South Carolina SC midlands area brewers

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Anyone been to the new brewery, Columbia Craft, yet? It's over off Huger on at Greene and Huger, near the arena. My wife and I went by last Thursday for the grand opening. Figured I'd give y'all the deets...

Great location, should do well with that. The setup is nice, good ambiance, nice outdoor area. They've got a pretty damn big parking lot, which I could see being an advantage for big beer releases and/or parties. They had around 9-10 beers on tap: IPA (west coast), Session Pale, Porter, India Red Ale(?), various fruited berliners (Raspberry, Guava, Passionfruit, Peach/Apricot/Mango, maybe one more), and a lager. I may be forgetting something. We shared a flight of the IPA, Guava, Passionfruit, and Peach/Apricot/Mango. The IPA was solid, nothing crazy. Nice and clean, piney/resiny west coast IPA, no flaws I could pick up on. The berliners were a different story. I don't pretend to have a top notch palate, but I detected diacetyl in more than one of them. I'm sure they have the same base berliner and just fruit it differently. But I think some fruits covered up the diacetyl more than others. Hopefully they get that worked out and it was just a rushed beer to get ready for the opening. I hope they can do some cool stuff. Otherwise, it's just another Standardtown USA brewery, a la River Rat. Anyone else been? More importantly, does anyone know who owns it? I can't find anything about who's brewing or funding the place. Just curious.

Side note: I heard Matt Rodgers (Hop Yard / Old Mill) is opening a new brewery in Lexington. Pumped for that!
 
Good review on Columbia Craft. Seems they are in a good location to attract both students and business professionals.

Seems they are a but heavy with the BW's while other options are somewhat limited. Time will tell if they were pushing for the GO or simply not good brewers. Lets hope they pushed hard to open.
 
SHAIV said:
Where at in lexington?
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I'm not sure, I just saw a FB post from Matt looking for graphic design help with his logo.

Morrey said:
Good review on Columbia Craft. Seems they are in a good location to attract both students and business professionals.

Seems they are a but heavy with the BW's while other options are somewhat limited. Time will tell if they were pushing for the GO or simply not good brewers. Lets hope they pushed hard to open.
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Damn diacetyl reminded me of Local Motive in Flo-Town! You been by there again recently?
 
TravelingLight said:
I'm not sure, I just saw a FB post from Matt looking for graphic design help with his logo.


Damn diacetyl reminded me of Local Motive in Flo-Town! You been by there again recently?
Click to expand...

Yeah, and I know why now. Brewer was bragging he had a lager online 10 days after pitching yeast. Sure you can do it, but look at the results. Yuck.
 
SHAIV said:
Where at in lexington?
Click to expand...

He's still in the Old Mill area but in a different building. His Ghost of the Mill IPA is outstanding to say the least....

We (Angry Fish Brewing Co) brew in Irmo and are still working on location and permits. Check out our FB and Instagram pages for new releases. We offer free tastings at the brewrage so just shoot me a PM and we can make it happen. Currently on tap: Bomb Island Imperial Stout, Doolittle Imperial Stout conditioned with Bourbon chips, Arbor Knot IPA and Lake Wind Advisory IPA with Mango and Habanero. In the fermenter is Drunk Santa Holiday Ale and we brew our Rip Current Coffee DIPA this Saturday.
Cheers!
 
dieharduscfan said:
He's still in the Old Mill area but in a different building. His Ghost of the Mill IPA is outstanding to say the least....

We (Angry Fish Brewing Co) brew in Irmo and are still working on location and permits. Check out our FB and Instagram pages for new releases. We offer free tastings at the brewrage so just shoot me a PM and we can make it happen. Currently on tap: Bomb Island Imperial Stout, Doolittle Imperial Stout conditioned with Bourbon chips, Arbor Knot IPA and Lake Wind Advisory IPA with Mango and Habanero. In the fermenter is Drunk Santa Holiday Ale and we brew our Rip Current Coffee DIPA this Saturday.
Cheers!
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Are you a member of PSB? Trying to figure out if I've met you before...
 
dieharduscfan said:
He's still in the Old Mill area but in a different building. His Ghost of the Mill IPA is outstanding to say the least....

We (Angry Fish Brewing Co) brew in Irmo and are still working on location and permits. Check out our FB and Instagram pages for new releases. We offer free tastings at the brewrage so just shoot me a PM and we can make it happen. Currently on tap: Bomb Island Imperial Stout, Doolittle Imperial Stout conditioned with Bourbon chips, Arbor Knot IPA and Lake Wind Advisory IPA with Mango and Habanero. In the fermenter is Drunk Santa Holiday Ale and we brew our Rip Current Coffee DIPA this Saturday.
Cheers!
Click to expand...

Did he pick up that 5000sq ft space across from the brewpub? The one that was a crossfit place? I was thinking that would be a killer space for a brewery.

Also, where are you offering tastings?
 
Poopsmitherson said:
Is he not part of Cottontown Brew Labs anymore? Did they get a new brewer?
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Nope. Matt parted ways with Cottontown a while back, sometime earlier this year. Difference of opinions on some things with the owner is what I heard. But Matt is a fantastic brewer, so as long as he's brewing, I'm good with it.
 
I just left West Columbia for Nashville this past spring. I have been home brewing on and off for about 17 years. Mostly extracts but now moved to all grain (since I have more space in TN). As far a local craft brews and home brewing in Columbia.... I usually went to BetMar for supplies. Not the best selection but they have the basics. I would usually order online for more unique or specialized ingredients. The current ownership are not the original owners. I did notice a drop in customer service and knowledge when he bought the place a few years back. As far as local breweries, I like Swamp Cabbage a lot. Very good place to also tailgate for the Gamecock football season (free growler each home game when you buy a parking spot). Also nice outside patio to watch the game and hang out. I like River Rat for their facility (best in town I think) and they like to make a good Kolsch (my favorite beer). But my favorite place is Hunter Gatherer on Main Street. Not only some awesome beer but amazing food! I'm very disappointed that they are going to start bottling/canning just as I leave town. But at least I can take some home with me when I visit. There are a lot of good bars and restaurants that have a solid beer selection. I was very pleased to see a Casual Pint open up in the Vista when I visited over Thanksgiving. The greater Columbia area has some solid brew bones, you may just have to dig a bit sometimes.
 
Hey man. Thats some good info. I dont get out much so ive only heard of most of those places lol. Except betmar. I dont have time to go there anymore though. I pretty much have to order all my stuff online now. Which speaking of i just got a lb of simcoe pellets on amazon for just under $20 shipped. Cant beat that!
I guess everyone else on here has been busy with the holidays just as i have. As soon as work slows down maybe ill have the energy to brew again lol
 
SHAIV said:
Hey man. Thats some good info. I dont get out much so ive only heard of most of those places lol. Except betmar. I dont have time to go there anymore though. I pretty much have to order all my stuff online now. Which speaking of i just got a lb of simcoe pellets on amazon for just under $20 shipped. Cant beat that!
I guess everyone else on here has been busy with the holidays just as i have. As soon as work slows down maybe ill have the energy to brew again lol
Click to expand...
Heard that! I've been meaning to work some simcoe into something soon...

I also just entered my first competition. Send a breakfast stout and a NEIPA to the Big Bend Brew Off down in Florida. I'm pretty damn pleased with this breakfast stout. It's a little thinner than I wanted, but it finished lower than I planned. But it's got a huge maple nose and big chocolate on the palate.

Brewing this weekend for the homebrew collab/brew it forward that poopsmitherson put together. Man I had a hard time deciding what to change in the recipe, but looking forward to brewing something new!
 
TravelingLight said:
Heard that! I've been meaning to work some simcoe into something soon...

I also just entered my first competition. Send a breakfast stout and a NEIPA to the Big Bend Brew Off down in Florida. I'm pretty damn pleased with this breakfast stout. It's a little thinner than I wanted, but it finished lower than I planned. But it's got a huge maple nose and big chocolate on the palate.

Brewing this weekend for the homebrew collab/brew it forward that poopsmitherson put together. Man I had a hard time deciding what to change in the recipe, but looking forward to brewing something new!
Click to expand...

Are you going to be at the PSB meeting on Monday? I've been busy trying to get the brewery started and missed last months meeting.
 
dieharduscfan said:
Are you going to be at the PSB meeting on Monday? I've been busy trying to get the brewery started and missed last months meeting.
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Yeah man, I plan to be there. Probably going to swing by DIY tomorrow as well. Need to grab some grain and Kevin is doing a brew session with some newbies.
 
Hey guys so i really want an electric kettle so i can brew inside. Has anyone heard of the brewers edge mash and boil? Its probably the most affordable all grain system on the market. Ive seen reviews saying its kind of cheaply made and the mash temp has a 6 degree variance for when the heat kicks on. I dont think i like that. I guess you get what you pay for. So anyway. Northern Brewer has a new gigawort electric kettle but it only holds 4.4 gallons which would be perfect for indoor extract brewing or possibly a small BIAB batch, and with 2 kids under 2 years old and a job thats really more like 2 jobs, i dont really have a lot of time for all grain anyway. I could save $100 by getting the gigawort and it could be used as a HLT for when i could possibly brew an all grain. What do you guys think? The only advantage to getting the mash and boil would be that it has a larger capacity and it can do all grain but i dont like the 6 degree variance or that people say the ball valve seems cheap. Has anyone researched anything with these two? I guess i could always get a robobrew one day if i can afford it. Ive heard good things about that
 
SHAIV said:
Hey guys so i really want an electric kettle so i can brew inside. Has anyone heard of the brewers edge mash and boil? Its probably the most affordable all grain system on the market. Ive seen reviews saying its kind of cheaply made and the mash temp has a 6 degree variance for when the heat kicks on. I dont think i like that. I guess you get what you pay for. So anyway. Northern Brewer has a new gigawort electric kettle but it only holds 4.4 gallons which would be perfect for indoor extract brewing or possibly a small BIAB batch, and with 2 kids under 2 years old and a job thats really more like 2 jobs, i dont really have a lot of time for all grain anyway. I could save $100 by getting the gigawort and it could be used as a HLT for when i could possibly brew an all grain. What do you guys think? The only advantage to getting the mash and boil would be that it has a larger capacity and it can do all grain but i dont like the 6 degree variance or that people say the ball valve seems cheap. Has anyone researched anything with these two? I guess i could always get a robobrew one day if i can afford it. Ive heard good things about that
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Haven't researched any of those. Have you looked at DIY options (not sure how comfortable you are with electrical work)? I've considered going electric one day, and I would probably go the DIY route. But I'd probably have to run a new line out to my shed and I'm just now finishing up all the electrical out there, so I may not want to screw with that!
 
Eh i have looked into that before and thought i could do that myself though a lot of diy things require a 240v plug which i have 2, one for my washer and one for my stove. I researched about just installing another 240v plug and everyone suggests getting a pro to do it, now that can be pricey and IMO not worth it, but my father in law used to work for his dads electric company so i guess that wouldnt be a big cost if i could get him to do the hard parts and me just help him but still probably more work than i have time for. Ah the life of a ups man... not enough time to do the things you want to and not enough money to justify paying someone else to do it
 
Maybe i should get a sanke keg for fermenting like you man. You think i could do no chill with that?
 
SHAIV said:
Maybe i should get a sanke keg for fermenting like you man. You think i could do no chill with that?
Click to expand...

Man I want to get one of those 14 gallon SS Brewing tech conicals with temp control. Maybe when the kids are out of the house haha
 
SHAIV said:
Maybe i should get a sanke keg for fermenting like you man. You think i could do no chill with that?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I don't see why not. Granted, I'm not super familiar with the nuances of no chill brewing, so maybe I'm wrong. Regardless, I might be selling one or two of my sankes in the near future if you're interested.

grandetacos said:
Man I want to get one of those 14 gallon SS Brewing tech conicals with temp control. Maybe when the kids are out of the house haha
Click to expand...
You might be waiting a while brother! IIRC yours are youngins these days.

ETA: I think Morrey has one of those glycol cooled conicals now, but I could be mistaken.
 
Yeah i dunno if no chill is the way to go but i need to figure out something that will shorten my brew day. Just saw theres a chapman stainless fermenter thats shaped like a kettle. Maybe i could no chill in that... usually extract still takes about 3 hours. Including setup and cleanup. I dont have to chill my wort to pitching temps because i can add cold water in the fermenter and drop temp quickly so that and doing a 30 min boil can save time. What do you think? So i dunno if an electric boil kettle will save time because i think they take a while to heat up unless you get a 240v which isnt anything i was describing before
 
SHAIV said:
Yeah i dunno if no chill is the way to go but i need to figure out something that will shorten my brew day. Just saw theres a chapman stainless fermenter thats shaped like a kettle. Maybe i could no chill in that... usually extract still takes about 3 hours. Including setup and cleanup. I dont have to chill my wort to pitching temps because i can add cold water in the fermenter and drop temp quickly so that and doing a 30 min boil can save time. What do you think? So i dunno if an electric boil kettle will save time because i think they take a while to heat up unless you get a 240v which isnt anything i was describing before
Click to expand...
If that's how you're doing no chill, I don't see why it wouldn't work in a sanke. The only thing I would consider is how well stainless steel holds heat. Case in point: I filled up a corny the other week with hot tap water (~140 degrees) and left it sitting in the sink with the lid off. 24 hours later the water in the keg was still just over 100 degrees. Surprised the hell out of me.

As far as electric kettles/heating goes, I can't say for certain since I've never brewed on one, but I've routinely seen people hit boiling in 20 minutes or so. Which is about as long as it takes me with my jet burner.

Averaging 3 hours for an extract brew isn't terrible, but IMO you could probably shorten that. I keep track of the overall time for all my brew days, mainly to see if I am improving or getting worse as far as time goes. I'm all grain, and if I brew a stout, saison, or anything that does not have flameout and whirlpool additions, i.e., anything not hoppy, I can knock it out in just over 3 hours, e.g., did a breakfast stout the other week in 3 hours and 15 minutes. OTOH, if I'm brewing an IPA with post-boil additions, that usually adds another hour. What's the biggest time consumer of your process?
 
Idk maybe im not as experienced. When i brew all grain. I usually spend about 5-6 hours on brew day
 
SHAIV said:
Idk maybe im not as experienced. When i brew all grain. I usually spend about 5-6 hours on brew day
Click to expand...

We fly sparge and our brew day takes a minimum of 6hrs but we hit all of numbers and brew 28 gallons at a time. If we do a double batch it normally 8 to 9hrs.
You can’t rush sparging or you’ll leave to many fermentable sugars behind. Also, your beer will have a thinner body and miss your ABV.
Slow sparging also helps with your total brewhouse efficiency and keeps your beers consistent. Consistency is key when brewing a beer over and over.
I’ve heard you can batch sparge in 10-15 minutes but you’ll miss your numbers and lower your efficiencies. For me, efficiency is everything when Brewing 1bbl batches.
 
dieharduscfan said:
We fly sparge and our brew day takes a minimum of 6hrs but we hit all of numbers and brew 28 gallons at a time. If we do a double batch it normally 8 to 9hrs.
You can’t rush sparging or you’ll leave to many fermentable sugars behind. Also, your beer will have a thinner body and miss your ABV.
Slow sparging also helps with your total brewhouse efficiency and keeps your beers consistent. Consistency is key when brewing a beer over and over.
I’ve heard you can batch sparge in 10-15 minutes but you’ll miss your numbers and lower your efficiencies. For me, efficiency is everything when Brewing 1bbl batches.
Click to expand...
I think batch size also comes into play, i.e., a one bbl batch vs. 5 gallons. I batch sparge and I nail my numbers more often than not. It really only takes as long as it takes to run off from the mash tun. And I may not be the most efficient but, IMO, consistency is more important than efficiency. For example, let's say I was only had about 65% efficiency. It's not great, but it's not terrible. Point being, if you know that and you scale your recipes properly, you can still be consistent. Again though, I'm not brewing nearly as big a batch as you fellas are. And if I was brewing almost 30 gallons at a time, I would definitely be more upset at missing numbers than if I was only brewing a 5 gallon batch. Fly sparging is great, and I can't imagine doing batch sparges on a 1bbl size batch. But I doubt I will ever switch to fly sparging as long as I'm just a weekend warrior and not going pro.

On another note, missed you on Monday! I know you're swamped though.
 
You know the alchemists john kimmick doesnt sparge... the next time i do all grain i think ill try the no sparge method and see how it turns out
 
SHAIV said:
You know the alchemists john kimmick doesnt sparge... the next time i do all grain i think ill try the no sparge method and see how it turns out
Click to expand...
I actually did not know Kimmick doesn't sparge. I've been wanting to try no sparge, just haven't sat down to figure out my volumes and such. But I know plenty of people do and have no issues with it. Lots of Brulosopher posts about it.
 
Yeah he says it pulls more tannins and bad stuff from the grains and the sugar loss is negligable. Basically he can charge whatever he wants for his beer so im sure it doesnt matter to him. Lol
 
So im still stuck trying to figure what i should get lol. Homebrew problems... if i got the chapman fermenter i could put a heating element in it one day and make it electric or ive read that people put it on their stove to heat up water. Theres also induction plates... Man so many options
 
SHAIV said:
So im still stuck trying to figure what i should get lol. Homebrew problems... if i got the chapman fermenter i could put a heating element in it one day and make it electric or ive read that people put it on their stove to heat up water. Theres also induction plates... Man so many options
Click to expand...

I’ve got everything you need to do a 5-6 gallon batch of all grain beer. It includes:
Two 10 gallon SS kettle with thermometer and valve
One 10 gallon igloo mashtun with false bottom and valve
One banjo burner
One DIY sparge arm
One copper coil immersion wort chiller
One 6.5 gallon glass carboy
One carboy stand
All of the hoses and connections
$400

For and extra $100(which is a deal), you can have my Duda diesel 40 plate chiller with thrumometer and hoses and fittings

You can start brewing all grain today
 
Haha well thanks but i dont have that much money and im not gonna be doing all grain for a while. I already have all grain equipment. I just dont have the time to do all grain now with two kids under 2 yrs old. Im trying to get something to shorten my brew day doing extract for now. I may get something for no chill but not sure yet. I did just find a 10 gallon pot with welded ports for 69$!
https://www.homebrewing.org/10-Gallon-1-Weld-Volume-Marked-Brew-Pot_p_6065.html
I may get one of those
 
SHAIV said:
Haha well thanks but i dont have that much money and im not gonna be doing all grain for a while. I already have all grain equipment. I just dont have the time to do all grain now with two kids under 2 yrs old. Im trying to get something to shorten my brew day doing extract for now. I may get something for no chill but not sure yet. I did just find a 10 gallon pot with welded ports for 69$!
https://www.homebrewing.org/10-Gallon-1-Weld-Volume-Marked-Brew-Pot_p_6065.html
I may get one of those
Click to expand...

Gotcha. If you know anybody looking for equipment send them my way. The kettles are triclad bottoms also.
 
SHAIV said:
Haha well thanks but i dont have that much money and im not gonna be doing all grain for a while. I already have all grain equipment. I just dont have the time to do all grain now with two kids under 2 yrs old. Im trying to get something to shorten my brew day doing extract for now. I may get something for no chill but not sure yet. I did just find a 10 gallon pot with welded ports for 69$!
https://www.homebrewing.org/10-Gallon-1-Weld-Volume-Marked-Brew-Pot_p_6065.html
I may get one of those
Click to expand...

When I’m short on time, I do stovetop 2.5 gallon in a ss pot, cover it with tin foil after boil and stick it in a bathtub full of cold water. At some point when I have time again in the next day or so, I’ll spray the crap out of the pot with starsan, transfer the wort to a fermenter and pitch the yeast. Spreads the brew out over time so it’s easier to juggle kids.

I do brew in a bag in a regular 6 qt pot for my mash, preheat the oven to 170, turn it off and shove the pot in the oven with a top on. Holds temp, great extraction, and easy clean up. The just turn the oven on to 170 for mashout.
 
grandetacos said:
When I’m short on time, I do stovetop 2.5 gallon in a ss pot, cover it with tin foil after boil and stick it in a bathtub full of cold water. At some point when I have time again in the next day or so, I’ll spray the crap out of the pot with starsan, transfer the wort to a fermenter and pitch the yeast. Spreads the brew out over time so it’s easier to juggle kids.

I do brew in a bag in a regular 6 qt pot for my mash, preheat the oven to 170, turn it off and shove the pot in the oven with a top on. Holds temp, great extraction, and easy clean up. The just turn the oven on to 170 for mashout.
Click to expand...

Interesting... but i only have 5 gallon kegs so i might as well fill them. If i cant brew beer ill make cider and dry hop it so i still get my hop fix
 
Hey travelinglight what do you use to connect your carboy cap to your ball valve gas post? Im trying to find out. Is it just like a npt to hose barb adapter?
 
Last edited:
Would this stuff work?
IMG_1875.jpg

And do you put the racking cane through and then put the plastic end on then attach the cap to the keg?
 

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