NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA
Popular retail and entertainment village, Barefoot Landing, once had two brewpubs on its widespread premises. About a decade hence in February ’21, a few coastal Delaware-based entrepreneurs decided to venture south to the same North Myrtle Beach esplanade and try to brighten the comparatively lame South Carolina scene with their third franchise brewpub (and first outside of the First State).
Occupying two separate back mall buildings, CROOKED HAMMOCK BREWERY takes up a barn-y wood paneled brewhouse (with beige grain silo) and a spacious dining-roomed wood furnished pub (with antique bikes and skis on the walls). An elongated wood bar (withy 20-plus taps) connects the high ceilinged cement floor main space with a spacious front patio.
My wife and I enjoyed six stylishly conservative dry brews alongside a rangy fruited wheat and an interesting Pina Colada sendup with light pub fare on a crowded Monday nite, July ’21.
Vibrant Palmetto Punch Pilsner stayed tart as its sour passionfruit adjunct picked up lemon-cologned guava, gooseberry and honeysuckle wisps over oats-dried malts.
Musky fungi herbage seeped inside fresh sourdough breading and roasted barley crisping of amiable light lager, Four Tires, Two Friends & A Radio.
Mild coconut-milked pineapple souring teased tropical South To Somewhere Golden Ale, picking up mango-guava-kiwi snips.
Muted lemon-rotted green grape esters spread thru grassy hop astringency and mild fungi mold for Day Kolsch, a sourly sessionable summertime solution.
White peach tartness prodded Cackalackin Peach Wheat Ale, a dry pale body with tertiary strawberry, cherry and pomegranate illusions alongside wispy woodruff herbage subsuming its initial peachiness to the cracked wheat base.
Dry Citra-Eldorado-hopped Beach Escape Session IPA let perfumed lemony grapefruit tanginess and salty white-peppered herbage stay subtle above raw-honeyed pale malts.
Milk-sugared vanilla sweetness guarded strawberry puree tartness as mild grapefruit-orange-tangerine tang surged for Carhop Milkshake IPA.
Summery fruited sour ale, Brand New Day: Pineapple Coconut knocked off a salty Pina Colada with its lemon-limed pineapple tartness, zesty orange tang and vanilla-creamed coconut toasting.