The rise of great brews and beer culture in Charleston

Image by Flickr user imabug Visitors taste beer at Charleston craft brewer Coast.

If you like beer and live in the Lowcountry, you surely know the rise of craft beer in Charleston.

For those less in the loop, The Post and Courier's Glenn Smith has offered a gem of a piece stitching together the thread of progress over the last five years, in part:

In the span of just five years, Charleston has gone from rather hapless and hopless beer town to one with an increasingly sophisticated palate. Microbreweries, specialty beer stores and beer-centric bars have popped up around the region; supermarkets, restaurants and even gas stations are hawking growlers, or half-gallon jugs of beer; and the number of brew festivals has multiplied with each passing year.

Events like February’s Brewvival festival draw beer tourists to the region, and local brews are getting some national props as well. Holy City Brewing in North Charleston recently scored a gold medal for its Pluff Mud Porter at the renowned Great American Beer Festival in Colorado.