Oak Island's Beer Scene Was Built for Locals First, Tourists Second

"We wanted to open after the peak vacation season so the locals would know we're here for them."

The quote above is from Mike Bartlett, as quoted by Life in Brunswick County. He said he picked Halloween of 2022 to open Solar Brewing Company instead of the Fourth of July.

Oak Island's drinking scene has changed in just under four years. The island had no brewery at all; today it has a real circuit.

Two Places That Opened in 2022

Solar Brewing Company, at 8108 E. Oak Island Drive, was the island's first true brewpub. Bartlett had been home brewing since 1988, picked up a brewing and distillation certificate from trade school in 2019, and bought his equipment from the team behind the former Check Six Brewery in Southport before opening on Oak Island itself. Lonerider opened on the island's west end that same year, in mid-2022, as the North Carolina chain's newest location.

Two spots opening in the same year, on an island that had spent decades without a single brewery, added new weeknight options on Oak Island.

Only One of These Places Actually Brews Here

A useful distinction is where the beer is brewed: on the island or elsewhere. Solar Brewing makes its beer on site, the West Coast IPAs, the Munich Helles, the Top O' the Lighthouse Irish Stout, all of it fermented at the East Oak Island Drive location. Lonerider is a taproom. The beer it pours is brewed in Raleigh and shipped down, which makes it a solid outpost of a respected state brand but not, technically, a brewery in the way Solar is.

Neither model is wrong. But if you're the kind of resident who wants to know where the actual production happens on this island, Solar is currently the only answer.

The Bottle Shop That Rounds It Out

A few blocks from Solar sits Grape & Ale, at 8521 E. Oak Island Drive, which functions less like a bar and more like a curated stop for people who already know what they want. It runs 12 taps with a rotating selection that swings from kolsch to stout, sells beer in six-packs, four-packs, and singles, and hosts free tastings on select nights. It adds a bottle-shop option to the island's beer scene.

Year-Round Residents and Summer Visitors

The island runs close to 10,000 year-round residents, a number that gets dwarfed by the vacationer swell every summer.

Solar opened once the summer rush had passed. It also runs regular trivia nights, adding a recurring event to its offerings.

The One Worth the Drive

If you're willing to leave the island proper, Carolina Crab Brewing Company adds a second brew-on-site option to the rotation. It opened in 2024 on an 18-acre property along Long Beach Road, positioned between Oak Island, Southport, and St. James, and unlike Lonerider, it brews its own beer rather than importing it. The property leans into its size, with room for live music, food trucks, and a park-like setting that neither Solar nor Grape & Ale can match on their smaller in-town footprints.

It's a short enough drive that it functions as part of the same rotation rather than a separate trip, which is worth knowing if you've only been treating the island itself as the boundary of what's local.

A Realistic Friday-Night Rotation

For anyone mapping this out for themselves, here's roughly how the pieces fit together depending on what kind of night you're after:

1. Start at Solar Brewing Company if you want something brewed on the island itself, food that leans toward pizza and wings, and the chance of a trivia night depending on the schedule.
2. Head to Lonerider if you want a familiar North Carolina name and a west-end location without needing to leave the island.
3. Stop at Grape & Ale for a bottle-shop pace, a rotating tap list, or a six-pack to take home rather than a full sit-down visit.
4. Make the short drive to Carolina Crab Brewing Company when you want the bigger property, on-site brewing, and a live-music night with more room to spread out.

Together, these four businesses offer a range of options on and near Oak Island, including an on-island brewpub, a taproom, a bottle shop, and a nearby brewery.

What This Actually Says About the Island

None of this is a reason to buy a house here. It's just a fact about the place if you already live here or are trying to picture what a normal week looks like once the rental turnover crowds clear out. The island's newer businesses add to the options available to residents and visitors alike.

If you're weighing a move to this stretch of the Brunswick County coast, or you already live here and want a straight read on how the island actually functions day to day, Marc Stollings spends as much time thinking about the town's daily rhythms as its real estate numbers. Let's Connect if you want a local, fact-based conversation about either one.