Craft Breweries & Distilleries

Grandaddy Mimm's Distillery makes small-batch moonshine, vodka, whiskey, sorghum rum and beer, and is known for flavored moonshines such as blackberry and peach cobbler. Hours below come from the distillery's website; call before a long drive.

Both locations share one phone number, 706-781-1829. The distillery's site says tours are always recommended: just ask.

Helen's own beer-hall tradition is a short walk from the river. The Helen visitor bureau dining list includes Hofbrauhaus, Troll Tavern, Monday's Pub and Two Tire Tavern, and our craft beer guide and Helen craft beer scene page go into pours and prices. If you want grape instead of grain, see the Helen area wine trail.

Tantrum Brewing is mapped on OpenStreetMap at 1939 Helen Highway in Cleveland, the nearest craft brewery to Helen. Brewery hours and taps shift often and its website isn't loading, so check its social pages or call before you make the drive.

The link between mountain moonshine and NASCAR is real. According to Wikipedia, racing skills in Dawsonville grew out of moonshine running, and early stock car pioneers Roy Hall, Lloyd Seay and Raymond Parks came from the area. The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame shares a building with Dawsonville's City Hall, and the Dawsonville Pool Room on the square sounds a siren when Bill or Chase Elliott wins. The town holds the Mountain Moonshine Festival each October.

So a tasting at The Garage in Dawsonville and a walk past the Pool Room fit into one afternoon. Amicalola Falls has a Dawsonville address too.