USA, SC: Peak Drift Brewing Company has production up and running on some of its beers and other drinks

A large-scale brewery project in north Columbia has production up and running on some of its drinks, The State reported on December 6.

Peak Drift Brewing Company, which is developing a multi-faceted production brewery and entertainment facility at 3452 North Main St. in Columbia, has launched its inaugural run of beer and hard seltzers, which will start popping up in select Midlands bars, restaurants and stores as soon as this week.

“Peak Drift is committed to celebrating everything that makes the Southeast special — the mountains, the oceans, the rivers, and most of all, the people,” Peak Drift co-owner Sara Middleton Styles said in a release. “Through our innovative production facility, award-winning products and new brewery coming to the North Main area, we are dedicated to industry collaboration and strengthening our local communities.”

The Peak Drift Brewing project is a multi-million dollar endeavor that is still under development on North Main. The building at 3452 North Main was originally built in the 1940s and was operated for years by Stone Manufacturing. It was a garment factory for decades. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

Aside from the now up and running production side, the Peak Drift site on North Main will also eventually include restaurant space with indoor and outdoor dining options, a members-only gym, an entertainment stage, a duckpin bowling alley, a merchandise shop and much more. The larger complex is expected to open in 2023.

There are a number of launch events for Peak Drift drinks at local bars scheduled for this week. Those include events at 5 p.m. Dec. 6 at WECO Bottle and Biergarten, 5 p.m. Dec. 8 at Craft and Draft Irmo, 5 p.m. Dec. 8 at Green’s Beverage Warehouse on Fernandina Road, and 6 p.m. Dec. 9 at The Grand on Main.

Some of the Peak Drift drinks debuting in area restaurants and stores, per a release, include NEIPA, Golden Ale, a rotating series of Red IPAs, Berry Crumble Fruited Sour Ale and a rotating series of Fire Pit Dark Ales. A number of hard seltzers also are part of the initial run.

Peak Drift is being developed by siblings Greg Middleton and Sara Middleton Styles, whose family has been a key player in the Columbia hospitality scene in recent years, particularly in the area of the 1600 block of Main Street, where the family owns the tony Smoked restaurant and Grand on Main restaurant and bowling alley. The family also runs The Venue dueling piano bar, which this month has been transformed into a Christmas pop-up bar for the holiday season.

Ashley Kinart-Short is the master brewer at Peak Drift, and is one of the few female head brewmasters in the nation.

“Between the support and collaboration from others in the industry, as well as the cutting-edge technology, this has truly been a special project. We can’t wait for the public to enjoy the great products we’ve been brewing,” Kinart-Short said.

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