Breweries in Northeast South Dakota

If you travel up north (or “nort’,” as area residents sometimes pronounce it), make sure you spoil yourself with a trip to Watertown Brewing Company. The beer is top-notch and the delicious food specials change every week, making repeat visits a must. Warning: their charcuterie boards come on real planks of wood and are designed to make sure you don’t drink on an empty stomach. Did we mention they make delicious crackers out of their spent grain from the mashing process? YUM!

Since Brookings is named after Judge Wilmot Wood Brookings, it makes sense that the brewery would be named after the man’s wooden legs. The bar is managed by one of the state’s few certified cicerones (a term for those with proven beer knowledge), so you know that what you’re drinking was made by the best. Come for the beer, stay for the conversation and cracker crust pizza.

South Dakota’s second-oldest brewery is Dempsey’s Brewery, Pub and Restaurant in Watertown. Visit and you'll experience delectable brews, award-winning pizza and a possible performance from Bill Dempsey III, owner and Official Bag Piper of South Dakota.

Serving yummy craft beer every day in Aberdeen, the One-Legged Pheasant Brewery is a welcoming place where the smiles are always real and the beer is always cold.

Dempsey's reputation for serving amazing beer and food unsurprisingly led to the creation of a second location. Danger von Dempsey's Pizza & Brewhäus in Aberdeen features an open-kitchen concept that serves pie after pie of that award-winning pizza. Beer, of course, is also available.

Identity is everything to brewers at Eponymous Brewing Company. That's why they incorporate local grains, fruits, hops, and more whenever possible to produce authentic — and delicious — beer in Brookings.