Here's to Local Beer! Meet the Microbreweries of the Outer Banks

What goes best with a hot summer day on the Outer Banks? A cold, locally brewed beer.

Fortunately, you don't have to travel far to find one. From Corolla to Ocracoke, six local breweries are pouring handcrafted beers that are as distinctive as the communities they call home, and another local brewery is coming soon.

But the beer is only part of the story. These breweries have become gathering places where neighbors catch up after work, vacationers swap stories from the day's adventures, musicians fill taprooms with live music, artists hang their works and nonprofits host fundraisers. Each one reflects the laid-back spirit, creativity and welcoming inclusivity that make the Outer Banks such a special place to visit and live.

Choosing a local brewery also means supporting local entrepreneurs who have invested in the communities they love. Every pint you down helps strengthen small businesses while giving visitors a taste of the Outer Banks beyond the beach.

Ready to discover the local beer scene? Here's where to raise a glass.

The Weeping Radish: Where It All Began

First, a little history. Any story about brewing on the Outer Banks must start with The Weeping Radish. In 1986 German immigrant Uli Bennewitz opened The Weeping Radish in Manteo, North Carolina's first microbrewery, after successfully pushing for changes in state law that allowed breweries to sell beer directly to customers. This milestone legislation helped launch the state's thriving craft beer industry.

While The Weeping Radish no longer brews beer on the Outer Banks, its legacy lives on. Today, visitors can enjoy Weeping Radish beers at the taproom inside Firetender Stone Oven Cooking + Bar in Manteo alongside a full-service restaurant serving tasty stone-oven pizza and much more.

Photo: Outer Banks Brewing Station backyard gathering spot. 

Central Outer Banks

Outer Banks Brewing Station

Back in 2000, early on in the craft beer scene, Outer Banks Brewing Station brought a new concept to the Outer Banks. It was not only one of the Outer Banks' original breweries, but also the nation’s first wind-powered brew pub, with a turbine towering over the cavernous brewing facility and restaurant and partially powering the operation.  

Outer Banks Brewing Station crafts award-winning beer, from the legendary Lemongrass Wheat Ale, Olsch and Hugh Hefeweizen to seasonal offerings and their own hard seltzer. And you can enjoy a meal with your beer, from pub fare to gourmet dining.

It has also evolved over the last 26 years into one of the most loved gathering spaces on the Outer Banks. It’s an award-winning brewery and restaurant, but also a family gathering spot in the backyard, the area’s most popular live entertainment and nightlife venue and a locals’ community space hosting everything from fundraisers to nonprofit events to awards celebrations.

If you're interested in seeing where the magic happens, Outer Banks Brewing Station offers Brewery Tours every Wednesday from 3 to 4 p.m. for up to 20 people ages 21 and older. The guided tour includes a video, tasting and smelling of ingredients, a Q&A and samples. The cost is $15. Enter to win a free Brewery Tour here.

600 S. Croatan Highway, Kill Devil Hills, (252) 449-2739

Photo: Go behind the scenes at Outer Banks Brewing Station: Enter to win a tasting for four people here: Win a Brewery Tour & Tasting for Four!

Lost Colony Brewery Waterfront Pub

What’s now known as Lost Colony Brewery started in 2016 as Full Moon Brewery, a two-barrel nanobrewery as part of Full Moon Cafe in Manteo. Owner Paul Charron later changed the name to Lost Colony Brewery and expanded to a 30-barrel brewing facility in Stumpy Point on mainland Dare County.

Lost Colony’s award-winning British-style beers are available on tap at more than 30 locations around the Outer Banks and at the Lost Colony Brewery Waterfront Pub in Nags Head. With a view of the sound and indoor and outdoor seating, taste icons like Kitty Hawk Blonde, Lost Colony Nut Brown Ale, Holy Hand Grenade Imperial Stout, Hatteras Red and many more and meet locals and visitors sharing stories over pints. Catch trivia or live music on select nights, and grab pizza from next door if you’re hungry.

7531 S. Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head, (844) 629-2337 

Photo: The ocean-view rooftop deck at Swells'a Brewing in Kill Devil Hills is the perfect afternoon perch.

Swells’a Brewing | Swells’a Brewing Duck Dive Bar

An inviting little beach bar, Swells’a Brewing, named for surfers’ anticipation of impending wave days, came to Kill Devil Hills 2021. Owners Alex and Laura Wolcott, Brad Fitzgerald and Sam Harriss operate a 10-barrel system to create an ever-rotating selection of all N.C. grain-based craft beers in inventive flavors with witty names. The beer lineup changes frequently and includes IPA and pale ale iterations, stouts, lagers, blondes and a hard seltzer with names like Jimmy Buffett Ruined My Life, Wave Farmer, Gulls Gone Wild and Called in SeaSick. They also sell wine, canned drinks and THC beverages.

Their Kill Devil Hills building, a mix of modern and traditional Nags Head style, offers indoor seating, an ocean-view rooftop deck and a spacious backyard and frequently hosts live music, art exhibits and events. The owners say their intention was for Swells’a to feel like the living room of the Outer Banks, and this taproom and tasting room does have that vibe. They have a few snacks for sale, and food is welcome to be ordered in.

Swells’a has an outpost in Duck called the Duck Dive Bar, serving Swells’a Brewing beers and drinks from a full bar and hosting frequent live music.

1802 S. Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil Hills

106 Scarborough Lane, Duck

Photo: Help yourself to a cold one from Whalehead Brewery's self-pour tap wall.

Northern Outer Banks

Whalehead Brewery

Whalehead Brewery in Monterey Plaza in Corolla was established in August 2023, and it is woman-owned and veteran-owned and operated. Owner Christin Crowley spent her youth vacationing in Corolla and after 22 years in the Navy and traveling the world, she retired here. At Whalehead Brewery’s 5-barrel brewery she brews flagship beers from the fruity Cherry Farmhouse Ale to the Head Knocker IPA to the U-85 lager and so many more. Cocktails and wines are also available.  

The welcoming, industrial-style taproom is a popular Corolla gathering place where people enjoy Whalehead beers and others via self-pour tap wall along with food and events like trivia, bingo, live music, fundraisers and special events. See the list of events here. The restaurant serves fire-cooked pizzas and other shareables, soups, salads, sandwiches and more. 

887 Albacore Street in the Food Lion Shopping Center, Corolla, (252) 597-1632

Northern Outer Banks Brewing

Northern Outer Banks Brewing Company was the first brewery to take a chance on Corolla. Head brewer Michael Cherry and his wife, Kathleen McCubbins, started producing beer for distribution in late summer of 2017 and had opened up for on-site sales by December 2017. With demand for distributed beer exceeding their brewing capacity, they decided to stick to serving their beer in-house only. Draft beers on tap include their own beers, a Mexican Amber Lager, Honey Oatmeal Stout, Corolla Saison, Kolsch and many more, as well as guest taps and cans.

Enjoy their beers inside the intimate, 1,000-square-foot brewing facility at a movable bar among the brewing equipment, or outside on the patio, where food is available from the restaurant next door, The Local OBX. 

Hatteras Island

Tugs Soundside Taphouse and Brewery

The first brewery on Hatteras Island opened this year in Avon – sort of. While they are awaiting permits to begin brewing their own beer, the brand-new Tugs Soundside is already a thriving taphouse serving a curated lineup of local, NC and Virginia beers. In the former Po House restaurant, it is situated directly on the Pamlico Sound next to Ocean Air Sports, making it sunset central and the perfect spot to enjoy a beer after a day on the water.

Owner Travis Murray has been a passionate home brewer since 1999, and he and wife, Sherry, had been dreaming of opening a Hatteras Island brewery ever since they moved here full-time three years ago. When the Po House closed earlier this year, they hightailed it into action and made their dream come true. For now, the Tugs taphouse serves 20 guest beers on draft. When they are fully legal to brew their own beer, probably early in 2027, they’ll serve their own beers alongside some guest beers.  

The taphouse is hub of social activity in Avon, from live music to music bingo, an arts market to community seafood boils with Outer Banks Boil Company. 

29450-A N.C. Highway 12, Avon, (252) 987-8847

Photo: 1718 Brewing in Ocracoke is a very popular island gathering spot with indoor and outdoor seating, tasty beers and a restaurant on site.

Ocracoke Island

1718 Brewing

Ocracoke’s first and only brewery, 1718 Brewing, officially opened its doors in 2017, though the brewing had begun earlier. Owner Garick Kalna and his wife, Jacqui, started (and have since sold) Ocracoke Coffee, so they knew they enjoyed the service industry, but Kalna says he had always had the dream of getting into the brewing business.

1718 creates a broad spectrum of extraordinary beers, which you can find on tap in locations all along the Outer Banks. In their own taproom they serve an ever-rotating selection, from the Street Skate Very West Coast IPA to the Pretty Work Kolsch to the Mexican Chocolate Stout and Black Widow Blackberry Cider and so many more.

Their taproom is a community hotspot with indoor and outdoor seating that’s always full of both locals and visitors hanging out or enjoying live music, open mic nights, sports on TV, trivia, DJs and events of all types.

Sharing space with 1718 is Marauder’s Kitchen, serving comfort foods like smash burgers, tacos, fresh seafood, apps, salads and other foods that go well with cold beer.

1129 Irvin Garrish Highway, Ocracoke, (252) 928-2337

Photo: Local shops like Breeze Thru in Avon stock local microbrews in cans, such as the Lost Colony Brewery beers seen here, so pick some up to take home.

If you can't make it to a brewery, ask for local beers in your favorite bottle shops and bars.

To keep up with the happenings in local breweries, be sure to stay tuned to our Nightlife listings.

As always, drink responsibly and take a taxi or Uber if you need a ride home.