Not sure which brewery fits the afternoon you have in mind? Here is every Charleston brewery grouped by what it is like to be there, from big beer gardens and rooftop views to arcades, full restaurants, and small neighborhood taprooms.
Charleston has more than 30 breweries, and the honest answer to "which one should we go to" is almost always "what kind of afternoon do you want?" A 4.5-acre creekside yard and a 1,200-square-foot taproom are both great, but not for the same group on the same day. So instead of ranking them, here is every brewery in the area sorted by what it feels like to be there. Many show up in more than one section, because a good beer garden can also be a good family spot.
Big outdoor beer gardens
For a sunny afternoon with a group, a dog, or kids who need room to run.
- Holy City Brewing in North Charleston has a creekside brewhouse and a 4.5-acre outdoor area, plus a scratch kitchen and a raw bar.
- Tideland Brewing on Dorchester Road runs 25 indoor taps and 12 more outdoors over a huge beer garden.
- Commonhouse Aleworks in Park Circle pairs an expansive beer garden with a full Swig & Swine barbecue menu.
- Charles Towne Fermentory - The Garden in West Ashley is built as a mostly outdoor beer garden with a covered porch.
- Fam's Brewing Co. on James Island has a 3,000-square-foot biergarten behind its pizza brewpub.
- Westbrook Brewing Company in Mount Pleasant pours about 22 rotating beers with a spacious beer garden out back.
- Indigo Reef Brewing Co. in Cainhoy has a roomy courtyard and covered outdoor areas.
- Wyrd Sisters Taphouse & Brewery in Park Circle is small inside but opens onto a large backyard where dogs and kids are welcome.
- Hobcaw Brewing Company in Mount Pleasant adds a patio to a 3,000-square-foot taproom and is known for its dog and family crowd.
Rooftops, water, and views
- Revelry Brewing Co. downtown has a rooftop bar overlooking the peninsula skyline, and it is a well-known sunset spot.
- Freehouse Brewery in North Charleston sits in a former Army medical supply depot with a deck overlooking the marsh and the Ashley River.
- Holy City Brewing is creekside, with the yard running down to the water.
- Revelry Brewing Co. - Folly Beach is not a view so much as a place: a hidden all-outdoor courtyard with hammocks and couches, a short walk from the beach.
Arcades, games, and things to do besides drink
Good for families, rainy days, and groups that want something to do between rounds.
- Rusty Bull Brewing Co. in North Charleston sits next to an axe-throwing, mini-golf, and arcade venue.
- Frothy Beard Brewing Company in West Ashley has an arcade alongside its pub kitchen and 20 to 32 taps.
- Snafu Brewing Company in North Charleston keeps an N64, a pool table, and "fun pong" in its games area.
- Over the Horizon Brewing downtown has a game room and a patio in its roughly 5,000-square-foot space.
- Charles Towne Fermentory - James Island has pinball, video games, and televisions.
- Edisto River Brewing Company on Johns Island has a game room and a beer garden inside a converted auto body shop.
Full restaurants that happen to brew
When dinner is the point and beer is the bonus.
- Edmund's Original downtown is an upscale brewpub with Lowcountry-inspired tavern fare, weekend brunch, and a courtyard with fire pits called The Bower.
- Edmund's Oast Brewing Co. & Taproom, a 20,000-square-foot facility on upper King Street, has 20-plus house beers, wood-fired pizza, and Sunday brunch.
- New Realm Brewing Co. on Daniel Island runs a scratch kitchen with wood-fired pizza, Wagyu burgers, and fresh fish in an 11,000-square-foot space.
- Stones Throw Brewing in Goose Creek is a full-service kitchen and bar inside a former fire station.
- COAST Brewing Co., Charleston's original craft brewery, has a restaurant with a seed-oil-free menu and a large wraparound porch.
- Holy City Brewing runs a scratch kitchen daily and The Walrus raw bar Wednesday through Saturday.
- Tideland Brewing serves wings, smash burgers, pulled pork, and weekend brunch.
- Rusty Bull Brewing Co. has a full kitchen known for its signature 3005 burger.
- Fam's Brewing Co. is a brewpub paired with Famulari's Pizzeria, serving Chicago and New York style pies.
- Frothy Beard Brewing Company is known for oversized pizzas, burgers, and wings.
- Revelry Brewing Co. has an in-house kitchen by Toscano with American classics and Italian ingredients.
- Two Blokes Brewing - Cannon St pairs a kitchen with a small-batch brewhouse in a 19th-century building downtown.
- Estuary Beans & Barley on Johns Island serves wood-fired pizza, pastries, pretzels, and gelato, and doubles as a coffee roastery.
- Freehouse Brewery runs a wood-fired, pizza-focused kitchen Wednesday through Sunday.
Small neighborhood taprooms
For a quiet pint, a conversation, and a look at the tanks.
- Lo-Fi Brewing downtown is warehouse-style and rustic, the self-described dive bar of Charleston breweries, with a deliberately small lineup.
- Charles Towne Fermentory - Avondale is the original Fermentory, a cozy taproom in the heart of Avondale known for hop-forward beers.
- Munkle Brewing Co. downtown feels like a European beer hall with communal tables and Belgian-style ales.
- Two Blokes Brewing in Mount Pleasant is a warehouse-style neighborhood taproom with 12-plus rotating taps.
- Low Tide Brewing is Johns Island's first brewery and a natural stop on the way to Kiawah and Seabrook.
- Ghost Monkey Brewery pours nine taps from the Beer Alley bar inside Striped Pig Distillery in North Charleston, so you can have a cocktail alongside.
- Wyrd Sisters Taphouse & Brewery is 1,200 square feet inside and 21 and up in the taproom.
- Two Blokes Brewing - Cannon St is a 50-seat taproom a few blocks from MUSC.
If you want a specific kind of beer
- Sours: Snafu Brewing Company keeps 12-plus sours on tap at all times.
- Belgian styles: Munkle Brewing Co..
- Culinary, small-batch experiments: Wyrd Sisters, which has poured a banana cream pie hefeweizen and lemon-kale beers.
- Beer slushies: Edisto River Brewing, home of the original Blushys.
- Coffee and beer under one roof: Estuary Beans & Barley.
- Big tap lists: Tideland Brewing with 37 total taps, and Frothy Beard with up to 32.
Breweries with a story
- COAST Brewing Co. opened in 2007 as Charleston's first craft brewery.
- Over the Horizon Brewing is veteran-owned, partners with the Department of Defense SkillBridge program, and keeps a wall for veterans to display medals.
- Wyrd Sisters is South Carolina's first majority woman-owned and operated brewery.
- Commonhouse Aleworks gives a portion of every beer sold to community organizations.
- Stones Throw Brewing and Edisto River Brewing brew in a former fire station and a converted auto body shop.
Whatever the vibe, every listing on this site has current hours, the food situation, and dog and kid policies, so check the page before you go. If you would rather pick by neighborhood, start with the downtown, North Charleston, or Mount Pleasant pages.