Southend Brewery and Smokehouse (Charleston)

August 25, 2008
Our family ate here twice during our recent stay in Charleston. Very cool looking place with wide open space above, what appear to be custom lighting fixtures, and a lively atmosphere. Beer selection was ok, although they were out of two of their mainstay beers, which shouldn’t happen. The food was very good. I had the shrimp and grits, which was very good. Just an fyi parking can be a little problematic, but we were eventually able to find a spot on a side street about a block away. Definitely worth the visit.

July 11, 2008
well worth the visit. good selectionof ales reasonably priced and good food and service to match. would definately visit again if i get back to charleston.

June 14, 2008
I finally got down to Southend Brewery the other day and had a decent visit. The atmosphere was nice with the brewing still and tubs in the middle behind clear glass. The beer selection was ok, normal flight of flavors, although they were out of their most popular the wheat beer. I had 2 different pale ale and some of the best smoked bbq wings i have ever had. Not a great place to go for an enthusiast as the beer wasn’t spectacular, but as a regular joe i probably woulda liked the place.

May 27, 2008
Visiting my mother for mother’s day in South Carolina and we went to Charleston to get out of the country for some adventure. She knows I’m a big fan of craft beer and I told her I wanted to sample something local. We initially headed to Ted’s Butcher block and really liked Ted. He had a unique selection of beer but nothing local. He mentioned that the local Coast beer goes fast. All in all I liked Ted’s a lot. We looked around a bit and found Southend Brewery and Smokehouse. I was very excited to see a brew pub and we got a table for dinner. I got a sample paddle with 8 5oz offerings. A pale ale, blonde, weizen, two red ales, a porter and an oatmeal stout. The pale ale and porter had a very strange taste like contaminated yeast or soap left in the tank. Didn’t finish those. The weizen was bland. All of the samples were very watery. The only beer that was OK was the oatmeal stout. Hardly any hop taste to any of the beers. Very low quality. I would never drink there again. The only silver lining was the food. My barbeque chicken pizza with smoked gouda was fantastic. Other than that, very disappointing. I disliked the beer so much that I asked for whatever else was available in the bottle and the reply was BUD and BUD LIGHT. That’s not a place that cares about beer drinkers. The Tampa Bay Brewing company has their own beer offerrings (which are fantastic) and a wide selection of bottles.

January 28, 2008
Large, restaurant-feeling brewpub with multiple stories. Upstairs is much more bar-like. Either way, the service is pretty good and the food is satisfying. The beers can be hit or miss, but they aren’t horrible. Downstairs in the restaurant they cover the tables with paper and give you crayons, which is really awesome after a few beers.

November 12, 2007
Been Going here for a bout 10 years when I get a chance. I love the building. The food is decent. The chocolate cobber is to die for. But this is a beer reveiw and they are at best average. Only had 5 on draft at last visit. Did not have a seasonal and beers only average. Shame really but I have come to expect no less in South Carolina when it comes to beer.

April 25, 2007
Visited April 2007, stopping by for a few beers during the happy hour timeframe. This is a cool building with a lot of potential (three story brick with atrium sky light and mash tun in the center). Our bartender was nice enough, but all else was below average ... the beers were lackluster and we found the place a bit "grungy". Didn’t try the food but this was one of the few places that wasn’t packed in Charleston that afternoon, so maybe that was a sign.

March 27, 2007
Nice atmosphere. Beers are limited to 8 house beers on tap, and none are very good (nearby Palmetto Brewery is much better). The place was nearly empty at 8pm on a Thursday but they made us wait 10 minutes for a table (either not enough wait staff or wanted us to use the bar). Pizza is great, wings were very dry. When she brought my glass of water, there was a weird plastic ring floating in it. She took it, brought back a new glass and never said anything about it. At 9pm people of all ages fancifully dressed arrived and began salsa dancing. After living in South America for nearly a year, I was very impressed with how this small southern city could dance salsa. Charleston has some great people! Definitely give this place a try on a Thursday night, so at least if the food and beer aren’t great, the people and the dancing will be.

February 27, 2007
Renovated 3 story warehouse in the Downtown Historic District of Charleston. Beautiful visible beams of an original structure. Brick and woodwork. Large windows that open out to the street on nice days. Copper tanks visible from the sidewalk. The offer a sampler of 8 5oz. beers. The keep 8 beers on tap at a time. The staff were helpful, comparing each style they offered to its mass market style. A random waitress saw me taking rating notes and asked about my favorite one so far. They all seemed very knowledgeable of good beer, real ale. That’s great for a city that restricts to 6% ABV. Kid friendly as well.

February 11, 2007
Attentive service; server was a little overbearing, but attentive. Dining room is a little too open, but the higher floors looked better. Pizza was great, but not that much better than bar food although much more expensive. Server staff could be more knowledgeable of Brewery, and the restaurant could play up the brewery more. The actually brewery is a 10-12BBL system in the center of an open building w/ an awesome antique but operational elevator in the middle of an aesthetic brewhouse w/ visible fermenters and tanks. Some beers were outstanding, while most were mediocre at best--probably due to a new brewmaster. I would be interested in re-visiting this brewpub in the future.