One of South Carolina’s oldest and one of its newest breweries took home medals from the recent 2014 US Open Beer Championship held in Atlanta.
Tag Archives: award
Barley’s wins “Most Arrogant Bar” title. Again.
In 2012, Barley’s in Greenville participated in Stone‘s “Most Arrogant Bar” challenge to see which bar could sell the highest number of Stone’s “Arrogant” beers. They won, beating out around 360 bars nationwide, and as as a result got to throw a huge party with a killer tap list and a visit from Stone CEO Greg Koch.
And they’ve done it again. Thursday afternoon, the bar announced it had claimed back-to-back titles. Once again, they beat out more than 300 bars to win the crown once again.
The requisite party is already in the work, but since Koch will be taking a sabbatical, brewery Co-founder Steve Wagner and Brewmaster Mitch Steele will be on hand to celebrate. Keep an eye out for more details soon.
Paste names Westbrook one of 2013’s best breweries
Paste Magazine, the online music and culture publication, has picked Mount Pleasant’s Westbrook Brewing Co. as one of their top 20 best breweries of 2013.
In its best-of list for the year, Paste says the coastal brewery might “perhaps be the best young brewery in the US” due to its rise from regional favorite to national spotlight this year. They also tout barrel-aged Mexican Cake and Gose as reasons for the brewery’s growth in popularity.
Westbook’s in good company on the list, joining the likes of The Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Russian River, The Bruery and more.
You can see the full list here.
Thomas Creek, RJ Rockers win at US Open Beer Championship
While most of us were shooting off fireworks and indulging in a hamburger or hot dog too many last week – or recovering from said pleasures – a group of international judges were finalizing the list of winners for the 2013 U.S. Open Beer Championship, which judges the best beer from both professional breweries and homebrewers alike.
More than 2,500 different beers were submitted to the competition’s 68 categories. Out of all of those entries, two SC breweries each nabbed a bronze metal for one of their brews.
In the “Barely Wine” category, Greenville’s Thomas Creek – which celebrates its 15th anniversary this week – earned a bronze for its Up the Creek. While it’s marketed as an “extreme IPA,” the 12.5% Up the Creek walks a thin line between an imperial IPA and a barleywine. (Ed. note: I consider it an American-style barleywine, for what it’s worth.)
And in the “Fruit/Vegetable Beer” category, Spartanburg’s RJ Rockers also landed a bronze for Son of a Peach. The annual warm weather release made with real peaches is a hit among South Carolinians, and apparently was a favorite of the judges, too.
Drink. Blog. Repeat. nominated for Best Local Twitter-er award
A few weeks ago, on a lark, I put out a call to readers and Twitter followers to help get me nominated for the Columbia Free Times‘ annual Best of Columbia contest. The annual reader poll tracks the best the Capital City has to offer, from bars and restaurants to media personalities and more.
I figured my request was just that – a lark – and I didn’t have a chance of making it on the list of finalists. So, imagine my surprise when I find out this morning that, in fact, I did end up making the list of finalists. How crazy is that?!
As they say, it really is an honor to just be nominated, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to win this. Not just for selfish reasons, but because it would help bring more focus to SC’s booming craft beer scene.
You can vote here from now until July 19. Winner will be announced in the Aug. 7 issue.
