On June 7, South Carolina adopted a law that is important for the continued development of our beer culture. For the first time in this state, beer retailers (and only those whose main products are beer and wine) may offer tastings of beer for customers, and breweries may offer tastings to visitors who tour their facilities and sell them a limited amount of their products.

This new law is not perfect, but it is significant because it addresses the biggest obstacle facing craft beer and microbreweries: little or no name or brand recognition due to lack of expensive media advertising. By necessity, the craft beer business has grown by word-of-mouth recommendations among enthusiasts; impressive as this is, its effect is limited. I have noticed many fine craft beers gather dust on the shelves of local retailers because they were not well known. The fact is most of us will not risk money on an unfamiliar beer.

Now, retailers can promote new and established craft beers with tastings, and customers can taste before they buy. More demand will mean more and better choices for all of us. Green’s on Piney Grove Road has already started weekly tastings. Check with your favorite retailer about its plans.

The state’s microbreweries need to grow to prosper. Tours and tastings are a low-cost form of one-on-one advertising that should help them increase their customer base, and direct sales to visitors will add a new source of revenue that these small businesses need. Coast Brewing in Charleston has already started tours and tastings, and the response has been great.

An unanticipated but good result of this legislation is that it should encourage the opening of nanobreweries in South Carolina. A nanobrewery is a very small licensed brewery (usually a part-time business for homebrewers) that sells its beers in draft to pubs and restaurants. The revenue from the sales of growlers of beer to visitors may make nanos profitable, and more breweries mean more choices. Probably the first nano in the state, Skull Coast Ales, recently opened in Fort Mill, S.C. Its first beer is an IPA called Maelstrom.


Bottle Tree Blonde is Brewed in South Carolina

Fred Block of Campobello, S.C., and his Bottle Tree Beer Co. are a great story. Block, an engineer by profession, started homebrewing several years ago, won a few awards for his beers at homebrew competitions, and eventually became hooked on the art and science of brewing. His passion for beer and brewing got out of hand and he has made the daring leap from amateur to professional, a move that is the dream of many homebrewers.

Rather than investing a fortune building a brewery, Fred is wisely having his beer brewed by Thomas Creek Brewery in Greenville on a contract basis. This means Thomas Creek is brewing his beer to his specifications, but the marketing, risks and headaches are all Fred’s. His first beer is Bottle Tree Blonde, a Belgian-style blonde ale and is available at Green’s.

This beer should not be confused with the lighter offerings called “blonde” made by some microbreweries and brewpubs. This blonde is six percent ABV and is true to this Belgian style. The taste is initially mildly sweet, but this fades quickly into an interesting German floral hop flavor, with a pilsner-like finish. Its combination of bitterness and carbonation is refreshing and lively, especially for a beer of this strength. Expect some spicy flavors that are the signature of the Belgian yeast used in fermentation. Thomas Creek’s craftsmanship is outstanding and clearly fulfills Block’s concept for this beer.

This is an elegant beer and a good introduction to Belgian-style beer with enough lager characteristics to make it very pleasant in the warmer weather of the South. I recommend it. Cheers!   


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