I visited Lauderale back in 2019. I liked the place but memories are sketchy as it was brewery number 3 on a brewery crawl with friends. The same group visited two breweries in April 2026 with Lauderale the first. There have been many changes here but the beer still is great. There are 23 house beers on tap. the 24th tap is connected to the brewing water and its delicious and very cold. They can that water and I'll bet its a good seller. My IPA flight had 4 beers and I tried several others. Superdelic Session IPA was 4% ABV and was quite tasty. Some session IPAs aren't that good this was went along with the others well. Good robust taste. Monkey Road Red was a hoppy red IPA. Good one; it was 6.0% ABV not too hoppy. Indigenous Bastard IPA is their flagship for good reason. It was my favorite and was hoppy with some bitterness as an IPA should be. At 7.0% ABV it had a malty background and was easy drinking. Hyperion Double American IPA was 8.0% ABV. which wasn;t evident but I still liked the Indigenous more. I tried the Pieces of Eight Belgian Triple and it was outstanding. Totally true to style with the authentic taste and light and clear. At 9% ABV you have to be careful with it; it goes right down and I appreciated the proper tastes. Lauderale has a very cool vibe; a cool breeze was going, it wasn't too crowded and the staff gave us excellent service. Love that water!. I notched the Front of the building is covered with vines. Cool place. Website: Lauderales.com

3 Sons Brewing traces it's passion for great beer back to 2011. After growing and starting a brewhouse. the current brewery and taproom was opened in 2019. The taproom is big and accommodates everything related to it's operation. From tanks, fermenter and a canning line for production. The retail sales area, bars and taps is all in sight, The brick pizza oven sits behind the bar. The place wasn't full when we arrived but would fill up for Saturday night shortly. We got some sample beers and I ordered a 5 brew IPA flight. The flight was served in cool IPA style tulip glasses. Far nicer than the usual 4 oz glasses, pictured to the left. Dopeailicus is a 6.5ABV dry hopped NE IPA. with citrus and Mosaic hops. A good easy drinking 'everyday' brew. Citrus Machine is a double dry hopped with Citrus and Mosaic.6.5% ABV NE IPA. Great Minda Imperial IPA, 9% ABV, is a collaboration with Clag Brewing (Ohio). Hopped with Riwaka, Peacharine, and Mosaic Hyperboost. this yields a huge aroma and juicy notes. In a World of 9;s, be a 10 is an Imperial hazy IPA. 8.5 ABV and hopped with Nelson, Amarillo, and Citra. My favorite was Green Gorilla Triple IPA. it had the best flavors and aromas. At 10.5 ABV the alcohol added more taste and Strata hops differentiated it from the others. We tried several pizzas; all are unique and are 'chef driven' relating to unusual toppings. Overall we had a great visit and will return in the future. Website; 3SonsBrewing.com

Circle and Square Brewing is about one block off the University of Mississippi campus. The Walk of Champions and the surrounding park area are nearby. It's a full brewery with many different styles of beer available. it was busy and would get more so as there was a 'trivia night' starting at six. It's a very friendly place their motto, posted at the front entrance, "Cold Beer and Warm People" is accurate. The large bar / serving area offers 10 house made brews and several other options. There were several unusual styles that aren't seen often at craft breweries. Among them: a Cream Ale, English Mild, Baltic Porter. Barleywine and Russian Imperial Stout. My favorite was a Red Rye IPA; Hopness Monster. I don't see many beers using Rye malts and this one was excellent. Rye adds a certain spiciness and unique taste to beers made with it. At 6.0% ABV it was easy drinking and the rye worked well here. The spicy taste of rye and a light hop bitterness made this a great choice. Delta Drift was a American West Coast IPA. Another well done IPA; it was clear and had good hop bitterness. The Menace to Sobriety Baltic Porter was great and the 8.0 ABV was not evident. That's proper for this style. Most porters are ales; Baltic Porter is a Lager and this one was also barrel aged. This added complexity with toffee, caramel and bourbon tastes. There is also a good food selection here. As the trivia time approached we were at a long table, outside, alone. We soon had 10 new friends join us and that was a cool thing. They were mostly local students and were friendly and we traded ideas for some of the questions. Trivia was ending and it was time for us to head on. Our visit was fun and I certianly would return. Website: Circleand Square.Beer.

Red Panther Brewing is located in downtown Clarksdale Mississippi. Not too far away is the Blues Highway, US 61, and the crossroads of Highway 61 and 49. There is a lot of Blues history here; even the name of the brewery is derived from some of the original inhabitants and local flower and fauna. I had a quick visit but was able to try the beer locally at a gathering later. They had four of the beers available on draft. The beers are all good, my favorite was the Mississippi Hazy. It was refreshing and easy drinking with citrusy tastes. The Clarksd'Ale XPA is a slightly hoppy extra pale ale. It was nice to find a local Mississippi Delta brewery. We stayed at another Clarksdale classic; The Shack Up Inn. Website: RedPanther.Beer

Natchez Brewing is located in the historic downtown area of Natchez. Natchez has many old, historic buildings mainly due to the fact that the town wasn't destroyed after the civil war. Natchez surrendered to the union so there was no reason to plunder the town. After walking and driving all around the town it was time to try the local brewery. The brewer here discovered craft beer in Asheville, NC. Asheville is a great beer town and someone starting out could learn about the various operations of running a craft brewery. Eventually, the family moved to Natchez and started a "Southern inspired, Souhern brewed" craft brewery. I was there on a quiet weekday and felt welcomed and the staff was friendly and gave me good service. There is a good variety of beer styles and other newer drinks that the younger crowd likes. (Ciders, Seltzers etc.) All are house made. I had Capital, a hazy IPA. It was very hazy and had good citrusy tastes. At 6.0 ABV it was light drinking. I also tried Gustaff a Belgian Quad. It was very strong tasting with true to style tastes and aromas. The 10% ABV really brings the tastes out. I had a 5 oz sample; this brew was one of the unusual brews I found on my trip on the Blues Trail. The brewing equipment is all in the taproom; there is a big "beer deck" where the brew kettle is. There are many different tanks and fermenters are all around. They could have 20 beers on tap with all this equpment. It was a good visit and I would return. The food menu looks good and there are areas of Natchez, along and below, the old river docks, that look interesting. Website: NatchezBrew.com

After leaving Natchez (above) we got on US 61, heading for Baton Rouge. Along the way we wanted to look arouund St. Francisville. There are several nice hotels there. It was getting late and we were ready to head on. Bayou Sara Brewing was right there as we finished. I wanted to go in and see what they had. It is a popular place; it was full of locals starting a trivia game. Looking at the beer board. I saw a beer that looked good for the ride to Baton Rouge. Appropriately named, Hop Skip and a Jump is an American Pale Ale. It was a good choice and at 5.7% ABV and 73 IBU it had good bitterness and hoppy tastes. My beer was served in a glass but I needed to get going. I got a 'traveler' and we headed on. Website: BayouSaraBrewing.com

Skeeta Hawk Brewing copy to come