Two miles north of Charleston’s city tourist center, there are seven breweries who have opened up just a short bike ride of each other. In the neighborhood, The New York Times writes, dogs and children are welcome, serendipity is celebrated and you are accepted for whatever you chose to be. The head brewer is usually just a stone’s throw away. Matt Lee and Ted Lee set out to try all seven breweries, including the food options, and see what else the neighborhood has to offer. (You can also check out the $4.8 million, three-quarter-acre skatepark that the city opened in 2017).
Cooper River Brewing has enough Adirondack chairs, picnic tables and string lights that make you feel like you’re in a beer garden, not an old steel warehouse. You can see the tanks and brewing activity inside through a glass wall. They serve something for everyone: a stout, porter, ESB (extra special bitter), India Pale Ale, a golden ale. You can get a five-ounce pour for $2 or a full pint. They also have food, like smoky-tender brisket, sausage, with mac and cheese, and cornbread and the fixings (onion, pickle slices, white bread).
Revelry Brewing is the southernmost brewery in the neighborhood and one of the oldest, having been around since 2014. It has a high-ceiling taproom which shares floor space with the tanks and some funky beer names: Funkmaster Brett (a Belgian I.P.A.), Poke the Bear (an American Pale Ale) and Peculiar Paradise (a golden saison). There is an open-air living room and a nice view of Charleston’s bridges and steeples.
Munkle Brewing is one of the newer breweries on the list. Beer is dispensed into 14-ounce thistle-shaped glasses, which The Times writes is a nod to the brewery’s inspiration, Belgium. It is windowless and the tanks are hidden from view, but small groups of people hang out inside, playing pool or hanging with the many dogs people bring.
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