Apologies if something like this has been posted before. There's a decent chance my wife and I will be taking a trip to Hilton Head in August/September. Most likely my wife will want a spa day, which means I should be getting a beer day! Firstly, is it worthwhile for me to drive the 2 hours to Charleston to hit Westbrook, COAST, etc., or are there closer stores to Hilton Head where I can get essentially the same distro? My preference is bottles over growlers. Keep in mind that I live in NY and get plenty of Westbrook as it is, although not everything. Also, I assume the best way to get to Hilton Head is to fly into Savannah. Is it worthwhile to do any beer shopping in Savannah either on our way in or out? Thanks everybody!
I wouldn't say Hilton Head is a beer wasteland, but people don't go there for beer vacations. You'll find your fair share of local and regional craft at the bars and grocery stores. When your wife is taking a spa day, does that mean you have an entire day to kill? And if so, do you just want to try beer you can't get in NY or do you want to go on tours and stuff like that? If you're flying in to Savannah, Habersham is your place - http://habershambeverage.com/. They'll have a better selection than anything on Hilton Head. If you really just want to enjoy some beers you can't get in NY and spend a day at the beach or playing golf, this is your best bet. Westbrook has a nice tasting room, but if you're going to make the drive, check on their website to see what's on tap that day. Sometimes it's not much more than what you can buy in the store. COAST has some great beer and the brewery is no frills. There are plenty of good breweries and bars/restaurants in Charleston, way more than you can attempt in an afternoon. There are some other threads on this if you do a search on "Hilton Head" that will give you some additional insight.
Very good, I'll be sure to search the forum. It's not a beer vacation. It's a my-wife-is-having-our-3rd-baby-and-we-don't-know-when-we'll-be-able-to-take-our-next-trip-and-I-just-started-a-new-job-so-I-can't-take-more-than-a-couple-of-days-off kind of vacation. My purpose in going to Charleston or Savannah is not to drink, since I'll be doing plenty of driving. The purpose would be to get a bunch of bottles to bring home.
After looking through a few of the threads in the forum, it looks like the selection at Kroger/Whole Foods on HHI will be fine. So my question really is would it be worthwhile to drive to Charleston? Will the bottle selection in town be significantly better than on the island? Are there bottles at the breweries in Charleston that will be unavailable in retail shops?
Charleston definitely has a better selection than Hilton Head, but it might be a personal question on whether it's worth the drive. COAST bottles and is usually only in Charleston. You can often find Foothills in Charleston. And of course the famous Charleston Beer Exchange is in Charleston. The bottles I picked up at COAST last time I was there were some of my favorites of the trip, though they were both seasonal so maybe a local can chime in on what's available now. Also worth noting that you'll want to stop at both Habershams in Savannah and Whole Foods in HH for maximum coverage. Since Savannah is in Georgia, you'll have different beer available to you. If it were me, I would hit those two and if you feel like you're still underwhelmed, make a drive up to Charleston. I haven't been to the Whole Foods in HH so I can't speak from experience on how it compares to Charleston. And congratulations on both the third kid and being able to get a vacation in before it's too late.
I'd take a day trip to Charleston, especially if you've never been. Beer shouldn't be the primary focus, but once you're in town, It'd be foolish not to avail yourself of opportunities (Mostly sealed since you have to drive back).
Southbound Brewing in Savannah puts out some quality stuff. Their coffee stout is great, as is their quad. Don't know of of any other breweries in the area though.
Southbound and Service are the two best spots for actual breweries, and you could easily do both in the same day if you are quick enough. Their hours are nearly identical and they are only about 0.5 mile apart, but with both being only open for 2 hours you'd have to make a quick hour out of each. Coastal Empire Beer Co. is the 3rd brewery in the area, but I'm not sure if they have weekly hours yet (it used to be once or twice a month). As has been mentioned, Habersham Beverage will offer the best selection of what we get here in GA. They will have multiple offerings from Southbound, Service, and Coastal Empire in cans or bombers if you are looking for a Savannah brewery to take with you.
Obligatory reminder for people not from Georgia - You can't buy beer from a brewery. You can buy a tour for a variety of prices which will come with some combination of on-premises "samples" and souvenirs for off-premises consumption. Breweries will usually do this by selling you a tour / souvenir pint glass and tokens you can exchange for up to 36oz of beer to drink there (usually ~$12). They now have the option to sell different tour packages, some of which include some combination of up to 72oz of souvenir beer for off-premises consumption - cans, bottles, growlers, whatever. The off-premises part is new as of July 1 and not all breweries are doing that yet, so you may want to call ahead. It's not a bad deal from a cost perspective, but don't expect to be able to buy a pint or a flight. And don't expect to drive anywhere if you visit both breweries and consume all the beer made available to you.
Moon River is Savannah's only brewpub, and our beer is available here at the pub by the glass, and at growler stores around town. Currently, we are distributing Swamp Fox IPA and Wild Wacky Wit. The law that recently passed allows us to bottle, so we plan on doing some small batch bottling available through our distributor in the future. If you plan on hanging at the pub soon, I just put on a sour, which is a blend of kettle soured Berliner Weisse, and a barrel sour brown. Tart, sour cherry and funky. We also are pouring a Belgian Golden Strong, Wit, IPA, Brown, Porter, Session IPA, and a Belgian IPA. PM me if anyone wants to get the nickel tour while they are in town. Apparently we are haunted.
Almost forgot, absolutely go by Hops and Barley downtown. They only sell craft beer cans and bottles. They have the best selection and prices in town. Very knowledgeable as well.
I went to Hops and Barley and got some Orpheus Transmigration of Souls and Burnt Hickory Big Shanty. The guy manning the shop was a good dude and very helpful. The highlight was being able to get a 4-pack of Bomb! for $26. They sell as singles in NC where I am and they are $11 a bottle!
Coastal Empire's Dawn Patrol, if still around, is a huge hit. Find one. Southbound and Service are the other two local breweries in Savannah, Southbound being the better of the two IMO with more esoteric choices, but Service does the standard beers very well. Moon River, as noted above, is Savannah's oldest brewery (pub) and they have a solid taplist and from what I've heard, great food. All four of these choices are within a few miles, so you could feasibly jam all of them in if their hours don't overlap too much.
I just got back from Savannah and thoroughly enjoyed my visit to such a beautiful, historic city! My girlfriend and I certainly spent our time (and money) well and tried to experience as much as we could. Unfortunately, we were unable to tour Southbound and Service. We did stop by Moon River. I thought their beer garden was great. I got a flight so I tried all of their beers. The brown ale, porter, sour, and wild wacky wit all stood out. I imagine it is spectacular during the fall and spring! I got a flight and enjoyed most of their beers. The Distillery was our favorite spot for beer...The Public Kitchen and Collins Quarter for food. On our way out of town, we went to Hops and Barley and I loaded up on the fine beers GA has to offer. I can't wait to go back!
The distillery is pretty awsome. The Public is on the same block I work on. The Public is on the North East corner (bull and liberty) my office is kitty corner (Harris and Whitaker). Hops and Barley is great. Sounds like you did savannah right! As a local I go all those spots. Everything you mention is within walking distance...no drive to the Habersham Beverage stores to check out beer?
