The Charleston Beer Exchange

I've heard about this place for years, but only stopped in recently. It was surprisingly small but with a fairly deep selection. Growler fill station in the back, nothing too wild though. Deep import selection with many very obscure Belgian/Danish/Italian stuff from Shelton and elsewhere. A lot of glassware, especially various Duvel tulips. Spotted a handful of traditional lambics from Tilquin, Lindemans, and Lambickx. Interesting local stuff up front opposite the register. Picked up something from Captain Lawrence and Birds Fly South.

Service was fine, the clerk was friendly and chatted with us about beer week stuff and the local brewery scene a little bit.

Overall it was definitely solid and worth checking out. I heard they will be moving closer to Edmund's Oast, so i'm anticipating good things with their new space.

 

Charleston can almost single-handedly thanks CBX for bringing craft beer onto the retail scene. Great selection and knowledgeable staff. Have brought many beer geeks to this place and they all rave about the knowledge of the staff. it's a pretty tiny place, but they pack a large diversity of selection with the square footage they have. A place not to miss if you like beer and are in Charleston.

Been to Charleston many of times & every time I go downtown I try to get in the nearby parking garage just so I can hit this place while we are out & about. Stumbled upon this place the 1st time a few years back & it's worth stopping every trip. Small store, very good selection friendly & helpful staff.

 

 

 

 

This was a place I was definitely looking forward to on a recent trip to Charleston, but it was pretty disappointing. I knew the shop was going to be small, but the selection was pretty bland. It's a very small place and it only took a few minutes to look around, a shelf in the front with local brews and a growler filling station in the middle. The selection was a bit random, a bunch of variety from a few random breweries and a small variety of other stuff. We tried asking one of the employees some questions, but he gave us a bit of an attitude with snarky answers. If you are within a few blocks check out it, but its not worth going out of your way for.

 

Swung by 1145am on a Saturday and the open time is posted as 11am, but they were closed. Sign in the window said back at 12pm. We shrugged it off and killed some time walking around the waterfront. Came back at 1205pm and they were still closed. We gave up and got lunch, came back an hour later and fortunately they were open.

This place is tiny. The longest wall is full of dust covered Belgian bottles that I (and apparently others) had no interest in. All other styles were relegated to 2 stacks of shelves and a refrigerated section. I saw no sign or area for singles, so trying to be respectful I asked the shop keeper what their policy was on singles . He grunts at me "it's singles, just get what you want".

Overall I was very underwhelmed. I thought it was unprofessional to not open when you're supposed to and be later then the time you posted you'd return. The clerk was curt with us about the singles and the selection was not impressive. I saw on their online inventory they had Foothills Jade but there was none in stock. I'd probably return next time I'm in town since they are the only bottle shop in the area but I'm calling first to make sure they are open and I'm asking if they actually have what's posted online.

 

Unbelievable. I've been going here in person and ordering online from cbx for 4+ yrs. I'm pumped up, ready to see what's available. Selection is definitely down, so I ask.

Q; "Man, I love this place, but it seems the selection is less than I've previously experienced."
A: "Oh great. Thanks for the underhanded compliment, I GUESS...

Maybe he's having a bad day.

Me: "Well, I'll still find some stuff I want. Will you be getting some more stock soon?
Him: "I would be doing that right now, but you're here" along with "I hate customers like you...just kidding..."

WTF?!?

Well, that is no longer "having a bad day." This guy was the biggest prick I have come across. I wont be going back. I wont be ordering. ill recommend friends don't order.

You know what? Its people like me that keep your little shop open, and spread the word. I like beer. If you dont,or think you're too good to talk about anything with a customer, maybe you should quit. wash cars or something.

 

Marc was super helpful finding great local beers to ship home...yes, they do the packaging and shipping with FedEx right there...no ups drops that might damage your goods! Great selection, growler fills, super friendly staff, the works.

 

Absolutely awesome place to grab some bottles. This is a pretty tiny place with a very unassuming/historical look from the outside. Once you enter it is basically a longish room with some sixers up front, a growler station and a bunch of bottles extending back.

There is not a plethora of beer here compared to a Total Wine or something like that. What there is, however, is a great, curated-seeming selection of great local and international beers that you are unlikely to find in a lot of other places. Maybe I am just not paying enough attention when I shop, but the Int'l bottles included tons of stuff that I had never heard of or had only ever heard of. The service was excellent and extremely helpful and the beer I was recommended was great.

All-in-all this is a perfect place to stop if you are visiting Charleston (right near a lot of historic stuff--including its namesake) and if I lived there this would be a place I would drop far too much money. Hope to go back someday!

Awesome bottle shop down by Waterfront Park. Got some excellent brews for our stay. Place is tiny but best selection I saw while in South Carolina.

Small place, but don't let that fool you. I dusted off a bottle of Rodenbach Rouge in the back and brought it forward. So no shortage of selection here.

Gem of a place in the heart of historic Charleston. Went there twice in a weekend to get growler fills and some rare/hard to find stuff to bring home to Maryland. Mark was very knowledgeable in both his inventory and the "story behind the beer". We talked at length about several beers they carried. Nice selection of local offerings and several world class beers too. This will be my first stop whenever I visit Charleston.

 

 

Best bottle shop in Charleston. Draft beer/growler fills too! Update 8/17/15 - Many local and South Carolina beers, sixers as well singles and bombers. Super friendly and knowledgable staff who are quick to help find that "special" beer, as well as make recommendations where to find scarce beer. Lack of close by parking is an issue.

 

 

 

Horrible selection. Very small. Not good

 

 

 

 

 

 

They didn't have Wicked Weed, but they had beers that were just as good and the knowledge of the staff led me to realize that.

 

 

Perfect Beernurd shop. The guys know their stuff!!! Not a fan of the location. It's a pain driving around downtown and parking can be troublesome.

Awesome place. Picked up a lot of local stuff and some others that aren't available in Florida (Allagash, Evil Twin, Full Steam). Sadly, one of the beers I bought (an IPA from Coast Brewing) had gone skunky. Other than that, perfect beer haul trip.