Lineup for Charleston Beer Week’s Friday

September 12, 2014

1:18 AM

beerweek14

For those of you who slacked all week because Sunday through Thursday were “school nights,” there’s no excuse for missing any of the Charleston Beer Week’s events on Friday. There’s only two days left, but most of the remaining events don’t require tickets. That means attending events last minute should not be too difficult.

There are once again six events to choose from and I had a difficult time deciding which was my top pick. Although Victory is one of my favorite out-of-town breweries, I have to choose the Half Tap Takeover at Holy City Brewing. Not only can attendees enjoy plenty of local brews, they’ll also be able to sample beers from the Terrapin Beer Company. Plus, Brian “Spike” Buckowski, the Athens company’s Brewaster & Co-Founder will be in the house.

Hardcore beer aficionados will want to go to the “Hops & Yeast Showcase” at Revelry Brewing. Attendees will get an up-close look at the creation of multiple brews.

The best Charleston Beer Week event name goes to “Van Down By The River,” which starts at 3 pm.

Here's a look at Friday's full schedule:

3 pm – Van Down By The River: Organic Beer & Local Eats Fest – Freehouse Brewery
- Music, food, their organic beer, and an unbeatable view of the river
- Beer will be in the tasting room (including a special one-off keg of Brettanomyces-fermented India Porter, and some other goodies), and food from The Lunchbox Food Bus.
- Enjoy live bluegrass on the deck from 6 pm to 8 pm
3:30 pm – Victory Happy Hour Beer Bash – Liberty Taproom
- Downington, PA’s Victory Brewing is hosting a happy hour event at Liberty Taproom
- Tons of Victory selections will be on tap
- Glassware and swag will be given away (while supplies last)
4 pm – River Rat Barrel-Aged and Specialty Beer Tasting – Total Wine
- River Rat Brewing, hailing from Columbia, SC, will be at Total Wine for a free tasting and growler station tap takeover
- Plan to sample (and/or take home) their flagship beers in addition to a handful of one-off, rare and/or special beers.
- Here’s the beer list:
  - American Kölsch Story
  - Barrel-Aged Moncks Corner Abbey Ale
  - Barrel-Aged Vanilla Porter
  - Broad River Red Ale
  - Double IPA
  - Hazelnut Brown
  - River Rat Octoberfest
5 pm – Hops & Yeast Showcase – Revelry Brewing
- Special and educational night planned
- Revelry’s Head Brewer Ryan Coker will brew a 1bbl batch of your standard Pale Ale, made with Two-Row American Pale Malt and a 60-minute bittering addition of basic hops.
- That batch will be split into three threads, and each will be fermented at 68°F with a different strain of White Labs yeast:
  - Bedford British Ale Yeast (Platinum Strain)
  - Belgian Saison III Yeast (Platinum Strain)
  - California Ale Yeast
- The thread fermented with California Ale Yeast will then be served through three different Randalls , each containing a hop varietal from a different continent:
  - Belma

(Pacific NW US, North American)

- - (Pacific NW US, North American)
  - Topaz AU (Austrailia)
  - Challenger (UK, Europe)
- Patrons will get a chance to sample all six of these beauties in a flight
5 pm – Terrapin Beer Co. 1/2 Tap Takeover – Holy City
- Brian “Spike” Buckowski, Brewaster & Co-Founder of Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, GA will be on-site
- Half of the brewery’s taps will feature Terrapin, while the other half will have Holy City
- Check out the Terrapin list:
  - Barrel-Aged Monk’s Revenge
  - Barrel-Aged Wake ‘N’ Bake
  - Cuckoofest Festbier (Octoberfest beer, brewed with grits!)
  - Guano Loco
  - Midnight Monk
  - Pumpkin Pie Porter (new Reserve Series beer!)
  - RecreationAle
  - Rye Cubed
5:30 pm – Loading Dock Concert – Palmetto
- Live music on the loading dock, beers on tap outside, new tasting room, and food trucks
- Music:
  - 6 pm – Natty Boh Duo
  - 7:30pm – Minimum Wage
- Food vendors :
  - Swig & Swine
  - Ted’s Butcherblock