Charleston City Paper: Hops - December 2022

CONTENTS

From the Editors

The joy of serving the brewing community 4

Craft Brew Profile Pay it Forward Charleston steps in to help 6

The Hops Master List

Where to find the breweries in the Charleston area 7

Calendar Weekly beer events 11

The Big Story David White is also known as the Dropping Pin Guy

Brewery Visit Indigo Reef has plenty to share 14

Hops is a joint venture publication by Brew Hop CHS and the Charleston City Paper to connect the Lowcountry to all of the area’s breweries.

For brew news tips, send an email to: info@brewhopchs.com

To learn more about advertising opportunities offered through Hops, contact our advertising team at (843) 577-5304 or send an email to: sales@charlestoncitypaper.com

Founding editors: Tarah Gee and Kyle Wallace Publisher: Andy Brack SALES

Advertising Director: Cris Temples Account team: Kristin Byars, Ashley Smith, Mariana Robbins, Gregg Van Leuven, Melissa Veal National ad sales: VMG Advertising More info: charlestoncitypaper.com

DESIGN

Art Director: Scott Suchy Art team: Déla O’Callaghan, Christina Bailey DISTRIBUTION

Circulation team: Chris Glenn, Robert Hogg, Stephen Jenkins, David Lampley, Spencer Martin, John Melnick, Tashana Remsburg © 2022. All content is copyrighted and the property of City Paper Publishing, LLC. Material may not be reproduced without permission.

Charleston City Paper P.O. Box 21942 • Charleston, SC 29413 • (843) 577-5304

The joy of serving the brewing community

Happy Holidays! Feliz Navidad! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah! Joyeuses Fêtes! Forhe Feiertage!

Kyle Wallace: To me, winter weather and the holidays means it’s stout season! You can have a dry Irish stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout but my favorite is the imperial stout. Here are just a few: the Cordial Offering line-up of stouts by Edmund’s Oast, the delights that come out of Westbrook Brewing like Coconaughty and Mexican Cake, and All My Dark Imperial Double by Hobcaw Brewing. Summer is for lagers, but fall and winter are for stouts!

Tarah Gee: Oh, man, Kyle. You forgot one of the best stouts in the market right now — Munkle’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Upstrike Imperial Stout! (My apologies to all who witness my love for this beer in their taproom.)

With this issue, we celebrate the one-year anniversary of HOPS! We would like to thank the beer community and com munity at large for their support. 2022 was an interesting year for the local brewing community. We made some new friends and we lost a few along the way. But we hope to continue serving you and providing you with a place to find what’s hap pening around town.

Speaking of what’s happening around town, here’s a holiday list of activities for you to enjoy:

Stock The Staircase: Stop by Brewlab all month long and help “Stock the Staircase” by purchasing a $5 ornament. All proceeds go to the house charity, SealKids, which helps fund the education for military members’ children. More: sealkids.org

Low Tide’s 7th Annual Ugly Sweater Toy Drive & Karaoke Party: 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., Dec. 9. Chicken Fats food truck. Bring a toy or donate $20 to Our Lady of Mercy and receive $4 beers all night.

Bevi Bene Holiday Market: Dec. 10.

Holiday Home Brew Competition at Rusty Bull: 4 p.m., Dec. 11, 2022. $10 to sample all homebrews. Ugly sweater competition. Toy Drive and Live music.

Hobcaw Holiday Market: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Dec. 11. Twentyfive local vendors, live music, bounce house for the kiddos.

Indigo Reet Holiday Party: Dec. 16. Beer specials, ugly sweater contest.

Freehouse Holiday Market: Dec. 17. Local vendors, beer release, food truck and live music.

Charles Towne Fermentory Anniversary Party: Dec. 17, at the Beer Garden. Beer releases, brunch food truck, live music.

Two Blokes Holiday Celebration: Dec. 17. Chewbacky Band, Santa Clause, firkin specials and tacky sweater contest.

Palmetto’s New Year’s Day Brunch: Jan. 1, 2023. Gobble Gobble food truck, live DJ, and more!

Tarah Gee aka Barefoot Beertender

Kyle Wallace aka Charleston Brewery List

Pay it Forward Charleston steps in to help

By Kyle Wallace

Debt is such an ugly word. It means you owe something to someone. Whether it is a home mort gage, car payment or a credit card, most of us owe money somehow. On occasion, we can come up short on these bills. And it may not even be a big one. Car repairs, rent or utility payment. Sometimes, these bills can be devastating — especially in the food and beverage industry, where a lot of people live paycheck to paycheck.

This is where Pay It Forward Charleston steps in.

HOPS magazine recently sat down with Carrie Larson, executive director of Pay It Forward Charleston, and discussed a desire to help others in times of need.

“Our motto is serving those who serve us,” she said. “It’s our way of supporting the Charleston food and beverage community during crises.”

Larson grew up outside of Atlanta, where her father worked for Coca-Cola. She moved to Charleston to pursue a degree in corporate communications at the College of Charleston. While studying, she worked in the food and beverage industry. At the same time, she began working for Charleston’s Spoleto Festival USA and fell in love with the art of event planning. It takes more than nine months of work to do the festival, and Carrie said she enjoyed every minute of it.

While working in this community, she met her husband, Jacques Larson. He has been cooking professionally since 1992, and has helped to open some of Charleston’s favorite restaurants including Peninsula Grill, Union Hall and Mercato. He is now the executive chef at Wild Olive on Johns Island.

In 2015, Carrie Larson joined Slow Food Charleston, the local chapter of the world wide Slow Food International organiza tion. It is dedicated to the farm-to-table movement, conserving agricultural biodi versity and protecting traditional foods. Its mission is to promote healthy living, help sustainability and provide quality into our food system. She is now the board chair of the local chapter.

Carrie Larson’s work in the food and bev erage industry shined a light on the need for occasional assistance. Most F&B workers have to pay for their own doctor’s bills since most restaurants do not offer health insurance. So when they get hurt or sick, these costs are often hard to cover. This was especially promi nent during the outbreak of Covid-19.

She joined Pay It Forward Charleston in November 2020.

“Pay It Forward Charleston began as a

collaboration between farmers, restaurants and community members who united in an effort to feed food and beverage workers during the COVID-19 crisis.”

The organization is the result of Michael Shemtov and the Butcher and Bee group wanting to help the Charleston commu nity. During the Covid crisis with every $10 donated, someone would receive goods purchased at a discounted rate from local farmers. The donations helped local food producers who were affected by restaurants closing and provided fresh food to people out of work. The work was so successful that the group was able to start offering grants to help out the local food and beverage community.

“The average grant is $500 or less,” Carrie Larson said. “We try to process all applicants as quickly as possible. It doesn’t help someone to get funds a couple of months after they need it.” There are guide lines as to what a grant can be applied for. These can be found on the Pay It Forward Charleston website.

“You have to hustle working for a nonprofit,” she added. “You have to find a value for a donor and fight for donor loyalty. But the job is rewarding. You get to work with people that aren’t here for a paycheck. They want to get the word out and find that com munity support.”

Local organizations like Holy City Brewing, Baker and Brewer, and Lowcountry Local First have held events to help raise money. The Charleston Beer Week finale, which was held at The Garden by Charles Towne Fermentory, recently also had a raffle of dozens of items donated by breweries.

If you work in the Charleston food and beverage industry, and need help, visit payitforwardcharleston.org

Provided

Carrie Larson joined Pay It Forward Charleston in 2020

Baker and Brewer

94 Stuart St., Downtown

11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

Bevi Bene Brewing

1859 Summerville Ave., Downtown

1 p.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday 12 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday 12 p.m.-8 p.m Sunday

Brewlab Charleston

2200 Heriot St., Downtown

4 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday

1 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Sunday

Charles Towne Fermentory

809 Savannah Hwy., West Ashley

2 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday 2 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 12 p.m.-7 p.m. Sunday

Coast Brewing Co.

1250 2nd Street North, North Charleston 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday

Commonhouse Aleworks

4831 O’Hear Ave., North Charleston

Closed Monday 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Thursday 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday

Cooper River Brewing

Co.

2201 Mechanic Street B, Downtown

Closed Monday-Wednesday

4 p.m.-8 p.m. Thursday

4 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday

2 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday

2 p.m.-7 p.m. Sunday

Edisto River Brewing Co.

209 Main Road Suite B, Johns Island

Closed Monday-Wednesday

4 p.m.-8 p.m. Thursday

4 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday

2 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturday

12 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday

Edmund’s Oast Brewpub

1081 Morrison Drive, Downtown

11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Sunday

Edmund’s Oast Brewery

1505 King St., Downtown

11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Sunday

Estuary Beans and Barley

3538 Meeks Farm Road, Johns Island

8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday

8 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday

8 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Fam’s Brewing Co.

1291 Folly Road, James Island

11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Sunday

Fatty’s Beer Works

1436 Meeting St., Downtown

4 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday

4 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday

12 p.m.-10 p.m. Saturday

12 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday

Baker and Brewer

Bevi Bene Brewing Brewlab Charleston

Charles Towne Fermentory

Coast Brewing Co.

Commonhouse Aleworks

Cooper River Brewing Co.

Edisto River Brewing Co.

Edmund’s Oast Brewpub

Edmund’s Oast Brewery

Estuary Beans and Barley

Fam’s Brewing Co.

Fatty’s Beer Works

Freehouse Brewery

Frothy Beard Brewing Co.

Frothy Beard Off World

Ghost Monkey Brewery

Hobcaw Brewing Co.

Holy City Brewing

Indigo Reef Brewing Co.

LO-Fi Brewing

Low Tide Brewing

Munkle Brewing

New Realm Brewing Co., CHS

Oak Road Brewery

Palmetto Brewing Co. SC

Revelry Brewing

Rusty Bull Brewing

Rusty Bull at Chucktown Brewery

SNAFU Brewing Co.

The Garden by Charles Towne Fermentory

Tidelands Brewing

Tradesman Brewing Co.

Two Blokes Brewing

Westbrook Brewing Co.

Wind and Waves Brewing

Freehouse Brewery

2895 Pringle St., North Charleston

Closed Monday

2 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday

12 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday

Frothy Beard Brewing Co.

1401 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. Suite 1, West Ashley

11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday

Frothy Beard Off World

117 South Main St., Summerville

Closed Monday

4 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday

11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday

Ghost Monkey Brewery

522 Wando Lane, Mount Pleasant

1 p.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday

1 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday

12 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday

10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday

Hobcaw Brewing Co.

496 Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant

Closed Monday and Tuesday

4 p.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

3 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday

1 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday

12 p.m.-7 p.m. Sunday

Holy City Brewing

1021 Aragon Ave., North Charleston

11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Sunday

Indigo Reef Brewing Co.

2079 Wambaw Creek Unit 1, Daniel Island

Closed Monday

4 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday 3 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday 12 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday

LO-Fi Brewing

2038 Meeting St., Downtown

Closed Monday

4 p.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Thursday and Friday 2 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday

Low Tide Brewing

2863 Maybank Hwy., Johns Island

3 p.m.-10 p.m., Monday-Thursday 12 p.m.-12 a.m. Friday and Saturday 12 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday

Munkle Brewing

1513 Meeting Street Road, Downtown

2 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday

1 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday 1 p.m.-8 p.m. Sunday

New Realm Brewing Co., CHS

880 Island Park Drive, Daniel Island

11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday 11:30 a.n.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Oak Road Brewery

108 East 3rd North St. Suite C, Summerville

Closed Monday and Tuesday

3 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday

12 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday

12 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday

Palmetto Brewing Co. SC

289 Huger St., Downtown

4 p.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday

12 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

12 p.m.-8 p.m. Sunday

Revelry Brewing

10 Conroy St., Downtown

12 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday

12 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Rusty Bull Brewing

3005 West Montague Ave. Suite 110, North Charleston

4 p.m.-10 p.m. Monday 12 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday 12 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday 12 p.m.-8 p.m. Sunday

Rusty Bull

at Chucktown Brewery

337 King Street, Charleston, SC 29401

11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Monday

11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Tuesday- Thursday 11 a.m. - 12 a.m. Friday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sunday

SNAFU Brewing Co.

3280 Industry Drive, North Charleston

3 p.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday 3 p.m.-9 p.m. Thursday and Friday

2 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday

The Garden

by Charles Towne Fermentory

1331 Ashley River Road, Charleston

Closed Monday and Tuesday 2 p.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday-Friday 12 p.m.-10 p.m. Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday

Tidelands Brewing

4155 Dorchester Road, North Charleston

Closed Monday and Tuesday

11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday

Tradesman Brewing Co.

1647 King Street Extension, Downtown

12 p.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday

12 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday

547 Long Point Road Suite 101, Mount Pleasant

4 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday 3 p.m.-9 p.m. Thursday 2 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday 12 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday 12 p.m.-8 p.m. Sunday

Westbrook Brewing Co.

510 Ridge Road, Mount Pleasant

Closed Monday

4 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Wind and Waves Brewing

4427 Spruill Ave., North Charleston

4 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday 12 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 12 p.m.-7 p.m. Sunday

Editor’s Note: If you know of a new brewery headed to the Charleston area, please let us know at: info@brewhopchs.com.

Amenities Key

Weekly Brewery Calendar

Monday

4-5 p.m. Munkle Brewing Co.

Happy Hour, $2 off pours

6 p.m. Snafu Brewing Company

Name that Tune Trivia

6 p.m. Low Tide Brewing Bingo

6:30 p.m. Brewlab Charleston

Buy two pints, get six wings! Plus, Music Bingo

6:30 p.m. Estuary Beans and Barley Trivia

7 p.m. Baker & Brewer Trivia

Tuesday

4-5 p.m. Munkle Brewing Co.

Happy Hour, $2 off pours

6:30 p.m. Estuary Beans and Barley Music Bingo

7 p.m. Palmetto Brewing Co. Two Fer Trivia Tuesday

7 p.m. Fatty’s Beer Works Phish Nights

7 p.m. Wide Awake Brewing Trivia

Wednesday

4-5 p.m. Munkle Brewing Co.

Happy Hour, $2 off pours

7 p.m. Brewlab Charleston

Burger & Beer Night - $15 Plus, Trivial Trivia

7 p.m. Charles Towne Fermentory Trivia

7 p.m. Low Tide Brewing Trivia

7 p.m. New Realm Brewery

Name that Tune Trivia

7 p.m. Rusty Bull Brewing Trivia (first Wednesday only)

7 p.m. Tidelands Brewing Music Bingo

8 p.m. Fam’s Brewing Co. Trivia

Thursday

All day Brewlab Charleston

Better Call Sal-Sa, 5 tacos for $10

4-5 p.m. Munkle Brewing Co. Happy Hour, $2 off pours

6 p.m. Ghost Monkey Brewery Brewery Bingo

6 p.m. Hobcaw Brewing Co. Team Trivia

6:30 p.m. Indigo Reef Brewing Co. Music Bingo

6:30 p.m. Sanfu Brewing COmpany Bingo

Friday

3 p.m. Revelry Brewing Sun-sets with Sparkbox

4-5 p.m. Munkle Brewing Co. Happy Hour, $2 off pours

Saturday

1-9 p.m. Charleston Brewery District Free trolley Sunday

11-3 p.m. Commonhouse Aleworks Sunday brunch

Coming soon

High Score Brewing — Coming to the Ashley Phosphate Road area in summer of 2023. It plans to feature craft beer and 1970s-90s arcade games in the taproom.

Stone’s Throw Brewing — Stone’s Throw Brewing is set to reopen January 2023 in the former Wide Awake Brewing location with their own concept and remodel of the building.

Leaving the scene

Wide Awake Brewing — Wide Awake Brewing originally opened in the Sangaree area in 2018. In 2020, it closed to begin moving to the fire station in Goose Creek as part of the city’s drive to bring a brewery to the area. It joined with Creek City Grill to have an in-house restaurant food option. In September of this year, the endeavor closed.

David White is also known as the Dropping Pin Guy

By Tarah Gee

“W

e call him the Mayor,” people say.

Of course, David White isn’t the actual mayor of Charleston but that’s the nickname that his friends and family lovingly refer to him as, said Tawana Tolbert, one of White’s “real friends.” White has a lot of friends. You might know him as the Dropping Pin guy. He’s a staple in the Charleston food and wine scene and if you know, you know.

“I’m the black food guy of Charleston,” White proclaimed.

Born and raised in Charleston’s Eastside, White is a stranger to no one. His warm presence and ear-to-ear smile, is welcoming to everyone who crosses his path. White began his love affair with the Charleston community as a young participant in the Boys and Girls Club. After high school grad uation, White traveled up to Orangeburg for college, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from South Carolina State University.

Upon returning to Charleston, he began working in social services. Soon after, he helped to found the nonprofit, R3 Incorporated, a youth program to help younger generations become integral parts of their communities through activism and academics. R3 has helped juveniles re-enter society and helped students to reach high school graduation. The program also largely supports Laundry Matters, which provides a free, safe space for low-income residents and the homeless to clean their clothes.

“R3 reached out to me as a freelance publicist in 2013,” Tolbert recalls. “I worked on a couple projects and newsletters for them. And then we just became really good friends.” Tolbert’s velvet voice and tone conveys a deep love for White. The two continue to work on multiple projects outside of R3 because naturally when you love

Jay Wayne

Native Charlestonian David White started The Dropping Pin taste and travel blog in 2008

“

Videos and photos have become my forte. Most of my satisfaction comes from hearing friends and family say they enjoyed their experience with a place I have chosen for them.”

—David White

and care about your community as White does, the path opens up for multiple ways to support it.

“Tawana has been around almost since the beginning. She’s the logical one to make my wild ideas make sense. She’s crafty with her words and usually is able to translate my thoughts into what I want to say. She’s been a hip hop publicist in the area for years and coming over to my line of work was new to her. But she’s a beast,” White said.

White has hosted events with Tolbert’s public relations assistance at Edmund’s Oast Exchange, Edmund’s Oast Brewing, Container Bar, The Watch Rooftop Kitchen and Spirits, and Commonhouse Aleworks, just to name a few.

About The Dropping Pin

Way back in 2008, White started a blog called The Dropping Pin, a taste and travel profile.

“This was back before Instagram, when if you wanted to know about an area, you might google “Lowcountry food” or “Charleston food,” White said. If so, you’d find his blog detailing the Charleston food scene. While White admits he’s not much of a writer, he does love taking photos and posting them for people to enjoy.

“Videos and photos have become my forte. Most of my satisfaction comes from hearing friends and family say they enjoyed their experience with a place I have chosen for them.”

From there, things began to fall into place. Restaurants and breweries began reaching out to White to create content for his blog. The networking events grew and then came the collaborations.

During the pandemic, White teamed with Tha CommUnity, a black woman owned brewing concept. Together, they took an idea to Holy City Brewing.

Next, White teamed with Revelry Brewing Company. Owner Sean Fleming described his relationship with White: “He’s always been super supportive of Revelry. When he shows up, it’s a party.” The fit was natural and Revelry was more than happy to work with White, Fleming said.

“Never Let Me Down,” is a brew released in June 2022. The sessionable wheat ale targets a nostalgic Charleston summer day. White’s eyes sparkle just a little more when he talks about this beer and his friend ship with the owners of Revelry. He admits Revelry is his favorite brewery. “I love all kinds of beer but the vibe is something that keeps me coming back.”

“He’s just a good dude,” Fleming said, “and we love to support his mission.”

White’s beer, “Never Let Me Down” is an homage to Kanye West’s College DropOut album from 2004.

“Chris Kemp and I came up with the design and I came up with the name of the beer. It’s one of my favorite songs and speaks triumphantly. It reminds me of where I came from and the adversities I’ve

overcome being a black man in Charleston. It’s also a reminder to always bet on David.”

Looking to a more diverse future

As the craft beer industry continues to grow and we look for more ways to diversify not only our portfolios but our representation, I wonder how I can bring more diversity to my own taproom. I asked White, “How do we as a community get more BIPOC {Black, indigenous and people of color) to apply to our breweries?”

The answer isn’t as easy as it sounds. “We are more than kitchen staff,” he said. “Continuous education, hosting events with black community leaders and working with black travel groups to facilitate tours are all ways to increase exposure to my commu nity. We want to feel like we belong.”

Between various events and projects downtown, White teamed up with Jesse Van Note and Andrew Ross, owners of The Whale, to bring Wu Wednesdays to Charleston. While Wu Wednesday — weekly tribute events for music like that of the Wu-Tang Clan — is not an original con cept and can be found in various locations around the country, White hosts the local meetup, continuously bringing between 40 to50 people to each event. Although it’s not on a consistent schedule, White said he tries to plan at least one a month. The meetup includes a DJ spinning an eclectic mix of jams and the crowd really gets into it.

Other events you can find White include the Black Food Truck Festival, and Charleston Wine and Food.

While White said he enjoys traveling, his heart remains in Charleston for the foresee able future. When he travels, White likes to connect with other influencers in the area and learn the dynamics of that space and how he can bring that knowledge back to Charleston.

“As cliche as it sounds, I want to live like we don’t have tomorrow. Don’t let what you don’t know hold you back,” White said. “My best experience traveling so far was to Barrel and Flow black-owned beer festival in July.” And he said he has more plans to travel soon to San Diego and Colombia. Of course like most beer aficionados, his ulti mate beer destination is Germany.

White is so popular in Charleston that most recently, he had a day declared for him by the city.

“David White Jr. Day is the last Monday in May every year. Mayor [John] Tecklenburg recognized me for the positive contributions to my community through R3 Inc, local youth non-profit and Laundry Matters, the only public laundromat on the Eastside of Charleston that serves as a community center as well. I don’t have a lot of plans for the coming years, but I do designate that weekend, “MemorialDave Weekend” to serve my community and have some fun.”

So maybe he really is the mayor — or could be soon.

The Whale, a craft beer collective

You can find David White hosting Wu Wednesdays at the Charleston location of The Whale inside Meeting Street’s The Refinery. This “craft beer collective” features a tasting room and outside patio with almost daily food trucks and events galore. You can often find a who’s who of the local beer industry gathered here on any given day tasting the newest offerings.

While working at an Asheville brewery, owners Jesse Van Note and Andrew Ross created the idea for a craft beer shop that would pour beers from all over the world. Thus, the first location of The Whale opened in 2017. Since then, three more locations including Charleston have opened. The concept is a hit for old school craft beer lovers and newbies.

Inspired by the 1980s cool vibe of Miami Vice meets 1950s Graceland jungle room, the location is perfectly set for gatherings like Wu Wednesday, a concept executed at all Whale locations, but White is the community connection to bring more diversity into the craft beer community.

Bottle shops like the Whale have been gaining popularity over recent years by bringing in an eclectic mix of offerings from all over the world. From German Helles Lagers to Imperial Stouts and everything in between, they have become not only a place to pick up beer outside the grocery store or by visiting a brewery, but a place to gather. The Whale is only one local bottle shop with more opening every year, including:

• Odyssey Bottle Shop, James Island

• The Brew Cellar, Park Circle, North Charleston

• Edmund’s Oast Exchange , Charleston

• House of Brews, West Ashley

• Stono Bottle Shop, James Island

Photos provided

Follow @thewhalechs on Instagram for Wu Wednesdays and other events

Q&A

Indigo Reef has plenty to share

From staff reports

If you take a short drive up Clements Ferry Road, and turn right into a small business complex, you will find the brewing gem, Indigo Reef Brewing. With a spacious and welcoming patio as well as a taproom with a beautiful bar made of recycled glass,it offers an inviting setting.

With over 10 tap lines, it’s easy to find something here to suit your palate. Beers like the Brewster creation Siren’s Song Pale Ale, Crunchy Peach Kettle Sour and our seasonal favorite — Butter Go Nuts Chocolate and Peanut Butter Porter — pair well with several in-house kitchen options. With live music on the weekends and weekly events, the taproom has plenty to share.

Owners Chris and Nicole Ranere were passionate homebrewers when co-editor Kyle Wallace first met them in 2018 at a gathering of Lowcountry Libations Home Brew Clu8. The brewery was already under construction, opening in June 2019.

Dedicated to brewing with sustain ability, cold water is used to knock out the beers but recaptured in its hot liquor tank to be reused on the next brew. Empty grain bags are reused as trash bags. Spent grain from the brews goes to local farmers to feed animals.

“We realize our actions won’t singlehand edly reverse the damage already done, but we operate under the mindset that every little bit helps,” Ranere said.

HOPS sat down for a Q&A with Indigo Reef.

Where did the name Indigo Reef come from?

Chris Ranere: Nicole and I are both scuba divers and love how calm and

relaxing diving is. We wanted to pull this through to our beers and taproom and thought “reef” would be a perfect way to do it. We also wanted to include a local component to the name without saying “Charleston Reef,” so we decided to go with Indigo as it was a cash crop used in the lowcountry.

What is your history as a brewer?

CR: Nicole and I started out as home brewers many moons ago. When we toyed with the idea of opening a brewery, a brewing assistant position opened up at Two Blokes, and I took it. Matty [Symons] was amazing and helped me learn the production elements of brewing on the “big” system.

You have a strong female team. How did Jen Skoy Krizan come into your concept?

CR: Funny story — At one of the brew ery’s anniversary parties, Jen and I were talking about diving, beer and all the fun

Chris and Nicole Ranere with a brewery mascot

things. She mentioned that she would love to work at IRBC, and I said that we would love to have her. Given how loud the music was (and how many beers we had had) we had to regroup the next day to make sure we were on the same page (Ha!). She has been a great asset to IRBC. When our pre vious Taproom Manager left, Jen stepped in to fill the position until we could find a new taproom manager (Tessa). All of our accounts and reps from Lowcountry Craft love working with Jen as well! (Krizan is the leader of the local Girls Pint Out Club.

CR: From the beginning, Nicole and I have always said slow and steady growth is the key to success. As Clements Ferry Rd continues to grow we are sure that we will see more people in the taproom. Our short term next steps are to get a few more fer mentation tanks, increase our distribution footprint and also to continue to grow our brewery family. My long-term dream is to open a small brewery on one of the barrier islands that focuses on tiki-drinks and fun tiki-themed beers.

What are your long-term plans for the brewery?

Photos by Reese Moore Photography