I awoke on our last full day in Charleston to a quiet condo with six people asleep. After stumbling out of bed, I made my way to the balcony overlooking the ocean. The early morning sunlight warmed my face and a moment of sadness crept in as I thought about the cold that awaited us back home. I’d sent some feelers out for any breweries that would be open on Easter Sunday just in case we were looking for something to fill time. A response in my inbox let me know that Frothy Beard Brewing Company would be happy to provide a place to eat and drink.
Frothy Beard is located northwest of downtown Charleston in a neighborhood called West Ashley. There was a bit of a struggle locating the building, but when we were greeted by a large mural adoring the name and logo of the brewery we were fairly certain we were in the right spot. With the midday sun beating down on us we took our obligatory photos and entered Charleston’s largest taproom.
A handful of people dotted the rom so we were quickly able to snatch a high top table right in the center (great for photos). I approached the bar and noticed a relatively meager selection. On the plus side I would be able to try them all, but for others in the group there was a little difficulty while ordering. I knew they had food onsite, and we came hungry. Not much later our slices, with beer infused crust, arrived from Zombie Bob’s Pizza. Word of warning: when they say monster slice, they mean it!
The taproom is cavernous and appeared almost brand new. A large deck was built over the bar with seating on top overlooking the main area as well as their production equipment behind. Walls were decorated with illustrative prints identifying each one of their beers. These illustrations were extremely well done and each told a little story that paired with the beers themselves. There was also an element of geek culture, complete with a “nerd corner” featuring Star Trek, Zelda, Tetris, and an old CRT to play the classics.
While I was walking around taking pictures I noticed a clean cut, bowtied man, with a crisp white shirt approach our table. It turned out to be Wesley, one of the four owners of Frosty Beard. He is also the newest owner, coming from the advertising realm at Push Digital. Michael, another owner, joined him shortly after I arrived. We discussed how they’d only been at the location for about a month and that they launched with 20 taps! He mentioned that they’ve been moving through beer so fast that they were already in the process of expanding. That may explain his new stake in the venture. I guess my habitual picture taking tipped them off that I was a little outside of their normal patron. It’s definitely nice to get approached by the owners of a company while you’re tasting the fruits of their labor.
Between a flight of four and a single pint I tried each beer available on tap. These were the Strawberry Blonde Ale, My Blood Citrocious Saison, Back From The Dead Porter, It’s Cucumber Thyme!, and Albatross English IPA! I’ll be honest, the cucumber wheat beer is the primary reason for our visit. My wife’s favorite style is wheat and she loves cucumber in her drinks. She liked the beer so much that we purchased a growler of it, and a month later we opened it for her birthday! I also enjoyed the Albatross. It was kind of an “intro IPA” with a great malty flavor complementing the english hops.
The only real downside to our visit was their lack of selection. I’m sure by now they are back to a full tap list, and if their website is any indication Frothy Beard is a source for a wide variety of both normal and adventurous styles. Pretty fitting, since their tagline is “We Brew Adventure.” I love their illustrative, humorous style, which adds a dash of whimsy to a hobby that can sometimes become pretentious. Worth a visit if you’re in the area.
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