Tucked into an historic alley in Charleston’s regal French Quarter is one of the country’s premiere craft beer shops. The Charleston Beer Exchange (14 Exchange Street) brings some of the world’s tastiest brews to the lucky connoisseurs populating this scenic South Carolina city.

Commonly under-appreciated for its colonial grandeur and culinary supremacy, Charleston has so much going on when it comes to good food and drink. For example, they are home to Westbrook Brewing Company, Coast, and Holy City Brewing, among others. Each of which has gained tremendous notoriety within the craft brewing community. At the Charleston Beer Exchange you can grab bottles of all these local favorites in addition to over 800 specialties from distant corners of the globe.

How are they able to procure such an unrivaled assortment of fermented perfection? Well part of it’s due to the enthusiasm (read: demand) that the Holy City has for high-class beer. But mostly you can thank the owners here who have spent years acquiring the expertise necessary to operate such a decorated destination. In fact, one of the guys running the show, Scott Shor, is so involved in the local brewing scene that he recently produced a colloborative effort with Westbrook’s brewmaster. Citrus Ninja Exchange is a surprisingly smooth double IPA brewed with copious quantities of grapefruit before being dry-hopped 4 times.

Another regional project that keeps the Charleston Beer Exchange busy is the annual Brewvival Festival, held on the last Saturday of February. Going into its 4th year, this grand gathering of grog brings some of the best brewers in the world to the Palmetto coast, many of them serving up curious concoctions brewed specifically for the event. Last year some of those crazy one-offs included a collaboration between Westbrook and Stillwater, called Hot Garbage. Despite its questionable name, it was actually a hugely popular sour.

The Beer Exchange always houses half a dozen rotating taps, offering reasonably-priced growler fills. The next time you find yourself in Charleston and you’re looking to tap into some of that famous Southern hospitality, look no further. This is your one stop shop for all things hops.