This post is a continuation from our previous post ‘How to Wing a Weekend in Charleston‘. We had 48 hours to spend in the city with our old pup along. So, we wanted to share some things to do with your furriest family member as well. Among them, several dog friendly breweries in Charleston.
Disclaimer: there was no consumption of beer by the dog featured in this post and it’s owners indulged responsibly. (We actually split our adventure over two nights.)
Charleston is such a magnificent confluence of architecture, history and gastronomic delights. The city is no stranger to breweries (there are several within a five mile radius of the city center!) As you make your way north of the city, there is a 3 mile stretch with eight of them in a row. This presents an excellent opportunity to experience several local flavors, all within walking distance. We made it to six of them, all of which are dog friendly. Hence, the perfect pup-ortunity to include Fido (or Rex or Molly or in our case Chopper), in your galivanting!
Palmetto Brewing Co.
This brewery is our first dog friendly stop, and we arrive right as they open at 4pm. You enter directly into the warehouse where you are greeted by their brew tanks and a wide open space. We made our way into the tasting room around back, a warm, intimate space with industrial chic vibes. They have board games and a small bites menu. You can sit back and relax for a bit while staring out the windows that face the warehouse where all the magic happens. We ordered a flight and some pimento cheese and crackers to start off our evening. Our favourite/most intriguing sample here was the Nutella beer.
Revelry Brewing Co.
Up the street and around the corner (half a mile away) you’ll find Revelry Brewing. This brewery has both a lower and upper deck fit for indulging. The lower bar is the brewery entrance and dog free. If you’re looking for the dog friendly space, the top deck is where it’s at. The patio is a spacious, open air venue complete with Edison-esque string lights and fire pits. There are water dishes a plenty and the staff love dogs! It is conveniently located across the street from a large green space, in the event your pooch needs a break to play some catch. They also host a food truck on the main level and offer about a dozen beers on tap and in cans. Our favourite beer was the Gullah Cream Ale brewed with grits (how southern!).
A stone’s throw from here, is ‘The Hold’, Revelry’s sibling brewery specializing in sour and wild, barrel-aged beers. They don’t allow dogs on the premises but are another option if you couldn’t get enough of their beer from their flagship location.
Fatty’s Beer Works
Less than a mile north, you’ll find yourself at Fatty’s Beer Works. This relatively small establishment is one of the newer kids on the block and only offer a handful of beers. Follow Fatty, the time-traveling brew master through the ages as history inspires his recipes. They have a small green space next to their parking lot with lawn games where you can sample some beers with your dog by your side. We walked out of this brewery with a 6-pack of ‘First Shot IPA’ (cans pictured below).
Munkle Brewing Co.
Another 0.1 mile north, Munkle produces a line of Belgian focused beers and has a resident dog – Brugge! Their story is truly based in the roots of Belgian beers as the inspiration for the venture was established by Rob (the founder’s uncle) who spent time in a Benedictine monastery. We had the pleasure of chatting with Palmer (founder) about the story behind his beers. The lot is well groomed and they have plenty of out outdoor and indoor space, including a pool table and monastery like decor. The winner here (for us) was the Dinner Bell Dubbel.
Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co.
Heading south again, 0.4 miles from Tradesman is Edmund’s Oast Brewing. This brewery is also a restaurant with a really great selection of food (try the cuban!). Specializing in sour ales, they have a minimum of a dozen rotating beers on tap. The vast interior has high ceiling and a long bar and is complimented by a courtyard style outdoor seating area.
On the Outskirts
We also ventured outside of the downtown area, checking out [dog friendly] Folly Beach as well as the live oak lined streets of John’s Island. We visited the following dog friendly breweries on the outskirts of the city:
Frothy Beard Brewing
Just over 6 miles outside the city center, in the Ashley Landing Shopping Center, you can’t miss it. The front of the building is accented by a massive mural of Finn, the face of Frothy Beard! Our flight consisted of Out at Third, Positive Vibes, Boardslide Rye and Sip Sip Pass IPA. The flight was accompanied by a HUGE piece of cheese pizza from the Zombie Bob’s Pizza, who has a window inside the brewery and a food truck out front. Dogs and owners are welcome to hang out on the patio around the side of the building. They also have water bowls for the pooches. The brewery hosts a range of weekly activities from ‘Bendy Brewski Yoga’ on Mondays to Timber Tuesdays of Axe Throwing with Blade and Bull to bingo and trivia nights.
Low Tide Brewing
Located on Johns Island, if you’re coming from the city, you’ll have to drive past acres of Spanish moss adorned live oaks and low growing palms before arriving here. Low Tide Brewing is about 8.5 miles from Charleston city center and en route to the Angel Oak Tree (a popular Johns Island landmark). They have plenty of parking along the side of the building and a stone lot with picnic tables and fire pits out front to take in some fresh air under a live oak. They host food trucks daily and have bingo and trivia nights as well. A couple of our favourites were the ‘Strawberry Short Shake’ and the ‘Whole Peach of Habanero’, but they have MANY choices on tap.
This is also where we discovered Canna Bonez, CBD dog treats. These, local, organic, made in the USA treats came recommended by the bartended who mentioned that they couldn’t keep them in stock! Taking that as good advice, we invested in a bag ($15 +free shipping in the US if you go through their website). And we were very glad we did! At the time of this trip, Chopper was 15 years old and starting to slow down. He had lost most of the range of motion in his back hips and seemed to be tired a lot. These treats seemed to perk him right back up, both physically and mentally. We highly recommend these for the aging pooch with stiffness or soreness.
Happy Hopping!
We hope you get a chance to explore all these great, dog friendly breweries in Charleston. Cheers to Chopper!! Sadly, we had to put our sweet boy to rest this past year which provided even more motivation to generate this post. In honour of his great spirit and love for adventure, we raise a glass to him, the best brewery hopping dog anyone could ask for.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE, DOG FRIENDLY BREWERY?
