Is craft beer in trouble? Yes. And no.
But perhaps most importantly for Charleston — craft beer is very much still here.
More than 10 breweries and brew pubs of almost 40 have closed since Charleston City Paper published its Hops master list in 2023. Across the nation, craft beer output fell 4 percent in 2024.
There are multiple contributing factors when it comes to the decline of craft beer and the closing of breweries — one could point to the oversaturation of the market or the change in consumer behavior (Gen Z, apparently, isn’t drinking as much).
The doomsday narrative surrounding craft beer’s recent decline, though, ignores the less exciting but much more heartening fact: plenty of breweries continue to thrive. Twenty breweries remain in the Charleston area. City Paper talked to three breweries that are booked, busy and, yes, even expanding.
Low Tide for a long time
Low Tide Brewing’s founder Mike Fielding knew when he first opened a brewery that he would need to own a plot of land to be able to continue to grow. So, he bought one, located just a little down the road from the brewery’s current location.
The uber-popular Johns Island brewery is slated to move to its new, larger location at 0 Beer Garden Way (off of Maybank Highway) next fall.
“If you didn’t start planning a move years and years in advance and you get to the end [of a lease], then you’re in a very, very tough spot,” Fielding said.
As a beer industry veteran, Fielding pointed to several factors that have contributed to the downfall of some breweries, from staggering rent prices to a changing distribution landscape to how difficult it can be to get a bank loan.
These days, customers are also looking for a lot from breweries.
“People do expect [everything from a brewery.] It’s a little bit frustrating,” Fielding said.
“Breweries now have been trying to have this full experience and full bar and full menu and full everything — and I feel like that’s devalued the word ‘brewery.’ ”
For Fielding, beer is Low Tide’s raison d’etre. While so many breweries have pivoted and added to their offerings, he insists on focusing on the original product.
“This is a brewery. We make beer here,” he said. Fielding joked that most visitors to wineries, for example, don’t enter the premises and ask for a cocktail or a full food menu. “It’s not kitschy, and it’s not gimmicky, and it doesn’t go outside of their brand.”
Getting the most out of Edmund’s Oast
Cameron Read, head brewer at Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. (EOBC), said his team is always looking at “the big picture” for beer sales nationally. “Craft beer growth is flat to down, depending on how you’re looking at it,” he said.
He noted the unique, meteoric growth of the craft beer industry that has in recent years started to see more closings after years and years of openings. The market, Read noted, is changing with more beer options than ever as well as the rise of THC drinks and RTDs (ready-to-drink cocktails).
“I don’t think anyone’s thinking it’s doom and gloom,” he said. “I think we’re just sort of seeing a natural evolution of the craft beer drinker in America.”
Ultimately, the team at EOBC, which includes co-owner Scott Shor, director of group operations Timmons Pettigrew and executive chef Alex Yellan, works to respond to their customers’ wants and needs.
“Every year, we’re going to continue to grow our quality, and we’re going to try to continue to innovate how we get beer to the customer in the best form possible,” Read said. Right now, the complex that houses EOBC and Rancho Lewis is currently undergoing some major construction — Shor described the situation as having “this gigantic mud pit where our courtyard used to be.”
The outcome — a renovated outdoor area — will be worth the mess and should be open later this fall. In the meantime, the EOBC crew hopes locals continue to frequent the brewery, where chef Alex Yellan has recently released a new menu with fresh, internationally inspired flavors.
“I have to believe from the sustained business that we’ve done for the past eight years, that [business] is locally-driven,” Shor said. “The bulk of our business is a local driven thing, which is something that we want to embrace.”
Holy City continues to grow in Park Circle
In the seven years since Holy City Brewing (HCB) bought its plot of land at 1021 Aragon Ave., the brewery has added a 10,000-square-foot taproom, separate event space, raw bar, dock and more.
“We can do what we need to do and add to it,” HCB co-owner Chris Brown said. “Our goal, as much as I want people to be here for the beer — because I’m a brewer by trade — [is to] sell experiences. … People come here for a specific vibe.”
The taproom has come a long way from HCB’s original location, a warehouse space off of Dorchester Road.
“I have great memories of Dorchester Road,” Brown said. “[But] we saw taproom sales dip for the last three years we were there, because all these breweries were opening up that had little things like bathrooms that were inside and air conditioning.”
Holy City is currently brewing beers for other breweries, such as Fatty’s Beer Works and Cooper River Brewing Co., both of which recently shuttered taprooms but continue to distribute beer.
The brewery will soon open a small speakeasy behind the bar, available for people to rent out or to take cocktail classes in, with local mixologist pro Johnny Caldwell of the Cocktail Bandits.
Brown said there’s an internal battle, sometimes, when it comes to offering so many options at a brewery. “We want to have something for everyone, but at what point is that too many things?” he said.
There may not be an easy answer to this particular question, but one thing is certain: Craft beer, in Charleston, is very much still here.
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