Florida Craft Beer: 5 Breweries Near Destin, Florida

At Crab Island Watersports, we are passionate about providing our guests with a fun, relaxing and refreshing day on the water, all while ensuring their safety with our high quality equipment and instruction. After your day at the beach, you may be wondering how to top off the fun of riding our jet skis(opens in a new tab) and pontoon boats in the clear green waters of Florida’s Emerald Coast. May we suggest finishing up your day and quenching your thirst with a refreshing Florida craft beer or two? For all those beer lovers visiting Crab Island, you are in luck! Destin and the whole area surrounding Crab Island is chock-full of many of the best breweries in Florida.
 
With so many breweries Destin, Florida has to offer, you may be wondering where to start. Today, we will fill you in on five of the best breweries in Fort Walton Beach, Destin and Santa Rosa Beach, what makes them unique and why previous guests recommend these local spots:

Just a 15 minute drive from Crab Island Watersports, this Fort Walton Beach nano brewery has a taproom and a cozy plant-filled beer garden. They have 13 beers on tap which are all brewed on site. For the non-beer drinkers they also offer cider, wine, and mixed drinks. To accompany your pint, they host some of the area’s best food trucks! Previous guests rave about this quaint craft beer hidden gem in Fort Walton, read some comments below:

“This brewery has an incredibly homey beer garden out back that I fell in love with. The beer selection was amazing, and I loved that they had non alcoholic and wine options, so everyone feels included. The food truck parked out front had the most delicious Southern style sandwiches. Can’t wait to come back soon!”

“On a weekend trip from Tallahassee and I am so glad we stopped in here as our last brewery to visit. All their beers we tried were very very good and the staff are friendly and fun. Got to talking to the owner and she’s cool. As a homebrewer, it was great talking to someone who clearly knows what they’re doing. Went to a few other local breweries that left much to be desired but this one was top notch!”

Address:
505 Mooney Rd. NW Fort Walton Beach, FL
Phone: (850) 428-5576
Email: fortwaltonbrewing@gmail.com
Hours:
Thursday 4PM-8PM
Friday 4PM-9PM
Saturday 2PM-9PM

While you’re in the Fort Walton neighborhood, check out this other craft brewery in Fort Walton Beach, Props, which is a veteran owned and operated business. It was founded by two United States Air Force Special Operations Pilots and the name is an homage to their experience in propeller or “prop” aircraft. They spent most of their lives serving in the air force before starting their Northwest Florida brewery, which has expanded to now have three locations. Keeping with the theme, many of their beers have names inspired by their time in the air force as well, such as their ‘Flying Coffin IPA’ and ‘Blonde Bomber Ale’. Read what others have said about this Fort Walton Beach craft brewery below:

“Really good beer and absolutely amazing service from Michelle. We come down to vacation in Fort Walton Beach every year and this was our first time stopping in the taproom. Needless to say, we will be back whenever we are in town.”

“Great beer and great atmosphere-our bartender was awesome and made our whole day!”

Address:
125 Lovejoy Rd NW Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548
Phone: 850-586-7117 ext. 3
Email: propsbrewery@gmail.com
Hours:
Wednesday-Friday 3 – 9 PM
Saturday-Sunday 12 – 6 PM
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Next, make your way over to Santa Rosa Beach and check out the Idyll Hounds Brewing Company. This locally-owned spot brews “Florida inspired craft recipes” for themselves, beer enthusiasts and novice beer drinkers alike! Idyll Hounds founder and head brewer, Frasier “the Pup” Hansen, started the company back in 2013 after having been an avid home brewer. Idyll Hounds currently has 17 beers available in their taproom, which includes everything from IPAs to porters to sours and even their own hard seltzer on tap. Read about why this “flavor first brewery” has a 5 star average on Google by checking out some testimonials below:

“I love this place. Great beer. They are creating some wonderful brews. Some really eclectic flavors. Brewery on premises. Awesome food by the Summer Kitchen Cafe….If you like great beer and good vibes, this is the place to be.”

“Seriously great beer. Always a great selection of unique & delicious beer. The ipas are the best in the area and some of the best anywhere.”

Address:
845 Serenoa Rd.Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
Phone: 850-231-1138
Email: info@idyllhoundsbrewingcompany.com
Hours:
Tuesday-Thursday 11AM – 8PM
Friday-Saturday: 11AM – 10PM
Sunday-Monday: 11AM – 7PM
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After hitting up Idyll Hounds, take a 12 minute stroll and you’ll find the family owned and operated Grayton Beer Company. Founded in 2011, it aims to source the highest quality ingredients for their beers and create tastes that reflect and encourage the relaxed and neighborly way of life of Northwest Florida. They have a 30,000-square foot facility and brew year-round styles, as well as seasonal releases and barrel aged brews. As a family-owned community-driven business, this is a great spot to bring the whole family – their tap room is both pet and child friendly! You can read below what some previous guests have said about Grayton Beer Company:

“Just outside of Grayton Beach State Park and right on the bike trail Grayton Beer Company is perfectly positioned to serve up some cold brews — and they do. A nice selection of beer for any palette, and a food menu that covers appetizers to entrees. We found that the pretzels were a perfect pairing with a couple “cold ones”. Cheers!”

“I had such a great time here! We got a flight and the staff was so helpful while we selected our beers. The taproom is not air conditioned yes but it was still just fine! Not a big deal bc they have awesome fans! Our bartender, Kyle, was awesome and super knowledgeable about all the beers and the facility!”

Address:
217 Serenoa Road Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Phone: (850) 231-4786
Email: info@graytonbeer.com
Hours:
Tuesdays 10AM – 8PM with Trivia at 6 – 8PM (catered menu and prizes)
Wednesday-Friday 10AM – 5PM
Saturday 12PM – 5PM
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This aptly named microbrewery’s tasting room was opened in 2016, after the owners had spent many years brewing at home. Their vision was to create a place for locals to gather and enjoy craft beers that reflect “the style, flavor, and fun of Destin.” Destin Brewery is continuously experimenting with new beers, while maintaining their core selection. They’ve been winning awards since 2019 for their brews. Most recently, their East Pass IPA was a double gold winner in the 2022 New York International Beer Competition. The previous year, in 2021, they won Florida Brewery Of The Year in the same competition and the brewery boasts an average of 4.8 stars on Google. Still not convinced? Check out what a few guests have said about the spot below:

“First time coming here last week on vacation and really loved this place. Every beer I tried was great and the people working were super friendly. Will definitely be back on my next trip to Destin!“

“Kind owner and staff! Beer was great, love that they offer flights so you try a little of everything! Great growler prices as well. Do yourself a favor and stop by!”

“Creativity, collaboration, and community are priorities to this brewery. They try to keep a variety of new and exclusive beers in the tasting room at all times and have a budding barrel aging program. The tasting room offers wine or house-made root beer for the nonbeer folks and/or kiddos. The tasting room is small but cozy and has a spot for kids to color or play games. For all patrons, there’s cornhole, playing cards, and Jenga you usually see at breweries, plus a TV usually playing sports. The bartenders are unbelievably nice. ;)“

Address:
505 Mountain Dr, Unit N Destin, FL 32541
Phone: (850) 842-4757
Email: info@destinbrew.com
Hours:
Tues-Sat 2PM – 7PM
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