At the convergence of African-American culture and Beer is Hippin Hops Brewery, a Black-owned brewery that has set up shop in EAV. The newly opened brewery boasts plenty of uniquely named beers—such as The Cookout (Light Smoked Wheat), Skrawberri (Strawberry Hazy IPA), Hater-aid (Shandy), and Black Don't Crack (Stout)—as well as beermosas and an impressive assortment of seafood. Pull up for the beer and stay for the cajun shrimp deviled eggs, gator bites, and oysters.

Across the street from Mary Mac’s Tea Room on Ponce De Leon Avenue is Torched Hop, a brewery founded by Atlanta natives Chris and Stephen Bivins that brings the heat with its local brews and eccentric bites. Torched Hop’s one-of-a-kind drink menu consists of staples like South’easter Cold IPA (6.7%), Tribunal-Double IPA (8.5%), The Scars Remain V.2-Barrel Aged Stout (12.2%), and Spoondrift Raspberry Gose (4.9%). Plus, where else can you enjoy some game-changing beer while chowing down on Smoked Tofu BLTs, twice-fried jumbo chicken wings (which are combined in a special six-piece wing, fries, and house draft package on Wednesdays for $13), and Tempura Avocado?

As you’ll see as you continue through our guide, the westside of Atlanta is home to many of the most well-respected breweries, and among those is a brewery that doesn’t shy away from repping the Westside and more specifically, the West End—Best End Brewing Company. An all-in-one brewery, restaurant, and tiki bar, Best End somehow manages to deliver on all fronts, so prepare yourself for a stacked assortment of traditional and nitrogen beers, including the 7.1% Lack of Fokus Hazy Rye IPA, the 5.5% Holy Shenanigans Dry Irish Stout, the 4.0% Salsa Shark Gose, the 4.9% Anxiety Pils American Pilsner, and the 7.5% Troy and Abed in the Morning foreign extra stout.

With tallboy cans sporting labels printed to resemble old-school paper printouts, Halfway stands out spectacularly by not doing too much. Their Belgian-style lagers and ales are remarkably drinkable, and they’ve gained a devoted following that you don’t always see so quickly, especially for a brewery that opened only a summer ago. And sure, everybody’s been on a lager and seltzer kick for the past two years, but HC’s German pilsners, American ales, and Belgian-style witbier, and other specialty projects prove that you don’t always need a head-knocking high-ABV beer.

It may just be the simplicity of Game Night IPA that makes Second Self’s flavorful India Pale Ale so special. It could also be the Nintendo NES controller designed into the can art. But like its refreshing contemporary, the La Fria Caribbean Lager, it is an extremely versatile sipper, which sets you up to try some punchier, two-hopped hazy IPAs via the New Contender series, which is in its fourth round and is pitting a cashmere and lemon drop IPA, which was recently rolled out in honor of National IPA Day.

Does your other favorite new brewery also have its own library? If not, you can still support them but you’ll have the best chance to put those brain cells back in place at Bold Monk. Best explained as “a place to simply be,” Bold Monk comes through with a great ambiance and great beer. The 7.3% ABV Discipline Dubbel is also a strong pull for fall season, as the classic Dubbel comes with notes of toasted bread, brandied cherry, and caramel. Or keep going up with the Belgian-style 8.8% The Way Tripel. The Shared Spirit IPA won’t steer you wrong either, but why not stay warm this autumn with some high ABV brews?