Craft Breweries & Distilleries

North Georgia has a growing craft beverage scene that draws on a long history of spirits in these mountains. Long before legal breweries and distilleries opened their doors, these hills were known for moonshine, and that bootlegging tradition is a direct ancestor of modern craft spirits in the region. Today you can visit craft breweries, legal moonshine distilleries, and tasting rooms scattered across the mountain towns near Helen. Here are the spots worth your time.

Tantrum Brewing in Cleveland (10 Public Square, 706-970-5048) is the closest craft brewery to Helen, about 15 minutes south. They have a solid tap list with IPAs, stouts, and seasonal brews, and the taproom on the town square is a comfortable place to spend an afternoon. Grandaddy Mimm's Distillery in Blairsville makes award-winning moonshine and corn whiskey using copper pot stills. The tasting room lets you sample their full lineup, and the staff is happy to explain the process. Ivy Mountain Distillery near Mt. Airy produces small-batch spirits with mountain-sourced water. Their tastings run about $5-12 and usually include a souvenir glass.

The connection between moonshine and NASCAR is real, by the way. Drivers who ran illegal liquor on these winding mountain roads at night developed the driving skills and modified cars that became the foundation of stock car racing. The Dawsonville Pool Room still celebrates that heritage. When you are sipping a legal corn whiskey at one of these distilleries, you are tasting a cleaned-up version of what fueled an entire subculture in these mountains