Cheers To Oak Road Brewery's Momentous And Successful First Opening

It's been a long and winding road for Ben Bankey, Kyle Colston, Brian Cox and Brad Mallett. From inception to fruition, with numerous twists and turns, the road less traveled in a town famous for pine trees and sweet tea made all the difference. The Oak Road Brewery, Summerville's first craft brewery, finally popped the bungs on five of its brews and a crowd of enthusiastic craft beer followers who have been patiently standing on the sidelines for this long awaited day poured through its doors on June 5th.

High above its L-shaped bar constructed from corrugated steel and cement, the inaugural brews were listed on a large, flat screen TV for the exuberant patrons, I will dub Oakies, to peruse and make their selection. On the beer list was a pale ale(Jam Up), a robust porter(Carolina Evening), a Vienna lager(Vienna Lager), a blonde ale(Glass Cutter), and an IPA(Laughing Weasel).

From opening to close, the tasting room highlighted by raised barrel tables, barrel stools, window counters, and stainless steel bar chairs was standing room only and the pours were fast and furious. After the froth finally settled to drink in the goodness, the Oak Road Team savored a very momentous and successful soft opening.

Loyal Coastal Coffee patron and craft beer lover, Michael Waters, summed up his experience with these appreciative words, "Many thanks to the enthusiastic and supportive customers. Again, a great job done well by the wonderful ladies who made it all possible by serving up the best local brew with a smile and all the hard work from Brian, Kyle, Chris, and Ben."

If you haven't been there as of yet or are a visitor to the Birthplace of Sweet Tea, Oak Road Brewery is located in the same building as Summerville's gathering place called "The C"--home of Coastal Coffee Roasters. The Brewery is the perfect collaboration and an integral piece in the community jigsaw puzzle being assembled by Brad Mallett at 108 E 3rd North Street where talent and ideas flourish and grow.

The brewery's CEO, Ben Bankey, shares Brad's commitment to Summerville and stated at its beginning, "Oak Road Brewery will be an integral part to the growth of Summerville with a focus on working with local small businesses to enhance the quality of life for its citizens and tourist alike."

At the moment, there is no set schedule, but future planned openings will be on Friday's and Saturday's. Be sure to follow Oak Road Brewery on their Facebook page for scheduled openings. Meanwhile, cheers and enjoy the pictures of the Brewery's long and winding road.

Holy City Brewery--Home To Top Notch Craft Beers And A Lowcountry Landmark.

It was the party before Brewvival. The place was Holy City Brewing. In collaboration with RJ Rockers Brewery, Holy City produced a beer using cold-press coffee from Coastal Coffee Roasters in Summerville and dubbed the perky stout Half Calf. I was there to celebrate the preview with my good friend Brad Mallett, owner of the popular and trendy coffee shop.

Half Calf was one of four collaborations brewed for the Brewvival. The other three were with NoDa Brewing Company(Shades of Grace), Southbound Brewing Company(Sister City Saison), and Wicked Weed Brewing(Holy Weed with green tea leaves from Charleston Tea Plantation).

The enterprise is a success story of immense proportions bearing a rightly acquired name synonymous with Charleston, Holy City. A four-team venture, three of them CofC graduates, the brewery is a converted 4000 square foot warehouse originally owned by the non graduate of CofC, Mac Minaudo.

The main section of the warehouse is an efficient collusion of working space and showroom highlighted by a shiny, deep blue floor covered with a collection of brightly polished, stainless steel tanks with the remaining space dominated by a long bar transplanted from the original Cumberland's of downtown Charleston--on this day lined with patrons downing pairings of samples and full glasses of the brewery's latest collaborations in celebration of this years edition of Brewvival.

The exterior of the warehouse, like the beers brewed inside, is a Lowcountry work of art. Painted in a palette of earth colors, it is covered with scenes of the Charleston skyline, jelly fish, hammerhead sharks, marine birds, an alligator, a curious pterodactyl and a lone bicycle rickshaw--significant of the fact Joel Carl and Sean Nemitz are business partners in Charleston's rickshaw business. The establishments most prominent feature is a very long trash bin painted with a full length scene reminiscent of Charleston's beautiful waterfront with the name Holy City transparently etched in white over it.

A labor of love that began in the garage of Joel and Sean's rickshaw business where they built a 15-gallon, all-grain pilot system that produced roughly a dozen signature brews, later joined by professional brewer Chris Brown and beer enthusiast Mac, Holy City has grown into a dominant player in the craft beer market of Charleston.

Throughout the Lowcountry, the Holy City brand is as original as joggling boards and its taps are as common as the palmetto. Holy City Pilsner and Holy City Pluff Mud are two of the house beers served at my favorite Summerville stomping grounds, the previously mentioned Coastal Coffee Roasters; and the place where I was introduced to Holy City Brewing by way of the occasional beer tasting event hosted there--a fabulously frothy good time.

The day's large crowd was conclusive evidence of the brewery's success. The picnic tables were full, the tasting room standing room only. For entertainment, the Bluestone Ramblers churned out bluegrass tunes while Refueler's Mobile Cafe served up the food. With a brew in one hand and a camera in the other, the happy beer lovers took their turns documenting the occasion by posing for a memorable snapshot in front of the semi truck long, panoramic painted, one-time trash collector--including yours truly.