Angry Fish Brewing Co.

The Angry Fish Brewing Company is a young brewery in our town of Lexington, SC that was established in 2018 as the town's first commercial brewery.

Jim and I went sipped 2 flights of brews to get an excellent sampling. There is something for everyone here.

We were quite impressed. Our flights included the following.

Crescent Moon (American Wheat Beer with notes of citrus and banana) 

Wyse's Ferry Kolsch (light and crispy)

Main Vein Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout (milk stout that tastes and smells of                chocolate and peanut butter!)

Dutch Fork (Dunkel Weisse)

Murray Pineapple Kolsch

Top Sail Sour (black currant/banana)

Over the Yardarm BBA Chocolate Porter

Wessinger Island Wiesen Bock

We enjoyed them all which is rare for us! Their brews are only available here but can also be taken home in crowlers. I hope to see their offerings in local eateries some day!

The site is a hole in the wall. Completely non-pretentious and rustic. Quirky fishing theme decor is about the place like the suspended rowboat with skeletons.

A humorous nautical guide.

A simple bar where we sat with sports playing above.

There is no kitchen here however, they do have their own food truck outside. Food is available at different times so check their social media before you go! There is also live music certain nights as well.

The story behind the eccentric name goes as follows on their website:

"While fishing on Lake Murray, one of the brewers hooked a monster catfish with two red eyes. The catfish was put on a stringer (a line through the gills) and the fishing continued with a few more fish added to the stringer. The group decided to take a break and grab lunch, leaving all of the fish on the stringer tied to the dock.  Once they returned, the red-eyed catfish was gone!  One of the guys in the group said, “Wow, that was one angry fish,” and the name was born." 

If you go, the brewery is open:

Wednesday - Thursday 5pm - 10pm

Friday 5pm - 11pm

Saturday - noon - 11pm

Sunday 1pm -8pm

106 Fabrister Ln C, Lexington, SC 29072

website 

 

Have a marvelous day/evening (wherever you are on the clock)! ~Val

Hunter Gatherer Brewery

Another stop on our quest to try all the local breweries was the Hunter Gatherer Brewery. It is another amazing repurposed space! This unique setting is an old airplane hangar.
 

The Curtis-Wright Hangar was established in 1929. This hangar has seen notables like Amelia Earhart and Franklin D. Roosevelt pass through back in the 1930s.

It is named after Glenn Curtis and the Wright Brothers who worked together with the build out.

It first housed passenger and mail planes. It later became a site for civilian flight training followed by aircraft maintenance. It became vacant in the 1980s.

It was saved from demolition by the Hangar Preservation Development, LLC in 2016.

Above is the observation deck.

In the distance below is the Owens Field Municipal Airport where one can watch the wealthy fly in and out with their small planes.

The inside has some cool repurposed features.

Both the front and back of the hangar have bars.

There is a variety of seating inside and out. We were also told there will soon be renovations to the inside making it even cooler in the near future!

We loved all the beers we tried which included pale ale, raspberry sour, cherry sour and golden ale.

The food was delicious here too although I neglected to take photos of our tasty meals. The menu has a great selection, even including vegan as well as healthy to not so healthy options.

If you go, the brewery is located at:

1402 Jim Hamilton Blvd in Columbia, SC. There is also a Hunter Gatherer restaurant and alehouse in Columbia near the state house.

closed Monday and Tuesday

Wednesday - Thursday 4pm - 10pm

Friday - 4pm - 11pm

Saturday 11am - 11pm

Sunday 11am - 8pm

website

Have a marvelous day/evening (wherever you are on the clock)! ~Val

River Rat Brewery

The River Rat Brewery, located in Columbia, South Carolina was made for my taste buds!

On this cool flight with the brewery's logo, we thoroughly enjoyed twisted lemon wheat, raspberry lemon wheat, lemon grass lager, American Solsch Story, luminescent lager and key lime gose. This was the first time I have loved all beers on a flight! Lemon and lime beverages usually aren't for me but I found these amazingly delicious!

The food menu was equally impressive. I opted for a healthy, vibrant farmstead salad with grilled chicken.

Jim dined on the smoked BBQ pork sandwich. How fantastic is the branded brioche bun with the brewery logo? It is upside down in the photo, but you get the idea!

After hanging out in the air conditioned inside on a hot day, we explored the grounds with its beer garden.

A convenient outdoor order window is nearby. A cooler with water is also available for staying hydrated.

Walking around the silo we discovered that it is a spiral staircase leading to a deck bar.

I love the metal work with the logo.

Super creative!

The upstairs deck has a bar along with fans blowing mist to keep patrons cool.

There are cornhole games on the garden.

This is the first time I have seen a bike rack at a brewery. Don't drink and ride people!

If you go, The River Rate Brewery is located at 

1231 Shop Road in Columbia, SC

open:

Wednesday 4pm - 9pm

Thursday 4pm - 10pm

Friday - Saturday noon - 10pm

Sunday noon - 8pm

website

If you have followed my blog for some time you may be scratching your head at my eating chicken. Yes, after more than 25 years living as a vegetarian, I have added chicken and pork to my diet. The biggest reason for this lifestyle change is the lack of healthy options on a menu (ironic, isn't it?). Typically the vegetarian option is a processed veggie patty burger with french fries. Now I can eat a healthy, satisfying meal and not feel weighed down followed by digestive issues!

Have a marvelous day/evening (wherever you are on the clock)! ~Val

Steel Hands Brewing

 Steel Hands Brewing is located in Cayce, South Carolina.

The vibe here is fantastic! There is a smart set up of ordering your food at a window and it gets brought to you whether you are sitting inside or outside. Your tab can be started here as well and then you can stroll over to the bar to sample some brews and choose what you would like a pint of. 

 The beer garden has multiple seating environments.

Our favorites here were the raspberry lemonade ale and the peach lemonade ale.

This is the portobello burger. 

Here is the pulled pork sandwich. I ordered coleslaw and Jim ordered sweet potato fries and we split our sides 50/50. All the food was delicious!

The outdoor stage is a moving container. Brilliant! It keeps costs down and can be moved. (I am just guessing that is the reasoning behind the container). Doug Jones (former singer of Cravin' Melon) was performing. His style is perfect for a beer garden having a bluesy rock vibe.

It was a hot, sunny day so no one was at the unshaded tables. The crepe myrtles are young here but they are sure to create more cover in the coming years.

One of the aspects of breweries I love is how they enhance the community. So I love that this is part of Steel Hands' mission. We see groups of all ages at the breweries we have been visiting. They are so perfect for gatherings, live music and more.

Unique steel sculptures are on the grounds relating to brewing and enjoying.

This brewery is also dog friendly (outside)! We saw a few canine friends here during our visit.

If you go, the brewery is located at 

2350 Foreman Street in Cayce, SC

website

Tuesday - Wednesday 3pm - 8pm

Thursday 4pm - 10pm

Friday - Saturday noon - 11pm

Sunday 10am - 8pm (brunch is available 10am - 2pm)

Have a marvelous day/evening (wherever you are on the clock)! ~Val

Savage Craft Ale Works

Savage Craft Ale Works opened up during the pandemic and has been an impressive success!

The owner renovated the old fire house and city hall of West Columbia, South Carolina.

The space includes indoor and outdoor seating. There is an outdoor bar in the open space too.

There is also a rootop bar with city view of Columbia and a perfect view of the outdoor stage for when there is live entertainment.

Nighttime here must be super fun with the fire pits going. The kitchen and function room are located in the brick building.

The brewery itself has a fantastic vibe!

The ale? Oh so delicious! Here are the raspberry ale and the orange cream ale. The orange cream is like a creamsicle in a glass. Brilliant! We also had a vanilla cream ale that was awesome too. We mixed the raspberry with the vanilla per a bartender's suggestion and it was amazing!

If you are like me, you may wonder what the space looked like before. 

What a transformation into a fantastic space to be enjoyed! From my photos, it looks like it was dead but we arrived around opening time. By the time we left, all the spaces around were hopping with patrons!

If you go, the ale house is located at:

430 Center Street in West Columbia, SC

Tuesday - Thursday 11:30am - 10pm

Friday - Saturday 11:30am - 11pm

Sunday 10:30 - 9pm (brunch is offered in the early hours)

website

Have a marvelous day/evening (wherever you are on the clock)! ~Val