Brewing up beer, success

Edward Westbrook has come a long way from brewing beer in his roommates' closets in college four years ago.

The 25-year-old entrepreneur started a test run of the new $2.25 million Westbrook Brewing Co. on Wednesday in Mount Pleasant.

"We had to buy a couple of parts, but so far everything is going well," Westbrook said.

He hopes to have a new brew by the keg in local businesses by Dec. 13. Bottles and cans will come later. The tasting room with its circular bar in the lobby will open in January.

"I've brewed a ton of different recipes," Westbrook said while walking around the spacious 18,500-square-foot, two-story facility off Long Point Road beside Interstate 526.

The Furman University graduate with a master's in business administration from Clemson University will start with three beers: White Thai, a Belgian style wheat beer spiced with ginger and lemon grass; a Belgian pale ale, a copper-colored beer made with European malts; and an IPA, or India Pale Ale, lighter in color than the Belgian pale ale and a bit stronger with more hops.

Westbrook started brewing beer as a senior at Furman while living on campus in an apartment.

He first became interested in the craft while studying abroad in Europe during his junior year in 2005.

"I tasted a lot of different beers there," he said.

Westbrook would go to the grocery store and buy a different six pack and was so interested in beer that he bought some books on starting his own brewery in his college apartment that he shared with roommates.

"I took over all of their closets, but they didn't seem to mind too much as they got to sample the results," he said. "The first batch wasn't great, but it was better than I thought. So I made another batch and another and another. I brewed at least once every week."

Smith Mathews of Statesboro, Ga., is his head brewer.

The Georgia Tech graduate started in the business as a part-time worker at Sweetwater Brewing Co. in Atlanta while in

college. He attended Siebel Institute of Technology, a brewing school in Chicago, for four months to hone his skill before returning to Sweetwater.

"I just fell in love with it," Mathews said.

While in Atlanta, he heard about Westbrook's venture. After attending a concert in Charleston earlier this fall, he called Westbrook to tour his new facility and asked if he had a head brewer. Westbrook took his resume and within two weeks, Mathews had a new job.

"I'm very ready to get going," Mathews said while cleaning one of the six giant fermenting vessels waiting for their first drink.

Westbrook said it remains to be seen how many beers they can do at one time.

"We'll start with three and go from there," he said.

To save on energy cost, solar panels help heat water used in the beer-brewing process, and skylights provide plenty of light in the open and airy facility.

"It helps to have a lot of light so we can see what we are doing," he said. "There are a lot parts in there to trip over."

Offices overlook the brewing facility from the second floor where storage space awaits bottles and cans for future beer distribution.

Westbrook Brewing Co. joins Coast Brewing Co. in North Charleston and Palmetto Brewing Co. in Charleston as the Lowcountry's three main beer brewers.

"I'm glad that it worked out," Westbrook said. "I think this is very cool."

Reach Warren Wise at 937-5524.