The Beer Beat: Brews in the News
Across greater Charleston, beer is the hair of the dog that is continuing to have its day. From craft breweries popping up left and right to local eateries adding taps at a feverish pace, the Holy City’s thirst for brews appears unquenchable. Amid the sudsy flurry, we noticed a few particularly nifty things happening in our cozy beer scene, and decided to cut through the foam to bring you the ice-cold goodness. Yeah, it’s hard work, but someone’s got to do it.
BEER!
… served at the ballpark…
New York Times bestselling author and sports journalist Peter Richmond (who once spent three days watching ballgames at Wrigley Field with Bill Murray) famously observed, “Beer needs baseball, and baseball needs beer - it has always been thus.”
And considering Bill Murray’s history with the Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park and the Charleston Riverdogs, we thought it fitting to provide a critical update regarding the brewings-on at “The Joe.”
Brand new this year is Craft Spuds-N-Suds, located adjacent to Dave’s Country Kitchen. First and foremost, lovers of craft beer will purchase reserved seating near this spot, just to make refills more convenient. And while they are there, those fans can also pick up a variety of French fries, including the Charleston Poutine, a heap of curly fries topped with Carolina gumbo and fresh herbs.
The Pie House Concession Stand introduced beer shakes and spiked beer shakes (beer shakes with a shot of booze) in 2013, and these creamy collaborations have since become best-sellers at the ballpark. New this season is the Palmetto Biscotti Shake, made with biscotti cookie dough, vanilla ice cream, caramel syrup, and Palmetto Espresso Porter. These are undeniably delicious, but maybe not meant to be consumed one per inning.
Of course, the beloved Palmetto Beer Garden returns to its spot across from the Souvenir Shop with its offering of locally-made brews on tap from Palmetto Brewing. But now the garden is serving up another option: the ballpark-debuted Lowcountry Pilsner served in a can. Walk that Palmetto pilsner across the concourse and pick up a Riverdogs drink koozie to keep it cool!
There’s never a shortage beer-themed events at the park. The Joe’s wildly-popular Budweiser Thirsty Thursdays, presented by 95SX, let fans enjoy $1 beers and tunes by DJ Natty Heavy all evening long at the Ashley View Pub. Bark for Your Brew night will take place on Sunday, May 22 at 2 p.m., with a Charleston Riverdogs vs. Columbia Fireflies game to follow. For $25, fans and their pups are admitted to The Joe with free parking and receive a sampling glass, sampling vouchers, a ticket to the ballgame, and a treat for the first 500 dogs through the gate. And keep an eye out for more details on this summer’s Ballpark Festival of Beers, scheduled for Saturday, August 27; vendors will be slinging over 100 domestic and international brews.
… crafted for the Battery…
Not one to hide in the shadow of other beer-loving sports leagues, soccer is getting in on the sudsy action. But the Charleston Battery was not content to merely serve beer crafted from outside inspiration; they did us all one better, and collaborated with Holy City Brewing to create a Battery-themed Kolsch. The special brew made its public debut at MUSC Health Stadium on April 30 during the Battery’s match-up against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Dubbed the first annual “Punts & Pints” night, the event offered game tickets paired with a voucher for 16 ounces of the club’s concoction.
… and homebrewed by some DI dudes…
We knew Daniel Island resident Hank Hanna had begun dabbling in brewology a couple years ago, but learned recently he had partnered up with a neighborhood friend to take some garage beer-making to a another level. What we learned in speaking with Hanna was that there is much more to homebrewing than a cake-box kit, and a lot more to true love of beer than just hobbyist hydration.
Daniel Island News: What kind of beer are you brewing, and who can get in on it? Are you labeling it, and will there be more added to the lineup?
Hank Hanna: Pearce Fleming (DI Resident as well) and I started brewing together about two years ago. We are homebrewing, which means that it is for personal consumption and the consumption of friends lucky enough to get their hands on some. We brew all sorts of beer, but I would say that Pearce is partial to hoppy beers and I am really interested in experimenting with sours styles. We have been entering competitions and actually won three awards this year already: first place for our Vanilla Fig Saison at the Brewtopia 2.2 Competition and first place for our Hefeweizen at both the local Lowcountry Libations Colonial Cup competition and the first round of the American Homebrewers Association National Competition. We are not legally able to sell our beer, so we only label it for fun. We will be at the Brew Ha Ha homebrewers’ garden on June 18 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center for anyone that wants to come by and try some of our beer. (https://www.northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com/events/detail/brew-haha)
DIN: What is your past experience with home brew?
HH: Both Pearce and I consider ourselves beer geeks. We have always had a taste for the finer stuff, but only started homebrewing about two years ago. I think that sometimes homebrew gets a bad rap, but a lot of the homebrew that I have had from friends and others around town has been great. There are always stinkers, but that goes for commercial brew as well. I have honestly had some local homebrew that would blow some of the large breweries’ beer right out of the water.
DIN: How tricky is the brew process? Would you say it takes a true knack to get it right, and how precise is it?
HH: First and foremost, 80% of brewing beer is proper cleaning and sanitation. If you don’t use clean and sanitized equipment, you may be setting yourself up for problems with your beer. I would say that it is not hard to brew decent beer, but it is very difficult to brew great beer. There are several different ways to approach homebrewing. Most people start with what is called extract brewing, which is the “easiest” and most cost-effective way to get started. It is really only made “easier” by the fact that you don’t have to use an enzymatic process to convert grain starch into sugars. You purchase malt extract, which is basically brewing sugar. You still have to get the process right, though. Then people usually graduate to all grain brewing, which is much more involved and requires more equipment. It does require converting the starch in barley grain into sugar through a process called mashing. So, to answer the question, it takes practice just like anything. It is precise processes and methods that help make decent beer into awesome beer.
DIN: What’s your all-time favorite craft beer, local or otherwise?
HH: Personally, I do not have a favorite craft beer. I like lots of different styles and I like lots of different commercial breweries’ beer. I think Charleston has such an awesome craft beer scene and I love feeling like I am a part of it even if it is on the homebrew level. I cannot say a bad thing about any of the local Charleston breweries, but I will tell you that I have the utmost respect for Jamie Tenny and David Merrit at Coast Brewing for truly bringing craft to Charleston, Chris Winn and the crew at Tradesman Brewing for taking Pearce and I under their wing and giving us an opportunity to get hands-on in a commercial brewery, and then Ryan Coker and Sean Fleming at Revelry Brewing for always being supportive of us as homebrewers and friends.