Beer instead of breakfast is on the menu for this newly opened downtown Georgetown B&B
Joseph Baxter laughs when he notes that his Georgetown business was awarded best bed and breakfast.
His B&B doesn’t sell breakfast. Just beds for lodging, and beer.
And until the beginning of this year he didn’t even sell beer.
But that will change Wednesday as Baxter’s Brewhouse Inn, dubbed South Carolina’s first bed and brew, recently received its permit to sell their home-brewed beer they make on site. The bed and brew, 824 Prince St., will have an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. to celebrate.
Before receiving its brew pub license in March, only guests at the bed and brew were able to sample the craft beer that owner Baxter has been making for more than 20 years.
‘We’re not a fit for everyone’
The inn opened in 2017 and operates under an European style model. There are three rooms which share two bathrooms.
“We’re not a fit for everyone, and we’re very upfront about that,” Baxter said. “We do what we do and people love it.”
The inn is located right in downtown Georgetown, just a short walk from the shops, restaurants and views of the harbor that is along the city’s historic Front Street.
When it first opened, many of the downtown storefronts were empty. The inn is now reaping the benefits of downtown Georgetown’s growth, Baxter said.
Baxter’s mother bought the house in 2004 and the family spent 15 years fixing up the former lawyer’s office.
When his mother decided to step away from being the innkeeper, Baxter and his wife, Tina, moved in and took over operations.
The house was built in the early 1900s and sits along a tree-lined street of other historic and grand homes. The rooms, which run from $119 to $199 a night, are decorated in vintage style with furniture and decor that lends to the home’s age.
Each room has a different color, with the yellow room being the most popular, Tina Baxter said.
Expanding reach of home-crafted beer
Baxter ran resorts in Myrtle Beach for 20 years before he got sick of the corporate business. He was a cook in the Army and has a food and beverage background.
He writes his own recipes for the beers.
Baxter will continue to give free beer to guests who come and stay, but now he will be able to expand who is able to drink his beer.
The brewhouse will offer three core craft beers. There is Sidegirl, a dirty blonde with fruits, such as blood orange, and hints of coriander. Vicious Rust, a red-eye IPA that is a nod to Georgetown’s steel mill that blows rust throughout the city, Baxter said. And finally a barley wine that’s a standard pale ale.
Baxter brews 25 gallons at a time of the core beers. He also makes seasonal beers, such as a toasted marshmallow caramel cream ale and winter honey brew.
The brewhouse will participate in Georgetown’s Food, Beer and Wine Festival which happens from noon to 5 p.m. April 29 along Front Street, Tina Baxter said.
In addition, they will have brew days, where Joseph Baxter goes into the backyard and brews his beer.
He has been making beer at the brewhouse for the last six years.
“I have some good friends that come down,” Baxter said, “we hang out and make beer.”
