The Pig taps into beer renaissance
By Colin Burch
For Weekly Surge
I admit it - shame on me for not stopping by sooner.
The Piggly Wiggly at The Market Common is further proof of the continuing beer renaissance on the Grand Strand.
The sophisticated, upscale grocery store opened back in April on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. My trips to The Market Common, which is a 17-mile drive south of my house, have been preoccupied with the new Gordon Biersch brewpub, another part of the Strand's beer renaissance, and home of the outstanding Marzen.
Piggly Wiggly - call it The M.C. Pig - has a beer selection that surpasses the wine sections in lesser grocery stores, without skimping on the popular domestic brews, like a case of Yuengling cans for $18.49, or a sixer of Michelob Lager bottles for $5.99.
A sample of Rogue Dead Guy Ale.
-Courtesy photo
The fun part for me was walking down an aisle, turning the corner, and finding the beer section with two display shelves of imports and specialty domestics on either side of refrigerated case.
These display shelves had the highly specialized beer offerings, such as the 64-ounce Rogue Dead Guy Ale, in a growler-like jug, for $11.99. I also found Allagash Tripel Reserve, recipient of a 99 rating from RateBeer.com, in a 1-pint and 9.4-ounce corked bottle for $7.99. I placed an Allagash Tripel in my shopping cart.
The display shelves also included Delirium Tremens, Delirium Nocturnum, and a good bit more, but it was time to follow the refrigerated cases around the corner, and around another corner, along numerous chilled offerings from reputable domestic brewing companies including Abita, Saranac, Anchor, Mad River, Brooklyn, Magic Hat, Samuel Adams, Highland, and Harpoon, just to name a few.
Some of these specialty brewers showed up at The M.C. Pig with seasonal 12-packs as well as singular sixers. Magic Hat's Summer Variety Show - a 12-pack with three each of Hocus Pocus, Circus Boy, #9, and Odd Notion - was available for $14.99. Saranac had a similar 12 Beer of Summer pack, with two each of its Kolsch, Hefeweizen, Belgian White, Pomegranate Wheat, Golden Pilsner, and Summer Ale for $15.99. Just to name two.
Representing our regional breweries, Charleston Brewing Co.'s non-seasonal variety pack - a twelver mix of Lagerhead Lager, Half Moon Hefeweizen, and East Bay IPA - was priced at $15.99.
It's not often that I see four varieties of Woodchuck cider in a local grocery store. The M.C. Pig had Woodchuck's Granny Smith, Amber, Pear, and Raspberry ciders, $7.99 for six bottles. Speaking of cider, back on the display shelves was J.K. Scrumpy's Hard Cider in a 16.9-ounce bottle for $5.49.
On my way out of the beer section, I came across a display for Blouberg. This is a 750-milliter bottle for $8.99. It's described only as a white wine, no specific varietal mentioned. What made the wine most interesting is the bottle's shape. It's a short, squat bottle without a long neck, designed for easy installation into a picnic cooler or a refrigerator
When I got home, I chilled the Allagash Tripel for a while and then popped the cork. The $7.99 price seemed like a bargain for such a great beer. It had that crispness one would expect of Belgian-style ale, with an underlying honey-like flavor and smoothness. Try it. However, it's 9 percent alcohol by volume, so plan to stay wherever you are when you open the bottle.
Contact Colin Burch - the Beerman - at beerpour@yahoo.com or visit his beer blog at http://maltyhops.blogspot.com