Angry Fish Brewing Co.

Angry Fish Brewing Co. opened in 2018 as the first commercial brewery in Lexington, and its identity is tied closely to nearby Lake Murray. The name comes from a fishing story: a brewer hooked a big red-eyed catfish on the lake, left it on a stringer at the dock during lunch, and came back to find it had escaped, prompting someone to call it one angry fish. Lake lore runs through the beer names too, including a Bomb Island imperial stout named for the island where Doolittle’s Raiders practiced bombing runs during World War II, plus an annual bourbon barrel-aged version. The lineup leans heavily toward hops, from hazy and double IPAs to a 105-IBU West Coast IPA, with a wheat beer brewed on a custom yeast blend, sours and stouts. Well-behaved dogs are allowed inside the taproom as well as outdoors.