Standing on the elegantly arched Liberty Bridge, suspended over the rushing, tumbling waters of the Reedy River in Greenville, South Carolina, it is difficult to imagine that the burgeoning Southern city has ever looked any other way. The bridge itself is an aesthetically pleasing marvel, curving dramatically over the city’s Falls Park on the Reedy, where the river tumbles downward over a series of natural cataracts before the Reedy continues on through the city at a more placid pace. The park occupies a perfectly central position in the heart of the city’s downtown commerce district, a focal point that can accommodate huge numbers of pedestrians and families as they make their way to any of the numerous spots to grab a bite, or shop, or entertain themselves in the area. It feels like such a natural fixture that you half expect the falls would have been the reason the city was built in this location in the first place–how strange, then, to learn that until two decades ago, the entire area was inaccessible, hidden away under a highway!
The renovation and transformation of Falls Park on the Reedy, then, serves as an obvious metaphor for the rebirth of Greenville itself, a city that in the space of a few decades went from a declining industrial hub to one of the region’s most highly rated tourism destinations. Where there once stood textile mills and supporting industrial buildings, there are now green spaces and water features, alongside countless amenities for visitors, with the shell of the mills still preserved for the sake of local history. Since its official opening in 2004, the park and its 355-foot bridge have served as a locus, a symbol of Greenville’s revitalization as it embraces its future as “GVL,” a spiritual successor, perhaps, to the nearby Asheville, North Carolina. The place feels like it symbolizes the hope of the city’s residents for a bright future.
That hope and positivity were on full display this past weekend at the city’s annual Fall for Greenville festival, a combination food/music/arts/beer fest, celebrating the city’s vivacious personality and local restaurant scene for more than 40 years. Stretching up and down the length of GVL’s Main Street, with a footprint stretching for roughly seven blocks, the festival encompassed more than 60 restaurant booths and six musical stages, with more than 80 musical acts performing from Friday-Sunday. Simultaneously, beer and wine garden vendors poured from a variety of 50-plus beer, wine and cider libations, many of them from within state lines.
There were, of course, some real treats for the foodies in attendance. I found myself particularly enjoying crispy fried green tomatoes, drizzled with horseradish dijon from riverside gastropub Smoke on the Water, followed by Tasso ham gravy shrimp ‘n grits–there were so many shrimp/grit combinations at this festival–from steakhouse Larkin’s, which balanced a savory, smoky ham broth with the brightness of sweet peppers. But being a Paste writer and resident beer and spirits obsessive, I was soon compelled to journey outside the festival grounds to visit a handful of Greenville’s burgeoning craft breweries.
Here, then, in classic Paste fashion, is a breakdown of some of the excellent beer options you can find when you’re down in Greenville, South Carolina.
Greenville Craft Beer Highlights
1. Liability Brewing
North of downtown GVL, one can find Liability Brewing, which is immediately notable on a national scale for the fact that it’s a Certified B Corporation, one of only 18 U.S. breweries (among 10,000 or so) that can live up to this extremely high environmental standard set by B Lab, a global nonprofit that seeks to “transform the economic system into a more inclusive, equitable and regenerative global economy.” Liability is likely one of the smallest craft breweries to qualify for B Corp status, the others of which in the U.S. include such well-known names as Allagash, New Belgium and Lawson’s Finest Liquids.
With a beer lineup that leans toward comic book and geek-friendly inspirations–how could avowed John Carpenter fans like ourselves not enjoy the brewery’s They Live mural?–Liability Brewing produces a diverse array of styles, but has been especially praised for their spot-on, traditional Belgian ales. That includes repeat medal winner Feral Garden Gnome, a mid-strength Belgian blonde ale that displays sunny notes of banana bread, pear and sweet spice.
2. Tetrad Brewing
Just down the street from Liability is Tetrad Brewing, an outdoorsy feeling operation that recently celebrated its fourth year in operation. Freshly popped, buttery popcorn announces its presence the moment you walk in, with gratis bar snacks always being a nice touch to see in any brewery taproom. Mounted on the wall, meanwhile, is the dusty old Mr. Beer kit that first inspired the commercial brewing operation, purchased by co-founder Chad Tydings for his friend John Bucher for his 22nd birthday. Fast forward a few years, and Chad and John are still brewing compatriots, naming their brewery Tetrad in honor of the “four corners of this great country” where they have resides.
Tetrad’s beer lineup feels almost like a Pacific Northwest transplant, combining elements such as West Coast pale ale with dry, hop-forward takes on American stout or American brown ale, styles that rarely feel quite so represented in the modern beer world. The latter brown ale on tap when I visited was a collaboration with the brewery’s in-house fan club, which allows customers to design and brew beers of their choosing at Tetrad. The IPA program, meanwhile, takes more inspiration from the roots of the hazy, NE-IPA movement in Vermont, with flagship Traversed NEIPA likely being the best overall hazy IPA I encountered in Greenville–exceptionally soft, clean and fruity without being ostentatious in its delivery.
3. Carolina Bauernhaus Greenville
The original location of Carolina Bauernhaus–it’s simply German for “farmhouse”–is in the outskirts of the smaller city of Anderson, South Carolina, about 40 minutes south of Greenville. There, the award-winning farm brewer embraces its role as an advocate for sustainable agriculture and ecology, while tinkering in more or less every format of fermentation there is–they currently produce beer, cider and mead, lacking only wine in their in-house roster. The GVL location, meanwhile, acts as a slightly more urban face for the brand, bringing the fruits of the farm directly to their closest major metropolitan market.
The lineup of Carolina Bauernhaus is particularly diverse, with an eye toward wild ales and tinkering in unique and eclectic flavor combinations. The fresh, mildly tart Dat Peach Weisse is an obvious winner, as is the beguilingly spicy and herbal Farmhouse Rye IPA, for which the company has collected several awards. For my money, though, there’s nothing more satisfying at Carolina Bauernhaus than a simple glass of the house-made Petite Cider, a sessionable dry cider with delicate acidity and tannin that packs a glorious amount of flavor into a modest 4% ABV frame. This is the kind of cider I would like to have stocked in my home fridge all year round.
4. Greenville Beer Exchange
Greenville’s high-end bottle shop doubles as a far above average beer bar as well, bringing an array of drafts both from the immediate area and beyond, while highlighting some of the best breweries and meaderies of the Southeast and Europe. One can expect to find offerings from brewers such as Asheville’s Burial Beer Co., Charleston’s Edmund’s Oast or Atlanta’s Halfway Crooks, supported by classic Continental brews from Germany and Belgium. All that, and free pinball as well! How can you go wrong?
I was likewise thankful for the experience at Greenville Beer Exchange for another reason: It offered a chance to pay respects to the recent closure of one of the GVL area’s most influential and best-loved breweries, Birds Fly South. These pioneering brewers, known for their mastery of saison and quirky approach to brewing classic farmhouse ales, unexpectedly announced their closure in October, leaving many questions about the future of the Hampton Station shopping center where Birds Fly South had long been the anchor business. It’s not know what is next for the brewery’s founders, but for a short while at least, it’s still possible to stop by the GVL Beer Exchange and taste some of the final kegs and bottles that remain of one of the area’s guiding brewing lights.
If you happen to be visiting Greenville in the near future, it’s a stop I would definitely make. But regardless of when you come to the South Carolina city, you will no doubt find a beautiful and engaging experience.
Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident craft beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.