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OUR STORY
Indigo Reef Brewing Company opened June 2019 but the idea to open a brewery began much earlier than that. Owners Christopher and Nicole Ranere began homebrewing in 2014 when they lived up in Madison, WI. After moving down to Charleston they continued their homebrewing hobby until they could find the capital and location to build the brewery they felt Charleston was missing. After many years of building and planning, they opened their doors on June 5th, 2019 with a 7bbl brewhouse.
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The name 'Indigo Reef Brewing' combines Christopher and Nicole's love for Charleston, where indigo used to be a cash crop, scuba diving, and brewing. The local branding firm Gee Creative brought it all together in our logo design. The seahorse with the barley tail is now becoming synonymous with our beers around town.
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Our core values at Indigo Reef are Quality, Hospitality, Sustainability, and Community. Continue reading to learn how we incorporate each value into our brewery on a daily basis.
QUALITY
Drinking craft beer is more than just the carbs or ABV of the beer. Our number one priority and core value is to ensure the quality of our product never waivers. We accomplish that goal by crafting well thought-out, unique recipes, using high-quality and fresh ingredients, ensuring our cleaning procedures are thorough and consistent, and setting a high bar for what we will serve to our customers. We know there is a lot of great beer out there so why waste your time, energy, money, or calories on anything that isn't of the highest quality.
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Quality also trickles down into every aspect of our brand, including apparel, merchandise, and the overall experience. We are firm believers in you get what you pay for.
HOSPITALITY
Charleston is known for its hospitality. ​Christopher & Nicole's first visit to Charleston showed them how hospitable the lowcountry is and is one of the reasons they fell in love and moved to Charleston. It felt natural to roll hospitality into the brewery as a core value. At Indigo Reef, we strive to be hospitable in every way from our taproom, to our staff, all the way down to our beer.
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While "hospitable" isn't normally an adjective you hear associated with beer, we take that to mean our beer is approachable and non-intimidating. Regardless of your craft beer connoisseur status or preferences, our staff will help you find a beer you'll enjoy.
SUSTAINABILITY
During dives you can easily and quickly see the damage to coral reefs around the world. While it is currently predicted that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish, we see that as a personal challenge to change our behaviors and change our course so the oceans, coral reefs, and fish can be repaired, preserved, and protected.
Below are some of the ways we practice sustainability at the brewery.
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Spent grains are donated to a local goat farmer to be used as feed
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Yeast is repitched from one batch of beer to the next
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Cold water used during the heat transfer of the wort is recaptured in our Hot Liquor Tank to be used on the next brew day
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Adjuncts used in beer is brought home to Christopher and Nicole's compost
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Reclaimed wood from a barn in Ohio was used for our tapwall and courtyard boxes
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Recycled glass from GlassEco Surfaces was used for our bartop
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Glass at the brewery is sent to Fisher Recycling to ensure proper recycling
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Plant-based and compostable products are used for water and food containers
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Grain bags are reused as trash bags around the brewery
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Keg collar centers are reused for event tokens and to jazz up our kraft paper merch bags
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We resell 4Ocean bracelets at the brewery where every purchase pulls a pound of trash from the ocean or shoreline
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We resell Miir Growlers (64oz) and Howlers (32oz) where a portion of their revenue is used to fund projects focused on clean water, a healthy environment and strong communities
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Customer receipts are emailed instead of printed
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​We realize our actions won't single handedly reverse the damage already done but we operate under the mindset that every little bit helps. We encourage each of you to find ways to do the same in your every day life.
COMMUNITY
Community camaraderie and support is what makes a small business what it is. Our taproom was designed to encourage camaraderie with large groups or meeting new friends over a pint with our large bar and community-sized tables.
We are thankful for all of the support we have received from our community and strive to pay it forward. We support small businesses by purchasing our food, apparel, and merchandise locally when we can and by hosting events led by Charleston small business owners. We also host and donate to a variety of local charities whenever possible.
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Keep an eye on our upcoming events so you can also support local businesses and charities through events at the brewery.
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