Chris Brown makes the best Brown Porter in town—go figure. Unexpectedly, though, his town is one where you’d expect imbibers to reach for light lager to sip on the beach, if they’re even choosing beer at all. Charleston, South Carolina, is a foodie seaport city where wine is king.
“The food scene is very sophisticated here,” says Brown, explaining why most of the state’s now fifty plus breweries are concentrated in Charleston. “It’s unique compared to the rest of South Carolina, with way more restaurants and bars than anywhere else. It’s a food and beverage town, and food towns attract breweries.”
When Brown and his three business partners—Joel Carl and Sean Nemitz of Charleston Rickshaw Co., and Mac Minaudo who came from the biodiesel industry—opened Holy City Brewing in 2011, they were the fourth brewery in Charleston and only the seventh in the state.