It’s the beginning of August. School is soon back in session, hurricane season is here, and time we take a look at the craft beer situation in Charleston.
Canning
Packaging beer is a great way for visibility of a brewery. Charleston’s canning market used to be dominated by Coast Brewing, Palmetto Brewing, and Westbrook Brewing. Cans of Huger Street, HopArt, and One Claw could be found in most grocery stores. Now alot of breweries either have a canning line on-site or use mobile canning vendors like Iron Heart Canning out of Asheville. You can find beers like Freehouse Brewing Green Door IPA, Frothy Beard Brewing Andele’, Holy City Brewing Washout Wheat, and Cooper River Brewing Orange Infused Ale on the shelves. Edmund’s Oast Brewing , LoFi Brewing, and Revelry Brewing also have tasty offerings like Bound By Time, Mexican Lager, and Church Lady.
While not seen on store shelves, breweries like Charles Towne Fermentory have had great success on canning and selling straight from the taproom. This means less visibility in the stores but generates increased visits to the brewery itself for people wanting their beer.
Taprooms
Taprooms are no longer barren areas with a few tables and chairs scattered around a bar. Pawleys Island Brewing features large roll up doors that lets the outside in. SNAFU Brewing has a spacious bar area that opens out into the brewery itself with couches and tables. Freehouse recently tripled their seating area, and Palmetto is undergoing a huge renovation. The newly re-opened Tradesman Brewing is absolutely gorgeous with bold colors and metal highlights. Their huge patio area can seat a bus sized crowd. Frothy Beard just added a party room to the taproom so you can comfortably hold events away from the main crowd. Revelry added a stunning rooftop bar that gives you a view of the city and the harbor. Edmund’s Oast long bar and windows every where is a site to behold. The woodwork and custom tables of Commonhouse Aleworks should not be missed. Twisted Cypress Brewing gives people living off of Sam Rittenburg a place for a cold brew and a backyard for the dogs to play in.
Craft Beer Coverage
Oak Road Brewing used to be the sole northern brewery in Summerville, but the addition of Wide Awake Brewing will give craft beer lovers more options in the area. Wide Awake should be open by the end of the year. Famulari’s Brewpub and Pizzaria on Folly Road offers quite the selection for people on the way to or leaving Folly Beach. Having a pizza with that brew doesn’t hurt either! Ghost Monkey Brewing and Two Blokes Brewing recently celebrated their 2 year anniversary in Mount Pleasant and soon will be joined by Indigo Reef Brewing. Dockery’s opening on Daniel’s Island gives locals a chance for great beer, food and entertainment with an in house stage. Fatty’s Beerworks and Munkle Brewing round out the popular area know as the Brewery District. Both of these should be on your to-do list. And the recently opened Commonhouse Aleworks in Park Circle compliments Coast Brewing and the soon to be opened new location of Holy City Brewing. And while I can’t give out any details there will be a couple more breweries coming soon. Fat Pig Brewing recently opened on John’s Island, giving Low Tide Brewing company.
Craft Beer Events
I can’t even name all of these so I’ll highlight a few. Charleston Beer Garden continues to draw a huge crowd and looks to be even bigger next year. This outdoor event has a ton of local and area brews, food, and live music. Charleston Beer Week is a week long craft beer lovers dream. All the breweries have special events planned ranging from kayaking and low country boils to beer releases. South Carolina Brewers Guild Trade Show returns next year highlighting the breweries and the trades associated with them. Revelry and Birds Fly South Brewing team up every year for The Funk, showcasing sours and wild fermented beers.
In Review
The Charleston craft beer scene continues to thrive. Just about anywhere you can get beer on tap, you can drink a local brew. Cans and bottles can be found in local stores, and more appear every day. And as the city expands, so do your taproom options. Cheers people!