Our Story In Six Words

Our story can be summed up pretty easily: We have a passion for beer.

Our brewery all started on a napkin; a family home brewing hobby sprouting into a desire to establish Columbia, SC as one of the country's best craft beer cities. Single pots in the garage evolved into a customized, built-from-scratch system. And after years of extensive research and recruitment, we finally opened our brewery doors in November 2017.

Six years and a handful of medals later, we are continuously humbled by your support and maintain an ever-growing passion for brewing great craft beer.

Committed To More Than Just Beer

Quality, sustainablity, innovation, and hospitality are our core values. Our talented brewers strive to stay current on brewing trends and techniques to offer a broad range of exceptional cutting-edge beers, poured by a warm, friendly taproom team.

Brewery Stein

The Crew Dedicated to The Craft

Meet the Columbia Craft Brewery team, a mash-up of smart people (teachers), creative people (artists),
business people (bean counters), and award-winning brewers (of course).

Shaun Piggott

Head Brewer

FAV: Vom Fass with Spruce Tips

Mazen Cotran II

General Manager

FAV: Pull, Dunkel, and Vom Fass

Teddy Carper

Head of Sales

FAV: Zwickelbier and Sandvika

Melanie Schmitz

Columbia/Upstate Sales

FAV: Coordinates and Zwickelbier

Cole Caccavaro

Brewer

FAV: Bumper Stickers

Ricky Sharp

Assistant Manager

FAV: Doppelbock

Autumn Melton

Front of House Sales

FAV: Patisserie

Alleigh Brown

Front of House Sales

FAV: Pink Guava Sour and Hazy Beer is Dead

Matthew Duggan

Front of House Sales

FAV: Festbier and Pina Colada Sour

Brian Tazuma

Front of House Sales

FAV: Batch 700 and Hop Acid

Alexis Mynio

Front of House Sales

FAV: Hazy Beer is Dead and Retracement

Brandon Crawford

Brand Mgr./Designer of Things

FAV: Zwickelbier

Justin Strauss

Accounting

FAV: Carolinian

Richard Strauss

Founder/Chief Inventory Officer

FAV: Citrus All Pro

Andrew Strauss

Business Development Officer

FAV: Birra Argentinale, Macroeconomics, and Coordinates

Guiding Principles

BREWING - Remain true to our objective of brewing with excellence and consistency.

EDUCATION - Share knowledge as we continue to educate ourselves and our customers about the art of craft beer.

INNOVATE - Embrace new ideas yet always maintain a commitment to our brewing brand and culture.

OUR BREWERY - Provide a friendly atmosphere and excellent service for all our patrons.

PROMOTE - Serve as an active leader in order to promote Columbia as one of the best craft beer cities in America.

Sustainability Brewing

Brewing beer is one thing. Brewing it responsibly is something else. That's why we have put sustainable practices into place that include:

Recycling city water after using it and treating it with an in-house water filter
Having local farmers pick up the grain that's left over after we brew
Using eco-friendly can top rings
Using aluminum cans instead of bottles for recycling

Awards and Recognitions

MACROECONOMICS Lager - 2023 World Beer Cup - Gold for Contemporary American-Style Lager

Columbia Craft Hazy IPA - 2022 US Open Beer Championship - Silver Medal for Juicy/Hazy

Citrus All Pro - 2021 US Open Beer Championship - Bronze Medal American Pale Ale

Carolinian - 2020 Great American Beer Festival - Gold Medal for Golden/Blonde Ale

New Zealand IPA - 2020 US Open Beer Championship - Silver Medal for 41° 16' S 173° 17' E

Carolinian - 2019 US Open Beer Championship - Silver Medal for Golden/Blonde Ale

Citrus All Pro - 2019 US Open Beer Championship - Silver Medal for Pale Ale

Carolinian - 2019 SC Brewers Guild - Gold Medal Winner for Golden/Blonde Ale

One Year Anniversary Barrel Aged - 2019 SC Brewers Guild - Silver Medal Winner for Wood-and Barrel Aged Strong Beer

Citrus All Pro - 2019 World Lupulin Challenge - Silver Medal for Juicy Hazy Pale Ale

Professional Associations

National Brewers Association

South Carolina Brewers Guild association

Capital Club Lake Murray Tourism association