Spurs (and glasses) up: USC students create, launch new beer brand. Check it out
There’s a new beer on-tap in the Midlands, and it’s one that was born in the classroom.
Spur City Brewery officially debuted on April 15 with an event at Steel Hands Brewing in Cayce. The new beer brand was developed by students in the University of South Carolina’s College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, under the guidance of faculty members Scott Taylor Jr. and Robby Lybrand.
The new brand has launched with its first flavor, Garnet & Black Lot Lager, an amber lager with a name that nods to the tailgating lots around Williams-Brice Stadium. USC’s hospitality college and alumni association are partnering with Steel Hands for production of Spur City’s offerings, and Garnet & Black Lot Lager is available on-tap at Steel Hands. There also are plans to soon have the beer available in cans for purchase and wider distribution in the Columbia area.
Development of Spur City has been in the works since 2024. Taylor noted that students in USC’s craft beer production and sales class, which is for students age 21 and up, developed the beer in the college’s beverage production lab.
“That class worked through multiple different recipes,” Taylor said. “The first recipe we brewed was the one we wanted to try to pitch and bring to market first. We talked to Steel Hands, and they loved it.”
Once the initial beer recipe itself was settled, USC’s beverage marketing and sales class, which is open to students of any age, was tasked with branding, marketing and launching Spur City.
Taylor noted the significance of USC’s hospitality students getting to see a product they developed and marketed actually debut and be consumed at a popular local business.
“For them to see a product come to market that has been three semesters in the making, something they’ve been able to see their peers start and they have been finalizing, is really, really cool,” said Taylor, who is an associate professor in USC’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Spur City Brewery beverages will go toward scholarship funds for future students, Taylor said.
Ryan Miller, a senior at USC and a member the beverage marketing and sales class, was one of a number of students who helped plan the April 15 launch party for Spur City Brewery and its Garnet & Black Lot Lager. He was pleased to see the beer being enjoyed by the public.
“It’s awesome to know that you are a part of something that is bigger than yourself,” Miller said. “It’s something that is going to grow in this community and beyond.”
Lybrand is a chef instructor in USC’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and helped students in the development of the Spur City Brewery brand. He said he could see Garnet & Black Lot Lager being a tailgating favorite in years to come.
“Garnet & Black is the perfect beer for tailgating,” Lybrand told The State. “It’s light, it’s crisp. Especially on those hot days during the early (fall) games, it’s the perfect beer for it. We hope to see it in all the lots on gameday.”
USC classes in the future will have an opportunity to expand Spur City, Lybrand noted.
“We’ve got another class coming up in the fall,” Lybrand said. “We’ll obviously show them (Garnet & Black Lot Lager), but we’ll come up with new flavors in there that hopefully will get launched through Spur City, as well.”
