Sharply soured gluten-free tropical Smoothie lets eye-squinting orange concentrate bittering saturate briny mango, pineapple and key lime adjuncts as creamy vanilla marshmallow fluff sweetens the backend. Tertiary lemon meringue, passionfruit, dragon fruit and strawberry snips increase sunny fruitful splendor.
Creamy oats provide hazy golden hue for Savannah’s citric-laced NEIPA. Lemon zest spikes mild yellow grapefruit bittering, delicate mandarin orange sweetness and spritzy tangerine-clementine-nectarine tang as dank cannabis and light pining add to dry nature of Motueka-Citra-Strata-hopped moderation.
Zesty orange-peeled grapefruit tang and lemony passionfruit, pineapple and mango tropicalia rub up against dank pine resin in an approachable pale malt setting. Fine midrange IPA is Georgia brewer’s flagship.
At Sonesta Resort – Hilton Head, standard IPA with basic orange-peeled peach, pineapple and mango tanginess plus mild lemony grapefruit bittering receives papery pale malt pasting. Not enough creamy oats and New Zealand hop influence for true NEIPA approval.
On tap at Young Veterans – Virginia Beach. Dry summertime moderation entangles lemony grapefruit bittering with tart passionfruit zesting, mandarin orange spritz and sweet tangerine tingle above delicate sourdough breading.
On tap at Young Veterans – Virginia Beach, tart blackberry adjunct plus salted cranberry-pomegranate bittering, oaken vanilla dryness and cherry rhubarb pie twang counter less opulent vanilla creaming of fruited cream ale variant.
HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA
At the south end of beach resort-lined Hilton Head Island, LOCAL LEGEND BREWING COMPANY promises High Times at Lowcountry. Opened at a vacant Industrial hardware warehouse March ’25 by Asheville-based restauranteur Alan Wolf, whose conceptual plan, culinary intrigue and ‘dynamic beer culture’ stem from his North Carolina days, the spacious sporstbar includes an Adirondack-chaired biergarten.
Designed for interactive family-friendly activities as well as midrange beer consumption, Local Legend’s right side games keep kids busy while parents gobble and quaff.
Inside a grey warehouse, the cement-floored, wood-tabled interior features a unique 40 bucket-seated bar with twelve draughts, multi-TV’s, exposed pipes, sporty back wall mural and glassy overhead doors.
Flagship off-dry blonde lager, Bombshell, let spritzy lemon and fizzy mandarin orange tickle mild floral spicing over delicate pale malt sugaring.
Nearly as easygoing, well-balanced witbier, Great White Ale, put slim orange-peeled coriander sweetness alongside golden wheat graining.
Brisk orange-peeled grapefruit bittering reached the mild pine tones of King Tide, a moderate-bodied New England IPA in need of stylish oated creaming (instead of commonplace dry pale malting).
Black-peppered chai spicing spotted cinnamon, cardamom and ginger sugaring for Chai Brown Ale, leaving menthol peppermint zesting on its vanilla-daubed mocha midst.
Eagle Rare bourbon-barreled Honey Horn Maibock soaked orange blossom honey into oaken whiskey, peaty Scotch and dry rum spirits.
Wintry Belgian golden strong ale, Holiday Ale ’25, a spicy herbal Christmastime celebrator, allowed rummy brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice to penetrate candied orange, glazed hazelnut, fig, date and dried cherry subtleties.
HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA
Going up the road from Hilton Head’s Midland Beach in a secluded Industrial area, LINCOLN & SOUTH BREWING COMPANY came to fruition in August 2021. A family-friendly joint in an aluminum warehouse with beautifully designed sunny day mural and white silo, the overhead-doored pub also boasts a wide open biergarten. The six-seat wood and metal bar services a few small block wood tables in a rustic wood paneled environment.
Brightening Lincoln & South’s interior is a colorful lake-meadow wall painting. A staging area in the rear contains the large aluminum brew tanks. There were charcuterie board cheeses, burgers and sandwiches for munching. Guest taps joined nine homemade L & S draughts my wife and I downed New Year’s Day 2026.
Musically sharp bartender, Christian, played cool tunes, putting on an obscure album by Curtis Knight & the Squires featuring Jimi Hendrix while I imbibed the last few India Pale Ales.
Corn-dried oats sugaring speckled the peaty Scotch licks of German-styled light body, Beach City Pilsner, an easygoing opener.
Spritzy citrus sunshine lathered Golden Hair Summer Ale, an off-dry moderation with light herbal spicing peppering sweet cara-pils malting.
A fine collaboration with Palmetto Brewing, sweet pilsner malt breading grazed lightly spiced lemony herbage of Palmetto Kolsch, a soft-toned moderation.
Crisp tobacco-roasted peat moss surfaced for sweet amber grained The Bog Red Ale, gaining honeyed brown tea spot (and spiced herbal respite).
Soft-toned New England IPA, Afterglow, placed sunny orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess across mild pine lacquer atop vanilla-daubed oated wheat creaming.
Flagship NEIPA, Hearts & Arrows, retained a dry Citra-hopped tropicalia as yellow grapefruit and orange rind bittering joined salty pineapple-mango tanginess before leaving a piney tingle.
Yet another NEIPA, 8% ABV Ales For A.L.S. brought juicy floral-spiced tropicalia to the fore as tangy orange-peeled yellow grapefruit, peach, pineapple and peach pleasantries caressed sugary wheated oats.
On the dark side, mossy nuttiness consumed dark chocolate bitterness for Ace Of Spades Black Lager, forwarding hop-charred cola, macadamia and Brazil nut illusions in a brisk clean water setting.
Dry debittered black malts contrasted maple molasses syruping sweetening up Ditch Gator Oatmeal Stout, tossing in black grape, dry burgundy and fruitcake notions above the dark chocolate base.
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
Occupying a historic Victorian edifice on a residential side street, TWO TIDES BREWING COMPANY opened its doors March 2018 in Savannah’s Starland District. Owner-operators Liz and James Massey produce small-batch beers, focusing on, but not limited to, fruited sours and IPA’s, at the pubs first floor brewroom.
A snazzily homey cottage-like retreat, Two Tide’s pale green-walled second floor includes a cozy community-tabled main cafe (with white tile-fronted wood top bar), olden wood floors, an antique hearth plus three furnished parlor rooms and the back balcony where my wife and I quaffed five homemade draughts (and took home five more reviewed in Beer Index) during our post-Xmas Southern jaunt. Homebrewed coffee also available.
Fizzy light lager, Drift, merged crisp cereal graining with underlying whiskey souring, dried maize astringency, mild hop herbage and cabbaged skunking.
Sessionable ‘house pale ale, Rhyming Numbers Vol. 16, tucked lemony grapefruit Citra hop dryness and resinous Chinook hop pining into grassy herbal astringency above caramelized pale malts.
Toasty Octoberfest, Charm Marzen, flanked Vienna malt dewiness with leafy hop oiling.
Tart Smoothie-like Mystic Sour caressed sweet carrot juicing with orange concentrate and salty mango adjuncts, picking up sweet vanilla creaming to counter the ongoing citric alkalinity.
Dark-roast coffee nuttiness inundated rich coffee stout, Forever Never, gaining dark chocolate, espresso and soymilk illusions.
Steadfast tropical fusion (with sinewy beige yellowed haze) contrasts sunshiny lemony grapefruit bittering and musty lemon rot with zesty orange peel tang to its hard-candied center. Mild grassy pine resin and slight vegetal earthiness consumed by vanilla-daubed oated wheat creaming.
Musty coffee dampens nutty dark-roast hop char, integrating ashen cola, walnut and Brazil nuttiness with oncoming dark cocoa powdering consuming musky mocha finish.
Crisp ‘old fashion American’ lager lets spritzy orange-spiced lemon licks and mild Perle-hopped floral herbage reach buttery maize-flaked pilsner malt base of stylishly mannered moderation.
