Tag Archives: MYRTLE BEACH SC

GRAND STRAND BREWING COMPANY

United States Brewpubs,

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MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA

In a glass-fronted red brick ‘contemporary cottage’ with white soffits and shutters, GRAND STRAND BREWING COMPANY opened its doors in March 2021. Located on Myrtle Beach’s busy Kings Highway in the revitalized Arts & Innovation district, Grand Strand came to fruition less than one year after Tidal Creek Brewhouse (a few miles South) began operations.

An interesting multi-faceted brewery with loft apartment rentals, turf grass lawn with Adirondack chairs, multi-TV sportsbar appeal and good pub food, Grand Strand covers all bases from family friendly neighborhood tavern to destination brewpub.

Its elongated 15-seat wood bar services several black plastic 4-seat tables and a loungey blue couched area with fish tank (next to hovered stainless steel brewtanks) plus the 4 awning-covered deck tables and umbrella picnic tables out front. The interior’s ceramic floor, low hanging ceiling pipes and red brick walls add a certain Industrial flare.

Alongside a well-rounded assortment of homemade beers, Grand Strand also offers fine spirits, wines and specialty cocktails.

On my sunny Tuesday afternoon voyage, April ’23, my wife and I enjoyed ten sturdy draughts.

Easygoing Wingtip Pilsner let brisk Seltzer-like lemon zest serenade slight herbal musk above flighty white breading.

A slightly bitter pale ale with experimental HBC586 hop strain, Flip Flop Hop unfurled mellow lemony white grapefruit bittering, mildly perfume-spiced orange peel sweetness and grassy hop astringency for subtle oated wheat creaming.

Milk-sugared coffee embraced lactic Conway Coffee Blonde Ale, a pale malted moderation with mild creme brulee and caramel latte sweetness.

Toasted amber grains and dewy dried fruiting approached the sugary caramelized malts securing Jolene Red Ale.

Mildly vanilla-creamed banana, clove and coriander plus pastry dough sugaring paced Rainy Day Hefeweizen, leaving slight herbal musk on the tail end.

Buttery caramel dripped into soft-toned Doof Dunkelweizen, picking up distant lemon meringue and fried banana tartness.

Tropical orange-peeled grapefruit, pineapple and mango tanginess gained light phenol hop bittering to contrast the dainty rum sugaring of dry pale malted Sandy Cheeks West Coast IPA.

Lemony yellow grapefruit bittering contrasted sugary tangerine-peach tang of Airbrush Hazy IPA, reaching its delicate oats base.

As for the two sour ales, First Rodeo Smoothie Sour let its lightly acidic lemon-soured plum and pomegranate adjuncts gain briny cranberry and crabapple tartness over sugary pastry dough.

Just as salty, Pavillion Pie Wheel Key Lime Sour stayed dry as mildly acidic key-limed lemon rind bittering countered cinnamon-toasted brown sugaring as distant cologne perfuming splattered sugary lemonade tartness.

TIDAL CREEK BREWHOUSE

United States Brewpubs,

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MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA

Encompassing a coffeehouse/brewery, large wood picnic -tabled porch, chaired firepit area, a sprawling beer garden and palm trees, TIDAL CREEK BREWHOUSE started its journey in June 2020. At Myrtle Beach’s newly developed Market Common (formerly used as part of the nearby airport base), Tidal Creek retains a loungey sea shack vibe amongst the newly built small stores, restaurants and townhouses.

Inside the blue-awninged beige aluminum sided brewhouse, an L-shaped ten-seat bar (with cement-lacquered shell bar top) centers the cement-floored shop. There are ten 4-seat tables, hanging Edison lights, a spray foam insulated ceiling and corrugated aluminum walls filling out Tidal Creeks’ interior. Stainless steel brew tanks take up the 3,000 square-foot backspace. Cocktails, wines and pub fare were also available.

My wife and I had some delicious noontime pops during April ’23 visit.

Dry light pilsner, Liberatore, let bright lemon licks dabble with wafting floral spicing and leathery straw acridity over buttered white breading.

Cake-battered banana sweetness and mild clove-coriander spicing picked up a prickly lemon spritz and mild herbage atop the buttery sourdough base of Harmonic Hefeweizen, a delightful traditionalist on par with nearby Grand Strand’s German wheat competitor.

Sharp IPA-like fruiting and oily pine resin gave a moderate bittering to Breezy Blonde Ale, plying dry orange rind and grapefruit pith zing to latent floral herbage.

Streamlined Imperial IPA, Mean High Water, combined candied pineapple, grapefruit and orange tanginess with light herbal spicing and resinous pine remnants over crystal malt sugaring.

Equally approachable New England IPA, Bogey Bomb, let candied pineapple, sugared orange and tart lemon fruiting pick up mild sweet spicing over lightly creamed oated wheat pasting.

Mildly embittered NEIPA, Beam Reach, places spritzy grapefruit-peeled orange, pineapple and mango tanginess next to New Zealand-hopped guava-passionfruit souring above oated wheat complacency.

Piney citrus fruiting and floral-spiced herbage permeated Grand Strand, a West Coast IPA draping lemony orange, grapefruit and tangerine tanginess thru honeyed pale malts.

Coffee-stained dark chocolate led Backwater Brown Ale, leaving cola nut, waddleseed, hazelnut and candied molasses snips on its dewy earthen bottom.

Dry espresso-milked black coffee fortified Pollywog Porter, picking up setback peanut-walnut illusions and mild Blackstrap molasses bittering.

Nutty chicory coffee surged ahead of coconut, pineapple and black grape fruiting for Tradewinds Tropical Stout, gaining bittersweet dark chocolate influence.

 

 

 

 

 

GRUMPY MONK

BEER PUB,

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MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA

Open since 2014, Myrtle Beach craft beer haven, THE GRUMPY MONK, features some of Carolina’s best suds. Set beside Route 501 a few miles west of the beach, this copious freestanding restaurant highlights the surrounding mall-bound highway shops.

Grumpy Monk’s tall red-bricked entrance leads to a spacious right side sportsbar (with pristine granite-topped wood counter, brown fluorescent ceiling scape, multiple tap handles, various beer signs, several TV’s and sidled seating). Refreshing water-bubbled glass tanks separate the bar from the main left side dining area.

Specialty cocktails along with shareable soup, salad, sandwiches, sushi and burgers fill the menu while beer lovers will be delighted by the ever-changing draught selections.

My wife and I grab a few chairs underneath the partially covered front patio deck (with 25 tables) to consume seven previously untried brews with Hot Grandma (fried green tomato, Swiss-chedder cheese, bacon and aioli spice) during initial August ’17 lunchtime break.

Alongside South Carolinian faves such as River Rat Blueberry Lemon Wheat, Frothy Beard Watermelon Wheat, Coast HopArt IPA and Low Tide Reese’Ding Brown Ale were New York’s Three Heads Too Kind Double IPA, San Francisco’s Anchor Mango Wheat and North Carolina’s Check Six Dugan Stout (reviewed fully in Beer Index).

Arguably Myrtle Beach’s best beer bar, Grumpy Monk will surely not disappoint.

www.grumpymonkmyrtlebeach.com

 

LIBERTY STEAKHOUSE / TAP ROOM

United States Brewpubs

LIBERTY STEAKHOUSE & BREWERYMYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA

At Broadway On the Beach mall area, LIBERTY STEAKHOUSE & BREWERY tendered slight fruit-tart Raspberry Wheat, citric-hopped coriander-spiced White Ale (with lemon wedge), orange peel-embittered wood-burnt floral-decked India Pale Ale, wavering chocolate-nut softie Nut Brown Ale, and dryly wheat-soured Miss Liberty Lager (reminiscent of Rheingold), July ‘04.

Upon July ’08 visit to franchised LIBERTY TAP ROOM & GRILL in Myrtle Beach’s Northwood Plaza, found out off-premise brewing was done by New South (same as T-Bonz). Opened since ’06, freestanding sienna-stuccoed site had covered front patio connected to indoor sportsbar by oval bar (with nice tapped microbrew selection). Left dining section appeased families with younger children. Enjoyed RJ Rockers Buckwheat and Highland Oatmeal Stout (reviewed in Beer Index) while consuming burger and pizza.

www.libertysteakhouseandbrewery.com

MAD BOAR BREWERY

United States Brewpubs

MAD BOARMYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA

Strangely, Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach once had two brewpubs within walking distance. After hitting T-Bonz in July ’04, had steak dinner at the former MAD BOAR BREWERY. Brewmeister Moose offered sophisticated bourbon-sweet malt-dried Scotch Ale (with yummy dark chocolate-raisin-tobacco notes), soft-watered espresso-lingered raspberry-ensconced oatmeal-heeled Boar’s Snout Stout, and ashy red-fruited orange peel-lingered Scotch-smitten Indian Pale Ale.

Lesser variants such as light peach-licked Golden Pilsener, soft malt-candied Pig Tail Ale, spritz-y fig-date-tempered Carolina Copper Ale, and tangy Raspberry Wheat were bland. Mad Boar has since moved and Jakalope Steakhouse now occupies the site.

T-BONZ GILL & GRILL

United States Brewpubs

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MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA

Several southern summer sabbaticals have been spent with wife and kids at sunny coastal Carolina resort – riding waves (in nearby Sunset Beach), hitting the water slides, riding the rollercoaster, and fishing. Post-Xmas ’99 trip, discovered satisfactory Rock Creek and Pinehurst Village brews from North Carolina, but frustratingly no South Carolina suds. Experienced frenzied smart-ass atmosphere of zany eatery Dick’s Last Resort, where wry-humored waiters, silly paper hats, and novelty signs goof on unsuspecting patrons.

In ’03, finally tracked down three South Carolina beers crafted by Palmetto Brewery. During July ’04, I visited three friendly Grand Strand brewpubs. Though some offerings were somewhat bland and oxidized by comparison, much progress has been made since ’99.

At Barefoot Landing in July ’04, brick-walled wood-paneled mahogany-mantled steakhouse T-BONZ GILL & GRILL (formerly Landmark Tavern) featured New South brewer Josh Quigly’s recipes. Tried astringent chocolate-serenaded coffee-roasted fig-walnut-teased Nut Brown Ale, frisky dry-hopped honey-dipped grape-soured lemon-bitter Market Street Wheat, lemon-hopped grapefruit-raspberry-tart Blonde Bombshell, blasé caramelized pecan-fig-daubed rye-dried Cooper River Red and lemon-fizzed wheat-husked maize-dried Low Country Light Lager.

Revisited T-BONZ July ’06, quaffing lo-cal honeyed-wheat lemon-peeled spritzer Waccaman Blonde, floral-dried hop-embittered India Pale Ale and sweet-sour raspberry-oxidized wheat-blanched Seltzer-fizzed Raspberry Wheat.

Upon July ’08 sojourn, saw Texas Rangers’ Josh Hamilton set homerun derby record at Yankee Stadium while consuming buttery soft-bodied, apple-pear-tangerine-fruited, orange peel-embittered IPA, sugary corn-sweetened maize-dried Amber Waves, and cardboard-y citric-toned diacetyl-ruined Red Ale. Peppery-hopped lemon-candied orange-soured White Ale was moderate-bodied seasonal.

www.tbonz.com