BEARD BREWS

[Brewery] Coast Brewing - Charleston, SC

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:25:31 -0500

Not far from Westbrook, you’ll find another solace of high quality brews in Coastal South Carolina. I’m speaking of Coast Brewing, the co-hosts of the epic annual beer fest Brewvival, and makers of several stellar brews. Some personal favorites from the folks at Coast include Blackbeerd Imperial Stout (and the barrel aged version, of course), Boy King Double IPA, and one of my top wants, Old Nuptial Barrel Aged Barleywine. Recently, I took a trip up to grab a couple of other seasonals, so check out some of the sights from that trip below.

I’ve been to Coast a handful of times, but I’ve never taken a tour or talked much with anyone who works there. Jaime showed us around the brewhouse while we sipped on the four beers that were on tap that day. South Carolina beer drinkers should be especially thankful for her efforts, as she helped lead the Pop the Cap SC movement in order for craft breweries to take off. She’s also the President of the SC Brewer’s Association. At any rate, she gave us a quick rundown of the brewing process for them and the equipment that they use to brew their beers.

I’m always excited to see barrels in breweries. Probably because I’ll drink anything that’s been barrel aged — and due to the fact that I think the barrel aging process is fascinating and brings such great flavors to all types of beers. At Coast, they’ve still got four barrels of Old Nuptial Barleywine in barrels, which was released earlier this year. The bottled version was aged for 18 months, so what’s left is definitely getting a VIP treatment. Personally, I’m hoping some of the extra barrel aged version makes an appearance at Brewvival.

One of the beers I was after was the Rye Knot Brown Ale. I had heard a lot about this particular brew, but I had never tried it. Upon sampling, I’d compare it to Cigar City’s Cubano Espresso. A good bit of coffee and chocolate flavors are present, and more than welcomed in a Brown Ale as far as I’m concerned. I was a little bummed that bottles weren’t available yet — as I’ve been excited to see all the new label designs from the fine folks at Fuzzco.

The other brew that I sought out was Coast’s Event Horizon, a Cascadian Dark / Black Ale. I thought this one was pretty good as well, though for some reason I was expecting something more like a Black IPA. The brew showcases a really nice roasty character that is sure to please even those who aren’t a fan of the style but like Brown Ales or Porters.

Coast runs a relatively modest operation and still distributes themselves. Most of their kegs / bottles don’t venture too far outside of Charleston and Hilton Head areas. The seasonals usually don’t stick around, but you should be able to find bottles of the Hop Art IPA and 32/50 KoIsch throughout the year. Sometimes you might get lucky though, as Coast brewed a second helping of Boy King this year. And I doubt you’ll have to try too hard convince yourself to take a trip to the SC coast.

If you’re in Charleston for the weekend, you could definitely hit Coast and Westbrook in a day. Although, Coast is only open from 11-2 on Saturdays, so plan accordingly.

[Brewery] Westbrook Brewing - Mt. Pleasant, SC

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:00:06 -0400

If you’re in Charleston, you should take a trip to the suburbs and visit Westbrook Brewing. Situated in Mt. Pleasant, just minutes away from the historic beauty that lies in downtown, you’ll find a year-old brewery that is one of the nicest facilities I’ve ever been to. Sure, it makes its home in an office / industrial park like most breweries, but once you walk in the door of the taproom, you know you’re about to experience something different. Read on to see what I discovered on my recent visit to Westbrook.

I had sipped on the brewery’s offerings just twice: both the IPA and the White Thai at Brewvival last year and a Belgian at a tasting at Growler’s in Hilton Head. I thought all the offerings were pretty solid, especially for a new brewery. But over the last year, Westbrook has certainly stepped their game up. From the recently brewed collaboration(s) with the Charleston Beer Exchange (Citrus Exchange Ninja and a barrel aged offering) to upcoming projects which include, among several other things, a Red Wine Barrel Aged Belgian Quad, the folks here have been hard at work making a name for themselves. As if all of that wasn’t enough, cans should be cranking out soon of both of Westbrook’s flagship brews (the IPA and White Thai).

(from left to right: Vanilla Tree Belgian Dubbel, Nitro Smoking Gun Stout, Saison Ale)

Due to South Carolina’s laws, you can only have four samples a day when you visit a brewery. That’s right. No pints. But hey, take a bunch of your friends and everyone get something different so you’ll at least get a sip of everything they have to offer. Here at Westbrook, four samples at 4 oz. each will set you back $4. Not too shabby.

I had the Vanilla Tree Dubbel with oak and vanilla beans, Smoking Gun Smoked Stout, Zwickelbier and Nitro Smoking Gun. I thought the Vanilla Tree was the best. The oak and vanilla bean flavors were subtle but made enough of an impact to be memorable. Don’t expect the vanilla to be super sweet though, it’s not, but you will still know it’s there. The combination at work here makes this Belgian Dubbel a nice break from other brews of the same style. Glad I was able to snag a growler on the way out so I can have a full glass of it in the next week or so.

About every hour or so, on days the tasting room is open, someone from Westbrook will lead a tour around the facility. These are always interesting to me — mainly because everyone does things differently. It’s great to see how things come together to make great beer when you’re visiting a new place. The group was shown around the brewhouse and even the barrel room, which is pretty much off limits at other breweries that I’ve visited.

(The hardware - well, some of it)

(New canning line that will be cranking soon)

(The glorious barrel room)

(R&D at its finest)

Overall, Westbrook is a pretty great place. There was even a wood-fired pizza truck in the parking lot in case tasters got hungry. You can’t beat that. I’m a big fan of food trucks at breweries — I think it’s a pretty under-explored market and a win for both parties. With all that said, I’m really looking forward to trying all the stuff that I heard was in the works and heading back to the brewery when I get a chance. Cheers!

[Bottle Share] Barrel Aged Hunahpu's from Cigar City Brewing

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:05:00 -0400

(left to right: Flor de Caña Rum, Stranahan’s Whiskey, Four Roses Bourbon, and Virgin Oak)

Well folks. My wife and I (and a couple friends of ours) had to endure the most chaotic, hectic mess of a beer release to get these bad boys. But, between the four of us, we managed to snag all four variants of the coveted Barrel Aged Hunahpu’s from Cigar City. I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I’ll hit the regular Hunahpu’s release in March — which I hear is much less chaotic thanks to wristbands — but for me, the rum variant alone was worth my trouble. In case you’re wondering Hunahpu’s is an Imperial Stout with Madagascar vanilla, Peruvian cacao nibs, cinnamon and both ancho and pasilla chilies. All of that combines for a pretty unique stout that is released once a year.

Hope you get to try at least one of these. If you can only pick one, go for the rum. Spiced rum brings out a lot of the flavor from the chilies with a good amount of sweetness too. You’ll thank me later. Cheers!

Barrel Aged Hunahpu's Release - Cigar City Brewing

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:49:04 -0400

Well folks, after about a month of back and forth, I’m heading down to Tampa tomorrow. The goal is clear: come home with a couple bottles of the coveted BA Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout from Saturday’s release. There are four variants: Rum, Bourbon, Whiskey and Virgin Oak growlers. Also, I’m pretty excited about the tap offerings as well — specifically Final Push, Tiramisu Sweet Stout and Imperial Milk Porter. Hoping to also make it to the taproom in time for the Firkin’ Friday tomorrow. It’s Puppy’s Breath Porter with cookie dough, chocolate and vanilla this week, a delicious sounding Cookie Dough Porter. Probably going to be super sweet, but most of these end-of-the-work-week selections could be one-time offerings.

[Image credit: Cigar City Brewing Facebook]

Saturday Night Tasting. Olde Rabbit’s Foot, Olde Hickory...

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:59:45 -0400

Saturday Night Tasting. Olde Rabbit’s Foot, Olde Hickory Imperial Stout, Mother Earth Barrel Aged Tripel, Coast Boy King Imperial IPA, Shipyard Pumpkinhead.