See which of the state’s breweries was named the best in Mississippi

If you’re looking for a good craft beer brewed in Mississippi, you may not have to look far. With roughly 20 brewers in the state, your chances are good.

Finding the best beers in the state is another story, but SB Nation’s Hustle Belt – Belts Beer Garden makes it easier to hop on a crafty destination.

This year’s Top 5 breweries in the state feature some familiar favorites and a couple new ones to sample, if you haven’t yet.

Hattiesburg’s Southern Prohibition Brewing Co., which opened in 2013, tops this year’s list.

It’s the passion of the people working at SoPro that makes the brewery what it is.

“The beer is a piece of the puzzle,” said Ben Green, who has been SoPro’s head brewer since the beginning. “It might be a big piece of the puzzle, but it’s the details that make it go from good to great. We’re always striving to get better at those details.”

Over the years, the brewery has experimented with a lot of beers and beer styles, pushing each to the extreme and trying variations of the brews to make them exciting, fun and appealing to beer aficionados. In addition, SoPro opened a taproom, a large outdoor patio and an event room for special occasions. There is a full-service restaurant and full bar, including a selection of alcohol-free mocktails, making it a family-friendly, something-for-everyone kind of place.

“In 2024, we look a lot different,” Green said. “We’re really focused on the experience.”

But Southern Prohibition is focused on the beers, too. Greens said the brewery is constantly making improvements.

“The landscape is awesome right now,” Green said. “It’s become more competitive, which is better for everybody. We’re constantly trying to be better versions of ourselves and that shows in our beers.”

Other breweries on the list include No. 2 Fly Llama Brewing in Biloxi; Natchez Brewing Co. in Natchez at No. 3; No. 4 Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. in Kiln; and Jackson’s Fertile Ground Beer Co. rounding out the list at No. 5.

Fertile Ground owner Matthew McLaughlin said his brewery takes a different perspective on making beer.

“We approach our portfolio a little bit differently than other breweries,” he said. “IPAs ruled the world for the last 15-plus years. We make some of those, but we really focus on lagers, which take a considerable amount of time and attention to brew.”

The brewery is in the heart of the Belhaven Town Center development. Weekly events include trivia and adult spelling bees, and monthly weekend events include crawfish boils and cookouts. Oktoberfest, of course, is a main event going into the fall.

“It’s a social magnet,” McLaughlin said. “Being that kind of cohesive community glue is what is most inspiring to me.”

Mississippi’s venture in the craft beer industry was slow getting started, mainly because state law wasn’t conducive to building a thriving beer business.

The first new law that kicked off the movement was one that allowed for beers containing more than 5% alcohol to be sold in the state. Allowing breweries to sell their beer on site also helped.

The changes to state law started in 2012, and since then the growth of beer sales and number of breweries popping up has continued to grow.

The oldest brewery in the state is Lazy Magnolia, which started making and selling packaged beer in 2005. In 2013, Southern Prohibition Brewing and several other breweries opened and the craft beer trend took off.

Although the breweries could make beer, they couldn’t sell it on location, so beer lovers had to buy their favorites in retail stores. Instead of selling beer, breweries offered tours for a fee and gave away samples of their beer with the tours.

In 2017, another new law was enacted to allow breweries to sell a limited amount of their beers, so many opened taprooms to the delight of fans. Craft beer lovers could meet at the breweries and compare notes on the beers in person.

Other new laws in recent years have done even more to help the craft beer business in Mississippi, creating an even more robust industry.

Today, Mississippi’s craft beer industry has an economic impact on the state of roughly $269 million per year, according to 2022 figures, the most recent available from the Brewers Association. The state’s breweries produce more than 20,000 barrels of beer each year.

Raise Your Pints: Small group helped bring big change to Mississippi’s craft beer movement

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on X  @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.