DI residents to open new brewery in Park Circle

After more than a year and a half of planning, Daniel Island residents Hank Hanna and Pearce Fleming are tapping into a new business. The brewing partners, who some may know as Octohops Homebrew, will soon break ground on a brand new 7,200 square foot production brewery and tap house in the Park Circle community of North Charleston.

The name of the new business, Commonhouse Aleworks, is an allusion to the old colonial common houses, which were considered a focal point for community gatherings. The facility will be located on the corner of O’Hear and Empire Avenues, just off of East Montague Avenue and very close to the new GARCO Mill redevelopment.

“From day one, we wanted to be in a location where people could walk, ride their bikes, and even push their strollers to the brewery,” said Hanna. “There is no better neighborhood for us than Park Circle.”

The new brewery will have an initial annual capacity of 5,000 barrels of beer, which enthusiasts will be able to enjoy in a rustic, yet comfortable 1,100 square foot tap house, through 32 oz. Crowlers to-go, or on draft both locally and regionally. Future plans include packaged bottles and cans both onsite and in distribution.

Fleming and Hanna have built a reputation within the beer community and the consumer market with multiple wins in local, regional and national homebrew competitions, as well as their Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am collaboration with Revelry Brewing. Their Wise One Hefeweizen received accolades around Charleston before being chosen for the final judging table in the GABF Pro-Am competition in Denver in October of last year. They have also been documenting their journey from homebrewers to commercial brewers at the website www.planningtobrew.com.

Many local retail establishments report they are excited about the possibility of carrying Commonhouse brands in the near future.

“I was there when Hank and Pearce decided that they wanted to open a brewery and I have also sampled several of their beers along the way,” said Rob Davis, owner of House of Brews and renowned beer critic. “I can honestly say knowing they will be opening excites me beyond words.”

“Our desire is to produce an experience and a product that people want to congregate around,” added Fleming. “We will make beers that the everyday beer drinker will enjoy while also impressing the most knowledgeable enthusiast…Commonhouse hopes to be the catalyst to many of the things people enjoy most in life.”

The brewery also plans to offer several core beers, including Wise One Hefeweizen, along with an array of hop-forward beers, rustic and historic beers, and some special and barrel-aged releases.

“After several meetings with Pearce and Hank, we knew that Commonhouse would be a complementary addition to the Park Circle community, joining a number of other local and neighborhood-focused businesses” said Jeff Baxter, a partner with Cityvolve, the group managing the building project on behalf of the brewery.

According to Fleming, the two tenets of the value system for Commonhouse are their commitment to quality and being an engaged part of the community.

“Park Circle will be our home,” he said. “We look forward to making an impact there both with the quality of our product as well as our level of involvement in the community. We have plans to move into local and regional distribution in the future, but Park Circle will always be our focus.”

Commonhouse Aleworks is anticipating opening in the late fall of 2017. For more information, please visit www.commonhousealeworks.com.

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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