Memphis Brewery and Craft Beer Guide

Memphis is where the modern craft beer era in Tennessee got its start. The very first brewpub in Tennessee — Boscos — opened in Germantown in 1992 and paved the way for others by helping to change outdated beer laws in the state.

While Boscos got the party started, Wiseacre, Memphis Made and others opened in the 2010s and really took things up a notch. Since then, the beer scene has been thriving, with new breweries opening or expanding.

Memphis is no Denver or Asheville, mind you, but the beer scene in the Bluff City is growing in size and sophistication.

In this guide to the craft brewery and beer scene in Memphis, you’ll find profiles of each brewery, what’s on tap year-round, an interactive map, and details about annual beer events.

• Craft Breweries in Memphis
  1. Beale St. Brewing Co.
  2. Boscos Restaurant & Brewing Co.
  3. Cooper House Project
  4. Crosstown Brewing Co.
  5. Flyway Brewing Co. (formerly High Cotton)
  6. Ghost River Brewing Co.
  7. Grind City Brewing Co.
  8. Hampline Brewing Co.
  9. Hook Point Brewing Co.
  10. Maroon Brewing Co.
  11. Memphis Made Brewing Co.
  12. Meddlesome Brewing Co.
  13. MFS Brewing Co. (Memphis Filling Station)
  14. Mississippi Ale House and Brewpub
  15. Soul & Spirits Brewery
  16. Urban Consequence Brewing Co.
  17. Wiseacre Brewing Co.
• Map of Memphis craft breweries
• Beer events in Memphis

Craft Breweries in Memphis

Beale St. Brewing Co.

Web: https://bealestbrewing.com/
Location: Despite the name, Beale St. Brewing does not yet have a brick-and-mortar brewery or taproom.
You need to try: Elvis famously enjoyed his grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches. And while the King of Rock’n Roll wasn’t that big of a drinker, he’d surely indulge in King’s Ransom, a peanut butter and banana porter.

More info about Beale St. Brewing

Kelvin Kolheim founded Beale St. Brewing in 2020 after his passion for homebrewing led him to make a career change. While Kolheim does not have a brewery yet of his own, he’s been contract brewing with Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. in Kiln, Miss., as well as Soul & Spirits Brewery in Downtown Memphis.

Boscos Restaurant & Brewing Co.

Web: https://www.boscosbeer.com
Location: 2120 Madison Avenue
Year-round beers: Flaming Stone, Bombay IPA, Midtown Brown, Isle of Scottish Ale
You need to try: The Midtown Brown has been a Boscos staple for decades now, winning a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2001. It pairs well with any of the brewpub’s delicious pizzas.

More info about Boscos

As mentioned earlier, when Boscos opened in 1992 as Tennessee’s first brewpub, it was a big deal. Founded by businessman Jerry Feinstone and brewer Chuck Skypeck, Boscos started in the upscale Saddle Creek shopping center in Germantown. It was a hot spot with locals. Tom Cruise even filmed a scene from “The Firm” inside Boscos one day in 1993.

Boscos closed its Germantown location after a 10-year run, and opened its current Midtown spot in Overton Square in 2002. It expanded to Nashville, Franklin, Tenn., and Little Rock, but those locations have since closed.

Boscos is still Memphis’s only full restaurant and brewery. It’s a great spot for a date night, Sunday brunch or a quick beer after work. 

Skypeck is no longer with Boscos, but his award-winning creations are still on tap. Flaming Stone, Midtown Brown and Isle of Skye Scottish Ale are all Great American Beer Festival medal winners.

Cooper House Project

Web: https://www.cooperhouseproject.com
Location: 906 S. Cooper Street
Year-round beers: Cooper House does not have a lineup of year-round beers, but its flagship is the Midtowner Pale Lager.

More info about Cooper House Project

Cooper House Project is Memphis’s newest brewery, opening in 2022. 

Cooper House Project may be an odd name for a brewery, but it’s apt. Founder Travis Wiseman literally built his small brewery and taproom inside an old Midtown home in the Cooper-Young neighborhood.

Cooper House Project produces limited release, small-batch beers, and does not yet distribute. That means the taproom is the only place to buy Cooper House Project’s high-quality brews.

The brewery specializes in traditional lagers, sours, experimental beers, and German beers, though recently has had some more hoppy ales on tap.

Crosstown Brewing Co.

Web: https://crosstownbeer.com
Location: 1264 Concourse Ave.
Year-round beers: Traffic IPA, Siren Blond Ale, Lucky Chompers Hellese Lager, Animal Frequency Hazy IPA, Vision Board Sour
You need to try: Vision Board is a mixed berry sour and likely the best year-round sour you’ll find in Memphis.

More info about Crosstown

Clark Ortkiese and Will Goodwin were friends who bonded over homebrewing before opening Crosstown Brewing in 2018.

The two made beer in Ortkiese’s backyard, near the site of the abandoned Sears distribution center that would become known as Crosstown Concourse.

The revitalization project reimagined the massive structure as a vertical, urban village that mixed retail, residential and commercial development. Crosstown Brewing became part of the redevelopment efforts on the property off Cleveland Street.

Crosstown Brewing’s taproom has indoor and outdoor seating and is a big draw in the Midtown area.

Traffic and Siren are Crossrown’s flagship beers. The brewery distributes in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Sadly, Ortkiese passed away in 2025.

Ghost River Brewing Co.

Web: https://www.ghostriverbrewing.com
Locations: 827 South Main St. and 341 Beale Street
Year-round beers: Ghost River Gold, Grind House Cream Ale, Zippin Pippin IPA, Heliades’ Tears Amber Ale
You need to try: Ghost River Gold was the first widely-available local craft beer in Memphis, so it’s helped wash down many BBQ sandwiches and racks of ribs.

More info about Ghost River

Founded in 2007, Ghost River was Memphis’s first craft brewery. It was started by the company behind Boscos. Essentially, it was a way to get the company’s beers on tap in bars around Memphis without using the Boscos name, which might scare off some competing bar owners.

Ghost River’s flagship brewery on South Main has expanded capacity over the years and also added a taproom in 2016.

Current owner Bob Keskey opened a second Ghost River location on Beale Street in 2021, which includes a taproom, beer garden and small brewing operation.

Grind City Brewing Co.

Web: https://grindcitybrew.com
Location: 76 Waterworks Ave.
Year-round beers: Poppy’s Pils, The Godhopper, Tiger Tail, Thaddeus Amber Lager
You need to try: The brewery’s flagship Poppy’s Pils is a light American Pilsner that’s fermented with a Mexican Lager yeast. It’s crisp and refreshing, and an easy beer to drink while watching the Memphis skyline from the taproom grounds.

More info about Grind City

Grind City was opened by a father-son team in 2019. Bill Seely, president of Varsity Spirit, is Grind City’s CEO. His son, Hopper, who graduated from brewing school in England, is president of Grind City.

Grind City’s head brewer, Mark Patrick, got his start at Ghost River Brewing.

Grind City is located in the Uptown area, north of Downtown, on the banks of the Wolf River Harbor. It boasts a 10,000-square-foot brewery and taproom, large deck, and huge outdoor space.

In 2025, Grind City announced it was ending beer local beer distribution and would focus on events and concerts.

Hampline Brewing Co.

Web: https://www.hampline.com
Location: 584 Tillman Street, Suite 1
Year-round beers: Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Bock Seat Driver, Brang the Tang, Cherry Bomb
You need to try: It doesn’t last long once it hits the taproom, so grab a Crazy Chain New England IPA before things go off the rails.

More info about Hampline

Martha Hample, Richard Rhodes and Wes Osier opened Hampline in 2021.

Osier, a native of North Mississippi, is Hampline’s head brewer. He came to Hampline after brewing at Urban South and Abita in Louisiana and Terrapin and Sweet Water in Georgia.

Hampline Brewing, which is close to Wiseacre’s original location on Broad, is named after the Hampline bike and pedestrian trail. The brewery’s bear-on-a-bike logo pays tribute to both the bike trail and Natch, the first animal in the Memphis Zoo.

Maroon Brewing Co.

Web: https://www.maronbrewco.com
Location: 642 West Poplar, Collierville
You Need to Try: Imagine a nice day at the lake while sipping on a Pickwick Pale Ale.

More info about Maroon Brew

The family-friendly Maroon Brew Co., founded by Maggie Emerson in 2024, is Collierville’s only brewpub.

The taproom has a good selection of craft beers brewed onsite in Emerson’s 5-barrel brewhouse. The food menu ranges from hot dogs to smash burgers, plus kids meals.

In 2021, Emerson left a longtime job at a software company to join Hook Point Brewing. She started as a brewing assistant, but worked her way up to head of production and operations before deciding to start her own brewery.

Maroon Brew is situated in a quiet shopping center just east of Byhalia Road. The location was formerly occupied by Thomas Meat and Seafood Market.

Memphis Made Brewing Co.

Web: https://www.memphismadebrewing.com
Location: 435 Madison, Suite 100
Year-round beers: Cat Nap, Fireside, Fruit Snacks, GonerBrau
You need to try: Memphis Made’s Fireside Amber is ubiquitous around town for good reason — it’s an easy drinking, malty brew that goes well with just about anything.

More info about Memphis Made

Memphis Made was founded by Drew Barton and Andy Ashby in 2013 in the Cooper-Young area of Midtown. That location closed in 2024 when the pair opened a taproom further west in the Edge District on the outskirts of Downtown, which is also where Memphis Made’s brewing operations are located.

Barton a native Memphian, is president of Memphis Made, as well as its head brewer. He moved to Asheville, N.C., in 2005, to pursue a career in brewing. Barton was head brewer at French Broad Brewery before returning to Memphis to open Memphis Made.

Ashby is a former journalist who serves as Memphis Made’s vice president and sales manager.

In 2025, Memphis Made filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that it was looking for a buyer.

Meddlesome Brewing Co.

Web: https://www.meddlesomebrewing.com
Location: 7750B Trinity Road in Cordova
Year-round beers: Memphis Style Lager, 201 Hoplar IPA, Broad Hammer Brown Ale
You need to try: Meddlesome’s Memphis Style Lager is the perfect antidote to the sweltering Memphis summers.

More info about Meddlesome

Ben Pugh and Richie EsQuivel founded Meddlesome Brewing in 2017 in Cordova, close to Shelby Farms Park. The brewery is tucked into an industrial park off Trinity Road, and its taproom has an industrial look and feel.

Pugh, Meddlesome’s head brewer and president, started brewing at home before founding Eclectic Ales, a brewing equipment company, and brewing at Rock N Dough in Jackson, Tenn.

Pugh met EsQuivel through the homebrewing community, became friends, and decided to open up a brewery together. 

Meddlesome has three year-round beers that are available across the region, but head to the brewery’s taproom where excellent, small-batch beers are cycled through the taps on a regular basis.

MFS Brewing Co. (Memphis Filling Station)

Web: https://www.mfsbrewing.com
Location: 206 E. GE Patterson
You need to try: If you ask for a Left Handed Screwdriver at the hardware store, they may laugh out loud. At MFS, the Left Handed Screwdriver is no joke. It’s a honey wheat ale brewed with sweet orange peel, coriander and wild flower honey, and it’s excellent.

More info about MFS

Bryan Berretta and Heather Reed originally planned to open a growler shop called Memphis Filling Station a decade ago. Those plans never came to fruition, but they started brewing their own beer and serving it at local events, generating a lot of buzz around town.

In 2024, after years in the making, the ownership team of Berretta, Reed, Jesse Lara and Scott Kley-Contini opened their brick-and-mortar brewery and taproom in Downtown Memphis.

Mississippi Ale House and Brewpub

Web: https://mississippialehouse.com
Location: 9211 Hwy 178, Olive Branch, MS, 38654

More info about Mississippi Ale House

Mississippi Ale House opened as a craft beer taproom in 2017, growing to 30 taps in 2018. In 2022, they purchased the cidery next door and began brewing Mississippi Ale House-labeled beers, including Ale House Light, Arm Chair Amber and Hop Doctor IPA. They also distribute specialty beers in the Memphis market under the “Brewlab” label.

Soul & Spirits Brewery

Web: https://soulandspiritsbrew.com
Location: 845 N Main St.
Year-round beers: Bring it Home Helles Lager, Hoochie Coochie American IPA, Smoke Stack Smoked Dark Lager, Hound Dog Hefeweizen, Hopper Bolic Hazy Juicy IPA, Spanish Harlem Amber Lager
You need to try: Soul & Spirits makes some of the best IPAs in Memphis. So if you’re a fan of hoppy beers, order a Hoochie Coochie or Hopper Bolic, or try any of brewer Ryan Allen’s hop-forward special releases.

More info about Soul & Spirits

At the north end of Main Street in the Uptown area, Soul & Spirits occupies a cavernous, 38,000-square foot building that was formerly a manufacturing and logistics facility.

Husband and wife duo, Blair Perry and Ryan Allen, founded Soul & Spirits in 2021. Perry serves as the brewery’s CEO, while Allen, who trained as a brewer in Germany, is Soul & Spirits’ COO and brewmaster. 

The brewery’s taproom has the feel of a German beer hall, with long tables with benches. 

Meanwhile, Soul & Spirits’ beer list is one of the largest and most diverse in town, so there’s something for everyone.

Wiseacre Brewing Co.

Web: https://wiseacrebrew.com
Locations: 2783 Broad Ave. and 398 S B.B. King Blvd.
Year-round beers: Tiny Bomb American Pilsener, Ananda IPA, Gotta Get Up to Get Down Coffee Milk Stout, Memphis Sands Lager, Regular Pale Ale, The Beach Within Reach Berliner Weisse, Bow Echo Hazy IPA, Adjective Animal Double IPA, Puffel Hazy Double Juicy IPA, Irusu Rice Lager
You need to try: Tiny Bomb is king at Wiseacre, but the Gotta Get Up to Get Down Coffee Milk Stout is one of the better and more flavorful beers in Memphis.

More info about Wiseacre

Wiseacre, founded in 2013 by brothers and Memphis natives Davin and Kellan Bartosch, is the fastest growing of Memphis’s craft breweries. 

Wiseacre has two brewery and taproom locations, more than 60 employees, and a distribution footprint that includes 20 states. Wiseacre’s Downtown brewery, built in 2020, quintupled the brewery’s previous capacity.

Before opening Wiseacre, Davin Bartosch, Wiseacre’s head brewer, went to brewing school at the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago and served as brewmaster with Rock Bottom in Chicago. Meanwhile, Kellan Bartosch gained experience on the sales and marketing side of the beer industry, working for a distributor and also for craft industry pioneer Sierra Nevada. 

Wiseacre’s Tiny Bomb, which won a Great American Beer Festival bronze medal in 2014, is one of the top-selling craft pilsners in the country.

Map of Memphis craft breweries

Explore this map of breweries and taprooms in the Memphis area. Click on each marker icon for directions.

Beer events in Memphis

Memphis is home to several annual craft beer events and festivals that attract both regional breweries and craft breweries from across the country.

Three of the best events are:

• Cooper-Young Beerfest, which focuses on breweries within a day’s drive of Memphis. It’s a fundraising event for the Cooper-Young Community Association.
• Taste the Rarity, an annual event hosted by Wiseacre Brewing that includes both regional and non-regional craft breweries.
• The Science of Beer, a fundraiser for Memphis Museums of Science and History (MoSH) programming, summer camps, STEM workshops and more for local students. In addition to great beer, the event also features food from local restaurants and fun, educational activities.