Local microbrewery offers free tours twice a week
By Chris Mowder • Listenupmb@gmail.com
When TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, named New South Brewery as one of its Top 10 American Brewery Tours this fall, it put the Myrtle Beach microbrewery on the map in the minds of many.
Though exactly where on the map, not even most fans of the company’s handcrafted ales and lagers could say.
“A lot of people don’t even realize we’re back in here,” said brewmaster Brock Kurtzman. “But honestly, I’ve never been to a brewery that wasn’t hidden in a warehouse district somewhere.”
New South’s facility, located at 1109 Campbell St., is situated in an industrial area that’s a stone’s throw from Myrtle Beach’s historic train depot.
Though it remains off the beaten path for many the added attention of being named one of the best in the U.S. and strong word-of-mouth support has ensured that the brewery’s twice-weekly tours won’t remain a “best kept secret” for long.
“They had us ranked as the No. 7 brewery when it comes to tours. That just blew my mind,” said Kurtzman. “That alone has been huge for us.”
Offered each Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 5:30 p.m., New South’s free tours take visitors on a guided stroll through the facility led by one of the brewery’s three-man crew, which includes Kurtzman, owner Dave Epstein and operations manager Roddy Graham.
Operations manager Roddy Graham walks visitors through the fermentation and maintenance process at New South Brewery - staff photos - (click to see full tour gallery)
Handcrafted & hands-on
“A lot of brewery tours are an intern that’s reading from a piece of paper saying ‘over there they do this,’ but here we let you smell things, we let you taste things and it’s much more of a personal experience done by the guys that run the brewery,” said Kurtzman.
Some of the experiences offered during the tour include touching the different types of grains used in the brewing process, catching whiffs of yeast, hops and barley and, of course, tasting the finished product.
It’s this hands-on approach that gives visitors a real look into the craft of making craft beers.
“We making sure you see everything we do from the grain to the glass trying to make sure you have the best experience possible,” said Kurtzman. “Some people have been coming 15-20 years and have seen everything. This is something that doesn’t cost money, and it’s something like you’ve never done before in Myrtle Beach.”
As your guide walks you through the brew process from fermentation and brewing to storage and maintenance there’s plenty of information to be had. Though each tour is unique depending on who’s giving it — Graham was on tap the day we visited — you can expect plenty of interesting anecdotes and gems of knowledge throughout.
“I love yeast. It’s the coolest organism because it only has two jobs: It’s first is to eat and it’s second is to reproduce...who wouldn’t want that job?” jokes Graham, a well-studied biologist who studied at MUSC and graduated from Coastal before opting for a career in brewing.
“This is a job of passion. I do this because I love it,” he said.
Visitors listen intently while Roddy Graham explains how the non-automated canning machine works at New South Brewery - staff photos - (click to see full tour gallery)
Can-do canning
One of the highlights of the tour is the facility’s non-automated canning machine, a hand-operated press which fills and caps cans and groups six-packs of New South’s popular White Ale and Nut Brown Ale thanks to Graham’s nimble hands.
“We’ve taken to calling this the ‘Rod-omated’ canning machine, because I’m the one operating this thing to make basically every can in here,” he said.
Though the amount of labor its takes to create thousands of cans per year may seem a bit overwhelming, Graham says the overwhelming public demand for the aluminum containers makes it all worth it.
“We’ve had some much demand for it. We’re not making a huge amount of money on this, but it’s something we really enjoy doing to get our product out there,” he said.
Being able to offer cans as well as draft kegs — the company’s sole product for its first 12 years in business — has given New South the ability to be sold in local stores and bars without draft taps.
But it’s not just the flexibility and portability which make cans New South’s container of choice.
“Cans are so much better for your beer. It’s basically a mini keg,” said Graham. “There’s only two things that skunk your beer, one is light and the other is oxygen. Bottles can let in both.”
Joe Trpik, of Conway, holds his beer sample while Roddy Graham explains how the beer is put into kegs and how the kegs are cleaned at New South Brewery. - staff photos - (click to see full tour gallery)
Crowd pleaser
According to Kurtzman, attendance for the tours vary from 3-4 people in the offseason to groups of 30 or more during the summer. The crowd is generally a mix of locals and tourists, depending on the time of year.
“It’s a lot of knowledge. These guys are smart. They really know what they’re doing,” said Joe Trpik, a local who’d brought along his sister and her husband who were visiting from Endicott, N.Y.
Trpik, of Conway, was on his third time through the tour.
“It’s really interesting. They really do change it depending on the questions you ask they give you more about a certain aspect,” he said.
Though the information presented is a key piece of the tour’s allure, Trpik admits the free beer tasting is an added benefit.
“Well, I definitely enjoy that too,” he said.
Bridgett Blodgett, of Saginaw, Mich., took the tour with her husband after being referred by the couple’s son, who they were visiting in town.
“We go to a lot of breweries. It’s always fun to taste the different beers,” she said. “Beer is starting to be more of a tasting drink, like some folks would think of for wine.”
According to Blodgett, New South’s tour was one of the best she’d been on.
“This was great. I was very interested in the aluminum canning and did not realize how that whole process worked.
One wall of the facility is stacked high with Nut Brown and White Ale cans. Bewteen cans and kegs New South distributes about 2,500 barrels (5,000 kegs) worth of beer per year. - staff photo - (click to see full tour gallery)
Business is brewing
The increased interest about New South’s tour since it began two years is just one of many signs that things are on the upswing for this growing company.
“When Dave started this place up back in 1998, he realized this is a very unique area. What he figured was if he did all his beer in kegs and get our beer in one out of every 60 places on the Grand Strand then we’d be doing pretty well,” said Graham. “We weren’t in a lot of places at first, but there’s 4,300 places here and so it’s not like we have to be in every place.”
According to Graham, between cans and kegs New South now puts out about 2,500 barrells per year — the equivalent of about 5,000 kegs.
“We’re kind of in the middle of the craft brew and microbrew market as far as that goes,” he said.
Though they had distributed to parts of N.C. and as far into S.C. as Greenville, recently the company has pulled back out of those markets in order to meet the demands of a growing local market.
“We had such a busy winter last year, that our numbers in March were approx. what they usually are in May or June. So we consolidated to give our local establishments the option to always stay stocked,” said Graham. “We don’t want to spread ourselves too thin. We’re just taking baby steps.”
Visitors sit at the bar just inside the entrance of New South Brewery. Though not currently allowed to serve pints at the facility due to state law, New South is planning to run lines from the cooler to the bar area in preparation for the passge of a "pint law" in the future that would allow for draft beer to be served at the brewery. - staff photo - (click to see full tour gallery)
Community growth
Also taking baby steps forward over the past few years has been the Grand Strand’s beer community.
Since South Carolina passed laws in 2007 to allow for the sale of beers above 5% alcohol by volume, the area’s thirst for craft brews has increased greatly.
“There was still a very small beer scene here, with places like Bumstead’s and a few others serving craft brews but it was very limited,” said Kurtzman. “In 2007, when we ‘popped the cap’ we went from not being able to sell anything above 6% to being able to go up to 16% … until that point that some craft brewers couldn’t even come close to S.C. because the couldn’t bring any of their beers here.”
According to Kurztman, over the past several years there’s been a wave of new brewers tapping into this new market and with it an increased number of bars and restaurants supporting craft brews.
“If you would have told me three years ago that we’d have even 3-4 bars that had more than 20 beers I would have laughed at you,” he said.
Now places like Piggly Wiggly at the Market Common, Crafty Rooster in Conway and Mellow Mushroom in Myrtle Beach are all doing their part to help foster growth.
Kurtzman hopes that events such as Festival Promotions’ Beerfest and the brewery’s upcoming release parties and beer pairing will continue to help keep excitement high about craft brews locally.
“We’re planning and hoping for some more big things here,” he said, mentioning a “pint law” bill in the works that would allow New South to serve draft pints at the brewery. “We’re just excited to be part of it.”
Roddy Graham serves up beer sample in the New South cooler during a recent tour. - staff photos - (click to see full tour gallery)What’s on tap?
Each brewery tour offers a chance to try a half dozen or samples of New South’s brews.
“We’re not allowed to get you drunk,” says Graham, explaining the 4oz. sample he pours into the plastic sampling cup of each visitor. Here’s a look of some of what you can expect to try:
• White Ale - New South’s flagship brew is an Americanized version of a classic Belgian Wheat Ale. This “light, refreshing” beer gives a citrus-y flavor with hints of coriander and orange zest. “More or less the style of all the beer we do here is that they’re a little bit lighter in body style but with a full robust flavor,” said Graham. “Being a beach brewery when it’s 105 degrees outside, most people aren’t to drink a heavy stout or porter or something really hoppy or high gravity.”
• Nut Brown Ale - Graham describes this as the perfect entry-level beer into darker flavored beer. “About one out of every three people that says ‘I hate dark beers’ will walk out of here with a growler or six-pack,” he says. It is very light in body style, with beautiful sweet caramel flavors to begin with and ends with hints of coffee and chocolate. At only about 4.8% alcohol it’s “very drinkable.”
• Double Dry-Hopped IPA - A specialty version of the New South’s normal IPA (India Pale Ale) this brew first went through its regular fresh-hopped process. “Then we put a whole bunch of whole hops in with the 45-gallon barrel in a sock — a clean sock — and let it soak for another week like that,” said Graham. The result: a “very, very tasty” beer with a strong effervescent aroma and a citrus-y taste with hints of pine and resin in the finish. “First sip or two is a little bit strong but by the third or fourth sip your taste buds adjust and it’s really nice,” said Graham.
• Bourbon Barrel Oktoberfest - This specialty batch of beer was created by taking New South’s Oktoberfest seasonal — and Amber Lager with sweet caramel and maltiness — and letting it age in Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrel for about three months. Not only does this give it a “bourbony aroma,” but the caramel and vanilla flavors from the bourbon match really well with the Amber lager which already includes those flavors. “It’s very unique. No one’s really grabbed onto doing the bourbon barrel with the Amber-colored beers with this yet,” said Graham.
• Dark Star Porter - Though traditionally Porters rank amongst the darkest of brews, Graham touts its New South’s Dark Star as “lighter than a Pepsi in body style.” This winter seasonal includes plenty of Chocolate and Coffee flavors in it and is available on tap at select locations as well as in growler fills at the brewery.
• Russian Imperial & Irish stouts - The brewery will soon release its first high-gravity beer in about 3 or 4 years named “Lily The Great” after Kurtzman’s daughter. This Russian Imperial Stout was designed to be about 10% ABV but this “very heavy beer” will actually come in closer to 11.5% by its release in February.New South’s upcoming spring seasonal, an Irish Stout, will be released in time for St. Patrick’s Day. This “very smooth” and dark Nitrogen Stout is comparable to Guinness and includes elements of chocolate and coffee that’s heavier than the Porter with a little more roasty, charred flavor. There will also be a CO2-carbonated version on tap at the brewery available in growlers. Both stouts are seasonal offerings. “We tried one year doing a stout year, year-round and in our busiest season in the summertime we sold like a total of eight kegs I think. So it wasn’t really worth it,” said Graham.
Tours are offered at New South Brewing Company, 1109 Campbell, St., Myrtle Beach, each Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Tours begin at 3:15 p.m. and there is no cost to attend. For more details call (843) 916-2337, visit newsouthbrewing.com or check out New South Brewing on Facebook.
Elizabeth, left, and Rich Wylde, far right, instruct a group of hypnotized attendees while fellow “stars” remain in deep sleep on their chairs during the Wild 4 Hypnosis Comedy Show. (Courtesy of Big Laughs Theatre)
Rich and Elizabeth Wylde have been performing together for 14 years.Though the idea of a theater dedicated to hypnosis is new to the Grand Strand, it’s one the Wyldes have been looking forward to for nearly a decade. 
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