The Charleston Beer Exchange

I want you to think of the coolest Aunt, Uncle or family member you’ve EVER had in your life. Then I want you to multiply that by 10. Now add beer. Yes. Glorious, wonderful, beer. THAT’s! The Charleston Beer Exchange. This would be my first stop the minute we rolled into town for vacations back before we moved here. I would get a growler full of their seasonal for the duration of our stay. It made for spending time in the hotel room that much more pleasurable. The guys working here are super chill and are quick to offer help when you have questions. It’s also a great place to find out about new suds that I haven’t heard of or came across. But aside from that, the location of this little beer shop is just super cool. Tucked away in a corner store just down Exchange street. Probably one of the most perfect beer spots in town.

Good craft beer place

Big fan of this joint; it’s small but has a great selection. If you are looking for any kind of craft/​belgian ale this is the spot to go. It tends to have better beers than any other place downtown I have been too. Furthermore, the employees are always extremely friendly, and help make sure you buy something you want. Always enjoy being a customer here!

Awesome beer collection. The local stuff is just to the right when you walk in. Just grabbed some I cannot wait to try when I get home. Really friendly staff & apparently pups are welcome in the store.

Amazing bottle selection (their European beer is almost all very high quality), extremely knowledgable staff who like to talk about beer. They even sell styrofoam shippers for when you inevitably want to ship yourself a $ 200 case! Best experience I had in Charleston was in this store.

So my boyfriend and I took a weekend trip to Charleston and all of his beer friends (and I mean ALL) recommended stopping at Charleston beer exchange aka CBX.
So our first stop on the way into town was at CBX and we were not disappointed. Tons of bottles we can’t ever find back home at reasonable prices.
The best intangible of CBX is the people. When they realized we were looking for fairly rare stuff to take home for friends and we obviously weren’t butt heads, they bent over backward to make sure we could make that happen. They went so far as to tell us about a shipment they were receiving the next day which would have a ton of incredible stuff.
The only downside to CBX is the parking situation. It’s a tiny shop on a little street with like 5 parallel spots. There is a nearby garage, but that’s kind of a pain.
Basically, CBX is the best-​stocked, friendliest bottle shop I’ve come across. I would recommend them to locals and travelers alike. They give great recommendations and run a great business.

You will be paying a premium here but that’s because you are paying for selection. This place the best selection of better and hard to find beer that i have seen. Don’t bother if you want a lite lager but geuze faro, trappist etc mean something to you come here and you won’t be disappointed

Decent selection but there are a lot of other better priced places with the same selection. They were not super helpful. I don’t even mind overpaying for good beer when the service is great. But they were just not as interested and willing to help as other places such as Bottles in mt pleasant.

The store is small, which limits their ability to have a massive selection but it doesn’t hinder the quality at all. Rather than having shelves full of the same old junk you can find anywhere, they have to choose more carefully, and they choose well. The limited shelf space they have is packed full of great selections. They have a pretty nice selection of growler fills and the service is excellent. The guy who was working when we came in was more than happy to answer every question we had and tried his best to help with suggestions and information. On top of all that, this is just an awesome building in a cool area with a really neat old pharmacy/​apothecary kind of feel to it. Best beer place I found in Charleston.

Is there other places like Total Wine you can buy beer? Sure. But what place is going to match the knowledge and customer service of the guys at CBX. Love it!

How can you not love CBX? The selection is amazing, the staff is insanely knowledgeable about beer, and they have a growler station with rotating taps for fills to go. The place isn’t huge but you’ll find one of the most extensive beer selections anywhere. Whether you’re serious about suds or a casual crafter, you’ll find everything you could want and will be welcomed in while doing so. Only down side is that you can’t drink it right there!

Outstanding place with great selection. Awesome customer service! Guys literally ran us down to return a wallet we left. Show them some love and drink their great beer.

Anytime we travel, I inevitably fall into beer tourist mode. I just can’t help it! On our most recent trip to the South though, I was starting to get a little nervous. See, South Carolina in particular has some interesting liquor laws – it’s really easy to drink all day in a bar, but they sure don’t make it easy to find a 6-​pack of local brews. Thankfully there are gems like CBX to come to the beer aficionado’s rescue!
Don’t let their small space fool you – they are packed to the gills with lots and lots of great choices, and their knowledgeable staff will help guide you thru some of the best things you can get in the region.
We ended up with 2 bombers and two six packs of great stuff from the NC and SC area (along with a few MI beers we can’t get here) and felt totally satisfied. I just wish my suitcase was bigger! If you love beer and live in Charleston (or are a beer smuggler like me) make sure to visit CBX!

Charleston Beer Exchange, where have you been all my life? (okay, maybe just me entire trip down to Charleston).
I had an afternoon to kill and was already in the market to pick up local beer to bring back to Wisconsin. I had searched here on Unilocal for a liquor store in the area of our hotel and this was one of the options that came up. As I was visiting and it was a beautiful day out, I threw on my empty backpack and made the couple mile trek up to the store.
Wow. I walked in and was immediately greeted and offered help. I took up the sales associates offer to help and asked him questions of the local offerings. Under his advice I picked out a few different bottles, took home a few bombers and had a small growler filled.
While I was in the store another customer walked in with her dog and the sales associate got water for the dog while its owner shopped around.
Laid back. Friendly. Helpful. Awesome. The next time I’m back in Charleston, Ill be back here. An amazing find!!!

I would call CBX a hidden gem in Charleston. Located on Exchange Street, CBX brings you the very best of craft beer at affordable prices. The staff are all beer experts and can help you find your old favorites or something new. I’ve been coming here for a few years and the inventory is always very diverse and can accommodate any type if beer drinker.
Sign up for the mailing list because they do special events and tastings often.

Small, hard to move, and freaking’ awesome! To what extent do you care about the size of this store? It is small, very small, but they have crammed at least over a hundred different kinds of beer in this shop. Can’t find it? Ask and I am sure they will help find it or get it for you.
This was our first time here after hearing so many good things and I was just as impressed. I found brews I have never heard of and wanted to try, brews I had been looking for and wanted to try, I wanted to try EVERYTHING!
Prices were as to be expected with craft beer and was competitive with other stores in the area. Nothing wrong with the location either. Located in Downtown down an alley but not a scary place or hard to find. Well worth the trip!

Be sure to ask the employees for some recommendations… they did a great job explaining different beers, and helping me pick out a few for gifts! The place is pretty small, and can feel crowded if there is more than 8 people in there. Plenty of unique offerings… it would be hard to not find something in there that you’d want to try.
I love how they sell everything by the bottle/​can. It really allowed for lots of sampling!

Hubby’s happy place — always able to find new hard to find beers to try. Small store packed with beer-​goodness, friendly knowledgeable staff, and the ability to get growlers full of a new brew to share. Definitely the place to go if you like good non-​mass produced beer.

It’s absurd that I haven’t reviewed CBX by now! This place is by far one of my favorite places in Charleston. It may just be a hole in the wall tucked away on Exchange Street, but if you’re into craft beer this is the place to go while your wandering around downtown. It’s a local beer mecca.
There is a reason the Charleston Beer Exchange was rated so highly among their fellow beer retailers. If you’re looking for a hard to find beer chances are it’s already here. If not, they will do their best to make sure it reaches your gullet in a timely manner. As is to be expected with rare craft beer, prices can get a little steep. That’s okay though. You’re tummy and taste buds will thank you when you finally get your hands on that wild sour ale brewed with beet juice extract and oysters you’ve been on the hunt for!
I’m not joking when I say this pace is tiny. The guys running CBX utilize their space well though. The store is stocked floor to ceiling with beer, and there is even a kickass growler station serving up some of the best brews around. They also have a reward points system for buying beers. There’s always some kind of brewery showcase or event going on as well. It’s a good idea to join their email list to keep up with everything. The guys running the show are super knowledgeable and helpful as well. This helps when you’re trying to remember that beer you saw referenced in Beer Advocate a month ago.
If you’re feeling parched the Charleston Beer Exchange can more than adequately quench your thirst.

Beer drinkers of Charleston heaved a happy sigh when this place opened up. A little piece of beer heaven fell to earth and landed downtown on Exchange Street. Since they opened, a lot of the supermarkets have improved their craft beer selection, and even started growler stations, but you can’t beat a knowledgeable staff for helping with beer selections. The CBX crew can point you directly to what you ask for, give you suggestions for trying similar brews, or introduce you to something completely different. Plus, they’re nice, and don’t treat a woman coming in alone as if she is a beer idiot.
This is one of two places here that stocks our favorite German Schwarzbiers, (Köstritzer and Einbecker, the former being Goethe’s favorite beer and the latter being Martin Luther’s). (The big box wine/​beer place West Ashley only carries singles of the Köstritzer).
Other really nice things about CBX? Beer club, growlers (growler specials Tuesdays), mix and match sixes, bombers, tastings, brewery events, Brewvival (2014 will be the 4^th, held in conjunction with Coast Brewery, featuring some fabulous local and other craft beers), beer merchandise galore.
We have a friend who comes to visit Charleston regularly. His first stop, before he sees any of his many friends in the area, is always CBX. This makes me happy, because he usually brings us a treat from there as well.
You may find some of the beers elsewhere cheaper, but you probably won’t get the same care and concern as you do from the folks at CBX.