A Thanks To Local Beer

At the end of the day, we really do have much to be thankful for in 2014. Friends, family, fine food, and drink. I hope you’re able to enjoy all of these things this holiday season. Certainly Charleston is a great place to be, and the beer of the area is top notch. I’m most thankful for the spirit of the American brewer and for the growth of craft beer in Charleston.
For this Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks to our local brewers, the men and women who make the outstanding beer we all know and love, the local stuff which keeps us happy, which the rest of the country just can’t get enough of, and which has put Charleston on the map.
First, thanks to Palmetto Brewing, doing it since before craft beer was cool — the originals and still in the game. Thanks for making fantastic and highly underrated Amber Ale and for making a great Espresso Porter. The old guard is still making beer today and if it weren’t for them, the scene in South Carolina beer might be quite different in deed.
Thanks to Coast Brewing Company for leading the way in Charleston’s craft beer movement. Thanks for fighting to change the laws that held South Carolina back for decades and opened the floodgates of great beer in our state. Thanks for HopArt, Boy King, BlackBeerd Stout, and Rye Knot Brown to name a few. And thanks for hosting Brewvival, one of the greatest beer festivals in all the land.
Thanks to Holy City Brewing Company for not only representing South Carolina on a national stage, but for bringing two medals back from Denver’s Great American Beer Festival in recent years. Thanks for doing the Iron Brew competition that helps foster home brewers in Charleston and gives them a stage. Thanks for your delicious Pluff Mud Porter, Washout Wheat, and Pecan Dream.
Thanks to Westbrook Brewing Company for making some of the finest beers you will find anywhere. Thanks for having nine of Beer Advocate’s Top 10 Best Beers in South Carolina. Thanks for building a world-class brewery and using it to make beers like Gose, Citrus Ninja, and thanks most of all for Mexican Cake and all of its wonderful and unattainable varieties!
Thanks to Tradesman Brewing Company for following your dream and embodying everything the American brewer represents. Thanks for being the little engine that could and for bringing craft beer to James Island. Thanks for your Bricklayer Red Ale, keep doing what you’re doing.
Thanks to Freehouse Brewing Company for caring enough to be South Carolina’s only certified organic brewery. That extra effort is not only admirable, but quite hard to do. It’s even harder to do and still make good beer. But you have done it! Thanks for your Green Door IPA, Ashley Farmhouse Ale, and your unique Sourlina Peche.
Thanks to Frothy Beard Brewing Company for having fun with beer. Who else would put peppermint in a porter? And thanks for naming a beer after a classic Humphrey Bogart movie. Long live the Maltese Falcon! Thanks for the Choco-naut Stout and your gingery ZIngiber Pale Ale.
Thanks to Revelry Brewery Company for grabbing the torch and running with it and continuing to move craft beer forward in downtown Charleston. Thanks for building a beautiful tasting room in which to drink your beers. Thanks for making an American Pale Ale that is a great version of a style sometimes overlooked in our bigger, crazier beer culture. Thanks for also making bigger and crazier beers.
And, lastly, thanks to Edmond’s Oast, not only for your amazing, world-class restaurant, but for making great beer on site. Thanks for having an appreciation for the funky stuff, but not going overboard with it. Thank-you for your Nameless City strong ale and for making a peanut butter and jelly stout that is oddly delicious. Here’s to Charleston beer this holiday. Enjoy the brews … Cheers.
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.