Fireforge Crafted Beer

Downtown Greenville – 311 E. Washington St.

Pour-sona: THE EXTROVERTED INTROVERT

The High-Lites

You might expect most brewmasters to have been obsessed with beer and the beer-making process from the moment they turned 21, practically sleeping on a bed of grains while hoppy dreams steep in their heads, but not all who brew take the same route. Fireforge co-founder and Governor of Fireforge Brian Cendrowski spent his 20s thinking beer tasted terrible—so much so that his drink of choice during this formative decade ranged from amaretto sours to Woodchuck Cider. It wasn't until a friend introduced him to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that Brian's eyes were opened to a world of beer with flavor and variety. Fast forward to today and this late-bloomer turned in his job as a web developer for 50-pound bags of grain and a much more satisfying career running one of Greenville's only breweries just steps off Main Street with co-founder, CMO, and wife Nicole, who has been right there with Brian since their first batch made on a stovetop at home.

What began in 2014 as a serious plan to open a brewery in 2014 became reality in 2018 when Fireforge's doors opened. Those doors, by the way, are extremely large—so large, in fact, that if you're frequently conflicted by the decision of whether to go out or stay in, Fireforge is perfect for you as it creates one space that provides both options as opening these massive doors is akin to removing entire walls. Your duality will be wholly satisfied by a table-dotted biergarten seamlessly extending from far outside the building all the way to the main bar area inside.

The rustic feel of the wood paneling combined with the urban surroundings of downtown Greenville provide another wonderful juxtaposition to ponder over a pilsner at sunset. If a pale pils doesn't fit your taste, you can peruse Fireforge's 20 taps for something else you might prefer—from several options categorized as "light and refreshing" to a handful of IPAs to your more malty and dark beverages. Feeling particularly saucy? Opt for the Perlin's Ghost Pepper Ale and see if that doesn't forge a fire within you.

Speaking of flames, Fireforge is cooking up foods in its prep kitchen that complement the available beer selections, so you'll find a menu of quick bites, shareable snacks, a full meal or two and even desserts to choose from. Live music is also on the menu from time to time so check their calendar to see who's playing when you're in town, and well-behaved dogs and kiddos are always welcome.

Yee-Haw Brewing Company

Downtown Greenville – 307 E. McBee Ave.

Pour-sona: THE STAY-AWHILER

The High-Lites

Whether you're looking to catch a game on TV or just enjoy some tasty brews in an environment that leaves pretentiousness at the door, Yee-Haw is the chilled-out spot you're looking for. That doesn't mean they're not serious about the beer they brew—on the contrary, they're bubbling up suds in Pigeon Forge, TN, Nashville, and at the location that started it all, Johnson City, TN, so you know they're pouring pleasing pints to keep four locations running strong. As you may have noticed from the list of locations in the previous sentence that one of these things is not like the other—and that would be us.

Why Greenville? Because Yee-Haw's head honchos loved the similarities between Greenville and Johnson City, each with a local culture that's all about having a beer, some good food, and an even better time.

Any brewery worth its hops is going to feature beer's greatest hits, and at Yee-Haw, you'll find the old standbys in new yet approachable ways, like a delicious IPA that delivers fragrances bested only by its restrained bitterness and a smooth-drinkin' American Craft Lager literally called "Easy." Coincidentally, that's the way Yee-Haw wants a visit to its downtown brewery to be for patrons. Just four blocks off of Main Street, what's on-tap isn't the only thing that's approachable, and with a significant amount of outdoor space to sip and enjoy the sights of downtown Greenville, those dwelling in the area for a long weekend would be remiss not to enjoy an evening out here.

You may think that the beer would get the full spotlight here but it simply must make room for the food Yee-Haw is kickin' out of the kitchen. The menu features categories you might expect from an American bar—like small plates and appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and the like—but overlooking the chargrilled wings as just any standard bar offering would be a serious mistake. Call up any online review site and Yee-Haw's convection-steam-baked wings will be just as mentioned as the beer—and really, where else would you rather hang out for a while than at a place pouring pints and slinging wings this rave-worthy?

The Eighth State Brewing Company

Downtown Greenville – 400 Augusta St. (West End Historic District)

Pour-sona: THE ECLECTIC

The High-Lites

Get ready to pucker up, Solo-Cup, because this ain't your everyday brewery. The Eighth State Brewing Company—named after South Carolina's distinction as the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution and be admitted into statehood—takes what you might expect from a brewery and just adds a healthy, fun dash of color to it. Eclectic, eccentric, or delightfully frenetic—no matter how you describe Eighth State, from the beer it brews to the art that dons its cans and walls, you can be sure it's unlike any other brewery you'll find in Greenville. And maybe that's why it's the No. 1-ranked brewery in all of South Carolina on the industry-popular app Untappd, where users rate the different breweries they visit.

The biggest difference you'll notice is the beer. If you're looking for a brand-name beer, sure, you'll find something recognizable somewhere on the menu and Eighth State will be more than happy to oblige, but if you wanna quaff on the wild side then let us turn your attention to where Eighth State really shines. Many breweries will pride themselves on beers that range in color from light gold to a dark brown, but rarely will all the colors of the rainbow be represented.

Eighth State specializes in dessert imperial stouts, fruited sours, cocktail-inspired hard seltzers, and crispy pilsners. Pick a pint of anything on the menu and even Trinidad James would approve of a total lack of all-gold-everything in his glass. Don't believe us? Just watch: Order yourself a flight of six on-tap tastes and it'll arrive to your table in a muffin tin—a wink and a nod to the Claussen Bakery that operated out of the very same historic building more than 90 years ago—filled with enough reds, oranges, greens, blues, pinks, yellows and more to have you on Instagram straight-flexin'.

From sours and sweets to stouts you'd swear were inspired by a chocolate-banana milkshake, you'll find the perfect pairing for what Eighth State's full kitchen is creating. No matter your style, you've got choices here, with delicious stecca sandwiches and pizzas—even vegan and vegetarian options—made by local favorite Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery. Grab the family and the pup and enjoy Eighth State's front patio for a funky afternoon.

Tetrad Brewing Company

Northside – 603 E. Stone Ave

Pour-sona: THE FAMILY

The High-Lites

From top to bottom, left to right, everything you see, taste, and experience at Tetrad Brewing Company is a product of family. In fact, the motto here is: "Family comes first—and a close second is good beer." Tetrad is the brainchild of brothers-in-law—who truly just refer to, and view, themselves as brothers—Chad Tydings and John Bucher who, after both living in the four corners of the country—as far north as Alaska, as far east as New York and Vermont, as far west as Oregon and Utah—found themselves in Greenville, SC and settled in. If you've noticed the theme so far—top, bottom, left, right; north, south, east, west; four corners, etc.—the two brothers are fans of fantastic fours, which is where the brewery got its name. A "tetrad" is a group or arrangement of four. At Tetrad, those are grain, hops, yeast, and water, for obvious reasons.

Tetrad's main arrangement of four may have to do with the brewing process, but if we were to create a tetrad to describe the experience here, we're going with: family, flavor, outdoor fun, and cheese balls. We'll explain in a moment.

Tetrad shares a building with Half-Moon Outfitters, an independent chain of outdoors stores that serves South Carolina and Georgia, so it should be no surprise that the outdoors is a common theme at Tetrad. Tetrad swung its doors open in late September 2019, so it's one of the newer brewers on the block, but it's in no rush to catch up with the crowd. Tetrad's focus is on small-batch, handcrafted artisanal ales and lagers, so every step of the process gets looked after with love and care from Chad and John so that the final product is lip-smackingly refreshing. You'll normally find around a dozen or so beers on tap here, with Tetrad originals making up the vast majority, which is impressive for such a young brewery with such a small operation, but Chad and John are pulling it off to rave reviews online.

With family so core to its mission, Tetrad welcomes your whole brood at the brewery—brothers, sisters, weird uncles, distant cousins, and, of course, kids and dogs alike. It doesn't have a full-service kitchen, but Tetrad does feature food trucks seemingly every day. Check Tetrad's Facebook page for the latest on those, plus a plethora of events hosted there. Topping the tetrad is cheese balls, and we promised an explanation. If you find yourself at Tetrad and you're not hungry enough for food truck fare but you're wanting to peckishly pop some small noshes, ask your beertender for some complimentary cheese balls. Sure, pretzels and peanuts have been synonymous with beer for ages, but beer, cheese dust, air-puffed carbs and orange fingers is an arrangement worthy of being the next big tetrad at Tetrad.

Liability Brewing Co.

Northside – 109 W. Stone Ave. (Westone)

Pour-sona: THE FUN-LOVING NERD

The High-Lites

Let's imagine for a moment that Bill S. Preston, Esq. and "Ted" Theodore Logan (of Bill and Ted movie trilogy fame) were packing up the phone booth and, once again, they'd be traveling through wormholes to points in spacetime that would most certainly lead to as fun and irreverent a voyage as their previous trips—only this time, the point of all this quantum travel would be for Bill to educate Ted on the world of craft beer, in-between deep conversations and debates about Star Wars and comic books. That's kind of how Liability Brewing Co. came to be, except it was Dustin educating neighbor Terry about craft beer and there were far fewer wormholes involved from what we understand. The Star Wars and comic book conversations were rampant, though.

This is the exact vibe you can expect coming into Liability Brewing Co. At first glance, you might see Dustin and Terry standing together in deep conversation over something beer or comic book related, but then you might notice the clean, crisp ambiance of a modern brewery that's serious about beer despite the fun-loving nerd culture experts running the place. Liability sets out to make you feel something about craft beer—in their own fun, quirky way. We point to the fact that flights are served in a sticker-covered lunchbox as all the evidence we need to back that up. Per Liability themselves, this is the brewery that wants to drink and laugh along with you. It wants to hear your passive-aggressive playful snark while connecting you with its creativity, all to evoke an emotion within you about the experience that lasts long after you've returned home.

It's also just a downright cool spot to hang out. Tucked within a bank of businesses in a complex called Westone, Liability has a large outdoor area with comfortable patio furniture and plenty of space. Have a seat and order a flight to sample several of Liability's best and let your eyes light up as it arrives to your table in an old-school lunch box. Perhaps its most popular feature is the large, detailed mural inside that depicts LL Cool J as a Stormtrooper from Star Wars, designed and painted by Greenville artist Chad Patterson, so be sure to snag a pic in front of that—and choose a pal to take it who has better aim than a Stormtrooper (Pew Pew!). The building features lots of doors of all shapes and sizes that, when open, blends inside with outside. Whether it's now or in the future, you can be sure a visit to Liability Brewing Co. will be an Excellent Adventure and not a Bogus Journey.

Southernside Brewing Co.

Westside – 25 Delano Dr., Unit D (Delano) 

Pour-sona: THE TRAIL HOPPER

The High-Lites

No trip to Greenville, SC is complete until you’ve rented a bike and hit the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail. This 23-mile, remarkably flat, and fully-paved hiking, biking, walking, and running trail connect many of Greenville’s must-see spots, from Cleveland Park through Falls Park on the Reedy, and all the north to Furman University and downtown Travelers Rest. A trail all can enjoy, it’s perfect for a leisurely bike ride, with plenty of reasons to stop along the way—and Southernside Brewery is emphatically one of them.

Opened in January 2021, Southernside Brewery—named for the Southernside neighborhood it calls home—is a new kid on the brewery block in Greenville, but don’t think for a moment that this sudsy spot is just trying to find its way in the early stages. Owner Nate Tomforde is the mind behind the self-serve beer concept at Pour Taproom in downtown Greenville, so he’s quite familiar with what beer enthusiasts of all kinds are looking for. Brewmaster Kenny Driggers joined forces with Tomforde and brings a wealth of experience for such a young age. An Upstate South Carolina product, Driggers earned an engineering degree at Clemson, where he discovered homebrewing and refined his skills with totally scientific experimental beer-related college research. At Southernside, he used all those college studies, and the experience he gained at several breweries after graduating, to develop a beer menu that taps into his understanding of brewing styles and variety.

At any given time, you’ll likely find a selection of IPAs, maybe an Irish red ale or an Irish dry, stouts, witbier and more, made right on-site. Southernside has all the approachable beer mainstays, but balances that with creativity that’s only limited by the imagination of *checks notes* an engineer with a penchant for scientific exploration! This, no doubt, led to the creation of Southernside’s Piña Colada IPA—a New England Milkshake IPA with hints of all the necessary ingredients to piña and colada your afternoon brew.

While the beer is worth hopping off the bike on its own, Southernside has a full cocktail and wine menu. All the cocktails are masterfully mixed by hand and are just as creative as the beer options. If it’s on the menu, get the creamy vodka Sugar Cookie; "A beverage," Tomforde told the Greenville Journal, "that will remind you of your grandmother’s cookies." If grandma was more of a bourbon gal, Southernside has an expansive bourbon menu, too.

If we haven’t convinced you yet, the grub and spacious outdoor seating right along the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail might have you pit-stopping. A family-friendly trail respite, Southernside offers a full kitchen menu that includes selections for kids and a “Pup Menu” for your fur baby! The human adult food menu was designed by Chef Christian Groham, formerly of Caviar & Bananas, and completely embodies the “Southern” in Southernside. Fried pickles, deviled eggs, pulled pork, bourbon bacon jam burger, crawfish roll, even a vegan “Chickpea of the Sea” salad sandwich—all with an elevated twist and made-to-order. Was that your bike brakes, or did we just hear you squeal with glee?

Carolina Bauernhaus Greenville

Westside – 556 Perry Ave. (Poe West)

Pour-sona: THE FUNKY

The High-Lites

If you can’t pronounce it, you’re not alone. It’s the German word for “farmhouse,” but if you want to call it the Carolina “barnhouse,” that’s just fine by the owners of Carolina Bauernhaus (pronounced BOW-en-house). It’s a fitting name on different levels—the German pronunciation is a tip-of-the-cap to Carolina Bauernhaus’ European-inspired beers. It’s also just a funky name for a funky place, out-funked only by its funky beer—and we mean this in the best way possible because Carolina Bauernhaus is bringing George Clinton-level talent to Greenville’s brewery scene. Founded by an attorney, an engineer, and an IT specialist, Carolina Bauernhaus’ roots took hold when the three—Brad Thomas, David Thornton and Keston Helfrich—met in a homebrewing club in nearby Anderson, SC. From vastly different backgrounds and with vastly different styles, the opposites attracted and the result is a story of success in progress.

In 2020, Carolina Bauernhaus opened in Poe West development of the Village of West Greenville—funky in its own right with eclectic shops, art studios and eateries, which the new brew neighbor fits right into—but it’s actually the second location this trio has opened. The first Carolina Bauernhaus opened in 2015 in nearby Anderson and success came quickly—and so did the funk, with accolades to prove it. At the 2017 Great American Beer Festival, Carolina Bauernhaus claimed multiple awards, including a gold medal in the Experimental Beer Category. Just a few years later, it was time to expand into Greenville.

All three founders have their own contributions to the beer odyssey you’ll embark on here, but the frontman of this Barley-ment Funkadelic is Helfrich, the head brewer. His brew muse? Wild, funky sours, ales, ciders and meads. If you’ve got a good bassline handy, now’s a good time to drop it. Helfrich’s approach is rooted in Belgian inspiration, but don’t take that to infer a strict adherence to tradition. A man whose website bio includes the words “maniacal passion” to describe his approach to brewing follows no rules, and gold medals from acclaimed beer festivals in experimental categories aren’t given to recipe-followers. The brew menu here is expansive, in both style and flavor. Allow us to provide a textual taste of what we mean: on-tap, you’ll find sours made with Bradford watermelons, golden ales with yuzu fruit, wheat ales featuring coriander and local lemongrass, maybe even a saison flavored by muscadines and scuppernongs. We’ll admit that scuppernongs created some confusion for us that Google sorted out (it's a variety of the muscadine grape), but one thing is so clear that no search is required: you can’t fake the funk of Carolina Bauernhaus.

It’s not just the beers that are tearing the roof off this sucker. Head to Carolina Bauernhaus’ outdoor area and you’ll find there was never a need for a roof at all. This expansive outdoor hangout comes complete with plenty of bar and picnic tables, activities like cornhole and bocce, and a convenient pull-up for food trucks. Wanna get a little more comfortable? Rock—er, funk—out in one of the many hammocks you’ll find out here and relax knowing that you don’t have to practice your German pronunciation if you’d rather not. No matter how you say it, this funkified West Greenville Bauernhaus is anything but a boring-haus.