Craft beer found a new home on the downtown peninsula when Two Blokes Brewing opened a taproom on Aug. 11.
Located at 114 Cannon St. in the ever-expanding Cannonborough-Elliottborough neighborhood, the taproom offers a place to grab a brew and a bite in a community-focused space.
The brewery and wine bar are on the ground floor of a 19th-century home. The building now features a 50-seat taproom, covered outdoor patio and a small-batch system for specialty and experimental beer releases.
The breweryโs flagship opened at 547 Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant in 2016. Current owners Rhett and Haley Anderson purchased Two Blokes in April 2023, just days before their first baby, Eloise, was born.
โWe always envisioned expanding,โ Haley said recently. โTwo Blokes is a special place, and having a downtown location accessible to more people became a goal of ours. We have a passion for design and community so getting to create a space from scratch with our look and feel has been incredible.โ
At the taproom
โLike any industry, the beer scene in Charleston is always changing,โ Rhett said. โPeople have this notion that breweries are dying and Americans are consuming less, which isnโt necessarily true. Existing breweries are opening additional taprooms and focusing more on hospitality and customer experience rather than distribution.
โPeople want a neighborhood spot where they can go and are familiar with. We wanted to emulate that feeling and be an extension of home on Cannon Street and at our original location on Long Point Road.โ
At the new taproom, this means robust food and drink menus, a family-friendly atmosphere and special events.
On the menu
Beer is โ of course โ the star of the show at Two Blokes.
โWe have many of the Two Blokes favorites on tap at Cannon, especially our flagships โ Wicked Throat Charmer, Umlaut and First Blood,โ said Haley. โWe will have rotating, seasonal taps as well. We will be creating one-off small barrel batches at our Cannon Street location that you can only get in the taproom.โ
Two Blokes has a beer for any palate. Craving for a Mexican lager? The Dos Muchachos is described as a brew โas smooth as a salsa dancerโs moves and as refreshing as a dip in the ocean.โ The Toes in the Sand is a sour ale with tastes of pineapple, coconut and vanilla, and the Mad Hopper is a pilsner with some bitterness and spice as well as floral and citrus tones.
And if you canโt decide what beer you want? The taproom always offers flights that have four different 4-ounce pours.
Wine offerings are vast and rotating, and might include a Tempranillo, a Lambrusco (a sparkling Italian aperitivo), orange wines and regenerative organic bottles. The couple once lived in Napa, worked in the wine industry and are avid wine drinkers so wanted to offer a comprehensive wine menu at the Cannon Street space, Haley shared.
Food options are well-designed to accompany a cold brew or glass of wine.
โOur food menu will be rotating seasonally,โ Rhett said. โWe have a small but mighty menu where you can find great light bites, flatbreads and sandwiches. We are working with local vendors and suppliers to bring fun dishes to life.โ
This means dishes like a charcuterie and cheese plate, fries served with garlic aioli, marinated olives and a mezze plate with whipped feta, hummus, roasted peppers, olives, cucumber and pita. A classic Bavarian pretzel comes with a seasonal beer cheese and spicy brown mustard, and youโll also find tinned fish, wings and salads.
For a heartier dish, thereโs a bratwurst with sauerkraut, a pulled pork sandwich with apple slaw and โ while the fruit is still in season โ a peach toast with whipped feta, peaches, pickled red onion, arugula and a balsamic reduction on Grit Bakery sourdough.
Looking ahead
While the downtown taproom is the new kid on the block, the Mount Pleasant location celebrates a decade in business this year. That location currently had 16 taps, which means more beers to offer than its sister spot. It will also host a Blลktoberfest celebration on Sept. 12.
On Cannon Street, there will be seasonally changing menus, food pop-ups and kitchen takeovers. Each week hosts โFunky Fridayโ when a new, favorite bottle-only wine is offered by the glass. A patio space is slated to open later this fall which means more seating, an additional bar and frequent appearances by brewery dog George, a majestic golden retriever (he even has a signature beer, the โGood Boy Golden Aleโ).
For those of you looking for your new favorite spot to watch football, Two Blokes may be your place. There is a television in the brewhouse that is visible from the outdoor bar and there will also be several screens on the patio.
Two Blokes Brewingโs Cannon Street taproom is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Saturday.
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