How We Go Columbia: Great craft beer

Columbia was once on the brink of becoming a well-known craft beer town, and today most any respectable bar also has at least one Columbia brewed beer. Now I’m able to enjoy a nice craft beer at happy hour, buy a six-pack to enjoy with friends and family or fill up a growler to enjoy on a long weekend.

Though I would highly recommend visiting all the local breweries, a flight of four beers is an acceptable way to sample the Columbia commercial beer scene.

I’d start with one of my favorite breweries, River Rat. River Rat, located at 1231 Shop Road, has made a splash in Columbia and has gained a quick following thanks to its location (in the shadow of Williams-Brice Stadium) and its quality beer. It’s hard for me to pick anything other than the Double IPA from River Rat, though its hard to go wrong with any of the others.

Conquest Brewing Company, at 947 S. Stadium Road, is one of the more sophisticated beers that is being made in Columbia. Their year-round, seasonal and one-time brews all have unique monikers from Artemis Blonde, Seven Seas and my favorite, the Medusa Stout.

The third beer of my Columbia-only flight is from the city’s newest company, Swamp Cabbage Brewing. Swamp Cabbage, which can be found at 921 Brookwood Drive, currently has solid lineup of regular beers, but my favorite by far is the Sabal Palm Blonde.

The fourth beer comes from Hunter-Gatherer, which sits about a block from the State House at 900 Main St., and has so far been strictly made and sold in-house. Thankfully for fans of the brewery, there are plans to not only open a second location but to start selling their beer commercially via kegs and bottles. One of their various stouts is the go-to here.

Hopefully if you enjoy beer and supporting local businesses, you’ll go out and find your own favorites to put in your flight. Thankfully, there are more options to choose from than ever.

Aaron Ransdell loves a nice craft beer and he equally enjoys supporting local businesses, which is why the more breweries that pop up in Columbia, the happier the digital sports reporter gets.

This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 1:58 PM with the headline "How We Go Columbia: Great craft beer."