Birthday recommendations... and more

Commonhouse Alewerks was the best brewery my group visited by far last time we were down there.

 

@MistaRyte, you might luck up and hit some nice weather. I usually make a trip to the Low Country for my birthday in February and it could be pleasant, or it could be a week of rain. I’m not going to address beer or food because to me, anywhere you stay there, whether it’s historic district, West Ashley, or Mount Pleasant, you have lots of good choices from the Places directory here. February would be a good time to visit some of the museums and historic sites. There is a new International African-American Museum which is close to the Aquarium, so you could hit both easily. Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie are worth a visit. Charles Towne Landing is a state park at the site of the first English settlement. Charleston gets great concerts year around, so check Ticketmaster or other ticket sites to see who will be in town the week of your visit.
Have a great birthday!

 

Hello fellow Virginian! My wife as well as a few craft beer friends did an adult only weekend getaway (Fri-Mon) to Charleston over the summer and it was a blast. We chose Charleston for the number of breweries in the area as well as food. We fit in I think 15 breweries on the trip.

On Saturdays the Charleston Brewery District has a Free Trolley that runs from 2pm-8pm and does pickups/dropoffs hourly at 9 or 10 breweries. We got in 7 breweries just using this. It's absolutely free (recommend giving the driver a tip at the end) and was a blast. The driver was playing music on the bus (even taking requests) with everyone singing. You simply get on at one of the breweries and then it circles back every hour to pick you back up and take you on to the next one. A hour seems like a long time to spend at a breweries but time went by quick. All of our Saturday afternoon during the trip was this. You can find the schedule and participating breweries on their IG or FB pages.

We spent Friday afternoon when we arrived checking out a few breweries in North Charleston since the trolley doesn't go up that far. Had a late lunch at Holy City Brewing which is a huge indoor space and the food was pretty good. They have a raw bar which one of our party was excited about and raved that it was excellent. If you are into Belgian beers then definitely check out Munkle Brewing. If you are into Lagers then Bevi Bene was solid.

On Sunday we spent half of our day venturing over to Mt. Pleasant and Sullivans Island. Checked out New Realm and while I've yet to make it to New Realm in Virginia Beach it's probably similar in feel. Much more commercial restaurant feel than the other breweries we visited. Can probably relate it to how Three Notch'd is near me in Central Virginia and probably how their VB location is if you've been there. We also went to Westbrook and I was shocked with how small their taproom was with all the hype they seem to have for their beers. Also stopped by Hobcaw while over there and though it was just ok but apparently they just won a GABF medal.

As for food, we had everyone telling us to go to Rodney Scott's BBQ but honestly it wasn't as we expected. Food was bland and it looked like the place was a converted Arby's. The location seemed to be in a sketchy part of town. We did go to Home Team BBQ (the one in Sullivan's Island). The location we went to isn't what I was expecting a BBQ join to be (it was more beach bar vibes) but to food was outstanding! There's one in Charleston and Mt. Pleasant as well. Lewis Barbeque is another spot we really wanted to try but couldn't fit it in.

Other activities include checking out the Charleston City Market, walking along The Battery to Waterfront Park and checking out Rainbow Row. On your way down you go right by a Buc-cees in Florence. That was our first experience at one and worked perfectly to as a pitstop to fill up with gas / snacks before getting into Charleston as it was pretty much tha midway point of the drive.

We did a 3 BR row house airbnb in the heart of Charleston so probably bigger than what you are looking for but I do recommend the French Quarter Inn if you want something more upscale and special. When my wife and I first visited Charleston 10+ years ago this is where we stayed and it was excellent.

Now, after typing all of the above I just realized I posted a thread looking for recs in June and provided an update after getting back. HA! Here's the link to it. https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...sc-brewery-district-free-shuttle-recs.677614/

 

So much to do. Here are some stuff that might not be on every "to do" list. If you are a sour fan, Snafu is a must stop in the way in/out of town (its in North Charleston north of the airport). For some awesome views, go out to Fort Mouttrie and walk out to the beach. Container ships go right by while looking across the CHS harbor. For one good dinner, we like FIG (Food is Good). Boat trip out to Morris Island Lighthouse is neat if the weather is nice and the dolphins are out (when i went in the summer there was a giant dolphin orgy going on lol). Rooftop bar above Vendue Inn has great city views. For the most part, it's hard to go wrong. Crappy places don't survive long. The history, if thats your thing, can occupy you for days on end. The beaches are awesome. The town is a foodie heaven.

For lodging: I highly recommend an Airbnb that is centrally located. Hotels in walking distance are expensive (and I like staying in a historic home anyways). Bring walking shoes. Most of downtown is walkable, but covers a lot of area (and parking can be a PITA). February however you might find some hotels reasonably nice. Like others said, weather will be a crap shoot. Could be sitting on the beach in shorts and long sleeve t-shirt or could be rain for a week.

 

To my knowledge, Fatty's taproom closed in the fall though they apparently have an agreement with another brewery in town to continue brewing some of their beers so you can still find it out in the wild.

 

How was the trip? Any standouts? Me and the buddies were spitballing another brewery getaway weekend this summer and discussed returning to Charleston since it was such a great trip last summer.

 

Safe travels and happy birthday!