We brew it, sell it, and drink it (responsibly) here. With dozens of local breweries, bottle shops, and craft beer-conscious bars and restaurants, you won’t need to settle for an uninspiring beverage.
Whether you want to sample flights from a few different breweries or sit down and enjoy a pint after sightseeing, each of these breweries adds a refreshing component to the Durham beer scene and definitely deserves a spot on your itinerary. Cheers!
* denotes members of the NC Craft Brewers Guild, which works to make North Carolina a nationwide leader in craft brewing.
Explore more of North Carolina's booming craft brewery scene on the NC Ale Trail by Rail, with stops between Raleigh and Charlotte via NC By Train's Piedmont Route. Hop on the train for a day, an overnight, or embark on a one-week whistle-stop crawl to explore the cities along the route and taste locally-made brews throughout your journey.
The NC Ale Trail by Rail is a partnership between the NC Craft Brewers Guild, NC By Train, and local destination marketing organizations.
At this Warehouse District taproom and kitchen, taste beers brewed in pursuit of the perfection represented by the world's most precise timekeepers. Atomic Clock's seasoned brewers craft a wide range of beers and the menu includes craft cocktails, wine and a full food menu.
A serious taste for beerpairs with an emphasis on local agriculture and grass-fed beef at Durham’s oldest brewpub. Local pride prevails in beers like the Parish Street Pale Ale. You can also find their beers at their sister restaurant, Bull City Solera & Taproom. Tours are available most Saturdays.
Fans of beer and baseball unite. The brewery is the home base for one of the first breweries in the country located inside a professional sports stadium. The beer is brewed at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and is available for sale during games and at local bottle shops. It’s nothing less than a home run.
Clouds was originally conceived as a "German-inspired, American-made" brewery. Now, with a full-service restaurant in Durham's Brightleaf Square, they create beers in far-ranging styles. Enjoy the people-watching on the patio out front or settle in for a game near one of the many TVs inside the taproom. If you're not there for the sports on TV, you can stay entertained with arcade games and pool tables in the back room.
"Brewed until surreal," Asheville's Dssolvr opened a taproom in Durham in 2023. Here, you'll find a range of beer styles, including lagers, English ales, IPAs, sours, and more; dog-friendly taprooms with regular events; and psychedelic, alien-themed art.
This 6,000-square-foot, 15-barrel production brewery takes a modern approach to classic styles, offering lagers, IPAs, sours, seltzers and more. Pair an Extra Crispy Pilsner with a comedy show or a Painkiller slushie with a live performance on the outdoor patio.
This Ninth Street brewery looks to build community around beer. In addition to brewing their own beer, the taproom has 24 taps from breweries all over North Carolina. This spot is also dog-friendly and has a beer garden in the back.
Fullsteam makes "distinctively Southern beer," often partnering with other local businesses and sourcing their ingredients from nearby farms or local foragers. Brews like Carver, a sweet potato lager, and Biscuit, a Good Food Award-winning wheat beer, show what these folks are all about. Stop by their taproom at Boxyard RTP for a pint and a slice of square pizza. They also have a new taproom slated to open at ATC in late 2025.
The Raleigh-based brewery has expanded to Durham with a location in University Hills. Try one of their flagship beers or latest taproom-only small-batch release. They are family-friendly and pup-friendly, so stop by with the whole crew.
This Golden Belt space has 8,844 square feet of interior space, as well as a 1,678 square foot outdoor covered patio and beer garden. Game and activity heavy, featuring full-sized shuffleboard courts, soccer pool tables, ping pong, and more, the bar’s 24 taps feature year-round, seasonal, specialty, sour, and one-offs, as well as wine, local cider, and guest taps from neighboring breweries.
"The beer beer would drink if beer could drink beer." If that doesn't make sense quite yet, just try their Scottish Ale to see what they mean. Visit their East Durham brewery and taproom and tour the 6,000 square-foot facility. The brewery has an onsite pizzeria, so you can get your fill of salads, pies and snacks without leaving the premises. It’s a fun activity for the whole family.
After much anticipation, Durham's first Black-owned brewery opened on South Driver Street in late 2023. Proximity's owner, Mike Potter, has made a name for himself in Durham by organizing and hosting Blacktoberfest, an annual festival celebrating beer, barbecue, music, entertainment and culture. At the brewery, you'll find a range of beers with a focus on IPAs, plus collaborations with other local companies.
Proximity Brewing is an East Durham watering hole and Durham's first Black-owned brewery. Photo: Yuri Vaysgant Photography
Starpoint partnered with Beer Study to open a dog-friendly bottle shop and brewery, and soccer bar in the Rockwood neighborhood. Sample beer from their 38 taps, including Starpoint brewed from the facility out back, and stay to play old-school arcade games.
This popular craft brewery, bar, and beer and wine bottle shop has locations next to Durham Central Park and in South Durham. The beers brewed on-site in south Durham are often one-off experimental batches, which you’ll need to visit to try. The Glass Jug downtown taproom, adjacent to Durham Central Park serves exclusive Glass Jug beers on draft.
Durham's first female, veteran-owned brewery serves beer lovers with more than 15 taps dedicated to their beer, ranging from Cackalacky Southern Pale Ale to The Moose Imperial Stout. The South Durham taproom pairs beers with pub food like salads, sandwiches and burgers.
This Durham company plays a large part in what makes Durham's beer so special. Epiphany connects local brewers to our regional terroir by working with farmers to source grains from across the Southeast and malting them to exact specifications for use in the brewing process. Partnerships between Epiphany and local breweries ups the quality of the beers while reducing their carbon footprints.
