breweries within the Wilmington area (including Leland Brewing but not including further-flung options like Burgaw Brewing and Salty Turtle Beer Company).
That means Wilmington has 8.1 breweries per 50,000 residents, sneaking it into the top 10 list for the United States, according to Food & Wine:
Breweries Per 50,000 Residents
- Portland, Maine (18)
- Bend, Oregon (16)
- Boulder, Colorado (14)
- Kalamazoo, Michigan (10)
- Vista, California (10)
- Greenville, South Carolina (10)
- Portland, Oregon (9)
- Pensacola, Florida (9)
- Wilmington, North Carolina (8)
- Missoula, Montana (8)
Final Verdict: Wilmington’s Breweries Are Worth the Visit
I’m a big water guy. Water is the number one ingredient in beer. If the water isn’t good, the beer won’t be good either.
Wilmington’s water isn’t good. We get our water from a muddy, chemical-filled, PFAS-laden river called the Cape Fear. At best, the water tastes gross. At worst, it gives you supercancer and lifelong fertility issues.
That being said, the best thing about Wilmington breweries is the scene: the run clubs, the trivia nights, and the sunny weekend afternoons have given me more memories than any specific IPA or lager. For the scene – maybe not always the beer – Wilmington’s breweries are worth visiting.
Leave a Reply