Liability Brewing Co

Like many underdog stories, it started in a garage. Err, or was it the back porch and then the garage. Yeah, the back porch came first, the garage, later. There we were, drinking a Founders Breakfast Stout, talking about god knows what. Terry made a comment about how great the beer was and that he’d never had a stout of its caliber. Dustin asked incredulously how Terry had never had a Breakfast Stout before. Terry’s answer likely fell somewhere between a shoulder shrug and snark. This conversation probably went on for a while, paced by numerous other craft selections no doubt, and most certainly uncovered the fact that Terry’s craft beer knowledge at the time was slightly above nil. And beyond the lack of knowledge about craft beer as a whole, Terry’s only homebrewing experience was a number of Mr. Beer “sessions" (gasp). From that day forth Dustin shared his craft beer knowledge, and almost every bottle of craft beer he purchased with his new neighbor. Craft beer flowed at weekend tastings, trips to Asheville, Charleston, and Charlotte, to happy hours at bottle shops and breweries everywhere in between. A friendship forged in hops, malt, and more barrel aged brews than we care to count (though Untappd can surely tell you) — it led to the founding of Liability Brewing Co., first as the moniker that encapsulated our homebrew exploits, then as the name we ended up dubbing our 10 BBL brewery and taproom on West Stone Avenue in Greenville, SC. There’s a more than 99% chance that if you see Dustin and Terry deep in conversation, that the conversation is about beer. Or movies. Sometimes comics. Or Star Wars. But probably, most likely, eventually, about beer.

If you look up the definition of liability in the dictionary, it lists two definitions:

li·a·bil·i·ty noun

1. the state of being responsible for something, especially by law.
2. a person or thing whose presence or behavior is likely to cause embarrassment or put one at a disadvantage.

We didn’t realize it at the time, but the influence of the second definition was at play in our lives on almost a daily basis. Sometimes even on an hourly basis depending on the events of the day — we’re guessing it’s at play in your lives all the time too. A friend put themselves in a bad situation because they drank too much. A relative was late to something, forcing plans to change. A character in a movie did something dumb and made us laugh and cringe at the same time. We forgot an ingredient so the original recipe we wanted to brew had no chance of ever turning out how we hoped. A crazy uncle did crazy uncle things. A friend walked head first into a light post because they weren’t watching where they were walking. The list goes on. We found ourselves calling these people, situations and experiences “liabilities”, because they were. We used the word so often that it stuck in our vernacular like an inside joke. Naturally, during one of the aforementioned “research and development” tasting sessions, Dustin suggested that we should name our homebrew experience Liability Brewing Co., and here we are. Really, we just wanted a singular location that we could use to checkin on Untappd because everything around us was lame.

If it isn’t evident already, we like to have fun, and we don’t take ourselves very seriously. Life is too short, yadda yadda, and we just want to brew and drink great beer and have a good time with those around us. Our branding and taproom experience are meant to put a smile on your face. Take a second to think about the best experiences you’ve had with craft beer. Is there a common thread? For us it’s that craft beer more times than not elicits a visceral reaction. Walking into a taproom, seeing the equipment that brewed the beer you’re about to drink just feet away. The tastes, the smells, the clever names of the beers. The great beer. The terrible beer. Your friends laughing and enjoying everyone’s company. To us, this is what it’s all about. We want to drink and laugh with you. We want to hear your snark. We want you to connect with our creativity and our flavors. We want the emotion you associate with craft beer to be something you feel in your bones! But don’t feel it too much though, you don’t want to become a liability. Or maybe you do?

Yes, we’re fun loving and irreverent, but don’t let that fool you. We are serious about our craft, and our quality. And we are maniacally focused on creating an experience that you and your friends will enjoy for decades to come. You’re going to see things from us that make you shake your heads, things that make you laugh, and sometimes, things that don’t make sense. But trust us, we have a plan. And we need you to help us bring it together. The community in Greenville is special, and this brewery is our way of contributing to an even more fun and enjoyable future.

Cheers!